Though the focus of the article pertains to the painting of 6mm figures, many of the suggestions and techniques are applicable to virtually any figure gaming scale. It is my hope to present a basic guide to getting started, provide some tips, and simplify the task of producing figures to an acceptable standard. Much of what follows is based on many, many figures painted and imparts my many personal preferences regarding materials and technique. In time, I will add photos which will serve as a walkthrough to further illustrate each step in the following guide.
Brushes
As figure painting takes a very heavy toll on brushes it is advisable to purchase inexpensive ones and just replace them as needed. Realistically, expensive brushes (even sables) do not last long enough to justify their cost. Personally, I prefer softer bristles, but any that can hold a decent point are acceptable for painting purposes. Normally, the smallest size I use is a zero(0), and usually paint using a number one(1). Larger, number two(2) or number three(3) brushes are delegated to undercoating, drybrushing, washes, bases, and finishing tasks.
Paints
Fortunately, there are many fine manfacturers of acrylic (water soluble) paints, offering a wide pallette of colors. In the past, I have used Humbrol, Poly-S, Citadel, Howard Hues, and others. As the color ranges expanded over the years, choices were based on local shop availability and personal preference. In some cases the paint quality does vary, even within the same line, but favorites are quickly found. Once again, it becomes a choice of personal preference. A general rule of thumb is to resist mixing paints in an effort to get that perfect color. This avoids the problem of trying to match a color months or years afterwards. On occasion I have mixed paints, but these were relegated to projects involving irregular troops such as Cossacks and Opolchenie, where a "non-uniform" of characteristic colors were used. Enamel paints overall have fallen out of grace, owing to long drying times, paintbrush wear, cleanup, and the necessity to use them in well ventilated areas.
The task at hand ...
Step 1: Your Workspace: Try to establish yourself a well lit (preferably natural light) workspace where your pets and small children will not disturb your works in progress. Optimally, this workspace will allow you to lay out your paints, brushes, tools, basing materials, and figures. In the event that a permanent workspace is not feasible, then try to find the easiest way to store your materials when not in use. In the past, I have used an old breakfast tray (handles and all) for this very purpose.
Step 2: Preparation and Cleaning of Figures: First of all, using a small craft knife (eg. X-Acto), take off any excess flash on your figures / blocks (be sure to remove any flash from base bottoms, thereby ensuring they will mount flat to bases), then give them a bath with a solution of household dish soap diluted with tepid water. This bath serves to wash any residual solvents that may have remained from the moulding process and gives the figures a clean surface for painting.
Step 3: Temporary Basing: Start gluing (white glue suggested) figures / blocks to temporary long bases for ease of handling while painting . As stiff card doesn't effectively support the weight of the figures / blocks, I have found that using craft sticks (ie. popsickle sticks), found at any craft shop for a few pennies each are my preferred choice. Infantry stands (4-6 6mm strips) are then based on single sticks, whereas cavalry / infantry (3-4 6mm blocks)blocks are based on double sticks. A further suggestion would be to white glue the double sticks to some stiff card, thereby avoiding a potentially messy glue situation when gluing the sticks together.
Step 4: Undercoating: Paint your figures with a base coat (preferably black, but grey can be used as well), covering them entirely, and leaving no gaps. A recommended undercoat method is to use a matt black car spray widely available in many department or hardware stores. The spray paint though enamel based, dries quickly, and provides a good "matt" undercoat. Some purists have contended that acrylic paints used over an enamel base will not adhere properly. This has never been experienced by this humble painter over many years of painting.
Step 5: Base Colors: Owing to the size of the figures, quite often the base color will be the dominant uniform (tunic) color for infantry (eg. "Russian" green, "Prussian" or "French" blue, "Austrian" white). By including the above (for riders) with equine colors for horses (eg. Chestnut, Brown, Black), considerable painting time can be saved. Usually for this step, I will use a #1 or #2 brush, depending on the size of the area to be painted.
Step 6: Highlighting: Once again the figure size, to a degree, limits your efforts to employ any real highlighting, but two distinct methods have been used with considerable success;
Drybrushing Highlights: Using a larger brush (#1 or #2), wipe off most of your paint off brush before drybrushing. By using a lighter highlight color for this technique, this leaves the darker base color in the depressions, resulting in a good shadow effect. In the case of cavalry, drybrush the horses a lighter color as well. Remember, to never highlight any area that should remain black.
Block Painting Highlights: Instead of the drybrushing technique, by using a lighter highlight color, allow your brush to follow the lines of clothing (eg. tunic, cape, greatcoat), drawing your brush in the direction of the hang. Another simpler method, which results in a very good finish, first to "block" color. This simply means to use the highlight color to paint the area you have just painted leaving some of the base color showing around the edges. The effect is to deceive the eye into seeing detailed highlighting that is not really there.
Step 7: Detail Painting: This step completes the painting of the figure itself, including blankets, belts, headgear, packs, weapons, and flesh. Quite often this requires the use of a smaller brush (#0 or #1). At this point some prefer to give the figures a quick coat of finishing before final basing, but that remains a personal choice and not required.
Step 8: Figure Basing: Carefully remove the painted figures from your temporary painting bases. It can be noted that these painting bases can be used time and time again, so do not dispose of them unless they are no longer usable. Your base sizes will be governed by the ruleset you use. Basing materials can range from balsa wood, craft "woodles", to polystyrene sheeting. Personally I prefer using polystyrene, which can be purchased at any hobby shop, can easily be cut to any required sizes, and accepts acrylic paint very well. It can be recommended to give the polystyrene a light base spray as a primer coat as outlined in Step 4. White glue provides a very secure bond (between figures and base) regardless of basing material. If any rebasing is required, then the figures can be easily removed easily.
Step 9: Base Texturing: Adding texture to your bases allows you to effectively hide or "soften" the edge or "lip" between your figures base (metal) and mounting base (wood/polystyrene). To start, apply liberal amounts of white glue along the figure base and more sparingly towards the edges of the mounting base. Next, sprinkle some grass "fleck", purchased from a local hobby or model railroad shop. Essentially, fleck is nothing more than finely shredded paper that is available in a wide variety of colors, cost only a few dollars a bag, and will last for years. I prefer to store the fleck in a small plastic container with a resealable lid. Next, tap the base a few times to knock off any excess (which falls back into the container) and set aside to dry thoroughly. After drying, paint your newly textured base in a color that compliments your terrain base color and allow to dry once again. At this juncture the textured base can be highlighted with drybrushing, thereby adding further definition to the base.
Step 10: Finishing: When it comes to finishing varnishes, I prefer using a matt finish and for the best results so far it is the Poly-S Flat finish. This flat finish dries clear, matt, and gives very good protection. For good measure the textured base is varnished as well.
Conclusion: As you will realise that only the surface has been scratched concerning painting materials, techniques, and basing. It is hoped that at least a few new ideas or approaches may take some of the frustration out of painting and basing figures to a very acceptable standard.
