International Flat Figure Society - British Flat Figure Society
Flat Figures Painters Forum => Newbie Section => Topic started by: Casper Friedrich on January 26, 2015, 10:19:02 AM
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I ordered my first set of 30mm flats last week from Berliner Zinnfiguren. I chose flats because of my interest in civilian themes, cultural history.I am going to use enamels, because the paints that I have since last plastic modeling haven't dried up. But I would rather paint with gouache, a medium witch I have some experience.
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Welcome Casper, good luck on your first set! Like you I enjoy the wealth of civilian subjects in flats.
Simon Hoggett has an article in the Knowledgebase on painting in gouache as well as some stunning figures in the gallery so there is history there though that is still an uncommon medium. It does produce vivid colors however.
Again welcome.
mark 8)
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...and greetings from Texas, USA.
Pin-up babes are a civilian theme and filled with culture... ;)
Glen
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You can mix enamel colors (Revell, Humbrol, etc.) with oil colors to get a fast drying color for details.
Old masters like Otto Glaser painted their figures in oil and later the details with a fast drying color.
Best regards
Michael
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Pin-up babes are a civilian theme and filled with culture... ;)
Glen
Actually I ordered The hole in the fence from Berliner Zinnfiguren.
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Nice with a Finnish member. I lived for a year in Helsinki in the early 80s.
I paint with Humbrol and oil. It is excellent to mix them.
Bernt
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Welcome here !
I am not sure enamel fits well with flats :(
But gouache does :)
Eric
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Casper, post the pieces when you get them! I looked at the ones on the BZ site, but the pics are small.
Eric, in what way do enamels not fit well with flats? My very first flat, a 30mm ARW Hessian purchased in 1979 from Model Mania on King's Street in Cambridge, was painted with Humbrol and Pactra enamels... My first military miniatures (also '70s) were painted with same colors. I used Testors Model Master enamels for a brief figure fling in the early '80s. I didn't start using acrylics until the early 2000s - Andrea, Vallejo, and now Reaper.
Glen
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Bought some artist quality oil paints today, I was missing the earth tones so much! Thank you everybody for pointing out that you can mix them with enamels.
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I also started with enamels very long ago ::) ::)
But I find them too thick and too quick drying; but it is just my feeling
Eric
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Hallo friends of flats,
when you use fresh enamel colors they are liquid. After opening they become thick after some weeks.
Don´t use the original thinners; I use W&N Sansodor for thinning and they dry not quickly.
Best regards
Michael
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Thanks for this tip, Michael !!
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If you look at Mike Taylor's book on page 60, there is a photo on his workbench. I see between 10-20 cans of Humbrol. Although there is a black and white photo so you can see that there are more colors than just white. I have the past 20 years always mixed Humbrol and oil without problems. You can dilute both colors with white spirit.
Bernt
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Welcome Casper.
Mike Taylor used the humbrol paint as an undercoat to build up a block colour before overpainting with oil ;)
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This was also Walter Fisher's way
Eric
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Casper, post the pieces when you get them! I looked at the ones on the BZ site, but the pics are small.
They arrived today, cheering me up after a very dreary Excel 2013 course.
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Hallo Casper,
they look good and now they are waiting for colors.
Best regards
Michael
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Finished my first flats. Sorry that he quality of the phots are not so great, used the camera on my computer.
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@Casper,
a fine start!
Next time - MUCH MORE shadows!
Have courage :D
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Very nice figures and your photography is better than mine!
mark 8)
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A little bit off topic:
I bought Nürnberger Rostbratwurst for the first time after buying my first flats.
Nürnberg's toyish Heinrichsen vs Berliner kulturalhistorical figures
I remember seeing some years ago a coloured Christmascard, where the Santas ("tomtar") had built a two-row telephoneline from the Finnish capital to Nürnberg...
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Hallo Casper,
it´s sometimes difficult to paint the Heinrichsen figures because they have not so much details like the modern figures.
