Accurate Miniature Equivalents for Custom Painting your 1940 E&P

@Rorschach:

I just took a look at my AA50 Italian Infantry and yes, they do have those issues with the right shoulder and left side of the face.  The right shoulder looks like that’s where it was attached to the sprue perhaps.  Didn’t notice any problem with the butts though.

Yea - the sprues were definitely attached at the right shoulder and (with the new ones) the butt. The third one was possibly either at the top of the head or at the tip of the gun (clean break there). If you look at a 1940 Italian, as well as several other infantry sculpts, you’ll see a conclave circle where the sprue connected.

@Most:

First of all, Fantastic work! Second I wonder if you could post a picture of the brushes you use, particularly the ones used for the numbering on the vehicles. Perhaps along side of a fighter for scale reference? Do you mod your brushes or use them as is? I have never seen brushes that small but my experience is limited, I have just started doing this sort of thing myself in the last year.

Sure thing - I’ll take some pics tonight.

UPDATE

Italian Infantry

Italian Infantry - European Drab Uniform

Italian Infantry - African Uniform

Italian Infantry - Paratrooper Camo Uniform

Italian Infantry - Complete

Also here are a few pictures of my work area and brushes:

My Work Area

Closeup of Brushes

My Homemade Paint Cabinet

I don’t use incredibly expensive brushes - usually I find that they last somewhere around 40 work hours due to their size. I suppose if I was a bit more attentive in cleaning them with soap hourly, I could get more out of them, but they cost around $5 each so I’m not too worried about it. I use the Reaper series of brushes for miniatures. Mostly I use the ‘0’, ‘10/0’, and ‘20/0’ sized brushes, depending on the area I’m painting. In my opinion anything smaller than the 20/0 tends to not hold enough paint to be practical. Really I recommend just experimenting around with what you think best fits you.

@Rorschach:

Bee-You-Tee-Full!

One quick question.  How on earth do you get such nice clear close-up shots?  I’ve been unable to get any close-ups that come in clear and crisp on anything this size yet.

Lighting is important - I have table-mounting lights about 8 inches away from whatever I’m photographing. I just use a Canon point-and-shoot and hold the camera an inch or two away from the minis. Having two light sources can help, and make sure that the subject isn’t obscured by shadowing (either from the mini itself or from your hand/camera).

@Most:

Thanks for the new pics. I think the smallest I have is 10/0 but it’s about time for me to replace my brushes so I’ll look into getting a 20/0. The most trouble I have in so far a s time goes is the boots, specifically the sole, A smaller brush would help here. Also, Holy crap that’s a lot of paint! I have been using Testors model paint for mine and then I dip the infantry in minwax lacquer and spray the vehicles with clear enamel. This gives them a shiny appearance but protects them from chips. As I said I’m new to this and I wonder if you could explain what the ink wash is that you spoke of. I apologize if you explained this already but 32 pages is a lot of reading.

Ink washes are diluted pigments that act much in the same way as the minwax - they sink down into crevasses to give the appearance of depth. The nice thing about a wash is that you can use add water/more ink wash to get more/less pigment. Also there is a variety of colored washes available. I use a grey wash on white colors (IE winter schemes), an umber wash on beige/tan/skin (desert schemes), and a black wash on most everything else. Be careful with the black - it can overwhelm other colors. With some of the smaller camouflages, I hardly use any wash at all, and more or less brush them directly into the corners. Then I quickly come back with a brush filled with water and dilute them around a bit. If you’re covering something wide like a ship or plane, it’s important to cover the entire surface fairly quickly and smoothly. If you try to come back over a wash after it’s dried, it can peel away as opposed to blend with the new coat. I use the Vallejo line of washes.

Also - yes, doing a coat or two of a varnish is very important to protect the miniature. I use a matte sheen.

@cminke:

i found a way you coud make money all cly. make a download able book/guide for painting minis(including axis and allies board game minis) the downlaod would cost any where from 5$-15$ i know alot of people would buy it (one beeing me!)

I might look into that… My only worry is in not knowing what copyright issues would arrise (it’s a different ballpark when selling something comes into effect). Does anybody have any legal advice on the matter?

@Most:

Thanks I’ll look into the inkwash. The Italians look great by the way however I notice from your brush shots that you do the roundels after the rest of the soldiers uniform. I prefer to do the roundels first which is why the boots are so tedious for me, however I think that finessing the boot paint around the roundels, for me anyway, is easier. Although sometimes this causes me to drag paint onto the flags but I think it is easier than painting the flag around the already painted boot. Just personal preference I suppose. You must have tried both ways why did you decide to do it this way?

Actually I start doing it this way because painting the roundels was sort of a last minute idea.  But despite that, I’ve found that painting it last helps for several reasons:

a) I am almost always holding the miniature by the base while painting. Either from sweat or friction, usually some of my primer peels off from the base’s sides. This could be a problem if that’s the first thing you paint.

b) Sometimes ink (or if you’re extra sloppy; paint) can drip down onto the roundel and stain the color. Occasionally I do save the inking for after the roundel, but I always hold the mini upside-down to change its flow.

c) For the most part, the roundel is the most difficult part to paint. It’s much easier to go back and touch up the soldier than it is the flag of the roundel. Like you, I almost always come back and touch up the boots afterward. Sure it seems like an extra step, but it’s a much easier extra step than reworking a roundel.