writes:I've been working my way through the Fallout: Institute Core Box. Last month, I shared pictures of how the four low-level Synths turned out for me, and the month before that, I showed how the scientist painted up. Now it's time for the final two figures I'm painting from this set: the level-2 Synths.
According to the box, Synths are some form of synthetic lifeform. There are two high-level Synths in the boxed set, which differ form other Synths primarily by being bulkier, and their guns have what looks like a scope or sighting mechanism.
Each figure comes on its own sprue, including scenic base. They are cast from a flexible resin, and require assembly (easy). There are no posing options. Use a sharp hobby knife to trim away any wispy bits of excess resin. I did not wash my figures before priming, and I had trouble with paint adhesion; I recommend giving them a quick wash in soapy water!
The box art shows two different color schemes for the body/suit: bluish gray or yellowish off-white. I chose to go with gray, though my version turned out quite a bit darker than the box art.
I primed with black, which made the gray suit easier to do, but made the gun harder; if I had it to do again, I'd prime white instead. (The bulge on the base is from where the scenic base attaches to the sprue. I filed it down but didn't eliminate it.)
The figure was drybrushed dark and light gray, and then washed with black ink. It's funny the things you see when you take close-up photos: there's a bit of resin on the red part of the gun that I missed removing!
The rest of the figure was painted the same as for the previous Synths. I'm not a big fan of scenic bases as they never look right on the tabletop, but they're fun to paint – just apply basic colors, and use brown and black washes until you're happy.
The other Synth is designed to be stepping up onto some barrel. As you can see, I got the firing 'dot' painted on the guns this time!
I slapped FlexSteel on the base bottoms, so the figures will stick to magnet-lined storage boxes. The bases are slightly undersized (29mm instead of 30mm), so I had to trim the FlexSteel to fit. I had some problems getting the FlexSteel to stick – because I didn't wash the figures? because the bases aren't flat on the bottom? – but nothing a few drops of superglue wouldn't cure.
I used a silver marker to put some bright scratch marks on the barrel – probably overdone!
So that's how my Level-2 Synths turned out, using basic painting techniques. Hope you found this useful!