Figures For Your Model Railroad (241)

This week I want to introduce a new feature to my videos as well as show how I go about painting figures for use on the layout. The figure painting turned out to be a much longer process than I anticipated so I have decoded to break the video into 2 parts with the first coming out on Friday followed by part 2 on Monday. So let's get started!

[@michaelallen3424]

I'm looking forward to your comments on comments. I'm usually watching on my TV as opposed to my laptop or iPad, so I don't see the comments or questions. I think your responses to them will be informative as, when I do look at questions and comments, I often find I'm wondering or thinking what others have written. Thanks for thinking of this format and giving it a try.

[@TheDCCGuy]

I recently found out that you can now view comments on the TV feed. On your Roku device click the up arrow twice until the video title lights up then click OK to access the description and the comments.

[@peteengard9966]

The first thing I do with figures and other small things is drill a hole in the feet or mounting point and glue a piece of brass wire in it. I then stick the wire in foam for holding and paint drying. I also use tooth picks for painting real small details. Thank you for the videos.

[@RobertEHunt-dv9sq]

Another idea is to glue a toothpick to the bottoms of the shoes, let it dry, then you have a holder that you can easily use during the painting process. It can be cut off when painting is done. The wire suggestion is excellent.

[@TheDCCGuy]

You can afterwards use the wire as a mounting pin in scenery. However this guy is destined for a loco cab so I glue his feet to the cab floor.

[@rwissbaum9849]

I glue my figures to the head of a 4d nail using Aileen's - the glue is strong enough to hold the figure securely, but will release easily when the figure is complete. I glue the bottoms of the feet on standing figures, and glue the bottoms (butts) of seated figures. The nails are then inserted into a piece of foam for priming. The nail makes a good handle while brush painting the details.

[@genebarfield6688]

For those of us who read the comments, we're gratefully used to not only getting the benefits of the comments themselves, but also your always-thoughtful and well reasoned responses. Adding a feedback section to the videos themselves will just give us more help. Thank you for being so responsive to us, in the comments and now on the videos too. Just one more reason your stuff is consistently top notch. Thanks, Larry! You Rule!

[@medwaymodelrailway7129]

Enjoyed the video very much .Thanks for sharing.

[@JWitchard]

Hi Larry, Your new format, I think will work well. This is just a suggestion on figure painting as everyone has their own method. I think of it as putting your clothes on. Start with the skin, as you did. Then shirt, trousers, jacket and so on. That way, you can be less fussy when painting the lower layers as the upper layers will cover any overpainting of the upper layers. I've been following you for years now and learnt a lot, so keep going and we'll keep learning. 😊👍

[@jhoodfysh]

Larry, I like the feedback idea. Most often, I find the comments interesting.

[@thomasgrassi8817]

Larry I must be thinking like you are. I have figures to paint and been gathers my supplies. I get my figures from MiniPrints great Guy . The paint I use is Golden High Flow and for flesh I have War Paints Barbarian Flesh Also I have a Wet Palette that will keep the paint from drying out. You can put it in the refrig and have your paint ready to go the next time. On You Tube many War Gamers do a Great job with painting Looking forward to Part 2

[@peterjhillier7659]

Thank you Larry, I‘d never been particularly interested in Figures for my Railway until your Video, excellent, thank you for sharing your Methods and experience.

[@TheDCCGuy]

Peter, you’re so close you could run up and get a personal scan and have figures of yourself made to go in all your locos, etc. You could be everywhere at once!

[@andrewstevenson5449]

Thanks Larry. Not painted figures for a while now, but that was pretty much how I used to do them. Always used to use enamel paints (Humbrol were the main ones over here in the UK), which gave good coverage on most plastics. You used to get more white metal figures too (I remember some American hobos that came from a Walthers dealer over here, which were whitemetal), which were harder to paint, and really needed a primer. The whitemetal ones also had more flash on them that needed removing. But most of mine were HO figures from Preiser: it was still important to clean up mould lines, as it's amazing how obvious they come when you're taking close-up photographs. Because you often get the same figures on every layout, I also like to do a bit of surgery on them: chop of their heads, legs and arms, and reposition them, or even switch them onto another figure. I've also made a gang of punk rockers in the past: just ordinary figures, but scrape away any hair and then glue on the mohican hairdos, made out of thin card. I think it's also important to keep mixing new colours, so that you don't have a street full of people, looking like they all bought the same clothes!

[@bernardc2553]

Larry we just Can NOT know it all..So nice to have the ability to. "Phone-A-Friend" Sure like your Channel especially the Old Dcc conversion's just got 1/2 doz.decoder buddy's for some brass .

