EDITOR'S NOTE:this pilot-painting technique produces the ultimate in realism. The techniques demonstrated by Michael Johnson, owner of Aces of Iron Productions Inc., can be used to greatly enhance any commercially available pilot figure.
When spectators get within 10 feet of your plane, you can be sure it is either to get a better look at your engine or your pilot detail. Although a good-looking engine will hold their attention for a few minutes, nothing captures the imagination like a well-done hand-painted pilot. Many choose to outsource the task of painting the pilot or opt for a prepainted figure, but for those who want to squeeze just a little more fun into their cockpit, I offer you this roadmap. This painting process allows you to use an enamel base with artist oil paint for highlights and shadows that give your figures a realistic appearance. I use the same methods to paint every Aces of Iron figure offered on my website: acesofiron.com.
The combination of enamels and artist oils provides a simple and effective way to achieve dramatic results with limited budget and time, and the technique requires surprisingly little artistic experience. The translucence of the oil paints allows remarkable detail with simple layering, and the long setting time of the oils is very forgiving, so it's ideal for first-time painters.
SUPPLIES
As with any aspect of the RC hobby, the use of high-quality components increases the probability of a high-quality result. Start with an excellent pilot figure; naturally, I recommend �Aces of Iron� figures or one that you've sculpted yourself. Next, you need paint. The �List of required paints� table names all of the enamels and artist oils I used to finish the Japanese figure featured in this article. I mention this table frequently, so keep it handy. Along with turpentine (for the artist oils) and paint thinner (for the enamels), a few good brushes such as those listed are all you need to create your masterpiece.
PROCESS
Whether you paint flesh, leather, canvas, or metal, the basic idea of figure painting is to paint a mid-tone base, create depth with dark-shadow tint and then add detail with light highlights. The figure is painted in several sections. I use Dullcote spray paint much like the �save� function on a PC. As I finish a section, I spray a thin layer of Dullcote to flatten the contrast between the layers and add some protection against smears.
In the first article in this series, I will cover in detail the application of the base layer, facial skin tone and the eyes. Take the �Click Trip� to download Table 2�a reference guide for painting the entire figure.
SECTION 1: BASE LAYER
To begin, paint each base section of the figure with the following colors. Face: Skin Tone Tint Base�Light); flight helmet: Flat Black; flight suit: Military Brown and Flat White mix; flotation vest: Field Drab; scarf: Flat Gull Gray; fur collar and helmet lining: Armor Sand; parachute harness (stitching only): Flat White; goggle frame: Burnt Sienna and Flat Black mix; goggle pads: Rust; goggle lenses: Burnt Sienna and Deep Yellow mix.
When finished, apply a coat of Dullcote spray, and set the figure aside for about 24 hours to allow the base to dry.
List of required paints
COLOR
TYPE
MFR.
NO.
Yellow Ochre
Artist oil
Winsor & Newton
746
Burnt Sienna
Artist oil
Winsor & Newton
074
Cadmium Yellow
Artist oil
Winsor & Newton
108
Flake White
Artist oil
Winsor & Newton
247
Raw Umber
Artist oil
Winsor & Newton
554
Cadmium Red
Artist oil
Winsor & Newton
094
Vandyke Brown
Artist oil
Winsor & Newton
676
Olive Green
Artist oil
Winsor & Newton
447
Flat Black
Enamel
Model Master FS
1749 (FS 37038)
Chrome Silver
Enamel
Model Master FS
1790 (FS 17178)
Military Brown
Enamel
Model Master FS
1701 (FS 30117)
Flat White
Enamel
Model Master FS
1768 (FS 37875)
Insignia Red
Enamel
Model Master FS
1705 (FS 31136)
Field Drab
Enamel
Model Master FS
1702 (FS 30118)
Armor Sand
Enamel
Model Master FS
1704 (FS 30277)
Flat Gull Gray
Enamel
Model Master FS
1730 (FS 36440)
Rust
Enamel
Model Master FS
1785 NA
Skin Tone Tint Base�Light
Enamel
Model Master II
2001
Burnt Sienna
Enamel
Model Master II
2007
Deep Yellow
Enamel
Model Master II
2008
Imperial Japanese Army Green
Enamel
Model Master II
2114
Dullcote
Spray Enamel
Testors
1260
SECTION 2: FACIAL SKIN TONE
The face is the most complex section of the figure and should be painted in one session. Allow yourself about six hours to complete this section.
