"Painting in the Toy Solider Style- Advice Needed" Topic

I've ordered some figures from Eureka's "Toy Town" range and this will be my 1st attempt at painting this type of figure. For a traditional toy soldier look, do I paint the colors on straight with no shading or layers….Black dot for eyes, red cheeks?…..Need advice- Thanks!

Straight colors, gloss enamels, in my opinion.

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The trick is to paint them in the "nutcracker" style.

White undercoating, and humbrol and gloss finish…

Have fun

I agree with Dale. Straight colors without shading or highlighting and a glossy finish. I would prime white.

Block paint, wild staring eyes and gloss varnish.

I undercoat black.

When I do them I prime white, bright colours, no highlights – for the face, I paint it flesh and then paint in eyes and a mouth with a black artists pen

I am really, really fond of the Eureka Toy Town range – they paint up great

Send a PM if you want some pics!

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You guys are super! Thanks much! Allen 57- THAT's the look!

I'm seriously considering painting my proposed Red and Blue ImagiNation pseudo-Napoleonic armies in this style – so much easier and quicker than the current fashion – as they'll look perfectly acceptable at viewing distance on a highly stylised, gridded, Morschauser-style terrain.

Gotta have the gloss!

Try this link which may help give the toy soldier stylelook

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I collect and paint 20/25mm vintage colonials (scruby…from the excellent historifigs, jacklex, S range, les Higgins, etc).

I use floquil paints almost exclusively…including their orangish primer. I mix a few custom colours but try to avoid it.

I was having problems with their crystal coat (best gloss ever). It was eating certain colours but, I was brushing it on. This week I got a cheap airbrush gun (14 bucks) and supposedly that will fix the problem.

On white faces I do the pink cheeks and a red dot for lips. I don't usually bother with eyes if they're wearing a pith helmet …otherwise black dots. On brown soldiers I'll do the beard if they have one. If the eyes a recessed enough ill paint paint a very thin dark line under the top half of the socket. On black soldiers I just leave them black..otherwise they end up looking like al joleson.

I spend a lot of time looking on sites like treefrog and William honkers types are a big inspiration.

Hello, 4thsublegion:

Is is a shame that the store that set up that link is no longer open. It was in Emmaus, PA near Allentown, PA, and closed when the proprietor retired. I bought several of his Britain 54mm re-casts in solid metal, intending to do two "imaginations" "armies" = one French inspired, the other "other" nationalities. I bought several of the Britains Coldstream Guards, kneeling firing (with a ridiculousl too-small rifle), with officer with binocular held in both hands, movable. I also bought Belgian light cavalry heads – kepi with fluffy plume – and converted these figures to a dismounted light cavalry unit, firing. This Britains rifle makes a great carbine. Added epoxy to give the troopers a baggy-pants look. I tool a cowboy right arm with six-shooter, and epoxied it to the officer, and cut away his right arm from the binoculars, so his firing forward, with the binoculars down in front, held by one hand. Fun!

I frankly like to use matt paints except for far-too-glossy boots, bullet pouches, rifles, etc. But no shading, and the faces as described above.

My first Britains were acquired when I was 11 years old, in Washington, DC in 1947. My dad had pulled us out of the depressed eastern Pennsylvania hard coal country by taking a job with RCA as a theater sound service technician, and my life opened up to the world with my first purchase. Most of the figures are gone, sold to help cover living expenses while I was in college. I bought 8-figure boxes for $2.00 USD in 1947-50, sold the figures – battered and re-painted, for $.50 USD cents each in 1960.

Another conversion made from this store's figures of Indian army marching at the trail. I think they were for a Britains set of gunners marching with mules carrying mountain guns. I bought Heyde French sailor heads, and Britains French Foreign Legion arms with the long musket with thin bayonet, and did them as French-like sailors – naval landing party – baggy white pants in gray puttees, dark blue uniform coat with light blue back piece edged white, pointed cuffs edged white. Again, fun!~

GdeP

GdeP

I stopped at London Bridge in Emmaus last August and he was open then. Their web page shows that it was updated March 2013. When did you find out that he had he retired?

Keeping with this thread, I paint old toy soldier style using gloss enamels such as Humbrol, Testors and Model Masters. I never made the jump to acrylics. I do a small dot for eyes, pink cheeks and red line for the mouth. Looking at figures like old Britains, Blenheim, Ducal, etc. are good guides for colors and how detailed you want to get.

Hello, 4th Sublegion:

I got an e-mail from them perhaps 5 years ago, after I moved to Texas in 2002. It may be that he sold the shop to someone else, which will be great when I get back there! I'd like to "toy around" again with 54mm Britains!

GdeP

I just started painting some of the Spencer Smith Little Britons. I'm using Vallejo Model color over white primer and having trouble with coverage. Any thoughts? Consistency seems good, not too thin. Do the enamels give better coverage?

I can't recommend the floquil paints enough. They are enamels obviously..,consistency, flow and coverage are excellent. You have to stir them regularly but other than that they're great.