[@CrewsRail]

I painted up about 300 cheapo 1/100th scale seated passengers a year back or so, which work fine inside Passenger cars, where true 1/87 scale figures seem oversize. I used 6" skewers and with just a dab of tacky glue I sat each figure on a skewer. I then stuck the skewer in a piece of white foam which made it easy to paint a whole row of figures, while randomising the colors on clothing, round skewer makes it easy to spin the figure round between your fingers. Took me about 3-4 hours once I got the rhythm down. But now I have a few hundred more to do as I've added 24 passenger cars to my collection..

[@ooheaven8491]

Nice video bud

[@RobertEHunt-dv9sq]

Suggest also washing well in IPA first to remove mold release agents. Then when painting process is finished, spraying the figures with Dull-coat to tone down the gloss finish and protect the final product. Also use a toothpick glued to the bottom of the shoes as a holder which can then be cut off when painting is completed is helpful. Good video, keep up the informative information. Love it with my morning cup of coffee.

[@TheDCCGuy]

Washing is always a good idea with molded parts however I have never had an issue with 3D printed ones. The great thing about Modelflex is i the original patent application the developer claimed it would stick to a wax candle so I have never bothered with a primer when using it over the last 20+ years.

[@peterwalker6535]

I also use the toothpick/cocktail stick approach but attach the figure using blutack.

[@frankwhittle4364]

I am well impressed that you knew whereabouts the City of Bristol was in relation to the West coast. I am afraid Americans or not noted as knowing about other countries and definitely not whereabouts certain towns would be situated. I know this from experience of speaking to your countrymen and ladies in different parts of the world while on holiday. Keep safe.

[@TheDCCGuy]

Heck, I even know that Settle is about 40 miles west of York!

[@frankwhittle4364]

@@TheDCCGuy now that's impressive

[@DansGrandValley]

Great idea for the new format Larry, looking forward to it. Nice tutorial on the painting, thanks for sharing.

[@Harrumph]

Hey Larry, some tips as a long time figure painter: 1.) Priming. It’s critical to achieving a good finish on any scale of figure, and can be used to your advantage in setting up highlights and shadows using black and white paint for a technique called “zenithal priming” which is well documented by war gamers and figure painters 2.) The wet palette. Another favorite of the war gaming crowd, this is a cheap palette that keeps your paints wet and properly diluted as you work, and will keep a few drops of paint usable for hours. 3.) Washes. They aren’t just for weathering, a thin dark colored wash as a mid step helps to define the details of a figure and provide shadows you can then work around to create a more lifelike appearance. Never hesitate to look outside the railroad hobby space for new skills folks, the war gaming and scale modeling worlds have a wealth of knowledge and techniques you can apply directly to your layout!

[@davidwilliams1060]

HO scale figures are usually considered to be too small to receive shadows and highlights, etc.

[@TheDCCGuy]

Washing is always a good idea with molded parts however I have never had an issue with 3D printed ones. The great thing about Modelflex is in the original patent application the developer claimed it would stick to a wax candle so I have never bothered with a primer when using it over the last 20+ years. I’ll have to look for the wet pallet. War gaming videos definitely do have a lot of great tips.

[@Harrumph]

@@davidwilliams1060 You'd be surprised, I use highlights and shading on 1/100 wargaming figures to good effect. It all depends on how much time and effort you're willing to spend on that aspect of your hobby though.

[@Harrumph]

@@TheDCCGuy Totally fair, the advantage of the zenithal prime is that with properly thinned paints it takes care of quite a bit of the shading for you, making for a quick and easy way of providing highlights and shadows in the colors you use. Washes in this context aren't actually cleaning, but using a highly thinned paint to tint the recesses of a model and give better contrast. Citadel and Vallejo washes are a favorite acrylic water based type that I use regularly to help add detail. Cheers!

[@ifanai]

I am a professional figure painter, I actually paint a couple of 3D companies and actual paint for ModelU3D, I use wet palette, acrylic paints, washes,

[@ricter591]

Thanks Larry.

[@strobelightaudio]

feedback section great, keep it going.

[@Mark_W_L]

My hands are a bit shaky so I use a Helping Hands device with crocodile clips to hold anything small that I am painting. The device also has a useful magnifying glass.

[@michaeljamesdenniss2716]

Hi you should try painting ngauge figures. As a Steam fireman your overalls colour fades with heat coal/dust and Steam oil Mike in uk

[@mr.shadestrains6033]

Awsum 🚂❤️😎👍

[@Conn653]

Loved the video! Small problem - your camera lighting. The lights reflected off your glasses. Try pointing the lights towards the ceiling of your room and 'bounce' the light back to you. This will keep the harsh glare off of your glasses, and the light fixtures will not show as a reflection in your glasses.

