After hosting several painting seminars in 1992 at various East coast games conventions, I felt that it would be worth while writing some articles about painting miniatures. After speaking with Dick Bryant, the editor of The Courier, I realized that an article of this kind would benefit the readers. Painting miniatures is actually a simple process, the only skill being in how much paint to apply and realizing how to dilute the paint properly. After some thought, I felt that painting a mounted figure for this article would inspire many wargamers to paint horses. I requested Mr. Hood from Wargames, Inc. to select a figure for this article and he was kind enough to pick three! The figures are from the Essex English Civil War range and are all superbly detailed. Since I am very familiar with this period, I thought this project would prove interesting and since no individual figure was better than the other two I decided to paint and describe the process for all three miniatures. This would make sense since most people who paint miniatures do several at a time. The total time taken to complete this project was 6 hours with an additional hour for cleaning and priming. THE PAINTING PROCESS Figure Preparation This is a very important step that many people overlook. The time spent cleaning your figures of excess or unsightly metal which forms between the joining halves of the manufacturers mold is well worth the end result. On these three figures the horses had strong mold lines running centrally along their backs. These were removed by scraping a sharp hobby knife blade over the lines several times until the blade was flush with the body of the horse and the mold fines were gone. Excess metal was also removed from the ears of the horses and from the inner leg areas. Here the metal had to be cut away, not scraped. Mold fines were removed from the men also but there was little excess metal. A special tip to remember here is that if the mold line is excessive and there is a distinct separation between two halves of a figure it is best to cut into and scrape the tine as best you can, but be sure that the mold line is irregular and uneven when done. This breaks up the surface of the figure and makes the line less obvious when painted. After scraping and cutting, the horses were glued to commercially produced plastic bases using super glue. The surface of the bases were covered with white Elmers glue as was the miniatures base around the feet of the horses and the figures were stood in a box lid containing clean silica sand. This was used in place of scenic flocking for grass. The figures were left overnight for the glue to dry. Priming your Figures When priming your figures, use quality spray enamel rather than painting on a primer coat with a paint brush. When spraying, hold the can 4" to 6" away from the miniatures and apply 2 or 3 fight even coats of paint rather than one thick one that obscures all detail. If you hold the can too far from your figures then the paint will form a misty, thin layer or even splatter and leave an uneven surface texture. As a rule, use white primer when painting fight or bright colors on a figure. Use black primer when you are painting black or metallic colors. The three figures featured were painted with flat white Rustoleum brand spray enamel. After spraying, allow your figures several days to cure before applying your other coats of paint. By allowing the primer to dry and harden properly you create a better surface on which to paint and also reduce the likelihood of the primer wearing off onto your hands while holding the figure during die painting process. Paint After 16 years of miniature painting using enamel paints, oil paints, acrylic paints and inks, I would recommend the use of acrylic paints over the oil based particularly for smaller miniatures. Acrylic paints dry in a matter of minutes while oil paints can take hours and even days to dry. There are many paint manufacturers that produce a wide variety of colored acrylic paints. Most will mix well with other brands except Tamiya paints which are oil based acrylics. These will always cause problems when you try to use water based acrylics with them. These paints are designed to be used with plastic model kits and are good for that purpose, however, they are not suitable for painting metal figures. To date I have found that Liquitex acrylic paints provide the best washes since the pigment does not separate into clumps when heavily diluted. These paints come in tube or jar form and always have to be diluted with water since the pigment is very concentrated in these paints. For the three featured miniatures I used the following colors: White, Mars Black, Paynes Grey, Flesh, Raw Sienna, Raw Umber, Burgundy, Bright Red, Blue, Hookers Green, Yellow, Silver and Gold. I also used red, yellow and black pigmented inks on parts of these miniatures. I.For step-by-step instructions on how these figures were painted see below: 1. Flesh was painted onto the faces with very little care, some ended up on the collars and hair of die men. 2. The horses were painted their base colors. One was painted raw sienna, one white and one paynes grey. 3. After painting the white horse, white was painted on the collars of the men where flesh had been carelessly applied. Special Tips Thus Far Before applying any paint to your