Thursday 14 June 2012

Tutorial – undercoating soft plastics – a sticky problem


Getting paint to stick on soft plastic soldiers (that is, the soft-plastic ones, like the classic 1/72 or 1/76 scale plastics by Airfix, Revell, Caesar, Hät, etc.) is a problem.
A couple of years ago I got the tip to undercoat with white glue (wood glue). I was sceptical, but tried it out.
At first it looks really messy, as the glue formed globules, or fills recesses, as in these photos.
(Figures from Airfix Luftwaffe Personell. They will be used as Italian airfield personell in our upcoming LRDG scenario)
 
After some experimenting I found out that if you wait a little while after applying the glue, it dries a bit, and you brush it out again. If you’ve done it right you will have the figure covered with a thin and even coating of wood glue. As it dries it contracts and gives a very strong coat.
Let it dry thoroughly, and you will have a god surface for your ordinary undercoat. More on that in my next short tutorial.
(Sorry about the photos, but I just couldn’t get the camera to focus on the wet surface)

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