Unpainted HO figures

RailwriterRailwriter Durham, NC
in Scenary Tips


With actual construction of my layout still some time off -- getting rid of the existing items in the room is going very slowly -- I'm looking at other projects that I can do in the meantime.  These include final assembly work on some structures that never quite got done.
 
I'm also looking at ways to populate the layout.  I've accumulated some Preiser figures over the years, but (1) the total is only a couple of dozen and (2) these can quickly get very expensive.
 
Preiser and other manufacturers do offer large sets of unpainted figures at a much lower price.  And, I think I can manage to paint these figures fairly quickly.
 
My question is this:  If you've painted figures yourself, what paints have you used?  Walthers lists some paints as "figure paint" but these (other than flesh color) appear to be bright military colors.
 
I know that I can also add some details to the figures with fine-point permanent markers, but these might be rather limited in coloring the clothing of the figures.
 
Let me know about your experience.
 
-- Ernest
 

Comments

  • BR42BR42 Auburn
    Hello Ernest:

    I had done it about 20 years ago, and it was not so much of a torture as  I expected, but it wasn't fun either.  It definitely is better than ballasting track.  It really depends how good your eyes are.  If you near-sighted like me, than just taking off my classes does the trick.  On the other hand, if you are far-sighted than you may invest in one of these set of magnifying glasses.

    I just used regular humbrol and testors paints and a fine brush.  My approach was:

    Take 20 figures, paint their faces and hands, let them dry.  Have a glass of water, paint their clothes and shoes, take a short break, and start with the next 20.  Given the prices for Preiser figures, it's worth the pain.

    Ulrich
  • OBBtrainsOBBtrains Pittsburgh


    i dont have a lot of experience with figure painting but here are some thoughts.  i would prime the figures with a nice primer like Tamiya.  I think the priming is an optional step.  Then i would put a base coat of acrylic paint.  i would then use oil paints to highlight shadows.  oil paint is best becuase it blends nicely and dries slowly.  i would then paint the faces last using the same approach with the base coat and then the oil paints for shadows and for the eyes.  good luck.  post a pic.  Christian
  • OBBtrainsOBBtrains Pittsburgh


    here is a good reference book for figure and model painting.  "How to Build Dioramas: Aircraft, Armor, Ship, and Figure Models" by shepard Paine. 
    Christian
  • MitchMitch Kent, WA
    Hi Guys,

    I know something about painting figures.  Here is an example of some of my 28's (28mm)

    image

    Some Napoleonic French cavalry charging a Roman cohort.  

    HO scale would be about 15mm.  They make those also for wargaming.

    I was planning on buying a few boxes of unpainted figures, but they are out of stock or no longer available.

    The paints I use are a spray enamel primer.  For the Romans I primed them flesh color.  Then I use the Vallejo Paints.  I have about 100 colors.  They are water colors.  A drop on a pallet and add a touch of water.  Paint cloths going out.  shirt, then jacket, etc.

    When the models are done I dip them in a sealer and it blends the colors.

    You can find the paints I use at a gaming store.  (For wargame figures) If you do not know where to go a store near me is: The Panzer Depot, he has a website. 

    Hope that helps.  If I can find my box of unpainted figures I can show you how to do it.

    Mitch

    PS:  All the figures you see here are plastic.  It is important to prime the figure.  Water colors will not stick to plastic, but will stick to the primer.  As I said before, I would prime the plastic people with 'flesh' The "Army Painter" makes that color in a primer. You do not want to build up too much paint to cover the detail.  The water colors can be thinned so they go on with just enough pigment to cover, but almost no build up of paint.    

    PPS: For HO all you have to do is paint...These figures are ALL models.  EACH one is about 8 parts to put together!  I have hundreds and hundreds of military figures.  You CAN do this!




    Mitch2014-12-03 23:49:16
  • MitchMitch Kent, WA
    I just thought of one more IMPORTANT thing... DO NOT remove the figures from the sprue.  For my models I build them up then mount the foot soldiers on a penny.  I will temporarily glue that to a golf tee so I can hold and rotate the model.  For small HO figures I think it would be easier to prime the entire group, then paint, then remove.

    Here is a picture of a wargame that also used HO building by Faller and Vollmer.  Each few buildings represented a town.

    image

    You can find on YouTube instructions how to paint 'wargame figures' I believe painting HO figures would be easier as they are a bit smaller and you do not need the detail.