figure, add a drop or two of water to it. (hint: put a small amount of paint on a plastic plate or mixing palette. Add water a drop at a time with your paint brush and mix using the top 1/3 of the bristles on the paint brush). Avoid getting paint above the bristles as this will coagulate and shorten the fife of your brushes. Mix water with paint until you have a fluid consistency equal to that of tomato soup. If your paint is too thick you will see brush strokes in it and if it is too thin it will not cover the white undercoat properly. Be prepared to paint two coats on the horses and you must paint white acrylic paint over the enamel primer where white should be painted otherwise any washes will be repelled by the enamel paint and pigment will adhere to the raised parts and not the grooves. Paint the shirt sleeves and breeches on the men. These were painted using dark green and blue on the breeches and yellow on the sleeves and bugle banner. One saddle blanket was painted blue, one green and one burgundy. Care should be taken not to get paint on areas that have already been painted or will be painted with a bright color. Mistakes can still be covered easily at this time. 4. Buff coats were painted- white was mixed with raw sienna to produce a fight buff color. 5. Black was painted over the armor, helmets, sword hilts, scabbards and the stirrups. The hat and feathers were not painted at this point due to the fact that I was holding the figure by the hat and would only have to touch it up again later. Special Tips As you paint more and more of the figure you must become more careful with paint application along the edges where two colors meet. It is often best to paint the figures from the inside to the outside. By this I mean paint the clothes in the same order that they would be put on when dressing. This will allow you to systematically cover up any mistakes made when painting an underlying area. It is also important that you scan your figures for any areas of white primer that you may have missed. These patches may occur at the edges of garments where two colors come together. By trying to paint in the same order as dressing you can afford to be a little sloppy with the paint application on the sleeves of trousers then be careful at the edges with these ares when painting the gloves or boots. Paint over the straps and any ornamentation also. These details can be applied last. 6. Black was painted on the mane, tail and front feet of the Bay Horse. The bases of the horses were also painted black at this time. 7. Paynes grey was mixed with white paint to achieve a medium bluish grey color and this was painted onto the rear, hind legs, shoulders and front legs of the White Horse. The tail, mane, neck and head were left white at this time. This same grey color was dry brushed onto the musculature, mane and tail of the Black Horse as well as the black areas of the Bay Horse. 8. White dapples were applied to the rump and shoulders of the white horse. These were applied using a semi-dry brushing technique so as to produce a series of irregular white patches rather than distinct, even white spots. White socks were painted onto the Black Horse using this same technique. These were applied to the front feet only. The head marking on the same horse was also painted at this time. 19. A wash was made by heavily diluting a small amount of the paynes grey paint and this was liberally painted over the White Horse. This wash was also applied to ant white markings on the other horses. 10. Raw sienna was painted onto the boots, gloves, gun holsters and straps on both the men and the horses. It was then diluted and washed onto the faces of the men, buff coats, uniform sleeves and the bugle banner. Special Tips Washes are simply applications of diluted paint. A good mix is one drop of paint to 6-8 drops of water or until it looks like kool-aide ( a dark, translucent puddle of paint). A wash will dry lighter than it looks upon application. This is important to remember since often people over dilute their paint then state that the wash had no effect. By applying a wash you are simply spreading thin paint over a textured surface. Gravity will cause paint pigment to settle in the grooves when the water evaporates. This will accentuate the grooves and provide shading on your figure. Often it is just as easy to apply paint to an area then apply water to the same area in order to dilute the paint directly on the figure. Use washes to darken colors. Dry brushing is used to highlight colors and is really the opposite of a wash. Here you must coat the top third of your paint brush bristles with a thick coat of paint. Then wipe off as much paint as you can onto a paper towel. Do not rinse your brush. Next lightly dust the figure surface using short, firm strokes. If you apply increasing amounts of pressure to the brush you will notice more pigment appear on your figure. Only you can determine the amount of highlighting that you wish to apply. Use older paint brushes for dry brushing since this tends to be hard on the brush and will ultimately ruin it. Use dry brushing to lighten colors. 11. Yellow and red were mixed to form an orange- this was used to paint the sashes on the men. 12. Raw umber was painted onto the pistol handles, the hair and beard of the officer. It was then diluted a little more and painted over the boots and straps causing these areas to become darkened or stained by this paint. This stain was applied to the hair of the flag bearer which was still white causing the hair to appear a fight tan color. 