Monarch's Mr. Hyde

[Rockshasa]

Newly finished...



Spinning window prism hit him on the head in this photo...you can see it on the wall in the background too.

[Mike Scott]

Very nice! 

[Doh!]

Your paints are tight!

[Hepcat]

Oh man! Monarch kits are boss! And you do them justice.

 

[BigShadow]

That is amazing?  What type of paint did you use?

[Rockshasa]

That is amazing?  What type of paint did you use?

Thanks! I'm still using the last of my Model Master enamels at this point. I've bought a case of Vallejo paints, but haven't cracked into them yet. Mr. Hyde's outfit is all dry-brushed. The finish looks really smooth, because I hit it all with clear dullcoat spray when I'm finishing up.

[Mike Scott]

His head look like Zardoz.

[Rockshasa]

LOL, yeah, the head is crazy horrible on this model. Too bad nobody did a replacement part for it. My biggest complaint is the face is not scary at all, and I feel they could have made it look a bit more horror animated for effect.

[Dr.Terror]

His head look like Zardoz.

During this time period most Hyde stuff looked like that for some reason.   Creepy Creatures puzzle and the unlicensed Don Post masks come to mind.

[Dr. Sam Hain]

Beautiful build Rockshasa 

Love the colours you chose there, & it's damn fine work all the more so being that it's in enamels.

I read that you will be, or have, switched over to acrylics for various reasons, but please, don't lose that skill you have earned with enamels, it's sadly a dying art in that medium & people such as yourself with your abillity are really needed to carry the torch for those glorious little stinky pots & the next gen.

I predominantly use acrylics myself, have done since '86, & only use enamels for a pin wash or such like, but that's why I am all the more enamoured when I see such skill level in an enamels based paint up. Really great work man.

I am perplexed with the subtle drybrushing technique you have used, as it's easy enough with acrylics, but with enamels ? ?, is it a case of a long wait for drying then hit back into it a day later, or is it another way? I mean how to get enough off the brush & meet that green state of not dry but not wet that can be achieved with acrylics in the dry brushing technique, I can't quite imagine it because the enamels take so long to wick off the volatiles & cure, & even in a green state it is then going to be very tacky by acrylic comparison & give alot of sticky mechanical drag on the bristles? Is it a matter of thinning the enamels down a lot? Then wipe off, wax on?

[Rockshasa]

Beautiful build Rockshasa 

Love the colours you chose there, & it's damn fine work all the more so being that it's in enamels.

I read that you will be, or have, switched over to acrylics for various reasons, but please, don't lose that skill you have earned with enamels, it's sadly a dying art in that medium & people such as yourself with your abillity are really needed to carry the torch for those glorious little stinky pots & the next gen.

I predominantly use acrylics myself, have done since '86, & only use enamels for a pin wash or such like, but that's why I am all the more enamoured when I see such skill level in an enamels based paint up. Really great work man.

I am perplexed with the subtle drybrushing technique you have used, as it's easy enough with acrylics, but with enamels ? ?, is it a case of a long wait for drying then hit back into it a day later, or is it another way? I mean how to get enough off the brush & meet that green state of not dry but not wet that can be achieved with acrylics in the dry brushing technique, I can't quite imagine it because the enamels take so long to wick off the volatiles & cure, & even in a green state it is then going to be very tacky by acrylic comparison & give alot of sticky mechanical drag on the bristles? Is it a matter of thinning the enamels down a lot? Then wipe off, wax on?

If I had my drothers I'd still be sticking with enamels, but Testor's axed their Model Master line of enamels, and they were my paint of choice. The Testors enamels that are left are not the same quality, that is why I will be forced to switch. Trust me, I don't want to make the switch, but have no choice. I still have a bunch of enamels, but I am running out of certain colors and most of them have finally disappeared off of Ebay. It sucks!

