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| How to Paint Plastic Figures |
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| Here's what you'll need: 1. Automobile primer (black or gray) 2. Polyurithane 3. Elmer's Glue All 4. A hobby knife 5. Small paint brushes 6. A wood stirring stick (free at home improvement store paint counters) 7. Acrylic paint (the kind you buy for $1 per tube at the craft store works fine). |
| Cut your minis from their sprue, trim them up and wash them in warm, soapy water (I use Ivory). Squirt a SMALL dab of glue under each mini's base and stick them to the stirring stick, leaving enough room for the brush. |
| Spray your minis with auto primer, using thin coats to preserve detail. If you choose black any mistakes you make will look like shadows. Use gray for more vibrant colors. Now you're ready to paint! I color the legs flesh, the helmets bronze, etc. Because I am lazy and shiftless I don't take the time to highlight anything, a la the "Warhammer Method." My guys look good from 2 feet, and that's good enough for me. |
| After your budding army dries, slather it, and I mean drench it, with polyurithane. It provides a tough, flexible topcoat. They will gleam, though. If that's not your cup of tea you could instead topcoat with Elmer's. See Nick Grant's site for more details. |
| Time to base! Consult the rules for the proper base sizes. You can use thin plywood, chipboard, or balsawood. Some even use thick paper card, the sort artists use to mat pictures. I like chipboard the best. You can simply paint your base the same color as the mini bases, or you can go the extra mile and flock. Buy flock from a hobby store (they sell it to railroad geeks, mostly). Mix about 1/2 Elmer's with 1/2 green paint. Paint the base with the mixture, then sprinkle flocking on top. Allow to dry, then shake. If you're really into this, plaster the mini bases with Spackle before flocking them. |