[@TheDCCGuy]

I use LED panels which give a nice cool light compared to my old halogen lights. However they are not as bright somI have to use more direct lighting instead of bounce lighting. I try to set up the lights at angles where the reflections off my glasses are minimized but sometimes I just can’t avoid it.

[@davidsullivan27]

Larry, I do love your channel! So glad I found it. You should keep the comment section. Just want to ask, have you ever painted a plaid shirt? I've seen several figures in videos that have plaid shirts. How possible is it to do this?

[@TheDCCGuy]

That would really beca trick in the small scales.

[@martinpattison1567]

I am not sure which scale figures to use on my loco's and Diesels. Most of my models are late Triang or early Hornby. made between the years 1960 to 1980 and I have some later ones which I think the OO figures would be ok. any advice would help. Martin. (Thailand)

[@TheDCCGuy]

I think you need to figure out the time period your models represent and then take a look at the modelu3d.co.uk website for some guidance. He has figures for all the major eras broken out so you can easily see the differences on clothing for each.

[@gsigs]

There's a thousand different ways to paint figures. And now you're going to hear about all of them...

[@jordaneriksson5417]

Paint the Pannier into duck for RWS

[@mike-a-boy4236]

how do you feel about Sergent Engineering couplers?

[@TheDCCGuy]

Interesting but I prefer KD’s for the convenience of hands off uncoupling either with under track permanent magnets or electromagnets.

[@frostgfx]

Can you do a segment on the NCE Snubber device for DCC please.

[@TheDCCGuy]

Coming Friday.

[@ianmanson-blair5065]

How do I make an incline to bridge 30 inches wide and decline. I'm in rough pink at this time..please help

[@TheDCCGuy]

So you want to make a bridge span 30”? Is it in an open sceniced area or does it span an aisle or doorway? will it be a clear span with no supports or will there be piers or other supports? For my lift out doorway bridge I used hard maple for the bridge and 1/4” thick moulding for the sides creating a U shaped cross section.

[@sarge4455]

I thought it was finger painting 😂

[@richardcross9123]

Why not start your videos with the titled content, then have a feedback section at the end for those that would like to continue on? Rather than a time stamp to skip forward?

[@billallen7468]

Hi Larry. The link you gave goes to an inactive page placeholder.

[@Mark_W_L]

Its modelu3d

[@TheDCCGuy]

Sorry, the company now uses modelu but the original name apparently was modelu3d and the website uses that. So modelu3d.co.uk

[@mrmalbigpond]

@@TheDCCGuy Sorry Larry, only just read this after posting the correct URL myself.

[@willannand9988]

Why not just put out 2 videos. Put out your regular one, then 3-4 days after that, release a "feedback" video. That way viewers don't have to scan through a video to get to why they clicked on it. Fast forwarding on Roku app is not easy. Also that would let you k ow immediately whether feedback is sucessful.

[@ecpcharles]

Hey! I sent you a message on you facebook asking about your keep alives, can you check the question out or atleast give me an email to which i could contact you?

[@TheDCCGuy]

I haven’t used facebook in years, need to finally go back and delete it.

[@ecpcharles]

@@TheDCCGuy Okay, well if its cool ill reask the question here. if you have any info about it please let me know! question: Hi! I recall finding your pdf online talking about diy stay alives a few years back and have ever since installed custom keep alives in almost ten of my engines! I do have a question for you though. I realize all manufacturers including tcs all use four to six 2-3v super capacitors. I have instead been using those 5.5V 1F coin super capcitors, wiring three in series. Is there a reason you dont use these? theyre more easy to find and cheaper, and three of these also take less space. Im sure you've thought of using these but why did you avoid these? is there some issue with it? I found that while in theory these 5.5v 1F caps should last much longer, for whatever reason they seem to drop drastically in voltage within a few seconds, making them effectively only push the engine through dirty track for around half a second instead of the theoretical 6-20 seconds. Is this why you dont use these 5.5v 1F caps?

[@TheDCCGuy]

I find the coin ones too wide for many applications so stuck with the smaller ones. I wish I could find the smaller ones TCS uses for their KA1&2.

[@ecpcharles]

@@TheDCCGuy interesting, did you find issues with their true capacitance? I used three of those coins wired in series but it provided less than one second of power to the motor operating at 30% speed. In theory it should be able to power an engine for 5+ seconds. I wired it into a tcs wow121 decoder with one wire going to common and one going to ground.