How to Base Figures with Washers

When it comes to basing for my 1/72 figures, I prefer using washers.  The washers give the finished figures added weight and stability,  The washers also allow for using magnetic tape to store my figures.  The only problem is gluing the vinyl figures to the metal and making them stick.  I solved this problem using Loctite Activator, and plastic card to make a strong bond.

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I use a 3/4 inch circular paper cutter to clip small pieces of plastic card.  I clip the pieces large enough to cover the hole in the center of the washer but not so large it hangs over the edge of the washer.

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I next glue the plastic card in place using super glue.  Once the glue is dry it is time to glue the figures in place.

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I then apply Loctite Activator to the plastic card and the bottom of the figure.  I allow the pieces to dry for at least a minute (that is why the activator pen above has a picture of a red stop hand with 1 minute on it).  I then apply a couple of drops of super glue on the plastic card and then put the figure on top.  As soon as the super glue is dried the figures are ready to finish basing.

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I have taken to using Ceramic Tile Caulk to add texture to my bases.  I use a caulking gun to dispense a glob of the caulk onto some junk mail or other disposable stuff.  I then use a toothpick or old craft knife to trowel the caulk on to the figures base.  This caulk has the texture of normal tile grout, but it is flexible when it is dried since it is made of latex caulk.  I also like the fact that after it has dried for 15 minutes the caulk forms a skin on the surface.  At this point, you can sculpt the surface into any shape you like since the caulk below is still soft.  You can use your finger tips to make it really smooth or a tooth pick to rough it up.  The more I play with it the more I learn new ways to get different effects.

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If I have a slotta figure instead of ones with a flat base, I use the technique pictured above.  I then seal up any remaining gaps with plastic card and apply Ceramic Latex Caulk.

Questions and comments are always welcome. Thanks for reading...

Copyright © Ron Hamilton 2011, All Right Reserved.

How to Prime Plastic Figures

I have tried several methods for priming plastic figures before I settled on this method.  It is not the fastest method I have ever used to prime figures, but since I started using it in 2008, I have had zero flaking or chipping from any of the figures so primed.  It relies on thin coats of flexible paint to prevent chipping and flaking.  I have included copies of the unpainted figures in my photos to compare to the ones being primed.

I start by wash my figures with hot soapy water, rinse them well with hot water, and make sure they are completely dry. I then mist the figures with a light coat of white Rust-oleum Plastic Primer.  The directions say to prepare new plastic by wiping it down with paint thinner, I have never bothered to do this step and it seems to work perfectly without doing it.

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Enlarge the photo below to see how much paint I try to apply.  The most important part of this step is to ensure the spray primer is not applied too thickly.  Rust-oleum Primer if applied too thickly will still flake.  Thin coats are the trick. Once the figure is dry, I take a soft toothbrush and buff the figures gently.  It removes loose paint, smooths out the coat, and tests to make sure the paint that will not rub off or flake.

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I then apply a thin coat of undiluted flat black latex house paint.  I use just a few drops of paint per figure.  I work it out into a thin coat.  I use a cheap paintbrush with medium thickness plastic bristles to apply the paint, the sort of paintbrushes you give kids to do arts and crafts projects.  If you look at the picture below you can see the white spray coating showing through on the figures.  Again, you are trying for a thin coat of paint not complete coverage with this coat.  Once dry, I give it another buffing with the toothbrush.

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I then apply one more thin coat of latex paint.  You can see this thin coat of paint has gotten rid of the white undercoat that was visible.  After drying, I brush down the figure with the toothbrush again.  The figures are now primed and are ready to paint.

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I have one last optional step when priming my figures,  I dry brush the entire figure with white paint to bring out the details to aid me in the rest of the painting progress. After dry, I will take the toothbrush to the figure one more time. 

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The figures are now completely primed and ready to be painted.  At this point, I sometimes use a watered down paint or ink base coat color.  Since that coat is translucent the shading given by the dry brushing shows though and gives nice shading effects with no more work than a normal base coat would take to apply, I will post another how to article later on this technique.

The important thing to remember about my priming technique is it is based on thin coats of paint.  The spray primer bonds to the plastic, and the latex paint forms a coating that grips the spray primer while acting as a flexible skin that can move with the figure if it is bent or flexed.  Thick coats of paint that cannot flex when the figure moves tend to crack and then flake off of the figure.  I have been using this technique since 2008 and have yet to have any figure so painted chip or flake.

Questions and comments are always welcome. Thanks for reading...

Copyright © Ron Hamilton 2011, All Right Reserved.

How to Measuring Paint by the Drops Without the Mess

I like to measure paints by the drop when mixing colors. In concept this method is easy, accurate, and simple. The biggest issue is cleaning the paint from my eye droppers after each use. I had to pop the top off of the eye dropper and run water through it until all of the paint was gone. It was slow and painful doing this every time I wanted to mix colors, and with only two eye droppers, it was even worse if I was mixing more than two colors. I knew there had to be a simple and cheap solution to my problem; I just needed to keep looking until I found it.




I was sure I had the solution when I was buying a cup of coffee. What do drinking coffee and measuring paint have in common? The lowly coffee stirring straw, you know the little plastic straws you use to stir creamer and/or sugar into your drink. I thought when I saw them I would simply stick them into my paint jar, put my thumb over the top to keep the suction, and then release the pressure to dispense drops of paint. It didn't work, the paint was too thick to come out. It just sat there in the coffee stirrer laughing at me.




No way was I going to let that haughty paint laugh at me and get away with it. I was sure that a by blowing gently into the straw I would be able to get the paint to drip out. The paint did come out, but I was not able to get fine enough control to get it to come out drop by drop. It was an all or nothing sort of thing. So again my lowly coffee stirrer, although it seemed so promising, was a failure. I was about to give up when I laid one of the paint stirrers next to my eye dropper. Looking at them together I got a new idea.









The coffee stirrers looked just the right size to make a disposable extension to my eye dropper. The only way to know for sure was to slide one onto my eye dropper and see if it would fit. I slid one over the end of my eye dropper, and I'll be darned if it didn't seem like the perfect size to make an extension to my eye dropper.









It fit and it looked good, but could it suck up paint, hold the suction, and lastly, let me dispense it by drop? I took my new found eye dropper extension, and to my surprise, it worked!!! Now I can switch paint colors to my hearts content by simply swapping out the paint stirrer on the end of my eye dropper. Cleanup is super simple. I just drop them into my the jar where I clean my paint brushes and rinse them out in the sink at the end of the night, or I simply chuck the whole thing in the trash and put on a new one.




I now have a solution to my problem of measuring paint by the drop, and bonus points, it is free. Whenever I buy a cup of coffee I just pick up a couple of stirrers, and I am ready for my next paint session. Now if I can just find some time to put my new found paint tool to use.




Thanks for reading.