A Crash Course In Painting Skintones

Skintones! Man, I can remember the times when I thought skintones would be impossible to achieve. I mean all that I had painted up until that time were dinosaur models and a few creature kits. Don't have to worry about peachy skintones on a slimy alien! Luckily, I had some experience with an airbrush which I believe to be an essential tool for good skin tones on a one sixth scale kit. The reason for this is that the bigger the kit, the more area you have to cover with paint. This leaves more room for brush marks from a paintbrush and I detest brush marks! An airbrush can get you those gradual color changes and give your figure some depth.

I use a Testors modelmaster airbrush which is a pretty good airbrush when the tips are in good shape. I have noticed that after you use a tip, the spray may start to appear spattered due to imperfections in the tip (or a year's worth of paint accumulation that you just can't clean up). Some people suggest that you let the tips soak in water or cleaning solution when not in use. I usually do this when the tip is so bad that paint will not flow through it. I need to send some of mine back for repair or replacement because of their unlimited warranty. After you get proficient with the airbrush and can lay fine lines and get good color gradations, you should have no problem with skintones.

The only challenge left is getting the color correct. I learned to paint skintones from David Fisher. His technique was simple and it produced great results. I use the same formula to paint skin now but every kit is different in some way. Different paint ratios will yield different results. Plus, I don't want every kit to look the same! Each one has its own personality.

Now for the colors. I imagine that the brand of paint does not matter but I use Liquitex. This is because I know they have the colors I need and I know where to get them. They come in tubes or small bottles of concentrated colors which are thinner. I think you get more bang for your buck with the tube type paint although the thinner, concentrated colors are easier to mix and thin down. The three primary colors for skin are: Burnt Sienna, Raw Sienna, and White. Other colors can enhance this mixture. I usually use any type of blue or green to make dead skin. Red Oxide is used for blush shades and Burnt Umber is used for shadows.

For normal, Caucasian skin, I mix up equal amounts of burnt sienna, raw sienna, and white. I will usually cut down on the burnt sienna because too much will make the skin red looking. I mix these three colors up and thin them down with Polly-S thinner. A trick I use to make sure the paint is thin enough for airbrushing is to tilt the paint jar and then let the paint run back down. If I can't immediately see through the paint as it runs back down, it is probably too thick. Paint too thin is

almost always better than paint too thick although you will probably have to put down 100 coats to get any coverage on the model.

A little bit about primers. I use gray figure primer under all skintones. Call me crazy, but the gray warms the skin up and dulls it down a tad. This is because the paint is transparent to some extent. Skintones on a white background tend to be too gaudy for me. Anime' kits can be an exception.

When I spray the first coat of skintone on a primed figure, the paint will bead up. Therefore, do not be too heavy-handed with your first coat, because it will bead up and drip. You do not want drips! In order to speed up the drying time, I always use a hairdryer. This will dry the paint, but will not cure it, so the paint is dry but it isn't. Confusing? Just be careful how you handle the kit while you are painting it because you can rub the paint off. Try to hold the figure by a boot or something that you know will not be skin-colored. After you get the fig fully covered with this first coat, it should appear unusually dark. This is normal because you are working from dark to light. I lighten up my paint mixture with a little white and a little raw sienna and spray the kit again.

The next step is to spray in the shadows. I get a small bottle and thin Burnt Umber. I then take some of my skin formula and mix some of that in with it. This will make the brown color not as harsh and it will tie into the skin color better. I then crank the airpressure down on my compressor and get a fine line spray out of my airbrush. I use a big, artists sketchbook to test my airbrush colors on. This way, you can see exactly what color the paint will look like when sprayed because the paper is white. You can also practice a few airbrush strokes before actual painting. I never let the first paint sprayed through the airbrush hit the figure. After testing a few lines on a piece of paper, I 'draw' in all the shadows. Shadows will not be a big part of the overall skin color, but play a vital role in creating realism. Try to find all the creases and folds where you think shadows should be and lightly airbrush in the shadows. Don't worry if the shadows look too harsh because they will be covered with many layers of paint yet to come. For a female figure that is pretty much nude, I shadow under the breasts, lay in a vertical line down the abdomen, shadow under the ribcage, under the arms, down both sides of each knee, the back fold of the legs where the leg bends at the knee, underneath each buttock, down the spine, and sometimes a touch in each eye socket. Occasionally I will shadow where skin meets clothing to give it greater depth.

After the shadows are complete, go back to your original skin formula and 'mist' over the entire figure. By 'mist' I mean hold the airbrush back away from the kit and lightly spray it with paint so that just the mist hits it. This will tone down the shadows and tie them into the rest of the skin areas. I have noticed that after you do this, if you want to add shadows again, the shadows look really brown, so you may have to mist the kit again. You don't want your shadows to overpower the kit.

Ok, now for the highlights! David had a phrase that went something like, 'pretend your airbrush is a light source' which makes perfect sense. If you sprayed highlights on the kit in every possible direction, you would loose the realism you are trying to create. Where shadows fell into the creases and crevices, highlights will be on all the raised areas. Lighten your skintone mixture once again with more white and a touch a raw sienna. Now, using the same techniques you did in shadowing, lightly spray all the raised areas of the kit. For instance, tops of arms, breasts, cheekbones, bridge of nose, etc... You really can't spray the tops of legs so to speak, so spray the centers of the calves, and thighs and work your way to the outer, and inner edges letting the color fade into the darker skintone you already have down. Then spray straight down the front of the shinbone.

Right about now I will pour some skin color in a separate jar and add some red oxide to it. I use this shade for the cheeks, nipples, any raised area that needs a splash of color. Sometimes to get a pinkish skin tone, I will mist this color on the figure.

The trick in getting the skintone to look right is knowing when to stop painting. Just about every kit I have done, the skin looks too light. Most of the time it isn't light enough. Skin changes in appearance when other colors are added - like hair, clothing, etc... Sometimes the skin will look pasty or reddish. This may be because you had too much burnt sienna in your original mixture, or you added too much white in the lightening process. Skin can be warmed up at the very end by misting on your second darkest skintone mixture. You must be careful not to mist too much or you will obliterate all the play between the highlights and shadows and end up with a flat looking kit. For unusual skin tones, mix in other colors. Adding blue tends to turn the skin a gray color. This can be seen in the picture of the two Pumpkinhead II's . The one on the right was painted with the standard skin formula. The one on the left was painted with the skintone mixed with a touch of blue. A pretty dramatic difference. Any kind of burgundy color makes wonderful bruises. Look at Chatterer's skin. Burgandy bruises were feathered in here and there on his head. Sometimes, I will apply washes of darker colors to the face to really bring out the detail. If I am too heavy handed in the wash process, I just mist on some skin color to lighten the shadows. I painted Locutus of Borg with the gray skin tone mixture but I applied washes of blue to give him that deathly blue pallor. The Unnamable was painted in similar fasion with dark gray washes.

Finally, I seal the kit with Testors flat. This clearcoat adds a slight sheen to the skin and really makes it look real.

Dark Horse's designed by Dave Stevens and sculpted by Kent Melton, is a big, beautiful kit. I want to do a build-up worthy of their incredible achievement.

As I pull the figure from the box, the first thing I notice, other than a stunningly beautiful body, is that her head looks kind of large. I doubt this is a caliper-based mistake; the sculpting is just too good in all other respects. It seems more likely that Jewel Shepherd, the gorgeous live model for this kit, simply has short legs. At any rate, I would like to fix this, and since the face is so well sculpted, I consider ways to give the illusion of a larger body instead.

Game Plan: Sculpting I decide to lengthen her legs below the knees 5/8 of an inch. (Note, this means the Art Deco dressing screen will also have to be lengthened.) I'll also raise her crotch area 1/2 inch. This will give her long, sleek legs and visually add height. Also, I plan to increase the diameter of her breasts to make her upper body look larger.

Game Plan: Painting This piece is designed in an Art Deco style which had signature colors, grays and pastels mostly. And, since this is a very feminine piece anyway, I decide on a color scheme of soft grey and pink.

Tooling up First, I lay out all my stuff, like "Bondo", an auto body filler that comes with a tube of cream hardener. (The $15 one-gallon can shown in the photo has built about 15 models.) Also, I lay out a selection of sand papers. 100 to 40 grit, and an array of files, from coarse to fine, with various shapes, Cyanoacrylate (super) glue, an X-acto(TM) saw, which is what I used to saw off her legs, and an X-acto knife outfitted with a #11 blade.

Modifying the Figure The 5/8 inch section I add to her legs will have to be extremely strong, so I will pin with very hard, 3 inch drywall screws. The de-headed screws fit snugly into the holes drilled into the bottom of the legs, but loosely in the holes at the top part of the legs. This slop allows me to move the piece around a little bit in order to get the precise alignment. Once I'm sure my added length looks right, (Left Photo Below) I remove the drywall screws, slather mixed Bondo all over the threads, re-insert them into the holes, and hold in position until the body putty sets (about ten minutes). Now, I can start filling in the big gap with batches of Bondo. (Middle Photo Below) I am surprised how much meat I must add to her calves to make the added length look natural. (Right Photo Below) I file between each application with a coarse rat-tail file.

