Its about time I started to add figures to my models but I have never done any before. I have the following kits in the works that I would like to add either riders or crew to:

HB T34-42
Tam M10
HB captured KV1 upgunned (I forget the designation)

Any recommendations for first shot at it? I am not planning on adding a base, so I need them to be contained on the tank.

All thoughts welcome.

My favorite figures and best outcome have been with the Dartmoor and Art of War(squad48) figures. Love them guys.
The detail sculpted on the figures allows them to practically paint themselves. Get them right here at Track48. HTH

...is good quality sculpting in the first place, thats why I try to use Dartmoor figures, I like the Art of War tank crews but they are a bit pricey for my tastes.

That said, if these are the first figures you are going to try painting then why not grab a couple of the much-maligned Tamiya sets, they do Russian figures which include a couple of tank-riders I think.

They may be on the short side but in or on a tank as crew and riders that shouldn't really be too noticable, and remember that not everyone is 6 feet tall!

The other bonus is you get a lot of personal equipment and small-arms with the Tamiya sets.

Might be worth practicing your art with cheap styrene figures before investing in more expensive metal and resin ones.

Regards.

Les/J99 ex-Jackal Squadron Webmaster

Pat,

I was a little leery of painting figures myself but I took the plunge when I did my Skybow Tiger I build. These are my first attempt at figure painting (Warriors tiger Crew).



I used Vallejo paints and used the recommendations for uniform color here

http://www.coloradominiatures.com/index.asp?PageAction=Custom&ID=5

Painting figures is pretty easy with acrylics. You just layer the shades of the thinned colors to get the highlight/shadow effect. The shading concept is illustrated here



Erik

I am almost done the figures for my pershing, i will have to post them when i get home tonight.

Id i gress...
I like the above link posted, i use vallejo paints. Also the gamers have good quality paont, the P3 stuff, games workshop etc the acrylics are very easy to work with. They have bizzare anames like snot green. Their inks are really good. They have a flesh was that really works well for a quick but convincing colour for hands. And in 1/48 the people are pretty small so you can get away with more. The gamers paints are also very durable and the work with the vallejo without problems. You can cover one with the other.

Figurse raly add life to the model, in my humble opinion!

Paul

It's funny to note that Squad48 figures' prices remain around the $20 mark, but the number of figures you get has declined from 5, to 3, and now 1 with a couple heads

Bruce, you seem to be very familiar with the Plano HobbyTown store. What line of figure paints do they carry there? I think I remember seeing Citadel but no Vallejo, correct? Anybody use the GW paints for figures?

GW, Citadel, P3 and vallejo, i use them all. The GW and citadel are the samething really. Nice pigments, go on easy wash with h2o. Best part is they are very durable, as gamers play with their figures (it had to said). You can thin them and do washes or thin layers. I like their inks. A little pricy but one bottle goes a long way.

Paul