good morning...

i've started a few new projects...and as always...they're "low-buck" ones...

first...before christmas i traded for a vintage composition standard gauge figurine...not sure of the maker...(Trico?)...bottom is embossed "JAPAN"...i know these are way oversize...but i like them...even with marx tinplate...

i'm taking a modern plastic figurine and sending him "back to the past"...i'll add a hat brim then prime, paint and detail to fit in with the other figurine...hope to make more or less a complete set...porter, conductor, engineer, fireman, passengers, etc...

next...a simple transformation from imported plastic toy construction set figure to a coarse O-scale/toy train piece...just primer, craft paint and a semi-gloss finish...could be flat or dull coated...but in his final setting...which you'll see later...you'll see why...

my very best regards...howard...

Hey, I recognize that guy...I've been fiddling around with a few of those myself.

Here's where I ended up...I went for a bit more casual look. Block-painted, then dipped in Quickshade to bring up some highlights:



Not much detail on these guys, but from two feet away they look okay. He looks a bit like he's from a different side of the tracks than your guy, Howard.

Paul II

hey!...that guy does look familiar...very familiar...thanks for the tip about quickshade...are you are using the middle color one?...i looked at the website...looks like they offer three grades...

when will we see mr. greenjacket on your layout?...

my very best regards...howard...

my crossing guard is finished...and ankle deep in snow on my tiny (30" x 48") "junction city yard" layout...

i have a few more construction figures from the same cheap, imported set that will get transformations...eventually...the one on the other side of the flatcar is from the same set...just added a hat brim and painted in the details...

howard...

Howard - Those look great...they really give the feel of tinplate trains, much like the old lead ones from the 1930's.

I used the middle shade of the Quickshade. Instead of dipping which can be just an awful mess, I brush it on liberally and then lightly brush away the excess. After that dries I dry-brush some highlights. Then I give it an overspray of Testors Lustre-Less Flat Lacquer.

The point of the dipping method is to quickly give the figures some shading in the crevices without the detail painting. For wargamers like myself, we use the two-foot rule, i.e if it looks good from two feet away, then it's good enough. Using block-painting and dipping you can knock out alot of figures very quickly. Some guys use Minwax Polyshade instead of the Army Painter Quickshade...I've never tried it.

Here's another one of those plastic figures I tried:



The faces really come alive if they have decent detail on them, and for me they look more realistic than if I tried to paint the features myself (not to mention the fact that the eyes are too far gone to make a job of it, lol).

Paul II

Paul and Howard - these guys all look great. Howard is that the crossbuck you built?

http://www.littleglitterhouses.com/paul ... ssbuck.htm

I certainly recognize that crossing guard shanty.

http://www.littleglitterhouses.com/paul ... shanty.htm

Paul, there's a couple great projects there.

Thanks for posting, guys, and for the tips!

paul...yes...that's the crossbuck...in process of making another and a printed brick shanty...will post later....

howard...

(will measure the marx crossing gate you inquired about soon)...

good afternoon...

finished the (more or less) standard gauge figurine...learned a lot about wash shading after painting...went with a semi-gloss vs a dull-coat or flat finish...i think he will pass the "viewing distance" rule...

howard...

He looks great...cool hat, has a 'Raiders of the Lost Ark" look about him. The semi-gloss finish has just the right bit of shine. Very nice...

Paul II

Howard you said you dipped one of the figures in "quickshade"--what's that?