Small Scale Military Headquarters

Today, I got home and my custom Russian tanker gear items came in the mail from Picklehaube. (http://www.warbird-photos.com/gpxd/view ... ian+tanker)
It's like when you were a kid and you got that toy you had been waiting for and could not wait to play with it! Great feeling!

But before I get to use it with my T-34 tank, I need to paint them.
Pickelhaube - what type of material do you use to make your custom items?

For those that have gotten Pickelhaube's items, what is the best type of paint to use on them?

Before you paint them, what do you use to get all the flashing stuff off the items?

Any links to prior discussions on the board or tips that you use would be helpful to me.
Thanks very much!
Razor

Razor,

Assuming Pickelhaube hasn't significantly changed his methods, his stuff is usually cast with resin,. On this material, you can use both acrylic and lacquer (oil-based) paints. I have used both types of paints on his stuff that I have built.

In terms of painting procedure, I usually follow this process with Pickelhaube's materials (or any other cast with resin):

1) Trim or sand off any flash or excess material from the moulding process. 150 grit or finer sand paper works well for this.
2) Sand down or fill in any air bubble holes with putty and let dry.
3) Sand down any further irregularities from the putty and polish the surfaces with a fine-grit sand paper like 1500 grit.
4) Paint the part with a primer coating (gray or white depending on what the primary color will be).
5) Paint the actual base color and let dry, applying additional coats as necessary.
6) Detail and weather the part as desired.

I almost always use acrylic paints now and swear by the Tamiya brand. The Tamiya paints are a little more expensive than Testors, but always seem to apply better. Hope all this helps

Tman,
Thanks very much! Exactly what I was looking for. I have had little experience painting. On the 1/18 figures, what paint works well for them? I have Indiana Jones Russian figures that I am working with.
Thanks.
Mark

Razor17019 wrote:On the 1/18 figures, what paint works well for them?

Razor, I would stick with the acrylic paints for action figures. If not Tamiya, then Testors or another brand. I've just had better luck with the Tamiya stuff on action figures. Absolutely do not use lacquer paints on figures as they do not bond well to the soft plastics and will remain sticky. You may still get that effect even with acrylic paints, but in general they go on and dry without issue.

Before painting, I would give the figure a thorough scrubbing with warm soapy water to ensure any oils, dirt, etc. are removed. If you can easily separate some of the limbs, that will make painting easier. The "boil-&-pop" method works best for this: basically soak the figure in very warm/boiling water for a minute or so to soften the plastics, then the limbs will be easier to "pop" out or separate.

Also remember to clean your accessory parts from Pickelhaube in warm soapy water after you have them sanded, but before you paint them. (I forgot to mention that in my previous post!)

If you get the acrylic paint on, don't like your work, and want to remove it, then soak the figure in rubbing alcohol and scrub off the paint with an old tooth brush, qtips, pipe cleaner, a sponge, or whatever. Rubbing alcohol (usually 70% or above solution) is good for removing acrylic paints as paint thinner won't really work.