As for dry-brushing with enamels...I stay away from gloss and semi-gloss enamels. They're not fun to dry-brush with. I use flat colors. If anything needs a shine, I hit it at the end with clear semi-gloss or gloss "lacquer". After a base coat goes down, I will often let it dry for a full week and move onto other parts. When it's dry I begin dry-brushing. No thinning the paint. I'll dip the brush in paint, get most of it off on the edge of the bottle, then grab a paper towel, wrap it around the brush and gently pull the bulk of paint off, then take the brush, open up a magazine and start brushing the white areas of paper; when I see the paint disappearing, then I hit the model. I have what I call an "ugly stage" when painting. Meaning, at first pass, the dry-brushing looks really terrible...uneven, blotchy. I let it dry a couple days. Then I go over it again. I just stay patient and keep dry-brushing til I get a nice even coverage. Eventually, the "ugly stage" goes away and it starts looking really nice. Lastly, what really seals the deal and makes the paint look so smooth (and covers some brush strokes) is I use a small can of Testors Dull Coat and spray everything that needs to be flat. Also, unlike a lot of model builders, especially resin kit builders, I paint everything in pieces, then do final gluing assembly. On this model, his shoes, pants, upper body, head and base were all completely painted and finished, then I glued them all together and was done. I find a fully built kit extremely difficult to paint well, that is why I am not sure I will ever get into resin kits, as I cannot conceive of painting something almost fully built.

[Dr. Sam Hain]

If I had my drothers I'd still be sticking with enamels, but Testor's axed their Model Master line of enamels, and they were my paint of choice. The Testors enamels that are left are not the same quality, that is why I will be forced to switch. Trust me, I don't want to make the switch, but have no choice. I still have a bunch of enamels, but I am running out of certain colors and most of them have finally disappeared off of Ebay. It sucks!

As for dry-brushing with enamels...I stay away from gloss and semi-gloss enamels. They're not fun to dry-brush with. I use flat colors. If anything needs a shine, I hit it at the end with clear semi-gloss or gloss "lacquer". After a base coat goes down, I will often let it dry for a full week and move onto other parts. When it's dry I begin dry-brushing. No thinning the paint. I'll dip the brush in paint, get most o:rolleyes:f it off on the edge of the bottle, then grab a paper towel, wrap it around the brush and gently pull the bulk of paint off, then take the brush, open up a magazine and start brushing the white areas of paper; when I see the paint disappearing, then I hit the model. I have what I call an "ugly stage" when painting. Meaning, at first pass, the dry-brushing looks really terrible...uneven, blotchy. I let it dry a couple days. Then I go over it again. I just stay patient and keep dry-brushing til I get a nice even coverage. Eventually, the "ugly stage" goes away and it starts looking really nice. Lastly, what really seals the deal and makes the paint look so smooth (and covers some brush strokes) is I use a small can of Testors Dull Coat and spray everything that needs to be flat. Also, unlike a lot of model builders, especially resin kit builders, I paint everything in pieces, then do final gluing assembly. On this model, his shoes, pants, upper body, head and base were all completely painted and finished, then I glued them all together and was done. I find a fully built kit extremely difficult to paint well, that is why I am not sure I will ever get into resin kits, as I cannot conceive of painting something almost fully built.

Thanks for the detailed reply Rockshasa, I really appreciate it.

It's not far off from what I imagined, even not having used Enamels much at all since I was a nipper, & from what you wote I can tell you're really immersed when you paint, it's cool to read. I actually didn't realise you can get true flat Enamels, I always thought they that some kind of sheen to them, even if just slight, a bit like Acrylics if you overwork them, that's very helpful to know. What you described is essentially the same as using acrylics for drybrushing, so you should be fine there. Though you will get a much faster result not having to wait between coats of course. I have to be honest that having used Acrylics for so long, I would have a hard time of that waiting period now. I need the results fast or I can lose interest in the subject. It's not a lack of patience perse, as I do have that for my art, I couldn't do anyhting without it, it's just a sense of my brain wanting to see infront me what I need to get down on the canvas, as such said canvas being a a figure of some kind. But a couple of days, yeah, that would be very pensive for me That said, I use very thinned paints, in washes & whats called by some painters as 'glazes' (it's just a heavier pigmented wash is all, sometimes with a carrier medium in it to help fluidity, extend the pigment without it breaking up or splitting & a retarder to prolong the blend potential), so my process could in all reality take just as long as yours, there's irony with me using fast Acrylics.

