Pulizia e Mano di Fondo dei Soldatini

Dipingere Soldatini in Scala 1:72

Revell Fanteria Britannica, undercoated in umber acrylic paint. The man on the left has already had his uniform drybrushed red.

Tools ed Accessories

• X-ACTO Knife e Scalpel Blades No. 11
• Dishwashing Detergent
• Wooden Ruler o Balsa Sticks
• Elmer’s Glue
• Artist Acrylics
• Plastik Tray o Palette
• Size 10 Paintbrush
• Dupli-Color Fondo Ancorante Grigio

Removing Flash

Soldatini are cast in two-part molds. Where molds are joined, mold-lines will appear on the figure. Older molds even permit molten plastic to seep throught the joints, creating areas of flash on the figure. Mold-lines e flash devono essere tolto con a sharp knife in order to give the figure a more realistic appearance. If a dull knife is used for this work, flash ed adjacent areas of the figure may unravel into stringy pieces of plastic, destroying the figure. With a sharp X-Acto blade, flash can easily be lifted off the figure without damaging the uniform.

Degreasing

During the casting process, molds are greased to facilitate separation of the figure sprue. In addition, soldatini are constantly touched when they are taken out of the box e separated from the sprue, applying a thin layer of grease from the hands to the soldatini. This greasy substance must be prudentamente removed before the soldatini plastici will accept paint. Clean the soldatini thoroughly con warm water e dishwashing detergent, then dry them con a towel. The cleaned soldatini should be handled as little as possible, it is best to hold them by the base.

Mounting

Individual soldatini are very awkward to hold e paint without getting them dirty again o accidentally smudging a fresh paintjob. It is much more convenient to glue an entire reggimento onto a strip of balsa wood o a narrow wooden ruler which can be easily handled during the painting process. Use UHU o wood glue to attach the soldatini, they can later be pried off the ruler con a small screwdriver. Intervals between soldatini may be as narrow as 1cm, but it is important that all areas of a figure can be reached con the paintbrush. Fanteria is usually mounted side-by-side e turned 45 degrees to the left, cavalleria one behind the other.

Particularly con the fanteria it is important to mount the same figure poses immediately next to eachother e facing in exactly the same direction. This will allow you to repeat the same brush stroke on a whole batch of soldatini, increasing your painting speed e giving you much better results as you learn to execute the stroke correctly. If you decide to adopt this method, you will be able to paint entire armies in very little time, you will be more motivated, more patient e much less fatigued.

Undercoating

When using acrylic paints on soft soldatini plastici, a thorough undercoat will make the paint stay on for a long time, particularly if the soldatini are to be used for wargaming. Acrylic paint shrinks onto the figure as it dries ed it forms a strong bond con the plastic. The undercoat must not miss any areas of the figure, because the thinned paint we use for detailing will run off a surface that is not properly coated con acrylic. Acrylic paint may also be used to disguise small joints in a converted figure, simply by smearing the paste-like paint into the crack e letting it dry overnight.

Apply the undercoat con a size 10 broadheaded paintbrush. Whity acrylic paint can be used on most soldatini, brushing it on generously e repeatedly rubbing the paint into folds e recesses. Excessive paint usually collects in small globs between the legs, under arms ed around equipaggiamento, ed it must be removed before the undercoat dries.

It may be useful to undercoat some soldatini in a shaded tone of the intended uniform colour. This is a trick which saves a lot of time e delivers surprisingly good results.

Umber Undercoat

• Fanteria Britannica e Hannoverian in red coats
• Confederate troops in butternut 1863-1865
• Arabs e colonial troops in khaki uniforms
• Allied, German e Italian troops in Africa 1941-1943
• Truppe giapponesi e U.S. Marines in khaki, during the Pacific War

Indigo Undercoat

• Continental fanteria durante la guerra di indipendenza americana
• Prussian, Hessian e Württemberg troops of the XVIII e XIX secolo
• Union troops 1861-1865
• Legione straniera francese

Dark Grey o Black Undercoat

• Confederate troops in grey uniforms 1861-1863
• German fanteria 1939-1945

Dark Green o Black Undercoat

• Jägers, Rifles, Sharpshooters e similar troops
• Fanterie russa delle Guerre Napoleoniche
• Ghurkas, Chindits e Commando in Burma

Light o Medium Khaki Undercoat

• Horses
• Wagons ed affusti d’artiglieria in natural wood

In some cases, the undercoat may even be dispensed with. ESCI produces U.S. Paratroopers already molded in a dark green plastic which only need to be drybrushed con a highlighted colour to achieve a realistic effect. Afterwards, the faces, armi e boots are painted to complete these soldatini.

Domande più frequenti

Per ulteriori informazioni, per favore contatta la redazione di Rivista Military Miniatures nel Miniatures Forum.

Pitturazione dei Soldatini

– Pubblicato: 1996 – Aggiornato: 05.06.2007
© 1996-2011 by IDL Software GmbH, Darmstadt, Germania. Tutti diritti reservati.