Model railway figures
Entry posted by JRamsden in Addleford Green Blog
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WARNING! Snob opinions incoming... I've lost count of the amount of images I have seen of stunning model railways which are marred by less than convincing model people. Every modeller has their own areas of interest; some enjoy scratch building, some prioritise complex electronic systems and some just want to get down to running trains, all pretence of "finishing" their layout out the window. This is fantastic because this kind of diversity in approach is what makes any hobby interesting. But I do find it odd that so many of us spend painstaking hours recreating certain details, only to abandon certain others. In this case, the people that populate our tiny worlds.
Just twenty odd years ago you would have had very few options when it came to figures of real people. Before things like 3D printing were so prevalent we had to rely on crude plastic mouldings or white metal castings, all of which seemed to produce only the most vague suggestion of an actual person. But now, with the growing popularity and access to the aforementioned 3D printing, we have a greater selection of possibilities. I dragged out a few figures I had lying around for the sake of comparison:
Above, from left to right, is: a Peco figure, a white metal casting from Langley Models and a chap from a bulk bag bought from eBay. The Peco figure is about as flat as you get before you'd have to consider it 2D and the bulk bag man is actually HO scale, making him smaller than the rest, the moulding itself isn't all that bad otherwise. In this instance, the white metal casting is actually passable; perhaps the baggy clothes and facial hair help to disguise an otherwise lumpy shape. That bizarre hole in the front would need some filling first though! Plus he has a handy peg for planting the figure on the layout.
The two figures above are from Bachmann's own range. In general, this range features possibly the most passable figures I have seen, particularly the station staff set (left) meaning I would happily plant these as they come. This comes down to the fact that I doubt I could apply paint much better myself. The cleaning man on the right is notably more dubious and I might be inclined to keep him somewhere out of the way!
Then I discovered ModelU figures. These are made from 3D scans of real people. As a result the proportions, pose and detail are much more realistic than the previous examples. Plus the company can easily manufacture in any scale by simply increasing the scale at which they are printed, the master scan providing all detail required for the jump in size. I have been buying these figures over time and decided it was finally time to start painting them up. Below is an account of my experimentations.
As with any painting project, I tend to start with a coat of primer, usually grey or white Halfords primer. I did take photos of this stage but sadly they were lost during the gap between taking and writing. I'm sure you can imagine what a primed plastic figure looks like! I tend to prefer white primer for figures. Then I apply layers of paint to add detail. I prefer acrylic paints and usually rely on my stash of Humbrol paints, although I'm aware there are probably better options these days. I start by painting the harder to reach areas and end on smaller details, sometimes using a cocktail stick for fine detail like ties or buttons. Often I find that most areas painted will require touching up later anyway because I'm just too clumsy and can't hold a paintbrush straight!
Below are my two test samples. The left image shows the figure with just paint. The right image shows what they look like after a wash of highly dilute dirty grey/black paint. The exact mix is always different and the results vary greatly. I always aim for the wash to appear translucent when applied to a piece of plastic; you don't want the pigments to be too overpowering as to just cover the colours already applied. The idea is that the wash seeps into the crevices of the figure, adding depth and further colour. I think the images below show how effective this can be:
See on the first figure how the trousers now have definite shadow lines? The face of the bottom figure even has a suggestion of a nose and mouth; entirely random and unexpected but it gives at-a-glance details that you just wouldn't be able to replicate on purpose.
Then I aim to dry brush a very light grey over the top. This highlights the surface areas and (I hope) acts as a nice contrast to the darker areas. It is easy to overdo this, as you will see!
Fired up with new-found confidence, I started work on the remaining figures. I'll put a selection below and you can judge for yourself whether this method is effective on the whole or not. I will also say that the close-up camera reveals details and colours otherwise unseen by the naked eye; it has not been too kind to my work which looks passable at a distance!
(I noticed, too late, on the figure above left, that I hadn't even finished painting his chest/shirt area!)
As you can see, the wash has been a bit too overwhelming for some of the figures. A lot of them are going in a field to be hop pickers, so a certain amount of grubby-ness is to be expected. But the couple above look like they've been jumping in puddles and they're destined for the platform! Some touching up of certain colours may be necessary, or perhaps a slightly weaker wash next time.
My favourite thing about these figures is the variety of poses, almost all of which are standing or sitting or kneeling; some are specifically designed to be in conversation or otherwise engaged in some other stationary endeavour. There are no running figures destined to be planted in place, comically stuck in a running pose but never going anywhere. Positioning is another key factor in utilising figures effectively and it's something I hope I can get right when I commit my figures to Addleford Green in due course.
For now I'd really appreciate your thoughts and any tips you may have for painting figures!
All for now,
Jonathan
Edited by JRamsden
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