The ugly stage I think is something that every creative endeavour goes through, even the very best of best has that questionable point, either 1/3rd of the way through, or 4/5ths from finishing it. I find that alot in my sculpts, it's a bit scary at times  , disconcerting that i've just ballsed up hours & hours of work, but it usually finds it's path again.

I've known a few model builders who do the same as yourself regarding the component build then gluing together at the end. It's an old school way of doing it, but I don't infer that as derogatory at all, I genuinely think it's admirable & I have a lot of respect for it, it takes a lot of courage & know-how gluing all the peices together at the end when you have put so much work into the paint job before hand. It's funny how we all have our quirks in what we fear or dislike when it comes to the build, because I'm the opposite of you, I fear having to glue it altogether at the end & mashing up all the paint work I've put into it. You'll know yourself, it's a pain in the backside trying to paint over some glue that's went astray, or dissolved plastic texture, & then having to fix that, & then recreate the same surface finish as the rest of the piece on the area where new paint meets old so to speak. I find it easier to paint as a whole, where I've got all the refining done already, sculpted in detail, etc, first, rather than trying to work that later, or ending up having to rework that stage because of some warping, & then doing it at the end where any components meet & then work over seems, etc, & having to paint patch to the rest of the work already done. Though of course it would depend on the model aswell as to it's layered construction at the end, some things simply can't be painted as an all in one.

Some folks do the resin kits as I just spoke of where they will paint the great bulk of it all, mask off everything rendered uber carefully, then when joining, sand, fill, resculpt, then paint the small areas to match the rest of paint job. Takes a lot of skill & a concise knowledge of your paints, or to have at least most of the paints kept aside in their mix from the bulk painting, if they haven't used straight out of the bottle. But if done right before any painting your fit should be fine at the end to just glue together, so it does seem a bit back to front and risky to said paintwork to do it that way just described. I'm surprised actually that you haven't done a resin kit, I reckon you would tear through it man, hell of a lot less work than styrene kit in finishing it, especially nowadays as the casting standards are sooo much better than yester year. & with that, dependant on where the splits are on the piece, & how nicely accurate the cast is & keyed, say on a jacket at the shoulders, if you dry fit, refine & putty fill, & work out your pinning before hand of painting, then you could do the same with a resin kit as you prefer with styrene pre-paint & just glue all the resin pre-painted components at the end  

By the way, great job on the multi assemble at the end for the Mr. Hyde piece, I would never have guessed if you hadn't told me. Skills indeed!

Yes, it's a genuine shame what has happened to the Testors lines. When Rustoleum bought them up, I think folks knew what was on the cards & it was just a waiting game. I suppose the first warning signs for non US users in the EU & UK was when the temp ban & formula change on Dull Coat came about 4yrs or so ago. I get that it's a common business practise what has happened regarding the buy out & then burn out, & has been going on for decades, but it seems all the more common over the last few years, it's not good at all really. Aside from from Dull Coat, fortunately for myself, it doesn't really directly affect my medium usage or airbrush that I use, but I very much empathise with those whom have for all intents & purposes been been left stiffed by the circumstances.