Next comes raising the pelvic area. This is a simple process of excavating material. I use a variable speed Dremel Moto tool for the big gouging. It has plenty of power, and outfitted with a toothy metal bit, makes quick work. But this job does require carefulness. As I start to get close, I switch to coarse sandpaper and go slowly. The towel's edge will require redefining as it falls back into her newly located crotch. The pencil line indicates where her crotch used to be.

Now, for some "Bondo" implants. Note that increasing the diameter of one breast means the other breast, even though hidden under the towel, must be altered as well. That done, I pin and putty the arm, and finish-sand all worked surfaces down to 220 grit, filling little holes and seams as I go.

Priming the Figure Now I'm ready to prime. I first wash the piece thoroughly, dry, and spray light coats. I let the primer dry, fill any evident pinholes and scratches, re-sand, re-prime, and finish with a 400 grit sanding. It's ready for color now, but I want the primer to dry really well, so l set it aside to work on the base and screen.

Painting the Base I begin painting with an easy job - the base. I airbrush it an Art Deco-ish light grey, protect it with Krylon Crystal Clear, and blow dry. Then, with my fingers, I smear White acrylic paint all over the protected surface, pushing it into the grout lines. I let the white dry a bit, then, wetting a paper towel with airbrush cleaner, I wipe the surface. This cleans the white paint off the tiles but leaves it in the grout lines. This process is a super-quick shortcut. I next paint the little diagonal tiles with a brush using a premixed batch of Deco Pink. Finally, a little brass lacquer on the bullet casings and I give the entire base a gloss finish with Krylon Crystal Clear.

The Dressing Screen I have a special idea in mind for the screens which requires recasting. First, I lengthen the screens 5/8 inch (to match the 5/8 inch added to her legs) by hot-gluing a piece of 1/8 inch thick foamboard to the screen bottoms. I then make quick waste molds of the two lengthened screens with molding rubber and plaster, (I go into more depth on the video) and cast into the molds with clear, pink-tinted resin. See both the original and recast screens.

This whole recasting process takes a full day, but I feel the effort will be well worth it. To paint the screens, I begin by masking every other decorative section on both sides, with Maskoid, a liquid rubber frisket (Left Photo Below) After the rubber dries, I simply mist both sides with white paint, not a lot, just enough to get a frosted glass look. Peeling off the rubber

frisket reveals the clear areas. (Right Photo Below) I seal, and shine up the entire surface, with Krylon Crystal Clear.

Now, with drafting tape. I mask off the decorative center portion of the screens and spray the borders with the same light grey as the floor tiles. Next, is the detailing. I want a leaded glass look, so I need a metallic silver paint. I use Duplicolor's automotive Chrome bumper retouching lacquer. It's a spray that dries fast, like Testor's silver. but is more metallic looking. I spray into the cap of the can and use a small brush to dip it out. I paint all of the raised areas to get the leaded glass look.

Attaching the Screens Next, I hold the two screen pieces in position on the base to find the angle that looks best. I reproduce the obtuse angle I decide upon out of foamboard, and then tape the two screen sections to this foamboard "jig". I run a bead of glue between the screens and tape the seam tight giving it about an hour to develop a really strong bond.

Once the two halves are glued up, I prepare them for a good resin-to-resin contact with the base. I put the screens in position on the base, and trace with a pencil. I score those pencil lines on the base with an X-acto knife, and scrape off the paint between with a small screwdriver. I also scrape paint off the bottom of the screens. Before gluing however, I first drill and glue three pins into the screen. I mark where these pins will hit the floor and drill receiving holes into the base. I spread glue over the entire bottom edge of the screen and over the pins and insert into the base. Plumbing with a drafting triangle, I hold until set. Now, back to the figure.

Flesh Basecoat I want to spend a little time discussing flesh coloration because I get so much mail on this subject. First, I never paint skin tones at night. Artificial light is virtually useless for gauging flesh colors. I always wait for daylight and let as much indirect sunlight into the studio as possible. Secondly, I mix my own flesh, because store-bought flesh, which is usually just a variation on tan, looks as dead as dirt. I mix a large bottle of a personal recipe, which is a colorful mixture of orange, pink, brown, yellow and white acrylic airbrush paint. I find this lively color imbues a statue with life. (see flesh color chart on opposite page) Getting good flesh is as difficult a color problem as there is, because each kit makes its own demands. In this case, I want to show a brand new pink suntan, on a still warm, freshly bathed, fair-skinned girl. This is a tall order, and I know I can only find this color on the piece by airbrushing layers, adjusting lighter, darker, pinker, or yellower until I am satisfied I've got just the right look. By that time, as usual, I will have built up a pebbly surface. I have a way of remedying this that I discovered almost by accident. Dipping my fingertip into the final color, I rub it in. a section at a time. with circular motion. As I continue rubbing, the drying acrylic paint begins to get tacky and sort of wet-sands the high spots, depositing that slurry of dry and wet paint into the small micro pinholes and depressions. This renders a remarkably smooth almost glossy finish.

Flesh Modulation I keep plenty of this final flesh color around in order to mix variations, because skin tones change on different parts of the body. Crevices, like the spine, and depressions, like the hollows between the musculature of her legs and stomach, can be airbrushed slightly darker, raised areas slightly lighter.

Next, I mix a very light creamy color and spray on bikini tan lines. (Left and Middle Photos Below) When I'm happy with all the various shades of flesh on her body, I protect the work with a layer of Testor's clear dull coat and wait overnight before I handle the piece again.

I look at the piece again in the fresh morning light and decide to do just one more thing before starting on the face. I want to indicate that she has just emerged from a warm shower, so I pinken her shoulders, chest, and thighs slightly. I then mist her buttocks with a darker rosy pink. This gives her bottom that sort of flushed look, as if still warm from her fresh bath,

or, as my too-perceptive wife kids me, still warm from her fresh "spanking". (Right Photo Below)

The Face Now for the face. Before I begin, I decide what I want. Since her pose is languid, I decide a "sultry" expression will best complement the sensuous body language. As always, I start with the eyes, beginning with mascara. I first draw a bold, voluptuous black shape, bringing the paint down low, into the whites of her eyes, bypassing the sculptor's edges. I want that sleepy, half-closed look. I go heavier on the mascara at the upper outside and thin to a tapered black line for lower lashes, leaving a line of the fleshy pink between the lower lashes and the whites of the eyes. (See eye drawing below.)

I fill in dark, red brown eyebrows, and soften the edges with tangerine. For eyeshadow, I start from the eyelid up using a rich pinkish-brown, feathering it out as it nears the eyebrow. But I leave her eyelids light. By trapping light between the dark eyeshadow and the jet black mascara, attention is focused to the droopy lids, enhancing the sultry look. Now, to really kick off the eye framing, I bring a swipe of this dark eyeshadow a underneath her lower lashes, giving her eyes a slightly bruised look.

Inside the eyes, I start out with pure white, but soften the corners with a dab of flesh mixed in. I paint the top third grey since her long eyelashes would cast a shadow across the whites. I really like the combination of green eyes with red hair. I'm not sure Jewel Shepherd has this arrangement, but...it's my model, not hers, so I mix up the brightest lightest lime green I can make. I draw a green disc letting the top half disappear behind the semi-shut lids. I outline the iris with darker green to help make them look reflective. For the pupil, a simple black dot that touches the upper eyelashes.

To finish the nose, I just drybrush a fuzzy line of lighter flesh color down the bridge to the tip. For the nostrils, dots of darker flesh, and a teeny, slightly darker line to define the outer creases of the nostrils.

I have a secret for lipstick - Liquitex Fluorescent Pink. I mix it with normal red, for candy-colored lips that practically beg to be kissed. I paint the upper lip and the underneath part of her bottom lips slightly darker. Here too, I tend to ignore the sculptor's edges, going just a bit beyond to give them a fuller, more pouty look. Just above her chin, I feather a darker flesh color. This makes her lips pop out even more.

Remember my preference for fresh lively skin coloration? Well, this may be a bit of a shock, but I put the Florescent paint into my airbrush and lightly mist the apples of her checks, also giving a very slight hit to the eyeshadow area. This simple move gives her whole face a really fresh, lively, ingenue glow.

Hair Using Maskoid, I brush two rubbery coats over her face, shoulders, breasts, and towel for protection. While this dries, I mix up a colorful tangerine color for the hair. (see color chart) I airbrush on a covering basecoat, let dry, and lightly seal with Testor's clear dull coat. Then, I mix up a watery brick red wash, adding a few drops of airbrush cleaner to make it flow. Holding the piece upside down, and twisting, so the drips don't run down the body, I flood the wash all over the hair with a big brush, letting the color gather in the crevices.

