figure painting

Hi;

 Just want to interject here. I have found that for some scenarios I have "stolen" hands from Pilot and Aircraft type figures.

I believe the old Dragon weapon sets came with seperate hands so you could cut off the grip and replace it with the hand-grip combo.

scottk

Hi, I'm new to the forum, but I've been modling awhile.  Figures are always my downfall.  I was re-reading something from Shep Paine, and he said "make sure hands correcty grip an object", but he doesn't go into enough detail for me to get it right. I've tried several things, but it doesn"t look right.  Any suggestions?  

Welcome to the forum, Scott!

I'll second Jim's advice about posting your question in the Figures forum, but I can offer an answer, too. 

Shep was talking about how the hand looks when we grip an object, because how the hands are posed or sculpted might be something you'd want to fix on a figure before painting it.

For example, pick up a baseball bat, or a golf club, or a piece of pipe, and observe how your hand wraps around it.  Your fingers aren't aligned, because the top of the hand, where the fingers start, is angled or curved slightly, from a high point where the forefinger is attached, up slightly to the middle finger, then down to the pinky.

Or hold a pistol or something else with a pistol grip, and observe how your thumb is posed, how your forefinger looks as a trigger finger, and how your other three fingers wrap around the grip.

Palm a basketball, and observe it.

These are the kinds of things that a sculptor might not get quite right, and if you don't fix them, your finished figure will show it.

I just had to fix this on a figure of an 18th century grenadier, holding a tankard in his right hand.  The hand is sculpted to look like it's holding something-the grip of a tankard, the shaft of a spontoon, etc.  The fingers were aligned straight across the knuckles, without the natural angle.  So I had to cut them apart and bend them to a more natural shape.

Shep was a trained artist.  Besides painting, he sculpted, most notably for Valiant Miniatures.  His goal with his books, and with the "Tips for Building Diorama" sheets for Monogram, was to de-mystify techniques, make them available to the average modeler, and so to encourage them to build, paint, stretch their skills, and enjoy the hobby that much more.

Again, welcome to the forum!  I look forward to seeing what you're working on.

Best regards,

Brad

Shep also did not have access to soem things we now consider commonplace--like photoetch saws fine enough separate fingers if needed.

The vast array of hands and heads and similar parts is something to appreciate in our modern Now, too.

In his book, Shep specifically advises the use of the hands from the Napoleonic drummer figure kits from Historex because they are molded as closed fists, which make it easier to have the figure "grip" items. In addition, he also includes a diagram and a description of using a wedge of plastic and wire to build an armature for sculpting hands in the event a proper pose cannot be sourced from the spares box.

There are plenty of sources for aftermarket hands on the market, including sets from Hornet, Warriors, and Verlinden. They help take the guess work out of things and make life a little easier when it comes to figure modifications and custom poses.

A dark wash can go a long way to creating realistic shadows on an object.