Advice for possible project next year

[MK1603]

Hi all

Just had some questions regarding painting of players. I am seriously considering starting to paint my own teams there are a few teams I really want in my collection but I am not prepared to pay some of the prices people want on Ebay and Tudor still doesn't have the license to ship NFL goods outside of the US (believe me if they did I would be buying so many)

All players that I have and currently looking at painting/re-painting are all regular sized men. However as you are all aware these are quite small. Is painting these a lost cause because of their small size? Just worried with my chunky fingers, painting these regular men might be too much of a headache 😂

I mean I am not going to paint them to any great detail just mainly the colour scheme. I most likely won't be attempting helmet decals or going too in depth with the stripes. Just something passable and recognizable to a team. Maybe something along the lines of the pre-painted figures Tudor sells (and happily play with)  I am no artist! 😂

I will be using acrylic paint, I am aware enamel seems to be the more superior paint to use. But to me they do lack a range of colour choice and a lot more expensive than acrylic. I can get a very large selection of acrylics in all different colours for around £30 ($40) so I am probably going to stick with my guns and make this purchase early next year

 

I am looking forward to eventually getting started on this and I am hoping they turn out okay and not like an explosion at the crayola factory!

If anyone has any opinions or thoughts it would be great to hear from you 🙂 

 

Thanks

Mike

 

 

[zak99b5]

It just takes practice.  Maybe pick a team you're not terribly interested in as a first attempt.

Buy good very fine brushes.  Using arcrylics, you'll likely have to do a number of coats.  Enamels are usually one and done--something to consider.  Some people also use toothpicks for fine lines (I do not).

Just relax and enjoy the process.  If it starts to get annoying, just step away for a bit.  And remember that little mistakes won't be noticeable when you're playing the game, and bigger mistakes just mean more paint!

I usually paint teams to the "close enough" standard.  They are small as you point out, and during game play (at a distance) they look fine.

For example, I recently painted the Browns.  They have five stripes on their socks and sleeves/shoulders alternating white and orange.  I merely painted a wider white stripe then painted an orange one in the middle of that.  It's not technically accurate, but you know its the Browns, so "close enough." 

I've also painted helmet logos on a few teams.  Vikings came out great, as did the Bears and Steelers.

At times, too much detail can make things look a little funny at this scale.  I think of it like when they draw cartoons, characters have 4 fingers, but it looks normal and better than when they try to draw all 5.

One thing I DO NOT paint is jersey numbers.  And I do not like the standard Tudor stickers.  So I use the decals (which include helmet logos that I will use as well).  I bought the newer NFL number stickers for the Browns, but I realized too late that it uses the "modern" color scheme of orange, not the traditional white, so I haven't used them yet.  I'll just use leftover white numbers from my Packers decal sheet.

 

[MK1603]

23 minutes ago, zak99b5 said:

It just takes practice.  Maybe pick a team you're not terribly interested in as a first attempt.

Buy good very fine brushes.  Using arcrylics, you'll likely have to do a number of coats.  Enamels are usually one and done--something to consider.  Some people also use toothpicks for fine lines (I do not).

Just relax and enjoy the process.  If it starts to get annoying, just step away for a bit.  And remember that little mistakes won't be noticeable when you're playing the game, and bigger mistakes just mean more paint!

I usually paint teams to the "close enough" standard.  They are small as you point out, and during game play (at a distance) they look fine.

For example, I recently painted the Browns.  They have five stripes on their socks and sleeves/shoulders alternating white and orange.  I merely painted a wider white stripe then painted an orange one in the middle of that.  It's not technically accurate, but you know its the Browns, so "close enough." 

I've also painted helmet logos on a few teams.  Vikings came out great, as did the Bears and Steelers.

At times, too much detail can make things look a little funny at this scale.  I think of it like when they draw cartoons, characters have 4 fingers, but it looks normal and better than when they try to draw all 5.

One thing I DO NOT paint is jersey numbers.  And I do not like the standard Tudor stickers.  So I use the decals (which include helmet logos that I will use as well).  I bought the newer NFL number stickers for the Browns, but I realized too late that it uses the "modern" color scheme of orange, not the traditional white, so I haven't used them yet.  I'll just use leftover white numbers from my Packers decal sheet.

 

Thanks for the advice again Zak 🙂 

I made a conscious effort to shop around for enamels I may look again for some in future. Even when I search for enamel paints online it always ends up showing me acrylics anyway! So probably have been subconsciously pressured into buying acrylic paints lol.  Unfortunately yeah I have seen that multiple coats are required but may help me anyway to get some practice in

 

 Yeah I do tend to overthink on details sometimes so I am using the pre-painted Tudor figures as sort of a benchmark to how I want my painted players to look. Slightly basic but good enough 🙂 I do like your approach to painting stripes I may do a similar thing I haven't got the steady hand to make little stripes like that so yeah that idea sounds good or I may even use less stripes 

I am considering starting off with the Colts home uniform, I like the colour and it seems like one of the more easier uniforms to try and replicate. I will also be definitely be doing Packers and Vikings down the line. Also would like to get 49'ers and possibly the Saints too to see how the gold looks! I agree with painting on jersey numbers, I am not a fan of the way it looks but if people want to do that to save some money then all the power to them! Just not for me personally

 

Very excited about the endless possibilities of painting figures, hopefully one day I will have all 32 teams

 

I have a tough time with the Tudor numbers stickers too, some have fallen off and are coming away luckily I have a surplus of them so can use if required. The "Spousal Unit" keeps finding numbers on the floor and on clothes but luckily they are cheap 😂 shame the water decals aren't available in UK. Hoping Tudor sorts out the license soon

 

Did actually see your Bills and Packers paintings earlier today while browsing, they look awesome! Also looking forward to seeing your Browns team when its done 

 

thanks again

[nefgm.org]

Very good advice from zak99b5. I would also emphasize, don't get bogged down on the details. If they satisfy your needs then that is all that matters.  

[zak99b5]

You can get water slide number decals online, or maybe BeeNutt (Bryan Nutt) can mail you some.  That's where I got the yellow number decals for my 30s Packers.

[MK1603]

21 minutes ago, zak99b5 said:

You can get water slide number decals online, or maybe BeeNutt (Bryan Nutt) can mail you some.  That's where I got the yellow number decals for my 30s Packers.

Good shout! I will have a look or will send him a message to see if we can arrange something

 

thanks