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09.12.2006 » Figure Concepts

On this page I will go into detail on constructing, painting, and weathering the figures I'll use with the JGSDF Type 74 model kit by Tamiya. I'll be scrapping the kit-supplied figures as they're... so-so. Instead I'll be using a combination of the newer JGSDF Iraq Humanitarian Assistance Team figures for those on the ground and JGSDF driver figures supplied with the Type 82 and Type 87 from Trumpeter. More on this later....

09.17.2006 » Figure Construction

I started the figures yesterday for this small vignette. I'll be using 3 of the standing figures from the JGSDF Iraq Humanitarian Assistance Team. They'll be standing on the railroad tracks. The driver for the tank is not shown as I'm still deciding what to do with it. I know I won't be using the figure that came with the tank. I'll be using a driver head from one of the Trumpeter Type 82 or 87 model kits, but an not sure if I'll use the body of one of the trumpeter kits or that of the JGSDF LAV driver. I'll have to see how each looks/fits together.

Here's a shot of what I've done with the standing figs so far. I've managed to get most of the waving figure done, but I cannot add the misc. bits to the other two figures until I clean-up the putty and glue on the arms. On a related note, I have a new background sheet and place to take in-prog photos. The sheet of paper matches this site quite nicely!

09.17.2006 » Stand and Deliver

The standing figs are all done. Now I just need to do the driver head and an arm that will be slightly visible pushing open the top turret. Painting the camo on these should be a fun challenge.

09.23.2006 » Driver and Primer

I picked up my Type 87 and 82 from Fulcy today and was able to finish the last figure by using one of the driver heads from the Trumpeter kit. I needed a figure-head with the driver helmet that didn't suck like the old kit-supplied figure. This went on easy enough with a little shaving of the neck as it was REALLY long. I primed the figures with Tamiya Surface Primer.

09.24.2006 » Face it!

The first thing I needed to paint was the faces. This is because I'm doing them in oils and they take a while to dry. Starting them now will give me the drying time to start painting the tank. The following techniques are a combination of my own and what I learned from Craig Whitaker, another member of my local IPMS and a great figure painter. He's got some oil painting tutorials on Armorama so look them up!

The first step in my painting is to apply a base coat of flesh. This was a mixture of Tamiya Acrylics (flesh + brown + white) and airbrushed on. Don't worry about the exact color as that'll be fixed later. Just do a basic skin-tone.

Next up was hand-brushing a thin layer of Future Floor Acrylic (FFA) onto the flesh parts. This will seal in the basecoat and protect it during the oil-painting process. Don't worry about the gloss as that will be covered later.

Once the FFA cures we can begin with the oils. I mixed up some White and a little Burnt Sienna on my pallet. (a lid covered in foil) I added a touch of yellow to the flesh mix to get a more Asian tone. Thanks again to Craig for this simple mix!

Now that the color was mixed I brushed it onto the flesh-painted parts very thinnly. If this is applied to thick you'll get brush strokes. This is where the base-coat comes in handy as it lets you apply a thin layer of oils without the primer showing through. This thin coat of oils will cover the gloss of the FFA and act as a blending base for the highlights and shadows.

Next take a small brush and dab small amounts of white oils where the highlights would be. Bridge of the nose, upper cheaks, lower lip, etc...

Now wipe that brush on a rag (no thinner) and blend the white into the base color. Don't worry too much if your highlights are large as we'll blend them out later.

Now take pure Burnt Sienna and dab it where the shadows would be. In the face creases, eye sockets, under the brows and chin, under the cheakbones, etc...

Now again we'll wipe that brush clean and use it to blend the Burnt Sienna into the base color. At this point you can see where things may beed some more blending to look better. Do this as needed. After you're done, set the figures aside to dry. I set mine into a warm spot under a lamp (careful not to melt them, just warmer than room temp) and this will dry the oils quicker. When these oils dry, we can go back and add more white and burnt sienna to exaggerate the highlights. Add a little pink to the lips as well.

09.26.2006 » Camo

Next up for the figures is painting the JGSDF camoflauge fatigues. There's a great little diagram on what colors to use to paint the camo on the figure box, plus I looked up some real life references online. After studying the camo I decided to paint it in the following order:

First I used a 50:50 mix of Tamiya Buff and Flat Green. I thinned this with water and brushed on a thin layer. This went on thin and you could see the primer and flesh tones beneath, but this is good as multiple thin layers will minimize brush strokes..

When that layer dried I painted a second thin coat of the green/buff mix. This covered the first and left a nice solid green with very little base coats showing through. I didn't do a 3rd coat (but I would had if this was a solid color fatigue) as the camo will cover the rest.

Next I applied Tamiya Red Brown thinned with water with a pointy brush. According to the reference, this color is prevalant, but still sparse.

Next I applied Tamiya Buff thinned with water. This color was applied more than the Red Brown and even covers some of the Red Brown patches as shown in the reference. The Buff color is only half-done in these images. After double-checking the refs I need more small "dots" of Buff.

I appled more small dots of the Buff then I added the final camo color which is sporadic dots of German Gray. After the gray dried I used white glue to attach the helmets. Next up is painting equipment, gloves, boots, straps, etc...

09.27.2006 » Gear, Wash, and Drybrush

After the camo was done I painted the dose meters (white ipod looking thingies), boots, vest webbing, gloves, straps, walkie talkies, etc...

After all the details were painted, I gave the figures a gloss coat of Future Floor Acrylic to seal in the base painting. After the clear coat I needed to decide on how to highlight the figures to show all the webbing, gear, pockets, etc... Oils probably wouldn't work since they're not very translucent. I opted instead for watercolors. I first used a wash of olive green on everything but the dose meters, boots, and skin. For the boots I used a wash of black + burnt sienna watercolors.

When the washes dried, I did something I usually don't do, but thought would work in this case... Drybrushing. I needed to highlight the various ridges and such on these figs since the camo hid everything in it's randomness. That's what camo does though! I used white tube watercolor and drybrushed it onto everything but the skin.

Lastly I gave the figures a flat coat of Future. I think they turned out pretty good and are almost done. Next time I'll probably use a very light green instead of white as the white makes the figures look glossy a bit even though they're flat. Maybe I can go back.

Below you can see the watercolors I used. You can also see the dip I made for tinting the goggles. The dip was made from Future + 2 drops of blue food coloring. Next I'll attach the goggles to the helmets and paint the rims with semi-gloss black. I'll also finish the rifles and attach them. I'll probably add some pigments to the knees and boots as well.

Type 74 In-Progress Sections »

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