Thank you for the kind words Jeff

One point I feel the need to clarify..is how long to leave the paint to allow it to stain the undercoat/base colour before brushing off....as a guide...10 to 20 minutes is usually enough.
Darker colours need less time than the lighter to penetrate the undercoat etc. ....and remember....it is the oil carrier that penetrates...not the pigment itself...which is why I don't recommend soaking it out.

I have read this thread so many times and it just gets more confusing for the novice oil painter. " Do this do that dont do this but and so on we go
No wonder the guy is confused .
Its simple : wax on wax off , sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't . Oils are a huge learning curve ; that's why Acrylics are more popular.

Dolf you cannot cram forty odd years of knowledge into a short time no matter what you are learning .

As for oils Enjoy the journey while you attempt to seek out the great Buddha

Well said Ronaldo, and Steve “Inspired by the wonderful displays in the "Under Two Flags" shop in London (what a great shop!) I changed to painting white metal miniatures, mainly Chota Sahib” a great shop I visited every trip to London..that was a long time ago..when did it close?

Under Two Flags is long gone, all the London shops are gone. It's much better nowadays with the internet but I do miss the old model shops and would love to get on my wayback machine (warning, nostalgia alert!) and have another hobby Saturday. Tube to Bond St, visit Under Two Flags and then walk over to Shepherd Market to do Tradition (not so exciting) cross Hyde Park to South Ken and drool over the display cabinets in Seagull Models then finally, round off the day by heading south to the National Army Museum. Happy days.

I remember walking round the corner and being met with a wall of flats in under two flags window display and being totally gobsmacked at the quality .

I went to London on business. Fairly often ..and always stopped in..bought Poste Militaire, Series 77 ..I think that was the other brand. And put many a noseprint on the display cabinets..

Thank you Ronaldo and Steve, for the valuable hints and graciously and freely sharing your knowledge, really appreciate it


"No wonder the guy is confused ."

I'm not really confused Ronaldo

In my main field of interest these days (for the last 10 years or so - if you look at my current avatar you get an idea), I'm forced to constantly separate the wheat from the chaff, every single day. So I'm hardly confused by different opinions and multiple suggestions on this hobby that we share here.
I tend to listen/read all the different opinions, and then only take what I feel comfortable with, what makes sense to me, what I can afford, and what resonates with my own views.
I'm only new to oils/oils painting/busts, not to modeling, which I started many decades ago, then interrupted for some 30+ years, and returned recently to this hobby. Obviously, in all these years things changed and improved quite a lot, hence the need to update.
I've painted a few Verlinden 120mm and 200mm in the old days, using Humbrol enamels, and on occasion a couple of oils (only for imitating leather, which was easy) .
Busts are totally new to me, I've been buying a few, haven't started none yet, because I "discovered" oils after returning to the hobby, and as with everything new, I've been trying to learn the basics before starting.

But honnestly I really don't know anymore if I'll fully convert to oils, or if instead I'll stick to my old enamels, using only oils on occasion as I did in the past. Verlinden, Shep Paine, a couple others, who inspired me those many decades ago with their amazing dioramas, did all those wonderful things using mainly enamels, as far as I know.
I still use Humbrol enamels for my other miniatures modeling, and I find them perfectly fine.

I'm no artist, so I'll never reach the levels of a few here, even if I practice a lot. And as I'm no young chick anymore I won't have all the time in the world to learn how to become a "master" neither.


"Oils are a huge learning curve ; that's why Acrylics are more popular."

I understand that.
As for acrylics, I've only once used them, in the old days (some Tamyia red for a motorcycle), and I confess it didn't get me hooked to them. Not entirely sure why, but I do prefer enamels.
I know there are many other manufacturers making acrylics nowadays, so I may give them another try, but that one I once used did stink... Hopefully the new ones don't stink that much...

Yes, as I'm learning, oils seem to be for artists, which I know I'm not. I intend to give them a try, of course, but I know it will take time until I'll feel minimally saisfied with the results.



"Dolf you cannot cram forty odd years of knowledge into a short time no matter what you are learning ."

Being a teacher myself, I couldn't agree more



"As for oils Enjoy the journey while you attempt to seek out the great Buddha."

Thanks for the advice The key is indeed enjoying what we do, and be patient, and learn from our mistakes, and improve as much as we can...

I think it's easier to reach enlightment as the great Buddha than mastering oils painting... lol...


I like your work that you display here.


Cheers!

Dolf

"I have used Spectrum Matt Spectragel several times and it consistently gives a dead flat matt finish. ... It's available from Ken Bromley in the UK."


Thank you, Steve

I believe someone else mentioned it before, either on this thread or another one, so I checked both the retailer's website, and the product.

It looks great indeed for a good matt finish on oils

Sadly it's only available in the UK (as listed on that retailer's website), as it cannot be shipped overseas (some silly legislation) .
I'm in Portugal, so... it's a dead end concerning this product.

But there are other options available, maybe not as good as that one, but one has to do with what one can get


Cheers!

Dolf

Steve that was a great description of your experiences painting figures over a long period of time and trying many different formulas, Under Two Flags was a wonderful shop, unfortunately I was only in London every 5 years or so and could never remember which alleyway to cut through on Oxford Street, remember one time not finding it and going cold turkey, however that could have been when it had closed down, the shop was a huge
inspiration I can remember seeing completed Poste Militaire figures in the cabinets and you couldn't see a single brush stroke on them, all the shading and highlights and the finish was so smooth, needless to say I am still trying to get that result.
TERRY