Walkthrough of Oiling process

Last Thusday afternoon I decided to oil some figs to show interested painters how it worked for me. This will help to answer some of the questions I've been asked and give a bit more detail than in earlier descriptions (also show that it does work even though a bit of experimenting may be required!)

OK, many of you will know how to oil wash figs so don’t be offended by the following . It’s just a little guide for those not sure if the results are worth the effort . As my decorator always maintains –preparation, preparation then the rest is plain sailing and enjoyable. I also think (from comments received) that the results of my work aren’t half bad!

This process puts more effort into the preparation but the rewards come quickly afterwards. I have many figs already prepared as I regularly do batches so I’m already to go in most  cases.

Grenadiers oiled and underway - notice how the detail is easy to see and begs to be painted!

 I did the following oiling last Thursday afternoon 2.00pm (photos as I did it) and then the black was painted 11.15 the next day, Friday – so this is as it happened starting as you would do if trying out the method.

Method
I always use Humbrol Matt 62 Leather as my undercoat - give it a good stir to get a good matt finish and apply using  largish brush (see pic below for brush I use.) I sometimes give a quick second coat if necesary but not always. Make sure the figure has a good covering of undercoat but don't obscure the detail. When the tin of paint thickens (over time) I add a couple of drops of Humbrol Thinners and stir in. You want the undercoat to go on easily and with little effort.

I'm sure other brown undercoats would work - sprays, Vallejo orange brown, etc... - but as the Humbrol works so well for me I'm sticking with it for now! 

Materials

White tile, Rowney Burnt umber Oil, White spirit (not turps), piece of old tee-shirt or suitable material.

Materials used

Mixing the Oil

Oil thinned with white spirit (not turps!) Put a small (depends how many figs you are doing) splodge of oil on the tile and use the brush to add plenty of white spirit to the oil. I tend to pull a small amount of oil away from the splodge and add the white spirit to that. Better to make it too runny than not runny enough as you can always add more oil. Trick is to get a watery consistency that will run over the figure with ease.

Keep the oil mix thin and 'watery'

Oil onto figure
Simply paint oil over whole figure letting the 'runny' consistency do the work.

Rub off

After I've done about 5-8 figs I rub the oil off  (this is for foot figures only - horses are slightly different and I'll look at them another time.)You can rub the oil off almost immediately after applying it or leave it 5 mins or so (don't leave too long though as it may start to dry!)

Using a piece of tee-shirt material rub over the figure removing to remove some of the oil. I give quite a thorough rub but have a practice. I find whether I rub off more or less I still get a good result but experiment and see.

Oil rubbed off

After drying
Leave over night. I usually find I can start painting by afternoon the next day. These I did were dry at 11.00am next day.

Dry figure ready to paint. Notice how the detail stands out and is easy to see and paint!

Black painted

I've painted the black here (at 11.15 am) and we are ready to go!!

Here is another sample I did at the same time

Oil on

Oil off

Oil dry and ready to go

This method I use for foot figs (where the method is approprite, not for figs in large amounts of armour etc)

I'll later explain how I then paint the rest of the figure and will show you how I tackle horses (many of you will already have oil rubbed horses as this has been used for many years by some.)

Some 'Crusader Miniatures' horses done and waiting for Norman Kights

Finished these yesterday.  More on 'Oxford's Blues' later

Couple of examples of finished figs using my method

This method takes longer to describe than do but hope it's been some help. Sorry if it's gone on a bit!!