After the wash dries, I dip a Q-tip in airbrush cleaner, and wipe the wash off the high spots, revealing the tangerine color underneath. Now, I have highly defined dark and light areas, in fact...a bit too defined. My solution is to mix a darker version of the tangerine and mist all of the hair. This simultaneously lightens the dark areas and darkens the light areas. Finally. I remove the rubber Maskoid frisket (Left Photo Below) to reveal a finished head (Right Photo Below).

With a little of the light reddish-brown hair color, I paint the exposed nipple, lighter on the top areas, darker on the underside.

To mask around the towel, I consider the rubber Maskoid again, but it's fairly expensive stuff, and since the towel has a lot of straight lines I opt instead for drafting tape. Even with drafting tape's minimal adhesive, I press it on my cotton T-shirt to lessen the tack further; I REALLY don't want tape pulling up paint. Once masked, I lightly mist the higher edges of the towel with pure white, letting some of the underneath flesh color peek through the crevices.

Using the Deco pink, I brush two decorative borders for the towel. And while I've got the pink on the brush, I line some of the crevices. Now, I can remove the tape. While gently pulling, some places seem to stick a bit. These I blow with a hot air dryer to loosen the glue. In no time, all the tape is removed.

The figure is near completion now, leaving the easy, fun stuff. I paint her dainty little slippers with my batch of pink. I mix some of the darker florescent lipstick color with the pink batch, for fingernail and toenail polish. With dark flesh, I draw thin lines to further delineate deep crevices, like between the fingers and toes, and to help separate the clothing from the flesh.

Gun For the gun, I apply the Duplicolor chrome bumper spray paint, with a brush.

(dries in 30 seconds) and then line the crevices with black acrylic. For a feminine touch, I mix a pinkish-white and paint the handgrips to give them a mother-of-pearl look.

Gloss details I always know the piece is just about done when I get to this next step. I haul out the Liquitex Gloss Medium, and slather it over her little pink shoes. Just flood it on, and leave it alone. Even though it goes on milky and has streaks, it eventually puddles out and dries to a beautiful glassy finish. I puddle a coat over the mother-of-pearl gun handles, fingernails, and toenails. I also give her glassy-looking eyes and drippy-wet lips. These small touches never cease to amaze me. The contrast in surface really makes her come alive.

Attaching the Figure As with the screen, I scrape away paint from the contact points to get a strong resin-to-resin bond; the shoes, the floor, under her wrist, and where her wrist hits the screen. I pin her shoes in three places, with two strong 4D finishing nails, and a large paper clip for the narrow heel. I drill out receiving holes in the base, glue all contact points, and I push her down, holding till set. Suddenly....Voila! I'm finished!

You know, everyone comments on host beautiful the 'girl' is in this kit. No doubt about that. but I'd like to take this opportunity to point out two 'abstract' qualities, which I admire even more.

One, is the sublime Yin Yang balance between the strong "geometric" lines of the dressing screen, and the flowing "organic" lines of the figure. This is very deliberate. But even more astonishing, is that by posing her casually leaning on her Deco counterpart, this rather 'overt' abstract relationship is framed so completely naturally, as to all but disappear - a tour-de-force of subtlety.

Secondly, this is in essence, a "classical" sculpture, in that it is interesting in all three dimensions. In fact, as I turn this piece to the side. I find the elegant lines of the legs to be the kit's best feature. And from behind. the sensuous S-curve of her body is even more aesthetically pleasing to me than the frontal view. Any way you look at it. this is indeed a very "Special" kit.

Blood Creating Realistic Blood on your Kit I found a way to create the look and flow of real blood on your kit. It takes a little bit of practice to get it just right, but one you do you will noticed that it really brings out the look of the kit in the areas that where the blood has been applied to. Materials needed 1 Tube of 2 part epoxy you want the 5minutes setup kind.You can find this at AC Moore, Home Depot. 2. Red Blood color paint. Not bright red. Has to be close to a dark red. 3. A couple of Micro Brushes. 4. A couple of pieces of flat card board. Before applying the below steps make sure the figure is sealed properly. Because if you do not like the way things are turning out you can wipe off the Paint/Epoxy Mixture, within the time allowed, and not ruin your figures paint job. Ok first thing is open the glue. Now the glue should contain a large tube within this large tube will be two smaller tubes. When both tubes are mixed together they will create the epoxy. There is a U shape handle that pushes the glue from each of the tubes, cut this U shape handle down the middle. Doing this will allow you to squeeze each tube out one at a time. This will also be your guide in to know how much glue is squeezed out from each tube. Squeeze of a small amount of glue from the first tube onto the card board.Mix well the blood red paint in its jar. Pour a couple drop of the blood red paint into the glue that was just poured onto the card board. A little paint goes a long way, no need to cover the glue entirely. Take one of the micro brushes and mix the paint well. Once mixed, you are now ready to pour the second tube, now before we get into pouring the second tube, there is one thing to remember, time is a factor here. When they say that the epoxy sets in 5 minutes believe them it does. Now push the second tube handle down to meet the first tube handle. This will pour out equal amounts. Now mix them together until the paint and glue are one.Now take the micro brush full of the Paint/Epoxy mixture and place it where you like on the kit. Place the glue mixture in layers, and try to let

the mixture flow the way it would like to, try not to fight it ; You want to create the look of flowing blood.Remember to watch the clock. I find that mixing 2-3 batches achieves the look and effect I like to create. Let each batch dry for 24-48 hours before applying the next batch. For dripping blood effect, you have to pour a large amount in one area, I recommend doing the pouring close to the 5 minute mark, this way it will freeze in place, and look like is it gushing from a wound or creating the effect of a cut and blood dripping down from the wound on the figure. Do not touch the glue in its drying state or you will leave finger prints that will ruin the blood. Try your best not to do this. Trust me I did it and totally messed it up. Once dry, you will have created a nice blood effect on your figure. There is no need to seal the blood, the shine of the epoxy makes it look wet and realistic, Just like fresh dripping blood from an open wound.

GENERAL The use of nail polish remover to clean up cyanoacrylate (crazy glue), make sure it has Acetone in it.

De-Yellowing Deacls A Zip lock bag on a window sill for a few days whiles it nice n sunny. White glue dulcoat It is a simple mix of about 30/50/20, water-rubbing alcohol-elmers white glue. It dries fast, level, and leaves a great flat coat behind. Washing your Kit Before working on a Resin, Vinyl kit, wash it in soapy hot water using Dawn liquid soap. This will clean off any mold release agent on the kit. Dry the kit completely before using a primer on it. If you do not wash your kit first, you run the risk of having the primer and paint not adhering to the kit, and having the paint flake off it later. Using Primer on you kit before you paint Primer is used to prep the kit for painting. It is strongly recommended to prime your kit before painting. Your local hobby shop will have a number of primers to choose from. Note: ( Keep in mine the material of your kit, if you are working on Plastic and or Vinyl kits make sure the primer is made for theses types of kit or you run the risk of ruining them by applying the primer. If you are uncertain test on a scrap piece of material first. Not using a primer could result in the paint flaking and peeling off your kit. Also the paint could have problem adhering to the kit. One Part Putty One part putty is found in a squeezable tube. The putty is ready to use straight from the tube. Most popular brand names are Squadron Green, Tamiya Gray, and Testors Red, also you can find a product called Bondo which is found at an automotive parts store, it issued on cars as body filler. Paint thinner can be added to make for a paint like liquid to paint on to the kit to areas needed. Work time is about 20 minutes or less depending on the brand used. Two Part Apoxy Putty This is used on Resin and Vinyl kits. Two containers will hold the putty A and B. Mix equal amounts of A and B together very well. Note: only mix a small amount, as it will go along way. Once completely mixed the putty can be used for seam lines, air bubbles, and sculpting extra items on your kit. The use of water will allow you to smooth the putty on your kit. Work time is usually 1-2 hours. Setup time is 24 hours. There are a number of name brands on the market, Milliput.