STEP A1 (shadow base) Paint the entire face with a mixture of 1 part Burnt Sienna and 1 part Yellow Ochre artist oils (for Caucasian skin tones, use straight Burnt Sienna). Apply a fairly thick coat and be sure to work paint into all of the crevices. Clean your brush on a soft, dry cloth. Do not use turpentine; just keep wiping the brush on the cloth to remove the excess paint.
STEP A2 (shadow tint blend) Use the soft flat brush to gently remove the excess paint from the raised areas of the face. Wipe the brush on the soft, dry cloth to remove the paint. Continue the process until you've achieved a soft contrast between the shadows and the raised highlights.
STEP B1 (highlight base) Use the medium detail brush to apply a thin layer of Cadmium Yellow to the raised areas. Allow the paint to set for about an hour before you proceed.
STEP B2 (highlight blend) Use the clean, soft dry detail brush to gently blend the yellow highlights. Blending is a process of removing the thick areas of the paint with a dry brush and blending the edges into the undercoat with a soft zigzag motion.
STEP C1 (highlight 2) Use the medium detail brush to apply a thin layer of Flake White to the same raised areas as in step B1. Allow the paint to set for about an hour before you proceed.
STEP C2 (highlight 2 blend) Use the clean, soft dry detail brush to gently blend the white highlights.
STEP D1 (beard shadow) Use the small detail brush to apply a thin layer of Raw Umber to the areas of the face where a beard would grow. Note that I applied paint to only about half of the area and left the highlight areas unpainted; for the Japanese figure, I use very little paint. The thickness of the layer will determine the amount of �growth� in the final face; thin for less growth, thick for more growth.
STEP D2 (beard blend) Use the medium detail brush to blend the beard layer into the remaining portions of the face where a beard would grow; use the dry brush to remove most of the paint if you want to leave just a subtle hint of beard.
STEP E1 (red tint) Use the small detail brush to apply a thin layer of Cadmium Red to the cheekbones and the lower lip (no paint on the upper lip, or he'll look like he's wearing lipstick).
STEP E2 (red blend) Use the medium detail brush to blend the red layer; use the dry brush to remove most of the paint to leave just a subtle tint of red.
STEP F1 (final white highlight) Use the small detail brush to add Flake White highlights to the detail areas shown. Wait one hour for the paint to set before you proceed to the blending step.
STEP F2 (blend white highlight) Use the small detail brush to gently blend the white highlights in the detail areas. This time, don't remove as much of the white layer as you did in previous steps. This will add a nice contrast in the final piece.
STEP G1 (final dark shadow) Use the small detail brush to add Raw Umber to the detail areas shown (edge of nose, thin mouth line and mouth corners, just above chin and upper lip cleft).
STEP G2 (blend dark shadows) Use the small detail brush to gently blend the dark shadows of the detail areas. Don't remove as much of the dark layer as you did in previous steps.
Oils lighten over time, and your piece will blend naturally over time, but who can wait for that to happen? Let's just spray the piece with Dullcote, and let it dry for 24 hours.
Brushes
� SMALL DETAIL BRUSH (left; sable hair or soft bristle)
� MEDIUM FLAT BRUSH (center; sable hair or soft bristle)
� MEDIUM DETAIL BRUSH (right; sable hair or soft bristle)
SECTION 3: EYES
STEP A (base) Paint the entire eye area with a pink (2 parts white, 1 part red) base, including the inside of the lower eyelids and the tear ducts.
STEP B (dark shadow) Paint the inside of the upper eyelids with flat black (this will add contrast and simulate the eyelashes).
STEP C (eyeball) Paint each eyeball with light gray.
STEP D (mark the pupils) Use a fine-point marker to mark the location of the pupil in each eye. Using a marker will minimize the risk of ending up with a cross-eyed pilot.
STEP E(define the cornea) Paint the entire cornea area using flat black.
STEP F(color the cornea) Use your preferred eye color to paint the cornea, leave a flat black edge around both sides of each cornea.
STEP G (add pupils) Paint the pupils flat black.
STEP H (add highlight) Paint a small flat white dot on the right half of each pupil (put the dot on the left half of the pupil if your pilot flies in the southern hemisphere). Note: some people like to add a spot of Glosscote to the eyes, but I don't like the effect; reflected light tends to wash out all of the details that were painted into the eyes.
NOTHING CAPTURES THE IMAGINATION LIKE A HAND-PAINTED PILOT
That's it for the face and eye details. Next time, we'll cover the leather flight helmet, the flight suit, the flotation vest, the scarf, the fur collar and helmet lining, the parachute harness, the goggles and the final details.
See the Source Guide on page 236 for manufacturers' contact information.
