Painters...need input

[wolverine]

painters...I need your input...the fowlling pics are f the coleco/gotham men...Chicago bears I did.....so I do better next time...please feel free to crtuqe my paint job...I am trying to get better...so ANY input you have...PLEASE do..PS I still have to put on the C on the helment...BUT im out of white right now..lol

[larue]

I did it that way for many years and although it was fun I found the teams looked much better with decals and face masks.
Hand painting stripes is a real tough thing, only the best painters in the world get the lines straight,I was never one of them LOL.The decals and face masks add to the cost of a team but they look like the real deal when you are done.
I have a ton of hand painted teams and they are some of my favorites just because I painted and detailed them by hand.So here's to the guys who work so hard to get things straight........
Those are some unique figures as is your work so keep trying maybe you'll get to be one of the best.Here's to the painting and the hobby!
Larue

[Coach K-LO]

i don't know what you looking for by way of critique, but here is something to think about when you are painting.....Al is better for this, but here goes....

.... use the same brush type for all stripes so that they can be somewhat even in their thickness

..... when I was painting all stripes, for pants, I would pant a thick stripe for the outside colors and come back with the middle color...worked well until the 3-tone colors came out.

..... you can always go back and "clean up" your lines by shaping the edge with the main color.
example - you main color on this team is white...you can use white to 'clean' up the stripes to the level you want.

hope this helps

k-lo

[wolverine]

thanks guys

[markee]

I can't paint for crap which is why I use decals. However, I did notice a lot of flash on the arms and hands. Use an exatco knife to or file it off. Then repaint over. Mike Beal or Bryan Nutt havr great decal sets.
Best of luck on your project.

[eflfanatic]

I think the Bears look good so far. I would suggest painting the bases green just because that looks better to me. How are you on figures? I have some that maybe could trade. I am beginning a painting project myself of reproducing the tudor teams in the tudor style of painting (which we know wasn't that great) using the 1968 and 1969 tudor catalogues as references. The first teams I am doing are the AFL teams in dark uniforms only to go with my Model 520 AFL version set that already has the Chiefs in dark uniforms and Jets in their white uniforms. I believe the Jets were the only AFL team available in white at the time.

Anyway, good luck with your project. I know it is a massive undertaking.

[RavennaAl]

Brian, I don't think you could have picked a harder team to stripe if you tried. Painting black on white, or white on black is nothing short of murder on yourself. Every wiggle, and I mean EVERY wiggle, will stand out like the provebial sore thumb. You're my friend, so I'll give you my best advice.

From looking at the pictures, I think there are a few things that you need to do to try and get those stripes better. First, it appears that you have some shaky hands there. Not everyone has steady hands, but there are a couple of things you might want to try. First, be sure not to eat or drink anything with caffine in it. Or anything with alot of sugar for that matter. Secondly, you might want to get some of the helping hands with the alligator clips. Also, a good magnifying glass. This way, you can set up the figure with the helper, and have the magnifyer to make everything larger. It makes it so much easier to see where the lines have to be to be straight. Also, you can use your other hand to hold your painting hand to make it steadier.

Leg stripes: I'm not sure if those were supposed to be Black-Orange-Black, or Black- White-Orange-White-Black. If they were the B-O-B stripe, then I would paint 2 black stripes, leaving the center white. Concentrate on making the outer parts of the stripes as smooth and straight as you can, don't worry so much about the center part as you are going to paint it orange anyways. Then, fill in the center part with orange. Be sure to use a brush that is only as wide as you need. Get a variety of sizes so that you have one that is appropriate for the width that you are painting.

If you were painting B-W-O-W-B, then I would paint a wide black stripe, then a thinner white stripe in the middle, then a thin orange stripe in the middle of that. Use a fat brush for the black, try to make each one the same width. When you paint the white, use a thinner brush, and concentrate on leaving the same amount of black on each side of the white, so that it looks like two thin black stripes. Then use a thin brush and try to stay centered with the orange.

You need to do some touching up. I touch up all the time. Toothpicks are good for that. Use a flat razor blade or razorknife to whittle the end to a thin point. If you have a hard time holding onto the toothpick, get some cuticle pushers from the health and beauty section of the grocery store. Those are made of wood and can be sharpened like the toothpicks, but are about as fat as a brush, so they are easier to hold. A good example is #41 in the last pic. I would extend the orange on his sock from the left to right to get rid of that white spike hanging down. Also smooth out the orange at the bottom of the left part. Then, I would go back with white and try and center the orange stripe better.

On the arm stripes, it looks like you painted an orange stripe, then added both black stripes. As a result, some stripes are proportional, and others are not. This is why I would paint a fat black stripe first, and try to make all the fat black stripes the same width. This way, all the arm stripes will be the same width rather than have some wider than others. The second pic is a good example of what I'm talking about. The right arm of #61 and the left arm of #60 look about right, whereas the right arms of # 41 and #34 are too far apart.

Sock stripes can be brutal if you let them. Again, I would paint one fat black stripe first. Then touch it up so that it is as smooth and consistant as possible. Then, using the outside edge as a guide, paint a white stripe, trying to be consistantly as far from the edge all the way around the sock. Then try and paint an orange stripe, being as centered as possible.

Painting straight stripes isn't easy, and the color combination of the Bears is particulary tough. Don't be dismayed, but you need to be patient. Don't give up yet. The more you paint, the better you'll get.

[GreenBayGlenn]

AL:
Wait a minute, dude! The Bears are not black, they are NAVY BLUE! C'mon now!