Alternative way to paint driver figures. Any?!

[Tamiya Era]

Hello...

Instead of using the XF paint, any marker paint can be used to paint the figures?

Regards

[triumphjon]

not being a great fan of the tamiya acrylic paint , i tend to use humbrol enamel for most of my detail painting , large areas are often sprayed with either rattle cans or an airbrush

[mr crispy]

Agreed, Tamiya glass jars have a high "thinner" content which makes them good for airbrushing but a pain to apply by hand brush. Go over an area you've already painted and it can pull off the previous coat. I prefer Humbrol acrylics and i found Games Workshops range very nice to brush on, especially their metallics. Enamels and artist oil paints are great from painting heads as they take longed to dry so you have more time to blend the colours into each other.

[Tamiya Era]

Thanks Mates....

What about the paint marker? Anyone tried them?

[Grastens]

Paint markers work, but you do need to be very methodical to ensure a smooth finish. Then again, the techniques are similar to those of brush painting, with the drawback of less capability on coarse-textured surfaces (i.e.: the driver torsos/busts).

I used paint markers for my Buggy Champ and Avante figures. The paint did not adhere well to the arms, with their many folds, but did well for detailing the Buggy Champ driver's helmet opening outline and the Avante driver's solid visor. For my Buggy Champ, I also used it to paint the flat plastic surface underneath the torso, but the tip marks (equivalent to brush strokes) were visible. In hindsight, masking and spraying with black would have been a better option for finish.

So the paint in general sticks, but just does not stick as well as regular brush paint. I find it less viscous than regular brush paints, which it has to be in order to pass through the tip of the marker. As stated, it is better-suited to detail work - larger surfaces and more-textured types are more effectively covered with brush paints, spray-can paints, or airbrush.

With careful methods, a paint marker can still be used to good effect on the figures. But I still primarily use a combination of brush and spray-can painting for my drivers.

[beefmuffin]

i use paint markers some of the time, but then again i usually do a mediocre job at best. the paint markers tend to leave lots of roughness and unevenness. when i want to do a better job i use paint and brush. although i find that NOT mixing up the paint works better for drivers. meaning, leaving the thick pigment thick and dipping directly into that. much less runny and coats better.

for eyes i tend to use a toothpick (cocktail stick?) dipped in white pigment and dot it on carefully. surface tension will spread it where it needs to go and don't put too much. then later i go back with another toothpick for the irises - very little paint this time since it's going over white and a little color goes a long way.

another tip is that you can spray on whatever color will cover the most area - like the base or the jacket. then paint on all the other colors. i usually start with black.

anyway all you have to do is look in my showroom to see the middling results - my fingerprints are literally all over my driver figures. luckily, i don't care.

[Theibault]

I use Citadel paints that are for my Warhammer figures. They are amazingly easy to use, just be sure to seal them.

[HunterZero]

I use Citadel paints that are for my Warhammer figures. They are amazingly easy to use, just be sure to seal them.

+1, Tamiya paints are best used with an airbrush. For brush painting, use wargaming style paints. They self-level very well, and you can control flow by thinning with water right out of the pot. The Citadel layer ones are expensive though, go for the Vellejo Game Color or Formula P3 paints.

They do give a muted satin finish though. For shiny finishes, eg helmets, you're best off airbrushing acrylics or using lacquer rattle cans or TS-13 clear coat.

The Citadel shades/washes though are very good. It's definitely worth it to pick up a set of these, especially Agrax Earthshade and Nuln Oil. Or even better if you can still find the older washes - Badab Black and Devlan Mud.

- James

[AndyjcClod]

I use the paints that you get in Warhammer shops, they are fantastic for details and have a huge range of skin colours.

Even one called "rotting flesh"! Should you want a zombie driver

[Tamiya Era]

Any ebay link to provide plz?

[mr crispy]

http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/catalog/landing.jsp?catId=cat730002a&rootCatGameStyle=paints-tools