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Painting Translucent Plastics


aarmy

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I tried doing a search for this, but was getting alot of results so I figure I would just post it up.

 

I am looking at the Translucent Green Pandora box, but was thinking about painting or partially painting the 'humans' in the box.  I was wondering how the translucent plastics are for painting and any advice people might have about doing so.

 

If anyone knows threads I should be looking at, please show me!

 

Thanks everyone!

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I have not painted Wyrd clear plastics but I have with other stuff.  The thing that I would suggest is looking for a brush on primer, preferable one like Gesso which reduces when it dries and is not wet and runnie.  that way you can control which parts are primed for you to paint.  Also be aware of how light will pass through.  If you paint one side but not the other it will not be quite the same effect as if you left the ability to see through that piece entirely.

 

In addition I would also consider some inks.  In my opinion clear plastics often look better with at least some light inking as it takes away the uniformity of their color and gives a bit of variance and/or depth depending how you approach it.

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I'm planning of spraying my smokey Tara crew at some point and then touching it up with a brush on primer. GW's black spray has always done alright by me and they do a pot version called Imperial Primer is memory serves which I'm told is pretty good stuff.

I just read a blog post about that stuff and smoke Tara.

You really need to shake that stuff like there's no tomorrow before applying it though. Or it's too runny and ruins the whole thing if you want to leave something translucent.

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I just read a blog post about that stuff and smoke Tara.

You really need to shake that stuff like there's no tomorrow before applying it though. Or it's too runny and ruins the whole thing if you want to leave something translucent.

 

I have no intention of leaving any of it translucent. I couldn't get my hands on a normal plastic Tara so I bought the smokey one last year with the intent on painting it entirely. 

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I have no intention of leaving any of it translucent. I couldn't get my hands on a normal plastic Tara so I bought the smokey one last year with the intent on painting it entirely.

Go right ahead then.

But I have to ask why not? Don't you think it'd make a nice effect? Or do you think it wouldn't look good?

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Go right ahead then.

But I have to ask why not? Don't you think it'd make a nice effect? Or do you think it wouldn't look good?

 

To be honest I don't really like the translucent crews, I only bought one because the normal plastic Tara wasn't available. I'll just slap some paint on her and see how it goes. I've seen some really nice paint jobs that have given me some inspiration for her, just need to get some motivation to paint them up!  :D

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And here I was thinking that a smokey Tara would be nice in that you could leave the Void Critters translucent (just some washes and paint the eyes) as well as Tara's monster arm and her blade and then paint the rest of Tara and Katrina normally.

 

Not a bad idea actually but I've got a few idea's in mind for my crew and figure it'll be easier to just cover the lot in paint.

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  • 2 weeks later...

How well do translucents glue to resin bases?

Also, some folks will be more than happy to trade a regular Tara for a smoky, and will probably pay your shipping too...

I'd considered buying them during the Black Friday sale, except for the price tag. I don't have any local Malifaux gaming, and it seems like a pretty cool crew with great figures, but I'm already working on 2 crews and the wife was shooting me dark glances in my direction. Stick with what I've got, I think.

That said, I did spring for a translucent Dreamer set - playable straight out of the box w/ no need to paint? Perfect!

I don't have any experience w/ translucents, but I'll update this once my order is received. I'm thinking I'd likely use 2-part epoxy glue, since plastic welding glue doesn't bond plastic and resin that I've tried, and I'm guessing that pinning translucents the way I've done my regular figures so far would just make things look bad internally.

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  • 1 month later...

Okay, with my Translucent Pink Dreamer set, I'm doing the following:

  • Removing mold lines and sprue contacts with files and/or brushed-on plastic weld, and then smoothing everything back down to a gloss finish with various grades of sanding sticks and a final buff with a cheap drug store nail polishing stick
  • Gluing parts together with Testor's Model Master plastic glue, which comes with a fine-point applicator tube and when applied in excess, allows me to squeeze the parts together for a bulge in the join gap which can be smoothed back down again after the fact
  • I'm filling in any small join gaps with brushed-on Future Floor Finish and then buffing back up to a smooth gloss
  • Haven't encountered it yet, but I'll be cutting down excess sprue and melting it flush for large gap filling using the plastic weld glue
  • I'm gluing the figures down to either inset pieces of styrene in my bases (where I use Model Master plastic glue) or directly to the base with JB Weld black 2-part epoxy cement (which is nice since it sets in a black color and doesn't show up when seen through the figure on a painted base)

I'm not "painting" my translucent figures per se, but I'm painting straight over the soap-and-water-washed plastic with a transparent colored wash for definition and then shading with colored wash and paint mixed directly into the shadows.

 

2 light rattle can coats of Krylon Gloss for gaming durability, and a light coat of Testor's Dull Cote brings me to this:

image_zps1878d528.jpg

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