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Hey Grunt - I had that problem big time on the first one I tried (not pictured.) I used a combination of paints - games work shop citidal paint worked best for helmets and bronze. I used Vallejo acrillic for the flesh tones but I didn't like any of them so I mixed and made my own color painting it on my finger till it matched my real flesh which I used for the base flesh. I painted them all with a mat black base first. then I used very water downed combination of the small starter Vallejo and games workshop set I bought and built on layers very slowly - as in one layer at at time let completely dry - then another - probably 4 + layers on armor and most of the flesh. the helmets have about 5 layers on them starting with undercoat, bronze , rust, pantina, oxidized green , more bronze, dirt etc. to try and get that real bronze helmet look. When I did that it appeared to smooth out nicely and blend better then the first one that clumped up and chipped as you mentioned. then I added a Vallejo matt varnish / sealer on it by brush very light. Then I added a bit of weathering dust in some of the key areas to get the pantina look on the shields helmet chest plates some of the dirt etc. ( not sure if I mastered that yet as some sort of smeared a bit but I will say the actual blends look more subtle in real life than in the pictures which is a result of my crap photo taking with a flash, so from a blended fashion and wash it looks pretty good. I then decided to seal it again around fingers and joints , face, places that scratch or chip again with varnish to avoid just what you where talking of. after letting it sit a day. so it was a balance to build layers of fine paint up without it getting bulky but keeping it durable and sealing it . took about 8 hours a figure but I was learning as i went so probably should be able to go quicker. I need to learn a bit better as the face Shown looked much better before I added the last varnish where it separated the blending a bit too much but it allows me to take the helmet off and on without it scratching or peeling off. I did paint the face a bit strong so the eyes and shades would show through the helmet ( almost like putting movie make up and eyeliner on to show on camera ( not that I have ever done that) as the first face I painted and I think the ones from the manufacturer get lost when the helmet is on as they are too sutble. anyway that is how I did it for this first approach - they do seem pretty durable so far. IF anybody has any suggestions or tips on what is missing fire them over and I will try it out if I paint some more. I like some of the detail I did but I think I blended and layered the shields so much that the work was kinda of lost in final product unless you are holding the real thing in your hand. I need to learn how to make the wash and dry brushing/ weathering pop more I think.grunt1 wrote:My hesitation is always picking a paint approach that works. It seems like mine end up soft/sticky like the oil never completely dried or the paint chips and flakes over time (acrylic). Yours look fantastic and durable. What did you do?
Jesse James wrote:Quite a few kickstarter campaigns working for toys... Chicken Fried Toys got their Dime Novel Legends line funded (personal friend created it, same sculptors as involved with HACKS, just waiting to get production moving along once Chinese New Year passes), as well as an Eagle Force line. Also, Marauder Gun Runners has a line of male and female figures that follows along with their already successful 1/18 weapons/accessories line.
Tack on things like Acid Rain (not crowd funded, but small/niche and "designer"), Hiya Toys' Aliens line, etc... Lot of cool stuff in the 1/18 world, if your wallet can stand it. Mine can, so I'm a happy camper.
Regarding paintjobs... Wanting better paint apps isn't very realistic. It's a labor-intensive step in manufacturing, something that adds significant cost, and unless the people applying the paint are artists, you'll never get "customizing" quality to the paint apps. You may get better, but I think HACKS and all these lines do pretty damn good.
At the end of the day though you're still buying a mass (even if smaller runs) produced toy, not individually hand-painted pieces of art. Customizers exist because that level of detail isn't going to happen otherwise.
Likewise I take the same stance on articulation... I'd sooner have it and notice it than not have it at all. Talk to Star Wars fans about that crap, and I put an emphasis on crap.