Wet Sand Paper There a number of grits to choose from, the higher the number the finer the paper. The best place to find Wet Sand paper is Home Depot or Loews home improvement stores. Cut the sand paper into a number of workable strips and dip them into room temp water for about 5-10mintues. This will allow for the sand paper to absorb the water. The use of Wet Sand paper is to remove any surface irregularities that might be on your kit, with out removing a lot of detail from the kit. Also used when putty has been applied and dried on a kit to smooth out the putty without scratching it. Air Bubbles and Pin Holes (How to fill them in) Air Bubbles and Pin Holes can occur on the surface of your kit. This is due to air being trapping when the resin is poured into the mold. Pin Holes are the most annoying due to the fact that they are usually small in nature and hard to fill. I found an easy way to repair these. Materials needed. One part putty (Note: See General tip as to what one part putty is). Paint thinner, Jar, latex gloves, small paint brush (Micro Brushes work the best, See links page for their website) Into the jar squeeze a small amount of the one part putty, add a small amount of the paint thinner, you want to create a liquid like substance out of the putty. If to thick add a little more of the thinner, the trick here is to make it almost paint like, so that is can be easily applied to the surface of your kit. Once mixed well, take your paint ( orMicro) brush and brush the mixture into the areas where the Air Bubbles and Pin Holes are on the surface. Wipe off any excess that might occur. Let it dry for about 24 hours and then use wet sand paper to sand off the excess putty, to a smooth like surface on the kit. Removing parts from sprue trees I noticed that if you bend a part back and forth or twisting to try to remove the part from the tree, it usually causes the part to have stress and snap in half, or leave a large amount of unwanted material from the tree. I found two ways that work great for removing a part the tree. 1 - Using an X-acto knife to carefully cut the part from the tree. Note: Never hold the knife where the blade is facing toward you when cutting, always cut away from you. 2 - Use a specially made pair of pliers made for cutting the part from the tree. I find using the pliers is the best method. It not only frees the part from the tree but also cuts away a lot of the material as well. Storing Used Air Brush Tips and related parts I find that no matter what brand air brush you use, you can bet on one thing, dried paint will clog the air brush. I found that storing the used tip and

other parts for the airbrush in a 50/50 mixture of alcohol and water will remove any dried paint and prolong the life of the part. What is Flash Flash is the unwanted material connected to any part which makes up the kit. When a resin part is created in a two part mold, some of the resin could squeeze out of the mold, this excess called flash is unwanted material attached to the part. Flash is found on Resin, Vinyl and Plastic model kits. Applying a Wash A wash is nothing more than watering down a paint color to apply to your base color on the kit. Washes are applied to highlight the base color and bring it to another level. Start slowly and build up each level of wash. Sealing your kit first is very important, if you do not and try to remove any washes that were applied you run the risk of removing paint as well. Use a Flat, Semi, or Gloss sealer. This will allow you to wipe off any area of the kit which the wash has been applied to in error. Then mix 50% water and 50% alcohol in a clean paint jar. Note: (You can use Windex, Airbrush solution ETC ,you have to experiment with what works best for you) Next take the color paint you would like to create the wash with, pour a little bit of the paint into a clean empty paint jar, next apply some of the 50 /50 Water alcohol solution that was just created into the paint jar. Mix well until the water mixture and the paint are mixed well. You're tying to achieve a water down version of the paint color. You do not want the paint thick at all here at all. Than take a small tip paint brush, and apply a small amount of the wash to your area let dry and apply more as need. Note: (You can mix up other color washes and apply them to the kit as well to achieve the affect desired on the kit). Applying Weathering and or Tones/Highlights on your Kit Weathering is a process of making you kit look like time or the elements may have aged it. You can also apply soft tones and highlights to skin areas on the face and body as well. You are not limited as to what you can do from this process. You have to keep in mine to slowly build up this process on your kit, or you can over do it, causing the look of what you trying to achieve to be less realistic. Start by sealing your kit, with a Flat, Semi, or Gloss sealer. This will allow you to wipe off any areas which has been weathered or highlighted and are no longer desired, and or any mistake that might take place. If you do not seal the kit first and apply the weathering or highlights process to it and

then decide you like to remove it, you run the risk of removing paint as well. At your local Art Supply store you will find pastel colored chalk like drawing sticks. They usually come in 2 inch sticks. They will have an assortment of colors to choose from. Take some dry sand paper and rub the pastel color stick until a small amount comes off in the form of fine powder on the sandpaper. This powder will be used to weather or highlight the kit. Note: (Before you start to apply the power, wear a dusk mask over you nose and mouth, this will prevent you from breathing in the dust) Take a flat tip quarter inch brush and apply some of the powder to the end of the tip. Then gently apply to the area of the kit to be weathered or highlighted. Repeat until the desired amount of weathering or highlight has been achieved. Once finished, seal the area that was just weathered or highlighted, as to lock the weathering in place. Note: (More than one color can be applied to the area to achieve the affect needed)

HowtoAirbrushPainttoLookLikeChrome

Color combinations help achieve an airbrushed finish that looks like chrome.

Airbrush artists use a air-propelled gun to deliver paint to surfaces ranging from glass to canvas. By combining colors and proper layering, a skilled airbrush artist can create almost any look with airbrush paints. One of the trickiest looks to achieve is chrome, but by combining and building colors carefully, you can airbrush any surface to resemble a chrome finish.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need: Airbrush gun Air compressor Black paint Silver paint White paint

1. 1

Paint a dark base coat onto the area you want to paint chrome. The base should be dark enough to bleed through the colors you brush over it. The bleed-through is an important element because it will provide the contrast needed to help replicate the shiny surface of the chrome.

2. 2

Layer a thin coat of white paint over the black. Don't worry about coloring over all of the black. Keep your airbrush nozzle about 6 inches from the canvas and apply the paint with a side-to-side motion, leaving most of the black paint untouched.

3. 3

Paint silver over the layer of black and white. Use a silver paint that has a high-gloss finish. Aim for a thorough coat of silver. Apply it evenly and over the entire black-and-white foundation. The black base will bleed through as the paint begins to dry, but not enough to overpower the silver. The effect combined with the shine of the silver will create gradation and a reflective effect.

How To Create Realistic Teeth

hen it comes to detailing, it's often been said that the eyes make or break a paintjob on a face. Next in terms of importance are probably the teeth. Whether it's a snarling beast or a woman with a pleasant smile, you're going to want to do a bit more than slap some white paint on those choppers. Here are some tricks I've picked up along the way that you may find helpful.

Begin by basecoating the entire mouth with your gum color. Horizon's pink burgandy is an excellent choice for most figures. Redish browns or even shades of gray can be used for that diseased gum look that only comes from years of dipping into the Skoal. Drybrush any gum textures and follow up with a shading wash if you like. It's easiest to do this coarse work now before you paint the teeth.

For the lip area surround the gums, I usually prepare a wash of the gum color, and gently apply it around the mouth. You should end up w/ the darker color at the gums, slowly fading into the fleshtone as you move out of and around the mouth. Do this even if you'll be applying makeup to the figure later, because lipstick seldom covers every bit of this area near the mouth.

Once the gums are finished, you're ready to cut in the teeth. One mistake that beginners make is to simple paint all the teeth at once. It's important to paint each tooth individually so that the gums surround each tooth. There should be a crisp, thin, line of pink between each tooth when you are done. I basecoat my teeth with Polly-S Frost Ivory using an appropriately small brush and a steady hand.

Now that the teeth are blocked in, your mouth should start to come alive. Still, those teeth probably don't look quite right, especially if you're working on a monster. I don't think there have been many official studies, but it's fairly common knowledge that monsters seldom brush or floss. To simulate this appauling lack of oral hygine, we need to paint in some plaque!

At this point I prepare a wash of Polly-S Canine Yellow Brown, it's a light Sienna-type color. I begin by applying the wash around the root of each tooth. Pull the wash up along each tooth. The result should be a yellowish stain around the base of the tooth that fades as you near the tip. The tip of the tooth can by either the original ivory color, or more yellowed depending on your preference and how thickly you have applied the wash. If you find that you've applied the wash too heavily, you can always drybrush some of the ivory back on the tooth very lightly.

That's the basic recipe for teeth, and it's applicable to a great many characters and monsters. All figure kits should have plaque to some extent, well maybe not if you're working on a kit of Pamela Anderson. Still, some monsters may need a little extra kick to put them over the top. A buddy of mine who works at a dental lab has had the dubious honor of working on replacement teeth for zoo specimens. He noted that all of the so-called "blood beasts," lions, tigers, etc. have an orange cast to their teeth, presumably blood stains that have worked into the enamel over time. When I'm working on a critter that's diet is somewhat questionable, I'll

finish up the tooth with a very thin wash of orange over the plaque work I've already applied. The end result is fairly convincing!

So that's it in a nutshell! The same technique for painting individual teeth is equally applicable for nails. For normal humans, you will want to replace the canine yellow wash with a wash of fleshtone. The wash should be more uniform over the entire nail, with only the edge of the nail left in the base ivory color. For talons or claws, you might want to try following the tooth procedure exactly, even down to the finishing orange wash. Of coarse if your kit came with a set of Lee Press-on Nails, then this discussion is entirely academic!

One last thing that probably doesn't need to be mentioned, but I will anyway for the benefit of beginners; you should seal your paintjob on the mouth and nails with a generous gloss coating. Fingernails tend to have a semi-gloss sheen to them, while the mouth should look wet when finished. I usually brush in Polly-S gloss coat as a finishing touch on a completed kit.

GettingStartedwith

ResinKits

hat is a Garage kit? Do you fondly remember all the monsters in your favorite Science Fiction and Horror movies? Have you ever longed to build a model of the evil aliens from Invasion of the Saucermen or the creature creations of master animator Ray Harryhausen? Well, thanks to modern molding and casting materials and a group of industrious individuals from all corners of the world, there are kits available of more aliens, monsters and creatures than you may have ever imagined!

