Customising Hints, Tips and FAQs

[JakobVicent]

Thank you tyrantqueen I just bought the 48 pack of liquitex acrylics. Now I just need to know how to paint dinosaur figures. By that I mean what kind of brushes should I use and how do I avoid leaving brush marks?

[Megalosaurus]

Read this tutorial on how to paint miniatures. Its is really the same thing about painting dinosaurs.
http://www.how-to-paint-miniatures.com/miniature_painting_welcome.html

Is there a way to give a mate finish to the new papo figures?
You know, they are too glossy  .

[Newt]

Practice on some inexpensive figures first. You can usually avoid brushstrokes if you apply paint in thin layers; this also helps keep sculpted details crisp and clear. If you still have trouble with brushstrokes, thin the paint with the appropriate solvent (water for acrylic).

Acrylic paint is hard on natural bristles, so stick to synthetics like nylon or Taklon. Avoid super-cheap brushes, as they are likely to shed bristles. But you don't need to buy very expensive brushes either. You can probably find a set of synthetic brushes at any art-supply store that will fill your needs. If you go to this link and scroll down to the sets in the 9140s and 9150s, you'll see some assortments with a few sizes of flats, for laying down large areas of color and for drybrushing, plus some smaller rounds for details. A set like that would be ideal.

[tyrantqueen]

Thank you tyrantqueen I just but the 48 pack of liquitex acrylics. Now I just need to know how to paint dinosaur figures. By that I mean what kind of brushes should I use and how do I avoid leaving brush marks?

You're welcome.

I use two kinds of brushes. I use cheap (but not too cheap) synthetics, which are for base coating, applying varnish, dry brushing and other things which are hard on the bristles of a brush. The second kind is a sable brush, which is very good for detailing the tiny areas. Sables are expensive, but they are high quality and last a very long time. I find them very pleasant to paint with. They will never lose their point.

At first I stuck to cheap synthetics and synthetic/natural blends, because I thought it would be silly to spend so much on a kolinsky sable. But every synthetic and synthetic blend I've tried has always curled at the tip. I actually take very good care of my brushes, so it's not an issue of me being too rough on the bristles. All synthetics, no matter the quality, will eventually curl. I got fed up with it and started using sables for detail work. I would never go back to cheap synthetics now.

Since you're a beginner, it would probably be best to just start with synthetics and see what you prefer. I just thought you should be aware of the curling issue

You don't really need that many different types of brush, just some rounds and flats. Oh, and for a detailing brush, you do not need to go for the tiniest brush you can find. You want to go for the biggest brush that you can get away with using. The reason for this is that bigger brush tips hold more paint, so you will not need to keep dipping your brush back in the pot for more paint.

As for your question about brush marks, just paint in thin layers, or thin your paint with water. If you layer your paint, any brush marks should disappear eventually.

[Newt]

By the way, if you're in the US and want to get Kolinsky sable (generally considered the very best) brushes, get them now, as import has been banned. http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2014/07/kolinsky-sable-brushes-banned.html

[JakobVicent]

do you wash your figures before you paint them?

[stargatedalek]

if they need to be I do
(but if they need to be I'm washing them whether I'm about to paint them or not)

[copper]

do you wash your figures before you paint them?

i would suggest washing figures before painting them, that way you remove any dirt and possible grease (from hands etc) and the paint will stick better.

[tyrantqueen]

do you wash your figures before you paint them?

Yes. Discovering trapped dust/dirt underneath a layer of primer or paint is the most annoying thing ever.

[Hynerpeton]

What is good to use on rubber or plastic?

[Ikessauro]

Hey guys, I have this resin model here, Daspletosaurus by Galileo Hernandez I suppose. I bought it very cheap from a collector here in Brazil. He was selling his collection and the model was broken, the leg and tip of the tail. I fixed the leg easily with epoxy putty and a little paint.



But the tail is broken at the very tip, and the part that broke off is missing. I thought of sculpting a tip for it, but I don't really have the skills to do it, so I am here to ask for help. Can you give me any "tips" (pun inteded   ) on how to fix this. Another ideia I had was to make it into a bitten off tail, as if some other Daspletosaurus had bitten that part off in a fight or something like that. I'm not sure if that would work. I think the tip of the tail is too thin to drill in order to insert a peg, like I did on the leg.

[tyrantqueen]

I would drill a hole in the tail tip and insert a rod or wire, using a pin vice and a very small drill bit. You have more control with a pin vice than a motorised drill. Glue the rod into the hole, and wrap the rod/wire with smaller, finer wire so the epoxy has something to grab onto. Then sculpt a new tail tip over this.

You can use silicone putty to make a mold of the skin texture so that the new tail matches the rest of the body.

