Painting is shockingly fun. Practice attempts

[mizzlekbam]

Just finished an attempt at C T. Nalen 1998 Broncos  wanted to “practice” so to speak with decals/facemasks etc

this is one of the Tudor “pro” figures I believe.  I really like them, especially at that price

(I’m a chiefs guy so who better to practice on then a Bronco)

observations:

1.  Gotta dilute those acrylics. 3:1 on a wet palette works for me

2.  You can make way more mistakes then I originally thought. It’s just more paint

3.  Don’t know why, but had a devil of a time getting paint to stick to the brass facemasks. May try prime coat. (Also used some crayola acrylic my kids have, should prob stick with Tudor.  Could be an old paint issue

4.  Speaking of devils LOL, those shoulder numbers!  Got one on and managed to lose the other on the newspaper I was working on. Hot tip use something blank instead of something covered in alpha numerics when decaling

as a corollary it’s easier (for me) to paint shoulder and leg stripes than applying decals  

5.  This wasn’t my first “go” by any means. Have been playing around with/painting the stock figures that come with Tudor boards. Figuring out what works and what doesn’t. EfH vids have been super helpful to this end

6.  Don’t go for perfection. When you’re playing at distance even basic work looks great. I spent/wasted too much time obsessing over minute imperfections. Once I stepped back I’m like “meh. Not worth it. Looks good enough”

[nefgm.org]

Excellent advice. Especially the comment about obsessing over the minute imperfections. Painting figures for me is just a way to calm down and relax. I especially love researching the history of teams and recreating them in older uniforms that aren't worn anymore or teams that no longer exist. When I paint teams it is generally from the 50's and early 60's before Tudor began producing NFL and AFL teams and teams from the defunt leagues like the old AAFC, WFL and USFL. All hand painted, stripes and logos. 

Edited November 14, 2020 by nefgm.org

[mccaber]

Thanks for sharing and nice job on the figure.

Interesting thought on diluting the paint.  I've never done that.  I'd think it would go on streaky if it's too thin.  I have used many paints and I seem to come back to Apple Barrel gloss as my go to.

[Carl]

I love your painting advice, point 6 is one that hits home to me. I would add some advice to painters to take advantage of different tools like ultra fine paint pens and permanent markers, they can really help with details.

[mccaber]

I use toothpicks exclusively  Great for detail, spreading paint, and manipulating decals.  For finer details, take a pen knife and shave the point of the toothpick.

On 9/16/2021 at 4:14 PM, Carl said:

I love your painting advice, point 6 is one that hits home to me. I would add some advice to painters to take advantage of different tools like ultra fine paint pens and permanent markers, they can really help with details.

 

[Carl]

That is another great tip Mccaber, I do something similar with those tiny bendable plastic brushes they sell in the modeling section of some hobby stores. I took off the tiny brush part and whittled the plastic end to a sharp point with an xacto 

[RickLM30]

Mccaber, I also use toothpicks exclusively.  Have been for years. Has always worked well for me.

[PatsSinceBirth73]

Very well done. I will soon be painting my first figures (2003 New England Patriots) because I want to begin getting all 32 teams from different eras painted and decals added so I can start a solitaire league. I rediscovered this wonderful hobby recently and I'm eager to dive into trying my hand at creating my own teams, as opposed to buying the already painted figures. I'm not going to be doing the Uni-Forms. So painting & decals will be something fun for me to do.