Garage Kits were essentially resin castings of sculptures created and molded in the garages or basements of talented fans of Science Fiction and Horror films. However, in recent years Garage Kits have gone from being an interesting modeling phenomenon to a full-fledged industry with companies like Horizon, Screamin' and Geometric producing an astounding array of subjects in resin and vinyl. Today, the term Garage Kit encompasses everything from high-quality kits from large manufacturers to the individually produced, very limited edition resin kits from the guy down the street. Often it will be the individual producer that provides the more obscure and interesting characters.

I'll be covering the pitfalls and pleasures of those kits produced by amateurs because of their interest in their subjects, rather than for the money they can make. Although the accuracy or quality of these kits may be slightly lacking, the challenge and anticipation of crafting that creature that haunted your childhood dreams can go a long way in overcoming these distractions. Of course, this will be a "worst case scenario" with many different problems cropping up in one kit. Most kits are not quite this challenging, but it's best to know everything you might face and be prepared to correct it.

Kit Preparation While the large manufacturers of vinyl and resin kits have become experts in quality control, the small, home based kit producers can offer product that varies widely in quality from creator to creator and even from kit to kit. It pays to inspect any kit you plan on buying very carefully, since the quality of the casting will not only affect your final piece, but how much time you will spend in correcting flaws and details. However, inspection isn't always an option since many kits are only available by mail. Many garage kits don't come in nice boxes with interesting art either, they have been known to come in a plastic bag with no instruction sheet and it's up to you to figure out how all the parts go together. So, a bit of knowledge about your subject and some modeling knowledge will come in handy.

Cleaning up The best way to start your project is with a bath. Using a mild soap and warm water, carefully wash off all parts to eliminate any mold release agent (and there could be quite a bit). Handle thin, fragile looking parts with extreme care since the resin can be brittle and break easily. Because of the manual nature of casting garage kits, there can be excessive amounts of flash,

but be careful in removing it. Sometimes it can be difficult to distinguish between what is flash and what is intended to be detail. This is where knowledge of your subject will serve you well.

1A. Right out of the box. These areall the parts for the resin Ymir as they

came. Note the flash on several of the parts. Depending upon the quality

of the resin used for casting, it can be brittle, so handle it with care.

1B. Many flaws show up as bubbles and pinholes which are caused by

air bubbles trapped n the resin during the curing process. Some

flaws can also be caused by a castingmade from a mold that is deterioration.

1C. Heavy seam lines that occur ontextured areas must be removed carefully in order to preserve the

surface texture.

Another problem that plagues resin cast garage kits is pinholes. Pinholes are caused by air bubbles trapped in the resin during the casting process. Depending upon the quality of the casting and the resin used, there can be an apparently overwhelming number of pinholes to be filled in a given kit. A favorite method of filling them is to use drops of gap filling super glue. A simple applicator can be made with a sewing needle and a piece of dowel for a handle. Using wire cutters, snip the needle's eye in half (be sure to use eye protection since bits of needle will be flying) and glue the sharp end of the needle into a small hole drilled into a 1/4" piece of dowel. You will have a "U" shaped applicator that will pick up tiny drops of super glue and deposit them exactly where you want them. Because the glue hardens after a couple of applications, the needle eye needs to be scraped clean frequently. This method works best where there are only a few, larger pinholes to be filled. In a case where there are many small holes, I prefer to use Squadron White modeling putty that has been diluted 50/50 with lacquer thinner. By placing a bit of putty into a 35mm film container and adding lacquer thinner in small amounts, you can reduce the putty to a batter-like consistency and apply it with a brush. Using the thinned putty can cover larger areas of small flaws quickly. Since the putty is thinned, it tends to flow into the flaws and it doesn't clog detail as much as using undiluted putty. You can even smooth out the putty by lightly brushing over it with clear lacquer thinner, but be careful, lacquer thinner can affect the plastic. Often, if the pinholes are quite small, a good coat of primer will cover them nicely.

2A. Gap-filling super glue is applied tolarger holes using a needle eye applicator.

2B. An alternative method of hole filling, using Squadron putty, thinned 50% with lacquer

thinner and applied with a brush. This coverslarger areas of small flaws and doesn't obscure

the detail.

2C. Often, large areas can be lost during casting due to air pockets in the mold.

2D. Milliput is very useful in restoringlost areas and rebuilding details.

2E. Smaller details, such as claws andteeth can be lost in casting as well.

2F. Claws are replaced with Milliput.

2G. Missing teeth have been replacedwith the tips of straight pins.

Air trapped in a resin casting can cause other problems that don't become visible until you begin to sand rough areas. Bubbles that were below the surface of the resin as it hardened cause a honeycomb effect beneath the skin of your model. Sanding can often reveal these flaws which are easily repaired with thinned putty. Many times you can spot these problem areas before sanding by holding parts up in front of a bright light and looking for thin spots. If the depth of the flaw is too great, you can clean out the honeycomb with a motor tool and

fill the resulting hole with Milliput A+B epoxy putty. Using Milliput will also give you a chance to resculpt any surface detail that was lost.

Reference materials play an important part in this pre-assembly stage as well. Although most garage kits build up into good representations of their subjects, there are often some details missing. If complete or at least near complete accuracy is important to you, then back issues of Science Fiction and Monster movie magazines will become an important part of your modeling reference library.

Assembly More than with most standard kits, dry fitting parts on a garage kit is essential. You will often find that surfaces that are supposed to mate, don't exactly match. You will have to sand and shape mating surfaces to match each other. This is a result of the "non-professional" nature of the casting process in garage kits. Most casters do their absolute best to deliver an accurate kit, but every part doesn't always match up. Test fitting and shaping are the best way to assure proper fit.

3A. Draw an "X" on the mating surfacepart to be joined to determine the

center of the surface. Drill locating hole for pin at the center of the "X".

3B. Holding the part in place, use the overlapping of the "X" to mark corresponding points on the second

part. Use these points to make a duplicate "X" on

the second part.

3C. Super glue the pin, in this casea section of a paper clip, into the

hole in the center of the "X".

3D. Locate the pin in the hold drilled in the mating part.

3E. Even after sanding and shaping, gaps canremain between assembled parts.

Since most mating surfaces are smooth and without male/female locators, pinning parts together for strength is another important part of assembly. The trick to pinning accurately is finding the center of both parts in order to locate the pins. After you have shaped both mating surfaces so they match up to your satisfaction, draw an "X" on the mating surface of one of

the parts. Be sure that the "X" overlaps the mating surface so you can see its outer legs when the parts are placed together. When you place the two parts together, mark the location of the legs on the second part. Now you have reference markings to make a second "X" on the mating surface of the that part. When you drill holes at the center of the two "Xs", the holes should line up with each other. Using super glue, affix a small piece of wire (a piece of paper clip works well here) into one hole. After it is dry and secure, test fit again before finally gluing the part in place.

Of course, super glue is an absolute necessity for assembling any resin kit, but 5 minute epoxy can come in handy for attaching parts that still have gaps even after all the sanding and shaping is done. The epoxy helps to fill the gaps from within and provides a strong joint. Any remaining gaps can be handled with gap filling super glue or model putty. However if the surface you're filling needs detailing to match surrounding areas, Milliput Epoxy Putty becomes indispensable. As the two-part putty sets up, you can detail it and blend the edges into a seamless surface. It also comes in handy for replacing details that have been lost in casting or filling the larger holes caused by large bubbles in the resin. Milliput is very user friendly, it is easily worked and smoothed with water and it holds detail well.

4A,4B. Front and back views of assembled Ymir show areas where Milliput was used to fill gaps and replace lost detail.

Naturally, all these problems won't appear in every kit and as casting materials and techniques improve, so will the quality of these small-run kits. Once you've assembled your garage kit, you're ready to move on to the most rewarding part of the process, the painting.

Painting Resin kits accept nearly any kind of paint you'd use on a styrene kit; enamels, acrylics, lacquers or oils, or any combination. On the other hand, vinyl kits can be very picky about paint and it's best to stick with the water-based acrylics since enamels and oils won't fully dry on a vinyl surface. Once your figure is primed, you can test nearly every painting technique you know. A monster's surface practically cries out for washes, dry brushing, blending and shading or any other tricks you can think of. It's all up to you.

4C. The finished, painted creature standing with reference material xeroxed from books and magazines.

Reference material is important to restoring lost details and assuring the accuracy of the final piece.

Bases and Dioramas Although there is a new trend toward including "Aurora" style bases in recent garage kits, many kits come as "stand alone" figures. Depending upon how much space you have to display your creations, you may want to create your own base or create a diorama to show off your creature. Bases can range from a simple stained wooden plaque to a landscaped, themed base that reflects your creation's environment. Of course, dioramas for these creatures will let your imagination run wild.

5A. The elements of a simple diorama.Styrofoam blocks, shaped into columns

with sand paper will be covered withplaster to duplicate a stone surface.

