Painting 1/48 scale figures

You assemble the figure if it is not molded as one,  then remove the mold lines with a #11 blade. Then paint by hand in this small scale.

I have only painted 48th scale figures with aircraft (pilot figures). I do always use the figures in 35th scale.

My method is to put them in alligator clips holding one boot which makes it easier to hold and paint then I stick the clip in a piece of styrofoam to hold it.

Wether you scrap them is up to individual taste.

Assemble as much as you can and smooth the seams before painting unless someting (eg. the arms) will reatrict access and make painting difficult.  For example,  if the fig has his arms folded across his chest, it's not a huge drama if you're painting a single colour uniform, but it will make life extremely difficult if you have to paint a 4-colour woodland camo pattern behind the arms.

You may be able to apply base colours using an airbrush, but it will be necessary to paint details by hand.

What paints are you going to use? I highly recommend Vallejo Model Color paints for figure painting.

I've only done two sets of figures so farI've always been a WWII hobby historian but only started modelling 5 months ago.

My first was the three man gun crew for my 1/48 Flakpanzer-although small they were (relatively) dead easy as they were in winter cammo, sat in a gun compartment and wearing full headgear so all that could be seen were a small part of the faces and the helmets. Very difficult to get any detail thoughe specially with Tamiya 1/48; I'm sure their 1/48 figures are too small.

My second were a 1/35 two-man gun crew for my latest build-a Marder III. Field grey uniforms and black belt and buckle, not too hard. The think I find VERY hard at the minute is painting tiny details like eyes, an Iron cross or silver buttons.

I like to paint the boots first after assembly then when the paint has set I stand the figure in a lump of Blu-Tak. I have a magnifying glass mounted on a bendy arm on a big base, there is another bendy arm with a neon striplight to illuminate your work and that is perfect for figure painting. 

I paint the face and hands first (exposed skin areas) then move onto the clothes. I paint the basic colours then usually do a very light black dry brush over the skin to highlight details and too give the impression of oil stain on fingers etc. Try and muck up the uniforms if they are tank gunner crew aswell ie on the knees and elbows but especially the hands.

Finally I try not to use the same skin colour for all crew members on the same tank, use different shades of tan etc-it looks more realistic imo.

This is my Marder (1/35). The figures need the shoulder Lappels painting and they also need a spray of matt varnish. You'll notice the mold lines on the guy on the left's left arm, I didn't at the time but it's something to watch for!

!/48 Flakpanzer-my first attempt at figures................the guy on the right has his helmet on backwards-that has now been sorted (doh)!

 HTH buddy,

Ben

If you plan on doing a lot of 1/48 figures, I'd suggest looking around for a site that specializes in gaming figures. Those guys do amazing stuff in small scale. Also, post in the figures sectio nhere, stop by Armorama's figure sub-forum, Historicus Forma, as well as Timelines forums and Planet Figure.

You will absolutely need high quality brushes, not Cheapo-Cheapo Productions buck-a-dozen types. You should get comfoprtable with a type of paint, oils, acrylics (Vallejo or Andrea NOT Tamiya) or enamels. Each has it's own drawbacks and advantages. Try to avoid using any commercial "flesh" color as a base, none of them look real.

The other guyss touched on the assembly issues.

Some guys will tell you detail is impossible/wasted in small scale. NOt so. Here is Doug Cohen's1/48  "Bring Out Your Dead," and even my own game pice, equivalent to a 1/48 or so figure.

Tamiya's 1/48th figures scale out to about 5'3" tall...   Most 1/48th figures in the aircraft scale out to 6' tall..  That said, you don't really need to be all that detailed on figures, unless photgraphing them close-up is your main goal.. If you want to paint a 1 1/2-inch tall figure, then photo and post him at 6-8 inches tall, you need to get good with detail painting...

If you build with the mindset that your viewers can't focus unaided on a figure from closer than 4 inches or so (about 24 scale feet), and are going to be looking at them from a scale distance of about 48 to 60 feet, you can slack a bit...  I keep my guys at about a "20-30 foot" level of detail, meaning that if I can't see something on a real person that's 20-30 feet away from me, I don't bother with it...

I've only recently started painting 1/48 figures myself, besides the great advise already given above. I would add

To scrap away mold lines, scarp the #11 hobby blade backwards, It's sharp enough to remove the lines in a few pass, if you try to scrap toward the direction of the blade, it's very easy to cut into the plastic.

Once you have the base colors down, dry using a darker version of color to fill inside the folds of hte cloths - this adds artificial shadows which you need in scaled figures to add depth. You can then add highlights (a lighter shade of the color) on the high points of the folds. You may also use a wash to get into deep areas to create more depth.

At this scale, don't try to paint the white of the eyes, otherwise you get the dreaded 'bulging-eye' look. Eyebrows, the top of the eye with a line, and a dot for the eyeball will be enough.

I much much to learn, but here's 3 Tamiya 1/48 figures I did from their new A6M5 zero kit.

Thanks for all the information, it really helps a lot!

waikong: Weird coincidences...I got Italeri's Autoblinda just after I saw yours, and I was just about to buy Tamiya's Zero kit when I saw those figures! Great job on those!

I completely agree that I need to quit with the Tamiya acylic brush painting as soon as possible. Is there a Tamiya-Vallejo conversion chart on the site somewhere? Also, the figures that came with my kit are made by ICM, so they are about 6', no worries there.