After seeing a lot of new members join who have stated they have very little figure experience I decided to back up the normal sbs and start out with the basics of figure painting and do a short sbs on preparation and clean-up of the figure prior to priming and painting.Then I will progress into the painting and right on to the mounting to a base and doing the groundwork. There are 2 figures in this vignette, both Pegaso 90mm white metal. The 1st one is 90-042, their newest Samurai Ronin. Here are the 2 figures that are being used:

Here is another view of the figure I am starting with.

One of the first things I do is to examine the kit completely and lay the parts out in a work tray. I want to make sure all the parts are there and none are damaged.

This kit of the Ronin requires quite alot of clean-up. Clean-up is the removal of any and all seam lines and burrs that exist on the casting. As this is a Samurai, the seam lines run right down through the leg armor and require careful removal by sanding and filing. There is even a seam line on the armor ties which requires scraping with a knife or scalpel. Being involved in show judging years ago in the eastern US shows the first thing that will take a figure from placing in the Gold, Silver, bronze category is a seam line that wasn't removed. The seam line causes the figure to be in the "also ran" category because the painter didn't do the preparation and a seam line shows through the paint like a sore thumb.

Any kit also requires repeated dry-fitting to ensure that the arms fit into the socket tightly without fill and the waist fits snuggly onto the leg section. Quite often its sand a little.....test fit........sand a little more.......test fit until it is a good fit. Being a Pegaso kit you usually don't have a tremendous amount of sanding and filing to do for fitment to be good.

Above you see one of the many many test fits done. The dremel D-Vise is used for clamping the parts while filing and for a hand rest to bring the parts closer to the eye for examination.

The photo in the above right shows the 2 halfs of the waist section that are being test fit after sanding the joint area smooth.

[ to be continued in next post ]

A few more pictures and we'll see a time-lapse of the Mt. Dew going down in your glass and be able to see just how long this is actually taking!

Way to go Guy, can't wait to see this one come together!

Jay H.
OKC

One of the last things to do in preparation is to remove the armor from the casting block. If I just bend it and snap it off it may cause a chunk of the edge to also be broken off so I decided to use my coping saw and carefully saw them off by holding the armor in the vise as shown below.

From the first time I open the box after recieving the Samurai's from John at Military Miniature Warehouse I am thinking "How am I going to paint this figure?". What I mean by this is some figures you can assemble pretty much completely and then begin to paint. Often times this leaves certain areas very hard to access with a paint brush. I decided to do most of the painting in sub-assemblies and assemble the figure as I paint him. Below is the casting junk cleaned off the Samurai from the mold lines and casting blocks.

I decided to do the arms separtly and this would require the arm to be drilled and pegged and mounted on a 1/2" dowel for the painting. The right hand needed to be attached with the sword to the right arm and prior to the epoxying of the parts I drilled out the wrist by hand to ensure a tight fit.

Next I drill out the head from the bottom of the neck trying not to interfere with the locator lugs already there for placement to the shoulders. The head is held tightly in my hand and slowly moved up into the revolving drill bit enough so that the head can be pegged onto a dowel for painting.

Because of the way the left leg was cast I decided to attach this now and use the white metal base to support the waist / leg section while painting. I carefully dry-fit the leg to thigh many tmes to ensure the proper fit and used the lug holes in the base to make sure it was properly aligned as the epoxy set and hardened.

Now the waist section is epoxyed to the leg section by carefully applying an epoxy mix to both sides of the joint.

Now the parts have been cleaned and pegged and ready to be primed. I use a light spray of Floquil R9 Primer and then go over all the parts with the same primer in a bottle in case the spray missed any areas. Especially tight folds and underneath the figure and legs.

The primered parts are brought back into the studio and placed under a 60 watt bulb where I usually wait 48 hours before starting to base coat the figure.

The next part of the sbs will come a little slower as I base coat the flesh and start on the 8 armor sections that need to be painted.

Any and all questions welcomed.

Guy,
Just what "us old newbies need." Many thanks!
BTW, what is in that glass?
Rocky

More like a glass of "Dew" for each picture

There's always a glass of Mountain Dew on my desk. Painting makes a guy thursty

I drank "mountain dew" in the old days when it came in a green bottle with a picture of a hillbilly! As I recall, it said, it'll tickle your innerds? Man I am getting old.

Yep......we're both gettin old Rocky. I remember those bottles too.

hi guy. not the easiest of subjects, a brave move on your part. good luck. i will be with you all the way. dave.

Hi Guy!
All process already looks impressing and very interesting!!!
The fine beginning of new year Guy!
We wait for continuation.
Yours faithfully.

Guy,nice start to your Step-By-Step.
Clear and concise with great photos.It'll be a valuable guide.I'm looking forward to following this one.

P.S.-Have you ever accidentally washed a brush in your drink?-I've done that and it really does tickle your innerds

Hello Guy,

Great to watch the whole process, and especially useful for those that are just starting out in the hobby..I will be watching with interest, and know a few guys with this exact kit that will be watching very closely too.

It sure is a beautiful figure..

all the best.

Roy.

Yes......I have tried to clean my brushes in Dew.........not a real tasty combination

Thanks guys. I hope this is of some help to the new members just getting started in the hobby.

Drink Mountain Dew (poteen) here and you'd be blind drunk before the undercoat was dry - I believe you colonials call it moonshine?

Guy,
Thanks for taking the time. It is also very useful for the not so new members. It is a great refresher course and interesting to see the different way people pin and hold parts. I may have to try the Dew tip?
Thanks
Cheers
John

Thanks John,

I always found it interesting how other figure painters went about their painting, pegging, assembly process too.

very usefull Guy,
Even i find something that i can use. Never old enough to learn something.
Please go on with it.
(Hope all is well)

Marc

Guy, great step by step, looking forward to seeing this project completed.
Thanks for sharing.

Cheers
Roc

Guy,
A very nice SbS. Thank you for doing it
Looking forward to your progress.
Cheers,
A.

Thanks for the SBS Guy.

Must try the Mountain Dew tip. Am often too caught up with the modelling part that you become exhausted from the closeup work after a while - occasional breaks with a drink should help. Hmmm....common sense not so common on my part!

Cheers
Basil