Custom Infantry

[Johnson73]

The best size I have seen is 23.5mm or 24mm.  Anything over that is too large and under too small.  Depends on the company as well.

[Trenacker]

Sorry for the thread necromancy, but I have an on-topic question.

When selecting paint, if I want to coat a darker plastic with a lighter shade, do a I need to do a white coat first? Say if I want to paint my Italians yellow…

[GeneralHandGrenade]

I found that if I didn’t use a primer then the paint would chip off on me. It didn’t matter so much on the complexes because you don’t move them around and pile them with all of the other units in your tray, but certainly on the infantry it made a difference. So yes I recommend you use a white primer. Ask at the model paint store which one would be best for you.

Curiously though, some brands would chip off more than others due to the type of plastic they used. Airfix chipped off big time. OOB units chipped off a lot too. Caesar didn’t chip at all.

[Trenacker]

Okay, so we’re talking white primer, then one or more coats of the model paint, and then a laquer?

Is all of this from Taimya spray cans?

[GeneralHandGrenade]

The primer and laquer weren’t Tamiya. Just ask at the hobby/model store what they would recommend. For the laquer I went to a hardware store and picked up a bigger spray can that was for use on plastics. It was a lot cheaper that way.

[Wolfshanze]

Oddly enough, I’m still working on this project… (working as-in I have the Aussie units, bought all the paint I need, and keep staring at my Italians and Aussies thinking "oh yeah, I really need to get around to painting them!)… single-dad issues as usual my usual fall-back reason for not getting this done.

[Trenacker]

Thanks, General!

Do I need different primer for different shades of color plastic?

[Gijoe]

Thanks GHG for leading me to hobbylinc and the entire custom infantry thing. I’m hooked…and obsessed:-)

For anyone interested, I’m doing reviews of several of my recent custom infantry purchases on my channel. Search Gijoe axis & allies. I have every country including China. Haven’t uploaded every video yet but will be soon.

[GeneralHandGrenade]

No Trenacker. Just get a white primer and don’t forget to put on some sort of clear coat after to protect them.