Can You Repaint Figurines? 5 Steps Ultimate Guide
Can you use acrylic paint on figurines?
This article will show you how to spruce up old, battered action figurines, or just plain ugly ones like the ones I used in this project. I recently acquired a collection of action figurines and was stumped as to what to do with the damaged and unsightly ones.
I paint models to pass the time over the winter, so I decided I could treat the action figures similarly to pre-assembled models.
Everything you’ll need can be found at most hobby stores:
- An action figure – is self-evident.
- Sandpaper – is a very fine paper. Sand paper purchased from a hardware shop may cause large visible scrapes.
- Paintbrushes – You’ll need a few brushes in various sizes, ranging from very fine to a little wider.
- Paints – For this project, you’ll need acrylic paints. Originally, I used oil-based Testors paints, but the problem is that oil-based paints don’t react well with the plastic action figures are constructed of. And they never seem to dry fully, leaving the action figure tacky when touched.
- Water – a tiny glass of water is used to remove acrylic paint from brushes and thin the paint. (Acrylic paints are the only ones that work)
This is the phase that will transform your action figure from a toy to a fashion model. Look for all of the seams where your action figure’s pieces were bonded together, which should run the length of the action figure from head to toe down its sides.
All of these should be sanded down to make them look seamless.
This step is optional. Some people paint the action figure straight out of the box, but I prefer to start from scratch.
Apply a coat of priming paint on the entire action figure. Make sure to use light, thin coats. Coats that are too thick may clump up and cause streaks. Begin by painting the places that are the most difficult to reach.
This was the back of the cape and underneath the arms for me. Pose the figure in such a way that you may paint it from any angle, such as with its arms in the air.
Begin with painting hard-to-reach regions and primary colors. I began by painting the inside of his cloak in black.
Pose the action figure in a way that makes it easier to paint every aspect of it, such as with its arms in the air, like before. Paint light coats and be patient.
It may take several layers to achieve the desired effect. It will not turn out well if you become impatient.
Start painting more details after this has dried. Don’t worry if it’s not perfect, the beauty of paint is that you can go back to different colors and fix mistakes.
Some areas, such as eyes, lips, and the bat emblem on my figure’s breast, can be difficult to paint.
There are a couple of tricks to this:
- One thing I did for the eyes was to use a very tiny pointed brush and a steady hand.
- Another approach I used for the bat symbol was to dilute the color I was using with water to make it runny.
Then all you have to do is dip your brush into the paint and apply it to the desired area. It will now flow readily into minor cracks and crevices without the need to brush it on.
To make some shading, I utilized the watered down paint approaches and gun metal black.
Read Here A Beginners Guide On Everything About Acrylic Paint Techniques and Tools
For More About The History Of Painting Minis