Have you tried the Humbrol Enamels? They have been around for over 50years (first model paints I ever used in fact) & many traditional military kit modellers still use them. I'm not sure if they have changed their formula or not (I may stand corrected as I just fouind this in a wee online dig - www.tapatalk.com/groups/airfixtributeforum/viewtopic.php?t=56412). I know that Revell have given their enamels some stupid new name, whether it reflects a chemical change in their paint or as to them just trying to be 'hip' & 'contemporary' I don't really know, but I'm sure it's something like 'Email'  , yes, yes it is 'Email'. Humbrol have actually kept to their traditional guns bless em with only a slight changing to their pot logos. Here's the US site https://us.humbrol.com/catalog/paints/enamel-paints & also https://us.airfix.com/shop/humbrol-paints-accessories , & Revell with their silly new pot names https://www.revell.com/products/colors-accessories/email-color/. Apologies for my assumption via the links that you're US based if you're not.

& here is a quick forum chat from someone switching to Acrylics from Enamels after a 40year modelling hiatus, it's just chatter nothing too tech really - https://uk.airfix.com/community/forum/which-paint-do-you-use-and-why-enamel-or-acrylic?ccm_paging_p=1&ccm_order_by=&ccm_order_by_direction=

How about Artists Oils? They have really upped the mechanics & chemistry of Oils now, quicker drying times, water mixable oils (seems an oxymoron I know), & wouldn't they be not too far off from some of the qualities you enjoy with Enamels?

Regarding Acrylics, I know you've got the skills, but if ever you need a natter specifically about acrylics drop me a pm, more than glad to help with what knowledge I do have. I'm no guru nor exceptional as an artist, but I do have several decades worth of practical experience with them & if I can at all help or ease the crossover to Acrylics, should it be what you go with, I'd really be very happy to. Besides, maybe some query you will have will lead me to learn something new that I also don't know, so it's all good. Plus if there is some kind of test you would like to do, but don't want to fork out for an entire pot just to test, then maybe I have the brand here, or similar enough, & can do the test for you, get a snap of it to you, & that may help you decide on a definite purchase or not, something like that might help.

There is one particular subject regarding Acrylics I would like to put to rest right now though Rockshasa, as I firmly believe it important for you moving into them, that being the myth perpetuated by many folks whom state "Mmmyeeeh, all acrylics are just the same, your only paying for a name brand, just buy the cheap gaming or hobby paints" <<<< THIS, is utter, utter nonsense. It's rediculous, it's like saying all Oil paints, Gouache, Watercolours or Brushes are the same standard & quality. Not all acrylics are the same - as are not all enamels the same of which you can attest -, nor are the plethora of acrylic brands out there evenly or remotely matched in quality of application or ingredients. Binder, carrier medium, polymers, density of pigment dispersion, pigment micron, synthetic or natural pigment, split point, cross-compatibillity, drying time & curing properties, UV stabillity & light fastness, mechanical durabillty, etc, etc, they are all very, very different in content & usage. It's not even a matter of it being a subjective preference for ones intent & purpose, quite literally, they are not all the same in quality or output, quite, quite literally. Sure, one can settle for a cheap paint if that what works for someone, & they surely have their uses as I own plenty differing qualities of brands with 20+ different brands at a head count on my shelf right now, & sure there are artistic Savantes & Maestros out there who could paint with their own puke & still have a top result, but they are the exception amongst the 7Billion plus consumers out there. So don't believe that garbage when someone says it man, it's a non truth, & of those who make the statement it simply goes to show they have settled at a certain brand or level & moved no further. Sure if they haven't tried them because of cost that's perfectly ok, of course it's ok, & then let em state that as there's no shame in it, & if they are just plain happy with what they've got, that's ok man, that's equally ok, but making out that because one hasn't used a higher end medium that it will be just the same as what they have used therefore ALL Acrylic paints are equal, nah, that is BS, & utter folly. Glad I got that off my chest  . That all said, one could have every finery of the 'best' gear & still turn out a turd. The real crux is on the persons s:)kill & earned time doing so.