13. A raw umber wash was mixed and applied to the faces, gloves, buff coats, orange sashes, gun holsters, burgundy saddle blanket, bugle banner, hooves of the grey horse and the entire body of the bay horse. This color is good for washing yellows, reds, tans pinks and browns. When the figures were dry a spot of raw um~er was applied to the eye socket area on the men. 14. A white spot was applied to the eyes of both the horses and the men using a fine brush ( 5/0 ). White was also painted along the outer edge of the blue saddle blanket ( standard bearer ), around the trim on the bugle banner and over the feathers of the hat and helmet. 15. Using the same fine brush, raw umber was carefully applied to eyes of the horses. Most of the white should be covered up when painting eyes on horses. 16. Silver was painted over the buglers helmet, the officers breastplate/ back plate, the sword hilts, bridle bits, stirrups and spurs. 17. Paynes grey was used to paint the pupils of the eyes on the men and it was also applied to the eyes of the horses. This was done using the tip of the fine brush only. Paynes grey was also painted onto the officers hat, the beard and moustache of the bugler, it was then diluted to a wash and this was applied to the silver areas, the white areas and the green saddle blanket. 18. The final detailing was done- red feathers painted the washed with raw umber. Dark green wash on green saddle blanket, bugle painted gold, black wash on black horse, officers hat, boots and bugle. Some black lining was done at the edges of the sash and buffcoat, horse straps on the bay and white horses. Some subtle dry brushing was done on the buglers beard using a paynes grey and white mixture. 19. Yellow ink was glazed over the red feathers, yellow sleeves, bugle banner and orange sashes. Yellow ink was also painted onto the white saddle blanket border. 20. The bases were dry brushed with a da-rk green. Yellow paint was then mixed with this green and a second dry brush coat was applied with this brighter green color. Yellow is great for highfighting green, orange and red rather than using white. Special Tips When painting eyes, paint the one that is less accessible firstand do not worry about which direction it appears to be looking in. When done you can apply the pupil to the more accessible eye being careful to make it appear to be looking towards the same direction. If the eyes don't look quite right, apply a raw umber wash over the eye sockets and allow this to dry. Be certain not to obscure the pupil when doing this. This will often make the eyes look better since it will reduce the amount of visible white. If the eyes appear too big or to stare, then paint a fine across the top with flesh or raw umber to make them appear partially closed. Painting eyes in this manner adds character to your figures since they never end up looking in the same direction. It also means that you only have to concentrate on lining up one eye only. Black lining is simply painting a fine black line at the junction of two separate or overlapping pieces. It adds a crisp, distinctive fine separating two colors. It is most noticeable on these figures at the edge of the straps on the horses. Inks are like paints but more fluid. They have a higher concentration of pigment than paint and require a greater dilution with water if used for washes. A glaze, like that used on these figures, is a coat of ink (usually not diluted) applied to the painted surface to enrich the previous color. Inks can be mixed with other inks and with acrylic paints. The banner was made from white note paper and glued around a wooden pole that was made by sanding down a craft stick. The standard was painted white first, the red was painted next. The white flash was then painted on. Fine black lines were painted between the red and the white to make the edges more crisp. This can be done using a technical drawing pen. The edges of the standard were painted last. A paynes grey wash was applied to the white areas and raw umber was washed over the red area. The banner was then folded. The brushes used to paint these figures were not real fine. The horses and the bases were painted using a #2 brush. The bulk of the work was done with a #1. (see diagram below for sizes) Some other good tips to remember Do not put more paint on your palette than you will use. Do not leave your brushes standing in the jar of water, this will ruin them. Clean or rinse your brush every 5 minutes or so, this win prevent die paint from drying on the bristles during use. FOR MORE TIPS ON PAINTING TECHNIQUES YOU MAY OBTAIN A COPY OF BRUSH STROKES: A GUIDE TO PAINTING MINIATURE FIGURES AUTHORED BY GARY LEITZELL. This book is $12.95 post paid and is available from G.L. Books P.O. Box 15834 Pittsburgh, Pa 15244. Back to Table of Contents -- Courier # 61 To Courier List of Issues To MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1993 by The Courier Publishing Company. This article appears in MagWeb.com (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other articles from military history and related magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com