It has been some time since I have written an article for THE COURI ER concerning tips on painting and since then many readers have sent many excellent suggestions. Many of these ideas are incorporated in this article and, therefore, I would like to thank Stuart Schoenberger, Antonio Santosuosso, Wes Rogers, Daniel Warui, David Glick and Douglas Ziprick for their suggestions. Most wargamers I know use acrylics to paint their wargaming armies. The reasons are simple. First, acrylic paints come in an incredible variety of colors; second, acrylics are much easier to work with than oil paints and third, the drying time is much faster. One of the major drawbacks of acrylic paint is that the pigments tend to harden quickly on the brush and should the pigment get under the metal sheath of the brush you can lose the point of the brush completely, making it nearly worthless. Brushes should be cleaned after every painting session. There are two methods that have been suggested to me that I find to be excellent. First, "Brush Bath", a product available through Zebra Brushes is a brush soap which when combined with water does an excellent job of cleaning brushes. just gently work the bristles of the brush between your fingers using "Brush Bath" and warm water, then rinse. Second, and this may sound a bit unusual, Polly S Gloss finish will also clean brushes nicely. I am not sure why this is the case, but it does work. Just make sure you rinse your brushes completely when you are done. Having problems with broken figures or assembling pieces of a larger figure? Most hobby shops carry a product called ZapCap. Unlike many of your more pedestrian adhesives, Zap-Gap has a faster drying time and is less likely to harden and block the application point of the container. PAINTING PLASTIC FIGURES We have received a number of excellent suggestions concerning plastic figures and how to keep the paint on them once the job is completed. With the increased interest in skirmish gaming and the rising cost of metal figures, plastic figures seem to be a practical and popular alternative. While there are a number of conflicting theories on how one maintains a respectable looking army there seems to be a consensus on a few points. First, wash the figures in a mix of detergent and water. This is done to clean off the chemical substances that are used during the molding process and also to give you a better painting surface. Do not rinse, but allow the detergent mixture to dry on the figures. Second, undercoat the figures with a white latex base paint. Latex is probably the toughest, most flexible painting medium commercially available. Use a flat latex house paint to form a better painting surface. Third, paint your figures as you normally would. Some painters suggest acrylics, some recommend enamels. I have found either seems to work fine; it is more a matter of taste and choice after the proper amount of experimentation. Finally, most people recommend spraying the finished product with either a dull or glossy coat which again is a matter of taste. Either way the key advantage to a protective coat is to protect the paint from damage while using the figures. One final word; the new ESCI and Airfix lines have not been around long enough for one to speak with any authority, but the old Airfix figures had a tendency to become very brittle over a period of years whether they are painted or unpainted. From what I am able to gather the plastic "dries out" and is highly susceptible to breakage. Back to Table of Contents -- Courier Vol. IX No. 6 Back to Courier List of Issues Back to Master Magazine List © Copyright 1991 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