Speaking of skill, without question, at your level of skill set, & that you are migrating into new experiences of a medium new to you, means you deserve a better quality Acrylic paint to begin with. Acrylic paint is wonderful, but a cheap assed poor quality paint is just going to switch you off from it's possibillities & leave you with an ugly experience of it as medium. When you have the time check into brands like Golden acrylics, Liquitex, etc, deemed as 'Artists' paints, & thereafter consider supplimenting them with some of the higher end gamer & modeller paints out there. You can probably avoid the superz duperz 'How to paint this type of flesh tone' or 'How to paint Tartan over Tartan' dedicated 'Paint Sets' that are out there for modellers, as you already have your own colour sense pat down, so picking out your own singles in person at a brick & morter store is a prudent choice, unless we are talking about such a brand as Golden, then a primary 'set' of theirs will work out way, way cheaper should you venture into them or similar. Of course, every brands Acrylic range has their winners & losers regarding their core primaries & whites, respective of coverage, vibrancy & opacity, no brand or range is perfect or infallible, & anyone, consumer or company, who says that 'their' brands Acrylic range is 'Perfect' or the 'Best', is a nattering chimp, albeit a profit bias chimp or potentially out of just plain ignorance type chimp. I mean seriously, some of the rabid attack mode frothing that I've encountered in fanboyism for a particular brand should you say anything against it is complete selfsoiled madness.

I think one of the very positive elements of Acrylics is that you shouldn't end up locked into a specific brand & theoretically should instead end up with a variety of brands who's various colours, textures, viscosities or opacities you really enjoy using & technically can get a lot out of. I see lot of hobbyists out there that are locked into a brand of Acrylic paint, particularly in the wargaming & RPG community, partly because of the social aspect, where they then feel more part of that group or fanboyism towards a company & clique 'Being a part of it' & partly because it's just a means to an end to get figures & models painted. It's somewhat unhealthy & highly unproductive creatively, but that's just my take of course. Now don't get me wrong, it's certainly different for you, as there are only 3-4 mainstream Enamels out there, so please don't take it that I am chastising you in anyway for sticking solely with Testors Enamels, & were you to state 'Well the Testors is the best, for me', then I can accept that as probably so because of the finite of Enamels out there, & because of the calibre of work you produce via Testors Enamels, but for Acrylics, nope there is no 'best', but some are superiorly better than others in quality, & each range or brand has their good, bad & ugly in it, that's all there is, so do diversify in your brands of Acrylic paints, you'll be glad of it down the line.

Noting earlier of Golden Acrylics, they are expensive & can be quite translucent, but the vibrancy & pigment quality is truly excellent & a little will go a very long way, alike to the high extendability of Pantone inks, so the initial expense is negated in the long run over many years which they will last, whereas cheaper paints you may end up using more to get a similar result, or will become grainy & spilt as extended. By example, say a bottle of Pantone ink over the years evaporates & dries up to a crusty mass, hit it up with some Isopropyll & you reactivate it. A tiny dried crumb of it splashed with a teaspoon of IPA will make a dense pigment wash that can be rebottled & used over several sessions. It's worth it. & beautiful to airbrush with.

Pigment powders, if you haven't utelised them previously as an option, is another nice medium over a painted surface. I've seen some stunning work done on skin areas with powders, the real trick is setting it afterwards without darkening the pigment or knackering the finish you've just laid down, it's a fine art indeed.

FW inks, amongst the many others out there, are also really cool, being hybrid, one can use water & water based extender thinners or alcohol with them, gaining different properties akin, nice dropper bottles & very decent through an airbrush. Vallejo are good bread & butter selection for the midway Acrylics, but do tend to split easily on the pallete when solely thinned with water, irrespective of hard, soft or deionised water, though deionised helps alot, as it does so with all acrylic paints. In fact you can use water hardness to your advantage, that's the fun in being able to manipulate Acrylics. The Vallejo range is a nice play & test start point maybe, but as a last heads up on them, some of their codes, & admittedly I don't know about as of where they stand of today, as it's been a few years since I needed to buy more of their paint, it used to sometimes vary in tone or hue from bottle to bottle of the same code, not hellishly so but it was there & noticable to my eyes, & other peoples. Maybe they have that sorted now I don't know, but watch out for it if that type of hue deviation is detrimental to your work respective of continuity.