Airfix multi-pose soldiers used in thescene help provide scale to the creature

and add detail to the base.

5B. The final piece based on a scene from the movie 20,000,000 Miles To Earth where the Ymir

smashes the pillars in the Temple of Saturn in Rome during a confrontation with soldiers.

If you're ready to take the plunge into the world of garage kits, you are now prepared to take your Science Fiction and Horror dreams and nightmares and build them into a reality.

RESIN How to get rid of Seam Lines Seam lines are usually found when joining two parts of a resin kit together. Example; attaching an arm to the shoulder socket, the seam line will be all around where the arm it is attached to the shoulder. The seam line will stand out and make the kit not look realistic. To fix seam lines use a two part epoxy putty. (Note: See General tip as to what two part epoxy putty is) Roll out the putty out on a smooth surface into a long very small snake, as wide as the seam on the kit. Then take this long snake like putty and wrap it around the seam. Wet the tips of your finger with water and work the putty into the seam. Work the putty until smooth and the seam line is gone. Let the putty complete set, which should take about 24 hours. If needed use wet sand paper to smooth out any ruff edges, reapply as necessary. How to get rid of Mold Lines Mold lines are created when a two part mold is used to cast a part. When the resin is dry you will notice a line around the entire part, where the two parts of the mold met to cast the part. This will stand out when painting the kit and make the kit look less realistic. There are two ways that work best to remove Mold Lines. 1- Take wet sand paper or a fine needle file and slowly remove the line. (Note See General tips learn more about wet sand paper). This is a really slow process and a lot of time is required. 2- Use your Dremel and insert a sanding bit. Dremel makes an assortment of Sanding bits. I recommend testing the sanding bit a piece of resin first the see if it is the right bit for sanding resin. Slowly turn on the Dremel, Remember not to fast or you could remove details along with the mold line. The slower the better, work the mold line until it disappears on the part. Note: (When using the Dremel always were safety Goggles or Glasses, and a Mask to cover your mouth and nose from the dust particles from sanding the part.) Removing Flash (Unwanted Material) from a Resin Kit Resin kits could have a lot of unwanted flash on it. Unlike vinyl this process can be a little bit difficult due the hardness of the resin. I found using the Dremel works best for the removal of flash from the resin kit. Depending how much flash there is, you might need to cut it away first than sanded down until the flash it totally removed. Materials Needed. . 1. Dremel - Cutting Disk and Sanding Bits 2. Safety Goggles and Mask. 3. Wet Sand Paper.

Using the Cutting Disk on your Dremel cut away the large section of the flash, Be careful not to cut to close to the part. Note: (Wear your Safety goggles and Mask before using the Dremel). Once you have cut a large amount of the material away from the part, switch the cutting disk to the sanding bit and finish removing the rest of the flash. Use Wet Sand Paper to smooth out any ruff edges that might have occurred from using the sanding bit.

Sculpting Female Figures

First, please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Alfred Wong and I have built models all my life. I build aircraft and spacecraft in 1/48th scale and figures in 1/6th, and many of my models are entirely scratch built. I started scratch building figures relatively recently. I have a Fine Arts background and work as an illustrator, but mostly as a storyboards artist and concept designer on TV shows and movies. You can visit my website at http:members.home.net/gototalon.

The reason I mentioned my background is to say up front that I don't think it is truly possible to teach someone exactly how to sculpt a figure. It has to do not just with being blessed with artistic 'talent' but also with a lifetime of training in drawing figures, studying human proportions and faces, anatomy, etc. You know, all that artsy-fartsy stuff! What I will try to do in this article is give people pointers and talk

about various techniques and materials.

Materials

I use a variety of materials; for very intricate parts such as faces and hands I use a specialized modeling compound called "Magic Sculpt". "Magic Sculpt" is a 2-part epoxy that is GREAT to work with. It is very malleable with sculpting tools, (I use just simple plastic sculpting tools you can get from any craft stores.) You work it dry, and it dries hard in 24 hours and is very smooth and stable, paints up very well with just about any kind of paint. Unfortunately, I have to order this stuff from Monsters in Motion in California, (I cannot find it here in Toronto, Canada). It's fairly pricey since you don't get much in a package, at least not if you work in 1/6th. Scale! So, I will often make bulkier things such as torsos and legs from ordinary plumber's 2-part epoxy putty, which you can get from any hardware store.

Now, the trick with this stuff is that it hardens very quickly and you also need to keep it wet to work it. I always just mix up a little at a time and build it up to shape and not try to get too detailed with it. For detailing I will put a layer of the "Magic Sculpt" on top. But, I have also done entire figures with the plumber's putty as well, so it is possible once you get proficient with it. The biggest problem with the plumber's putty is that it is more porous and unstable, causing problems with painting. You can expect that there will be bubbling from the exposed material after painting, which you must remove and touch up with super-glue, sand and then touch up with paint again, and yes - it's a pain! So, I do recommend the plumber's putty be used mainly as a core with the "Magic Sculpt" as a final layer on top. I have tried sealing the plumber's putty with both white glue and super-glue, but it still bubbles with paint.

It is a good idea to make some generic parts, such as hands, fists, feet and nude torsos as a master that can be cast in resin. I made a nude torso in plumber's putty, and a set of fists and a face in "Magic Sculpt" that I have used as masters for resin casting.

Obviously, you can't use the same face or torso for everything but I have used the same torso for 2 of my figures, and the fists much more than that. I found that open hands are best made per use, as the fingers tend to not turn out well in the casting process, being too fine.

Modeling the Face

At least 80% of a successful figure is getting the face right. If you don't have a good face you can forget about everything else, no matter how good the rest of the figure is. I ALWAYS start a figure by finishing the face completely first. Again, there's really no way of teaching someone exactly how to sculpt a face, you must spend time studying faces and how they are structured in 3-d space. Look at a face carefully and see where the recesses and high points are. My general approach is this: I work the basic face shape with the deep recesses for the eyes in one piece, then add the high points: the cheeks, upper-lip, lower-lip and chin, and build up the forehead as needed; working in the fine details as I go along. The nose is usually last.

One last thing; a woman's face is generally much harder to do as they have finer features than men, so a light touch is something one needs to develop.

Specific Faces

By far the toughest modeling I've ever done has been modeling the faces of real people. I've done two so far: EMMA PEEL (Diana Rigg - right) and BUFFY (Sarah Michelle-Gellar - left).

Again, careful study of their faces' architecture was the key. Ms. Rigg's face came together pretty smoothly, but the jury is still out on Ms. Gellar's. My wife, my kids and I

have differing opinions on my success in this matter. I found Ms. Gellar's face VERY difficult to capture. She has soft features, small chin, with a protruding over-bite and thin lips that was elusive to capture. I just did my best. Ms. Gellar is also very young, and her face, I've noticed, has changed quite a bit from the start of her series to present. My next project was FAITH, the series' rogue slayer and Buffy's arch-nemesis, so brilliantly played by Eliza Dushku.

Torsos

Once again, there's no substitute for long study of the human anatomy. But I can offer this important tip; it is something called the S-CURVE. The S-CURVE is defined by the subtle S-shape the human body bends into in ANY and ALL positions; with the shoulders and hips always pointing in opposing directions. (The only exception is standing at attention). The bends of the "S" happens at the shoulders and the hips.

Knowing that the S-CURVE exists will help you avoid stiffness in your figures. Artists did not discover the S-CURVE until the Renaissance and that is why ancient sculptures have that stiff, ramrod straight quality.

Hair

Although most hair on figure models is sculpted, I wanted to use REAL texture, especially considering the scale. I use doll's hair from craft stores, look for hair that is not too fine or too thick. Unbraiding braided hair will give you nice, wavy hair. You can buy them in basic colors that you can dye with

thinned-down acrylic paint. A lighter shade can also be airbrushed directly onto the finished hair as highlights. The trick with using "real" hair is actually mounting it on the figure. I use household contact-cement, brushed on thickly to the head. Then I work from the part of the hair outwards. (See drawing):

I have to warn you that this is NOT easy! (DO NOT DO THE HAIR UNTIL THE FACE IS COMPLETELY FINISHED AND PAINTED)! After I get the shape right and it is trimmed to the right length and thickness I use a big brush and brush on a liberal coat of Tamiya clear acrylic, this will keep the hair from flying away and give it a nice sheen. Also, when laden with clear "Envirotex" resin the "real" hair gives a most convincing 'wet'-look.

Clothing:

I do most clothing with "Magic Sculpt", but I have also used real fabrics, especially for capes. The best fabrics to use are lycra or spandex, because they have a very tight weave that works within the scale. Women's tights and leggings are a good source for materials. (Word of advice: Buy it from the store, don't just cut up your wife's leggings...*ouch! *) In my "Sorceress" figure, I wanted to use real fabric to achieve a wet, see-through look, so I sculpted and painted the figure as a nude, then stretched lycra over the body and wetted it down with "Envirotex" clear resin, the effect was tremendous!

