Welcome to the Strelets Forum. Please feel free to discuss any aspect of 1/72 scale plastic figures, not simply Strelets. If you have any questions about our products then we will answer them here.
Many of my later Strelets French Foreign Legion are of a very, very light color out of the box. Therefore, I'd like to paint them to better match the FFL on Camels, which are darker and really show off the excellent sculptor's details.
I only want to paint them one basic light/medium blue color. Maybe first a primer, then the blue.
Could you please recommend a paint brand that could stand somewhat heavy handling and not chip off too badly. I'm kind of thinking along the lines of the "Britain's Swoppets" quality with ability to withstand some handing. I enjoy setting my guys up in my Fort Zinderneufs, etc.
Thank you in advance, Gentlemen and have a great weekend - GC
P.S. VIP to Ukraine (Victory, Independence and Peace)
Give them a good wash in washing up liquid/detergent, let them get dry naturally , use a plastic primer, once dry , use the blue of your choice, key if you want it to stand up to handling , varnish ,gloss , and matt to finish, if you don`t like the glossy toy soldier look.
Give them a good wash in washing up liquid/detergent, let them get dry naturally , use a plastic primer, once dry , use the blue of your choice, key if you want it to stand up to handling , varnish ,gloss , and matt to finish, if you don`t like the glossy toy soldier look.
Thank you so much, Alan! I recall your FFL in your fort. I really enjoyed the Legionnaires relaxing and having a meal. I wish I could find the Contributions, but the S*R site appears to be on hold for a while.
May I ask, please, Alan, what brands of paints to you like best? The last time I painted some figures was back in about 1989 and there are now so many new brands to choose from.
I am quite open minded with paints, Humbrol is my usual choice for oil based, Wargames foundry, Citadel ,Vallejo to name but three acrylics , they are all pretty good.
I agree good wash in detergent.
I use a matte primer from Halfords as it’s cheaper and sticks very well to both metal and plastic miniatures.
I personally use a lot of citadel paints as they are easily available in the UK. They’ve seemed to stand up to the kid’s handling them also. They also do a contrast range which may appeal, there are plenty of videos on YouTube about them.
I believe they also do undercoat sprays in certain colours but I believe they are a bit pricey.
I also agree with the gloss followed by matte varnish but I haven’t done that to any of mine as of yet and the paint still holds.
Hope this helps. Happy painting
A small, but important point that I'd suggest in addition to Alan's and Jimmy's suggestion for a good wash is a good rinse afterwards. I triple rinse mine afterwards, in warm and/or cool water, to be sure to remove any residual detergent. I find it crucial prior to undercoating, particularly as I use acrylic paint.
The old trick of mixing a bit of PVA glue with your paint may be a good idea in your case. Just a little bit applied as a wash before the undercoat or with the undercoat. You don't want it to become gluggy!