That's what I would do.

[Doug Watson]

But the tail is broken at the very tip, and the part that broke off is missing. I thought of sculpting a tip for it, but I don't really have the skills to do it, so I am here to ask for help. Can you give me any "tips" (pun inteded   ) on how to fix this. Another ideia I had was to make it into a bitten off tail, as if some other Daspletosaurus had bitten that part off in a fight or something like that. I'm not sure if that would work. I think the tip of the tail is too thin to drill in order to insert a peg, like I did on the leg.

I have some really fine drill bits so I usually drill and pin but if that isn't an option as you say I have a couple ideas for you.
I just tried this with one of my scrap polyurethane resin casts to be sure and it works. Get yourself a stiff sharp ended steel dressmakers pin of the correct length. Cut the head of then while holding the cut end with needle nose pliers heat the point of the pin to red hot with a lighter or torch (you are 23 so should be safe). With the point red hot carefully push into the centre of the break on the tip of the tail. My test went right in up to the end of the glow about 1/4 inch with very little pressure. If the tail is whippy you might want clamp it in a padded vice so it doesn't slip and cause you to drive the pin into your finger. After cooling it is pretty much bonded but you could add a drop of cyanoacrylate to be sure. Cut the pin to the length you need then you can apply a base of epoxy putty to the pin and let that cure. This gives you a thicker base to apply your detail layer to so you aren't chasing your putty around a thin pin.

Another option I have used on my own casts when something doesn't turn out is take a scrap piece of resin like gating or a sprue and carve it down (with a dremel or foredom) to a size just slightly thinner than what you want and using cyanoacrylate butt glue it to the end of your tail. When the glue hardens use some epoxy putty and apply a detail layer over the added on piece.

With the pin you can bend it if you want a bend in the tip. With the resin add on you can either carve the bend in or use some heat and put a bend in it. The pin technique will be stronger but the glued scrap method will work if you aren't rough with it afterwards.
I hope one of these methods works for you.

[Ikessauro]

Thank you TQ and Doug, for such good suggestions. I'll try this process of heating the pin and see what happens! Wish me luck!

[Doug Watson]

Thank you TQ and Doug, for such good suggestions. I'll try this process of heating the pin and see what happens! Wish me luck!

A follow up on the heating the pin method. Since it was only a test I didn't put any crazy glue on it and when I finished writing my note I went back and gave it a good tug with the pliers and it came out leaving a nice clean 1/4 inch deep hole. So if you do that you could then insert and glue a more flexible wire if you wanted to be able to bend the wire more easily. Using a slightly bigger diameter pin than the wire would make it easier if you wanted to go that route.
Also if you don't have a vice just lay the tail flat on a desk and hold it down with your finger to steady it. Of course if you have steady hands you probably could just hold it near the tip like I said it didn't take much effort. Good luck.

[Pachyrhinosaurus]

How are resin kits balanced? I am going to be building a kit which stands on one leg (namely the Paleocraft Concavenator) and I was wondering about stability. Do I need to insert a pin or wire?

[tyrantqueen]

How are resin kits balanced? I am going to be building a kit which stands on one leg (namely the Paleocraft Concavenator) and I was wondering about stability. Do I need to insert a pin or wire?

Yes, it's best to be safe and reinforce it with a pin/wire join, and some epoxy resin glue (which tends to be stronger than super glue). For beginners it is tempting to use super glue only, but the glue by itself will be brittle and liable to break.

[triceratops83]

Will the Mcvey Triceratops be okay if I just glue the two front legs down, while its' back legs are up in the air? I'm not too confident with pinning. If anyone who's built one can give any tips I'd be grateful. Otherwise I had an idea about propping the back half up on a cycad or something.

[tyrantqueen]

The McVey Triceratops is a 1/19 kit, if I recall correctly. It's always recommended to pin big, heavy kits. If you don't want to pin I guess you could try gluing it but honestly I'd be worried about the glue holding up over such a small contact point with a heavy weight pressing down on it. Like I said before, go with epoxy glue rather than super.

Btw, you have the McVey Trike? Didn't it cost you an arm and a leg? It's on sale at Dan's Dinosaurs for over five hundred dollars

[triceratops83]

I preordered it the moment it appeared. Still waiting for it to show up in the mail. I've gotta be patient, stuff takes ages to get where I am. Yeah, with that and the Sideshow Trike my wallet's taken a beating this year. Anything Triceratops is a priority for me. When stuff like that turns up I just cover my eyes and press Buy Now

Thanks for the tip, I might give pinning another shot, always worried I'm gonna shatter the resin. Otherwise I might try propping it up with the collecta cycad or whatever fits.