Hello everyone,
I would like to know if there is any websites or how-to videos out there that deals with the small scale figure painting especially 1/72nd scale figures?
I have been building 1/72nd scale armor for many years and now I would like to add some figures to my vehicles. I've heard of painters who paint in this scale and smaller and have there figures look as good as their 54mm/35th scale counterparts. so they are out there but I have no idea what website,if there are any or even a tutorial for that matter. any help would be of great help.
Thank you
Chris

Hi Chris,

Try feeding ... painting "1/72" scale soldiers ... into Chrome, and select videos.
The 1/72 is in inverted commas to exclude all the other scales that are bound to come up.
The locations that are included with the videos might well lead you to other sites of interest.

Happy hunting,
Andrew

I don't have any links or references to share, but I do have a quick-and-dirty technique for painting 1/72 figures, particularly crew figures for AFVs or aircraft.

After cleaning the figures with warm water and a degreaser, I prime with Tamiya Fine Surface Primer (my primer of choice).
I lay in the base colors, so, exposed flesh, and uniform pieces, and gear.
Then I apply a very thin wash of burnt siena or burnt umber. This brings out the molded details, like faces; it softens boundaries between colors, like the boundary between a parachute harness and a flight jacket underneath; and it ties everything together at the same time.

I use acrylics, both water-based and Tamiya's alcohol-based acrylics.

I'll do the same thing on 1/48 scale figures, though in that scale, I will use more traditional techniques to apply shadows and highlights, and to paint the faces, since the larger scale reveals such details.

I hope that's useful to you, prosit!
Brad

Chris, there are no tricks to 1/72; you paint them just like you do any other scale.

What?! Even in this small scale of 1/72nd?!
wow ok.
chris

Thanks for the info,baron.
Another thing I have to ask is this, how does one paint the eyes in 1/72nd scale? Winfield says to paint these figures just as you would any other figures. How is that possible?
Thank you.
chris

Look at a human at a distance.
When it compares with the height of a 1/72 figure, see what you can discern of the eyes.
I doubt that you'll see much more than a shadow.
If you feel you want to paint the eyes, go ahead. It can be done.
Just use a decent magnifying glass and a very fine brush. You'll also need a very steady hand.

Cheers,
Andrew

I usually only go as small as 28mm 1/56, but at 1/72 you need to hint at the detail more than actually paint it. Eyes can simply be a dark spot under the eye brows. Also, you need to exaggerate the highlights and shadows to make them stand out better. Search for some wargaming sites, WWII in your case, that cover painting as well as playing. Good luck.

Cheers,
Ken
,

Hi, Chris! The wash technique usually takes care of the eyes, but if necessary, I'll paint them as dark lines. I always remember Shep Paine's advice about painting figures who are outdoors, or otherwise exposed to daylight. People will squint in daylight. So in scale, it's usually enough to paint the eyes that way. That's how I do it, anyway.

Prost!
Brad