Arms and Legs:

I make arms from "Magic Sculpt" but legs from plumber's putty. Use a coat-hanger wire in the middle to give stiffness. Take care in modeling the bends realistically. I use a lot of super-glue with Zip-kicker for mounting limbs and filling. Final filling is done with Squadron Green-putty

Painting

I prefer acrylic paints to oils, but that's just a personal preference. Use whatever works for you. Because of the scale, I also airbrush a lot, using 3 different shades of most colors. I also use chalk pastels sealed afterwards with a fine dull coat. Every figure employs a mix of techniques to finish it. One note of caution: Avoid OVER shading a woman's face and skin, subtlety is the key here! I've seen too many female faces and skins spoiled by the heavy-handed shading used for gritty male soldiers.

^ Faith

Sculpting Figures: Part 2 - Mara Jade Skywalker

This is a short follow-up article to "Sculpting Female Figures" which I did for this site a while back. In this case, I've documented a specific figure sculpt, which some will hopefully find helpful if they want to embark upon figure sculpting. Again, as with all my figures, the scale is 1/6 and the medium is epoxy putty.

Mara Jade is probably my favorite sci-fi character, and since my original Mara was one of my very first sculpts, I knew I could do her more justice as my sculpting skills have improved quite a lot since then.

The first thing I had to do was to carefully remove the microflorescent tube used for the lightsaber from the original Mara. I didn't have any more and did not want to fork out for new ones.

The next step was to make a rough core of the figure with inexpensive plumbers' putty. As I stated in my original article, I use plumbers' putty for the core of the torso and legs. It is cheap, and dries rock-hard very fast. Even at this early stage, it is important to make sure the basic pose and anatomical structure is correct. Since the plumbers' putty is very hard, it is hard to change afterwards if something is drastically wrong. Notice that the wire for the lightsaber lighting is already embedded in the putty, running from one leg up to one arm.

The next and most important thing to do was the head. The face is sculpted from the excellent "MagicSculp" putty (I talked about this stuff from the original article), which is just a fabulous productit really IS magic! The rest of the head is simple plumbers' putty again. But again, the shape of the head needs to be right, even though it will be covered with hair. The "MagicSculp" is then used to coat the torso and legs core, and the details worked into that top coat. The head is painted and totally finished separately.

At right, the "kit" of the figure is ready to go. The right arm, body and legs are in one piece finished with "MagicSculp", with the head and left arm as separate attachments. The right arm is part of the body because it carries the wire for the lightsaber. Once the parts are painted and assembled, the lightsaber is made from styrene tubes, and the "blade" is a dyed styrene tube fitting over the microflorescent light. The wiring does require some sacrifices in accuracy as far as the actual handle of the saber goes, but I feel the effect of lit blade is worth it, as can be seen in the pics of the finished figure.

Airbrushing Skin and Stone I am going to demonstrate airbrushing techniques for getting realistic skin tones, and how to get a realistic stone effect with an airbrush. I would like to start by thanking artist David Fisher for his videos, which are great teaching aids. From which the skin tone techniques, that I am demonstrating, were learned from. I also want beginners to know that these techniques are not as difficult as they may appear so do not let it intimidate you. Go ahead and give it a try.

First you are going to need some equipment to get started. You will need your choice of airbrushes fuse whatever type or brand that you are comfortable with). An air source is also needed, whether it is canned air an air tank, or a compressor. Your choice of paints and thinners. (For this article I will be using Liquitex acrylic paints.) Plus something to mix your colors in, and to mix them with. At this point you should be set to go.

I am going to demonstrate creating a stone affect on Industrial Resin Craft's Wolfman gargoyle figure. Creating a stone affect is rather easy and I find it a lot of fun. Because there is no right or wrong way it should look, so you can let your imagination run wild.

I am going to attempt to create a layered sandstone effect on this kit. I started with the primed figure and base coated the entire kit with a burnt sienna (red brown) color. I had to put on several light coats to achieve a good even base color. After the base color has had time to dry I mixed a light sandstone color with raw sienna (yellow brown), white, and a little burnt umber Chocolate brown). Once the color was mixed to the shade I liked, l thinned it with water and airbrush thinner to achieve a milky consistency. NOTE: Make sure that the color is mixed and thinned evenly, because if you have any small clumps of paint it could clog the airbrush and cause inconsistent spraying.

With this color I started painting a ringed layer pattern on the Wolfman. It did not make a difference what the pattern was, because no two stones look the same. This color, being light, will have to go on in several coats. Next I mixed this master color with a little more burnt umber to create a darker color. With this color I started by darkening the edges where the colors meet. I

also started adding darker areas to the ringed layered pattern. My next step was to mix a straight burnt umber, and using my fine line tip on my airbrush I started adding irregular line patterns to the figure. This gives the appearance of veins running through the stone. Once I achieved a pattern that I was satisfied with I allowed it to dry thoroughly and gave it a couple coats of matte sealant.

To bring out the texture in the stone I applied a glaze to the figure. A glaze was not applied with the airbrush. This can be done with a paint brush or soft cloth. To mix the glaze, I used liquitex gel medium and mixed burnt umber with a little black to it. (I want a very dark brown glaze.) Next I thinned it down with a little water and airbrush thinnec (not too much because I still wanted it a little thick). I Applied the glaze with a brush working small areas. I then wiped the excess off with a clean dry cloth. This brought out the recessed areas of the figure. To finish I allowed it to dry and then sealed it with a couple coats of matte finish. It is now ready for display.

Creating Realistic Flesh Tones

Next I am going to tell you how to create a realistic flesh tone. For this demonstration I used John Dennett's Miss

Tokyo '94 bust. First I primed the bust. Next I mixed my master flesh color. To do this I mixed equal amounts of burnt sienna (red brown), raw sienna (yellow brown), and white until I got a shade that I was happy with. I then thinned it down with water and airbrush thinner, as I did with the first kit. (To the consistency of milk.) Next I sprayed the master color on all of the flesh areas of the figure. This color went on in multiple layers to achieve proper coverage. Next I took part of the master color (setting the rest aside for later) and added a little white to it so that I could add highlights. To do so I sprayed along the top of the cheeks, the chin, shoulders, collar bone, the breasts, and along the ribs and abdomen. This gave very nice highlights. But I was not done yet. Next I used the color I had for highlights and added a little red to it, making a rosy flesh tone. With this color I sprayed a little on the cheeks, shoulders, and under the breasts. To finish the flesh tone, I wanted to bring all the colors together and tone down the separations a little. So I used my master flesh tone and covered the entire figure (from a distance of about 10 to 12 inches) with a light mist. Now the skin was finished. Detailing came later after the kit was dried and sealed.

I hope you have fun with this, I sure did. For more information and techniques on airbrushing, check into David Fisher's Model Mania video series. Again do not be intimidated by an airbrush, they are not difficult to use. Send any questions, comments and suggestions to:

Steel finishes are easy to achieve with glazes and chrome paint. The following steps outline the process:

1. Basecoat the piece with Rust-oleum Chrome spraypaint. 2. Create the glaze by mixing Liquitex Acrylic Gel Medium, black acrylic

paint, and a touch of Polly-S paint thinner or water. You want the glaze to be somewhere between thick and runny. The amounts from most to least are: gel medium, paint, thinner.

3. Have on hand a bunch of damp papertowels. These will be used to wipe the glaze away. Hard-to-reach areas can be wiped with cotton swabs.

4. Liberly apply the glaze to the piece. As soon as you apply it, wipe it off with a papertowel. The glaze should remain in the recessed areas.

5. This process will tend to 'dirty' the chrome up and make it look like steel. Some recessed areas will not be filled with glaze. Touch up these areas with black paint and a fine-tipped brush.

6. This same technique can be used for gold as well. The gold areas on the sword below were created by brushing Tamiya clear yellow over the chrome.