    Hope this has been helpful.  Mitch

    PS I also know how to build and fly Balsa and Paper planes.  I am in the Flying Aces Club! Tongue
  • MichaelEMichaelE

    @BR42 said:
    Hello Ernest:

    I had done it about 20 years ago, and it was not so much of a torture as  I expected, but it wasn't fun either.  It definitely is better than ballasting track.  It really depends how good your eyes are.  If you near-sighted like me, than just taking off my classes does the trick.  On the other hand, if you are far-sighted than you may invest in one of these set of magnifying glasses.

    I just used regular humbrol and testors paints and a fine brush.  My approach was:

    Take 20 figures, paint their faces and hands, let them dry.  Have a glass of water, paint their clothes and shoes, take a short break, and start with the next 20.  Given the prices for Preiser figures, it's worth the pain.

    Ulrich

    I think I would rather ballast track!
    Painting hundreds of figures, even a few dozen at a time is not appealing to me at all. I remember when I used to build model cars and 1/48 military aircraft. Almost every part had to be painted before assembly. I built those models for about 20 years before I said "enough". I was tired of painting for hours on end before the first part was even removed from the sprue for assembly.

    Prieser is very pricey, but they sure are a great timesaver.

  • RailwriterRailwriter Durham, NC

    To follow up on my original post from long ago:

    I did end up with a set of unpainted HO figures from Noch that included some basic colors.

    I did find out that though painting figures was something I could do (reasonably well), it was not something that I really enjoyed doing or wanted to spend a lot of time on. (Among other things, there's al lot of cleaning of brushes involved.)

    Though I got the set more than two years ago, more than three quarters of the figures remain unpainted. But, some of the figures I did paint have been included in structure scenes -- and look reasonably good in them.

    A long-term project is to add figures to some of the passenger cars that have interior lighting. (I purchased some used that already had LED lights and am installing lights in a few others to give me at least two trains that will have interior lights.) So, at some point when I don't have anything else to do, I'll paint a few more figures -- giving priority to the seated figures. But, for now, it's a low priority.

    -- Ernest

  • el Gato Gordoel Gato Gordo Colorado Spring

    For the past 5 years or so I've been buying the prepainted figures for my layout. I truly hate to think of the money spent at about $2 per figure.

    I recently (last autumn) bought a couple of sets of N scale unpainted figures by Preiser. I think there are 120 figuresper set. On nasty winter days (we had a dozen or so) I would get out the figures and enamel paints, which I keep on a cafeteria tray, and have at it. With a gripping tweezer holding the figure and 3x readers I found the painting to be not as difficult as imagined. The hardest part was decision making - what color everything: hair, shirt, tie, jacket, pants or skirt. You get the picture.

    So far I've done about 200 characters.

    Cheers!

    Gordon

    Rheinland Bayern Bahn

  • dbuckedbucke

    Hi, I am new to this forum, but have found a fantastic amount of ideas and some excellent photo's. Thanks. I noticed in the last post above they mentioned the unpainted figures by Preiser. I am modeling a WWII Era Layout. Preiser as "listed" a large array of WWII Military figures, several websites have them listed "to Purchase".
    But, Sometime starting about 1 -2 years ago, while Preiser has this extensive selection of "unpainted", WWII related military figures, listed on several RR modeling websites, almost all of them are identified as "OUT OF STOCK, RESERVATION ONLY".
    So, for the last 1-2 years, I have been desperately wanting to buy these Preiser (unpainted) WWII figures, BUT, on every website I have found, it still states "OUT OF STOCK, RESERVATION ONLY", meaning YOU CANNOT PURCHASE ANY OF THESE PREISER WWII FIGURES.
    QUESTIONS:
    1. Does anyone know of WHY these figures CONTINUE TO BE "LISTED" FOR PURCHASE, BUT, ACTUALLY UNAVAILABLE TO BUY ?!?!?!? (1-2 YEARS NOW) ?!?!?!?! I.E., Are These Preiser WWII unpainted figures ACTUALLY FOR SALE and CAN BE BOUGHT ?!?!?!?!? IF PREISER DOESN"T MAKE THEM ANYMORE, THEY SHOULD TAKE THEM OFF AND NOT SHOW THEM ON THE "MANY" WEBSITES THAT STILL SHOW THEM !!!!
    2. DOES ANYONE KNOW WHY THEY have they not been available to purchase FOR THE LAST TWO YEARS ?!?!?!?!
    3. AND, DOES ANYONE KNOW, IF and WHEN, IF EVER, WILL THEY FINALLY "BE IN STOCK" , and THEN CAN ACTUALLY BE BOUGHT ?!?!!?!
    Sorry for some of the all caps sections, BUT, I AM EXTREMELY FRUSTRATED, AS I AM READY TO PURCHASE AND START PLACING ON MY MODEL RAILROAD.

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