Playing with figures!

[dreinecke]

I finally had some time to play in the basement this week. I've painted up roughly 20-ish figures plus my RoadRunner for a little vignette on the track.

A few notes: no matter how rough the print, they look good from a few feet away. I paint my figures in a rough fashion, not much detailing, and I like to mute the colors. They look better in my eyes this way and less toy-like. I've got some store-bought figures that I am not fond of, as they are perfect, shiny, and have odd eyes.

I added the new fencing, the Plymouth banner and the 3D printed RoadRunner. The kids around it make me chuckle when I see it.

So, here we go:











I'm THRILLED with how these figures look. Again, my goal is a good 2-foot rule for looks. These are not warhammer playing pieces that will ever be picked up. They suit my needs perfectly, look like real people with cars whizzing by, and really make the track come alive.

150 figures left to paint...

[Dundee Denny]

David always a WOW "all in caps" every time you post your track pictures!!


Labeled as the "Fred Flintstone" of computers in my biz world, I continue to become tempted to give it a shot!!

Dundee Denny

[dreinecke]

Thanks Denny! Always happy to help if you decide to get one!

[btaylor]

David, I couldnt agree more! we have been needing figures like these for a long time, Like you, i have about 25 or so painted, and printing more each day. they really make the track come alive. There are a couple of store bought figures in these pics. easy to tell them from the others!

[MrFlippant]

Fantastic!

[dreinecke]

Looking good Bob! Not a single regret here. Having way too much fun with this!

[Junior]

Do you ever use supports for printing people. I had one figure that had his coat was away from his body and that seemed to cause an issue, now I have half a man. LOL!
Having fun finding things to print.

[dreinecke]

Junior - I don't print with any supports. Nice tool holder - I've downloaded that, have to still print it.

[vabchrog]

Have you scaled down a print? How well would it do 1/64 or 1/72?

[dreinecke]

[dreinecke]

And another 40 painted. These were some of my first at .1 and a few were off as the table was bumped while printing. Way up close, they look pretty rough - but from a foot away - I LOVE them!

These only took about 8 total hours. Again, I use Apple Barrel Acrylic paints in matte colors. Nothing too flashy and nothing too detailed. I find that to look pretty real.
I'm not very fast and I'm not very detailed. Like I say: "Not perfect, but perfect for my track". I will remove them from their bases tomorrow and "plant" them.



"99 figures on bases to paint, 99 figures to paint..." come on, everybody join in...! :mrgreen:

[dreinecke]

I've had folks ask what I do with bases. If they are on a paved area, I usually just color the base that way and leave it. The pit area is a good place for this as it allows me to move folks around for maintenance, cleaning, boredom, etc.

I've also done what Harry has shown using a clear base - I have many more to do that with too and that would work great for the pit areas.

For the folks in the infield though, I've always taken the bases off and simply glued them in place with Modge Podge matte glue. Easy to remove or re-fix if they get hit - but the PDR safety crew is usually pretty good keeping folks out of dangerous areas. Usually...

To take the bases off any figure - plastic, resin, or 3d - I use my trusty Ryobi belt sander. You have to be careful not to get a sanding burn, but you can easily remove bases in just a few seconds per figure. I simply crank it up, carefully hold the figure to the belt, and check it to ensure I'm not getting too much material off.





A few minutes later - voila!

[slothead]

Has anyone doing 3D figures also used it for other scenery stuff? Would it be good for things like rocks, boulders, and trees?

[Junior]

Now I am going to have to print a Police force. My track must be in a BAD neighborhood.

[Junior]