Tools and Materials needed for the WorkBench

I have found over the years, outside of your local hobby shop you can find a whole another world of tools and related items to use on your workbench. I am not stating that you should all together to abandon your local hobby shop for these places. I totally support my local hobby shops, I am just adding additional places where to find tools and materials to use. Please support your local hobby shops, by first going to them for your Kits, Tools and Materials needs, then visit the places listed below for additional items. Now that I have that out of the way, now let's start to list what you would need on the workbench to be productive in building a kit. Now keep in mind the below list is just a suggestion and not meant to be written in stone, it is not to discourage or frighten anyone into thinking they need to go out and buy everything on the list. If you are new to the hobby world, ask questions and then ask more questions. Research anything before you buy it, either on this list or on any other list. Trust me doing your homework will same you Money and a lot of time. Suggested tools needed on the workbench. 1. Assortment of Paint Brushes. Tips can Range from 0/5 and higher 2. Paint, Paint and more Paint. Also primer and sealer, Acrylic based on the paint and sealer (Water base paints for resin and vinyl kits) 3. Air Brush and compressor. Sears has a great one. Compressor sits on the air tank and fills the tanks up when it starts to run empty. 8 gallons will be enough. I use the Aztec Airbrush due to how easy it is to clean and change paints. I recommend doing some homework before buying one. Since the prices can run kind of on the high side. 4. Dremel, I think this is a must to have on the workbench. Especially if you are building resin and vinyl figures. You can find one at Micro-Mark or Home Depot for under $100.00. Also an assortment of cutting, sanding disks and drill bits are a must. 5. Assortment of 1 and 2 part apoxy putties. Used to fill in seam lines and air bubbles on the kit 6. Super Glue and a quick drying accelerator agent. Crazy Glue, Zap-Glue and other gules that are made with cyanoacrylate are necessary to assembling a kit. Also to speed up the drying process, use an accelerator such as Zap-Kicker. 7. X-acto Knife and blades. 8. Needle Files and also Wet and Dry Sand Paper. 9. Lighting, natural lighting, not florescent light because this

type of lighting can cast a blue light over your bench. You want to buy natural light bulbs. 10. Latex Gloves, will save your hands from glue, paint and other debris. 11. Safety Goggles - Are a must have if you are sanding cutting with the Dremel, need to keep your eyes intact. 12. Respirator with charcoal filters Also a must if you are sanding and cutting with resin, also use when painting with the airbrush. The dust and paint particles are not good to breathe in. As you evolve more into your hobby you will acquire more and more items to add to the workbench. For now I have listed the items that I think will be needed to complete a kit.

VINYL Removing Flash (Unwanted Material) from a Vinyl Kit On Vinyl kits you will notice a lot of unwanted material called flash. There is one easy way to remove the material, cut it away, but the trick it to heat up the vinyl first, which makes the process a whole lot easer. Trying to cut the hard vinyl material without heating first will be almost impossible. Once heated you will be able to cut through the vinyl part with any problems. Materials Needed. 1. Hairdryer. 2. A Sharp X-acto Knife. A number of sharp blades First take the hairdryer and heat the part that has the unwanted flash material on it, until its soft and bendable. Note: (When using the hairdryer be careful not to burn yourself and the part).Only hold the hairdryer for a couple of minutes on the part until it soft and ready to be cut. Then take your Sharp X-acto Knife and trim the part, remember to always cut away from you and not toward you. If the part cools off and becomes hard to cut, reapply the hairdryer to heat up the part again. Repeat for all parts until all unwanted material is removed. Change any dull blades for new sharp ones will help the cutting process.

Filling a Hollow Vinyl Kit

To give your Vinyl Kit more stability you might want to use a filling material to fill in the hollow parts of the kit. Filling the kit with filler will allow for it to be more sturdy and easier to hold and paint, making it more like a solid resin like hardness to the vinyl, without taking away the look and feel of the vinyl. There are a number of products that will aid you in this, Resin, Mountains in Minutes, Concrete, Etc. Resin I found that Resin can be on the costly side, and also heat up to higher temperature which could warp of distorts the vinyl. Concrete Do not fill Vinyl with Concrete, trust me, not only is it a pain to mix and work with, but it will weigh the kit down, far beyond what you are looking for. I filled Horizons' Fantastic 4 Thing with Concrete and totally ruined the kit. I guess you can say I lived and learned from this experience. Mountains in Minutes One method I found most user friendly and cost efficient is Mountains in Minutes. This product can be found at your local Train and hobby store. One thing to remember is mix a small amount of this stuff, or else it you can create an overflow which will look like a volcano erupted. Make sure you follow the product's directions on mixing it. You have to work fast here,

because this stuff sets up real fast. Once mixed pour it into the hollow parts, fill as close to the top of the part. Hold the part upright until the material has set and hardened, which should take a couple of minutes. Repeat for all hollow parts. Once all parts are filled you will notice the parts are more stable and as easily bendable or squeezable as they were before filling then. You can now glue all the parts together to assembly your kit. Filling vinyl will prolong the life of it over the years, by not allowing it to sag and melt. Also remember not to expose vinyl to heat or direct sunlight.

GettingStartedwith

VinylKits o you finally found that Creature of the Black Lagoon model kit that reminds you of the

Aurora kit you built when you were younger. This time you don't want to rush the job by leaving finger prints in the glue that squashed out of the seams or by gloping on a pint of green enamel as the paint scheme. But where do you start? The new kit is not even plastic, it's vinyl. Well, read on to learn the basics that will get you on the road to building and painting that great kit.

Buying Since you are just starting out you may want to buy an inexpensive kit that is fairly simple. Horizon has a good selection of kits in the $25-$45 range. Other companies to look at are

Halcyon, Screamin', Max Factory, and GEOmetric.

Make sure you open the box at the store and check out the kit before you buy. Find a subject that you like and look for an interesting pose. Check the surface for imperfections like air bubbles. Plan out how you would assemble and paint the model. Look for things like capes that hide part of the surface and make them hard to get at when painting. The easiest kit is one that can be completely assembled before painting. The exception is when the seams are setup so that they are hidden and you can paint the subassemblies, like head or arms, and then glue them in place afterwards. You may want to stick to 1/6 scale because there will be a lot less painting involved than if you choose a 1/4 scale model. Also, look at the part count since some of the kits can get pretty complex!

The kit shown here is the Horizon Hulk. This is a great starter kit because it has a great pose, excellent sculpting, few parts, and all the seams are easy to get to.

Steps Lets go through a quick overview of the steps from box to display: trim, clean,

pin, fill, glue, putty, prime, paint, and seal. Once you understand the basics of each step you should be able to turn out a pretty good kit. Next we'll list the supplies you will need to master the basics: hobby knife, dish soap, tooth brush, plaster, super glue, putty, primer, acrylic paints, wide flat brush, fine tip brush, paint palette, gloves, cloth, plastic cups.

Trimming

The thing to know about vinyl is that when it is heated up it gets pretty soft and cuts like butter. If you try to trim your vinyl kit without heating it up then first lay out all the different sizes of band-aids, the soap, antibiotic cream, and program 911 into your phone so you can call by pressing with your nose. There are two easy ways to heat up vinyl parts. You can use a blow dryer and heat up the parts exactly

where you want. This works out pretty well because you can just snap the blow dryer on and reheat a part whenever it starts to cool off. The bad part is that blow dryers often make a lot of noise. The other method is to heat up some water and immerse your parts in the water. Really hot tap water should do the trick. Use a sharp hobby knife and always cut away from all of your body parts. While trimming test fit your parts while they are still hot so you can pop them in and out of any sockets easily.

Cleaning When vinyl kits are molded a mold release is used so that the vinyl won't stick to the mold. This stuff is still on the vinyl and needs to be washed off so that the paint will adhere properly to your model. Dish soap and hot water works great. Using a tooth brush will ensure that you clean up all the nooks and crannies that make up the great detail in your kit. Dry off your model well after cleaning before going on. After this

point make sure to wear gloves when touching your model. You don't want grease from your hands on your model. Plastic gloves work, but tend to wear out fairly quickly. Cotton gloves can be used if you get the kind that won't shed cotton fibers onto your model.

Pinning To keep your kit stable you may want to pin it to a base. Adding pins to the feet before painting also allows you to attach your kit to a board so that you do not have to touch it's surface during painting. You can use pieces of coat hanger wire, nails, even screws to make pins. Make a hole in the feet where you want to place the pins. Stick the pins far enough into the feet and legs so that they will be well supported. Then fill the feet with a two part epoxy putty or glue. When the epoxy has hardened cut a small board and drill holes for each pin in the appropriate places. This will create a temporary base that you can mount your kit on when you are ready to prime and paint. After your kit and base are painted you can remove the kit from the temporary wood base, trim the pins to their final length, and glue them into the holes in the actual base.

If you need to adjust the stance of your figure you should take care of it at the same time as pinning the feet. Heat can be used to soften the vinyl and bent wire can be inserted into the legs and over the crotch to hold the legs closer together or farther apart. For more details checkout Steve Goodrich's notes on this subject.

Filling There are three reasons to fill your model. The first is to make it more stable so it won't fall over as easily. The second so that it won't sag or warp later. Third, it may sound silly, but it really feels more like a sculpture than a toy when it weighs more. Inexpensive plaster can be poured into the lower part of the body. Don't put in too much plaster or you will raise the center of gravity and make the model less stable. To get ready for filling, just glue together enough of your model so that the plaster can be poured into the lower parts. Make sure the joints are sealed well with super glue so plaster won't ooze out.

One other way to fill your kit is with Polyfoam. This is a two part mixture that heats up and expands into a rigid foam. Since it heats up and expands you need to be careful about warping the vinyl parts. You can use tin foil to line the vent hole so that none of the foam that expands out of the vent hole contacts the outside of your kit. The hardended foam is easily trimmed with an X-Acto knife. Make sure you use gloves when working with liquid Polyfoam and read the warnings on the label.

Yet another method is to scrunch up pa