Some Beginner's questions

My advice works for about anything , Just try abunch of stuff and dont worry about results more on the effects and have fun - you can always buy more models

Thanks for the tip, Gregory. I have my drying oven up and running, and it looks like I could bake brownies in that thing. But don't worry, it's only a 75 watt bulb in there.

Sergei, I've got a low-wattage bulb of my own... as long as it's not flickering, right?

Mark

Hey, this is for beginners! I'm a beginner!
Oh, wait, this is for beginners who know what their doing. I'll leave.

"you can greatly accelerate the drying time by leaving the figure under a small desk lamp with a low wattage bulb. ":

Hey, I can give you some! there's one over my head right now!

Mark;

Just one more little bit of information for you. Regarding the use of a drying oven. Sometimes I have had "whites" turn slightly to significantly yellow using a drying oven. This is easily corrected with a minor touch up coat. The drying oven is a great accessory to have. I built mine (copied actually) from a design in Sheperd Paines book PAINTING and DETAILING Figures. It is unfortunately out of print right now from Kalmbach Publications, but it does show up on eBay quite often average price is around $20.00 U.S. and it is definitely worth the cost. Another book to look for is the 2nd Edition of How to Build Dioramas by Sheperd Paine it has lots of excellent tips for painting figures. Another book is the 2nd Edition of Figure Painting by Lynn Kesselman.

I hope this helps

Cheers;


Gregory

Thanks a lot Rick, Pat and Robert for being so generous with your ideas.

Learned several tricks that I'd not have thought up on my own. The drying oven's a great idea... I'll put something together next week after I finish my home-made vacuum-forming kit, though I think my wife's beginning to wonder about the accumulation of funny contraptions around the house.

I'll post pics of my first completed figures as soon as available. Take care,

Mark

Hi,

I am one of the fellows who talked you into Historex.

Historex are all-plastic. I use either Ambroid's "Pro Weld" styrene cement on them, or "Tennax." These are styrene glues with the consistency of water. You apply them with a brush, and the glue flows into the seams between the two parts, and melts the plastic a bit, which forms a nice, strong bond when dry. To add details such as lead foil, or putty, I use thick grade CA (Super Glue).

Oils... well, they do have a sheen, and they do take a bit to dry, but you will find no better paint medium when it comes to blending. There is one trick I use to keep the sheen down, and also to speed drying time. I built a paint-drying oven. It cost less than $15.00, and took approximately 15 minutes to build. I simply purchased a 65-quart, Rubbermaid tub with a snap on lid (preferably a clear tub so you can see through it). To that I added a standard shop, clip on style light, which you can get from Lowes for about $8.00. This is the type of light with the metal reflector. They sell a few different ones, and I opted for the one that cold take a 75-watt bulb (I use a 75-watt flood light bulb). I drilled three small holes in the metal reflector, equidistant from each other (at the edge). Then, I cut a hole just a bit smaller than the reflector, into the tub's snap on lid. I then placed the reflector on the lid, over the hole I had just cut, and marked where the holes were. I then drilled the corresponding holes. I then used zip ties to secure the light to the lid. Finally, I purchased a cheap, $1 thermometer from Wal-Mart, and suction cupped it into the tub, somewhere near the middle of the tub.

Now, this setup allows me to paint in oils, and then place my figure into the oven to dry overnight. The temperature in the tub is about 85 degrees (in the winter, in my basement where I work), and 95 degrees in the summer (same location). By adjusting the height of the figure inside the box, and the distance from the heat source, you can actually obtain the desired temperature quite easily. JUST REMEMBER! Historex are plastic, and if you get to close, they will melt. I have found that you can get as close to the bulb as five inches without any ill effect. I have found all oil colors are mostly cured within 24 hours, but deep colors like blue or black I might leave for 36 hours before trying to paint over. This drying method also keeps the sheen down considerably, and I have found no need to use a matte finish when complete.

If you have any Historex related questions, feel free to e-mail me. They can be a bit daunting, but are worth the reward.

RM

QUOTE: Originally posted by markworthi Hello Again Everyone, I'm amazed at the number and variety of figures out there, spanning all historical epochs. Where to begin? Well, I've decided on some Historex Napoleonic figures (thanks to your advice), but I have a few questions. Thanks in advance for your patience. 1) If the metal figures arrive unassembled, which type of glue should I use (or should I melt tin?). What type of filler is needed? 2) When painting with oils, it seems you'd get a sort of sheen from the thinning medium (like when you paint on canvas). So what do you all use for thinner to avoid this? 3) Doesn't it take forever for oils to dry? Again, thanks for you patience until I get my hands on a basic how-to guide to figures. Take care, Mark

CA (superglue) will work pretty well but has little sheer strength. Meaning if you try to pull it away it will be fine but if you pull it to the side it will easily break away.

Soome of the epoxies are great and not only are the really hard, they can act as a seam filler on metal figures. Once dry it can be filed and sanded as needed.

Prime your metal or resin figures before painting and clean your plastic figures well before painting. Although you don't have to prime the plastic, I do.

In addition to Rick's suggestion of using a low wattage bulb, you can remove the sheen from oil paints by working your oils on a brown paper bag. The brown paper will draw away the excess linseed oil (which is the carrier medium for the oil paint pigments)and thus reduce sheen. Your thinner will be sufficient to give it a working consistency.
This will reduce the working life of your oils, but you'll have more than enough time to work them even during a long painting session.
The advantage the normally slow working time of oils is that it allows them to be layered and blended, making smoother transitions of color.

The Historex figures I've seen are injection molded plastic, not metal. They will definitely arrive unassembled. If plastic, regular glues for styrene can be used. For metal, I prefer to assemble with Epoxy, although CA can also be used. Unless your really good at it, i wouldn't try soldering.

Oils do have some sheen, which many, including me, find attractive. I use artist grade Turpentine as a thinner with oils & add a flat finish if it has too much sheen. You can also increase sheen by adding a small amount of Linseed Oil.

Some say oils never actually dry, but on metal figures you can greatly accelerate the drying time by leaving the figure under a small desk lamp with a low wattage bulb. Not a good idea with plastic figures however.

Regards, Rick