Am I the only one who can't paint faces very well on 1/35 figures?

I'm pretty new at it myself and have just as many problems as you. I've gotten petty good with lager scale figures, but when you shrink it to 1/35 it seems like all the rules change. Apparently, you need to fill shadows more and add highlights where natural light does the job in larger scales. It's more like painting a flat picture than a 3D object, and you definitely need some magnifying goggles, too. It's not the size of the brush, it's how you use it ... LOL!

I did have trouble with painting faces and now i'm still trying my best to improve. Do look around the forums for such topics. They might help.

Practice makes perfect. So keep practicing.

Also, welcome to the Forum!
Happy Modelling!

First problem is many of the 1/35 figures have horrible faces to begin with. Poorly scuplted with very soft, indistinct details. Newer Tamiya and DML have better details and I've read that some of the newer companies are doing okay, too. Replacing heads with aftermarket offerings from the likes of Hornet will give you a better "canvas" on which to work.

Next, it would help to know what kind of paint you're using.

I've taken to using Andrea/vallejo and have had very good results in 54mm, just slightly larger than 1/35. Check out the figure mags to see what can be done in these scales.

QUOTE: Originally posted by Blankenship1969 I even created my own brush from a single cat whisker (absconded from one of my wife's cats)

On another note, www.missing-lynx.com has a few articles on just that. It covers the "how to" of 1/35 face painting. Great articles.
I hope it helps.

To echo what Martin (?) said, Missing-Lynx has some great articles on painting faces. Here are a few of the direct links:

Figure Articles

"Painting 1/35 scale heads in 8 steps" by Mark Bannerman
"Painting 1/35 Scale Heads Using Oils 'The Bannerman Way' " by Mark Bannerman
"Painting 1/35 Scale Heads Using Oils 'The Bannerman Way' Part 2" by Mark Bannerman

There are also a few more articles on painting various ethinic groups which are extremely interesting!

Do yourself a favour and read all the articles there. Not only there, but on as many sites as possible. The reasoning for this is simple: the techniques explained here may simply just not suit your style of painting and modelling - as fantastic as Mark Bannerman's style is, it just does not compliment the way I paint - so you need to to keep on looking and trying different styles and techniques until you find the one that fit's you like the proverbial glove...

i looked at many tuts and then tried them out i use a enamal base skin tone then an acrylic skin tonethat is darker than the first the a good dark wash with acrylics in the recesses dry brush with the base color dont even try the eyes i did i got one to come out good but that was it




sgt kopp

You are not the only one who cant paint faces. Iam just getting back in to modeling after a 25year break it has changed so much since i did models. So you are not the only one hang in there & practice, go to shows if you can & just look at all of the figures also ask how they did that . Most modelers are keen to help as much as they can.

QUOTE: Originally posted by sgtkopp i looked at many tuts and then tried them out i use a enamal base skin tone then an acrylic skin tonethat is darker than the first the a good dark wash with acrylics in the recesses dry brush with the base color dont even try the eyes i did i got one to come out good but that was it sgt kopp

hey sgtkopp I am actually completing the figures in your tagline also , I just noticed them. I have to paint the camo guys yet though, the other two in normal german uniform are done.

You should be able to paint everything on a face in that scale with a 5/0 sable brush. I used to use a 10/0 for the fine details, but I don't really need it anymore. As has been stated, it also depends on what kind of paint you're using.