Transparency; I am not a rep for any of the companies mentioned, nor do I have any kind holdings or kickback with them  , & regarding all of the prior mentioned my apologies if I'm teaching a Granny to suck eggs, I'm currently under the impression your not yet immersed in the Acrylics & thought forewarned would be forearmed, especially about folks negating the differing quality aspect of differing brands Acrylics, which as you can probably tell, grinds my grits  & yeah it was a lot to read, so I will try & keep more brief next time.

Anyway, I know you're disheartened & p**sed off by the loss of your prefered medium, but you know what man, a whole new world of mediums has now opened up to you in return, yes there is the annoying financial implications of building up a new paint stash, & sure the choices can be a bit apprehensive or even overwhelming in such a saturated market, but I'll say this, I'm really looking forward to seeing what you can do with all those other paints & pigments at your disposal now

[Hepcat]

...but please, don't lose that skill you have earned with enamels, it's sadly a dying art in that medium & people such as yourself with your abillity are really needed to carry the torch for those glorious little stinky pots & the next gen.

Stinky?!!! I love the smell of enamels in the morning (and anytime actually). That's why I always use enamels - or nothing at all.

 

As for dry-brushing with enamels...I stay away from gloss and semi-gloss enamels.

But gloss were always the first choice of monster kids everywhere! Have you grown old or something?

If I had my drothers I'd still be sticking with enamels, but Testor's axed their Model Master line of enamels, and they were my paint of choice. The Testors enamels that are left are not the same quality, that is why I will be forced to switch.

What were the Pactra acrylic enamels? Did they smell like enamels?

 

[Dr. Sam Hain]

If I had my drothers I'd still be sticking with enamels,

Was looking at my paints this eve & pondered your dillema;

What if you make your own enamels, using a clear non-urethane Alkyd Enamel floor varnish (Bitter irony being of course that Rust-oleum makes one), mixed with artist alkyd oils, you could add zinc or other opacity & matting agents to get what your after. It will take some experimenting & will cost more initially, but you'll be set up for years with your blends once you've nailed it, & hey, you will own colours that no other artist has .

Here are some traditional Enamel manufacturers, yes they are UK based, but I was thinking if you got in touch with them perhaps they could point you to some traditional company in the US, as I am sure it is a small industry aiming at restoration works & they will definitely have a have a cross continental community between themselves.

https://swisscows.com/web?query=https%3A%2F%2Fpaintman.co.uk%2Fproduct-category%2Fcoach-enamel-paint%2F

https://swisscows.com/web?query=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.craftmasterpaints.co.uk%2Fproducts%2Fcoach-enamel%2F

I'm aware that 'FolkArt' & 'Decco' do so called 'Enamels', but I believe they are just Acrylic based & not authentic. Then there is of course that other side of Enamels for jewellery & glass painters but many of them require firing & are not what you are looking for, but they may have some pointers for you also.

[Dr. Sam Hain]

Stinky?!!! I love the smell of enamels in the morning (and anytime actually).

They can be very stinky, but 'stinky' doesn't always mean bad. Cheesey Garlic bread Stinky Reeks, but is yummy
The scent of Enamels are certainly a fond childhood memory for me.

That's why I always use enamels - or nothing at all.

As posted previously above I very rarely use them, yet they are gladly to hand if needed or wanted, as are many other paint or ink types that I rarely use. Creatively I prefer oceans of option through an array of media & mediums. When it comes to painting I try to limit what I expose myself to in volatiles or toxicity. About 50%+ of materials I use creatively on a daily basis are highly toxic, offsetting that where I can is prudent for me, besides, I prefer water based paint mediums, being a brush licker doesn't go well with enamels, & water based offers my brushes & I a less harsh clean up therafter not having to use carcinogenic solvents.