But is it possible to paint them in a detailed style like other modern figures. Look at the Bistulfi gallery with Heinrichsen groups
or the figures of the Heinrichsen exhibition on the Plassenburg.
The 40 mm figures of Heinrichsen have more deails because Heinrichsen engraved them by himself and the moulds don´t have
much castings. 100 years ago nobody want´s 40 mm figures like today...
Best regards
Michael
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I got my second and third sets today. Both engraved by Franz Karl Mohr, Morning toilet 1780 and the broomseller. Somewhat bigger figures than in my first set and the casting is of better quality.
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Hello Casper,
a good choice because F.K. Mohr was one of the best designers, engravers and painters with his own style for flats.
There are two good sources for painting:
- the Douchkine book of Alexander Baden
- the Mohr book of Edition Krannich
And the figures are suitable for small dioramas in a frame.
Best regards
Michael
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There are also nice examples of both by Eric Talmant and Ken Pipe among others in the gallery as well.
I am currently working on Morning Toilette myself which is a quite a beautiful casting. (I have a weakness for Mohr's wonderful work.) The detail on the Chinese screen is really quite stunning and a 'fun paint'.
Good choices and enjoy the figures.
mark 8)
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a good choice because F.K. Mohr was one of the best designers, engravers and painters with his own style for flats.
Best regards
Michael
Yes, I did know that Mohr was highly esteemed. At least when it comes to the broomseller set I seek my inspiration in the paintings by the 18th century Swedish artist Pehr Hilleström. There was an exellent exhibtion of his works here in Helsinki last autumn.
BTW I had thougth of ordering the coffe-sniffers, as coffe was at a couple of times fobidden here (Finland belonged upto 1809 to Sweden). But I withdraw as I personally imagine our coffe-sniffers to a somewhat latter period than the Prussian figures, because of this print from 1790s:
http://stockholmskallan.se/ContentFiles/SSM/Konst/Konst_0001/10499936S.jpg
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Gottfried Gottschalk had a series of "Die Kaffeeschnüffler" in 20mm (see picture), and Reibold a serie in 30mm. I would love to paint them in 20mm. I do not know who owns the molds now. I have always been fond of Pehr Hilleströms paintings.
Bernt
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I did not know Pehr Hillestrom
A lot of inspiring scenes among his paintings
Eric
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Berliner Zinnfiguren sells this set - http://www.zinnfigur.com/product_info.php?&products_id=10006491&osCsid=7bni6soln4snnd6bm295ptcsg2&sort=1d&ID=48 (http://www.zinnfigur.com/product_info.php?&products_id=10006491&osCsid=7bni6soln4snnd6bm295ptcsg2&sort=1d&ID=48)
I don't know if they have the molds but, are a handy source.
mark 8)
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I believe they are originally Reibolds figures. After his death, the molds were sold to many different producers. Karl Heinrich has made the drawings that are the same for both 20 and 30mm figures.
Both Reibold and Gottschalk lived in Berlin.
Bernt
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Hello,
owner of the "Kaffeesischnüffler" in 30 mm is B&S Zinnfiguren/Leipzig. Today I saw our friends in Leipzig have a new
hompage with the old adress.
Best regards
Michael
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Morning toilet and bath in 1780, work in progress:
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I am going to paint the broomseller as the västgötaknalle (pedlar from the region of Borås in Sweden) in this painting by Hilleström:
http://www.artnet.com/artists/pehr-hillestr%C3%B6m/vstgtaknalle-bjuder-ut-band-ZKtMKesrFXF4SqF-qPLOSw2
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Bought for my forthcoming birthday the set Strassenleben zur Zeit Napoleons from Berliner Zinnfiguren's flea market, the figures arrived yesterday. It consists of the complete A fair at Leipzig 1800 and the greater part of the Tradesman at the market, only missing the shoe-seller and the man in cloak.
Instead two crudely designed craftsmen from Weapon Smith 1450 are included. Actually it's three figures, but of the bellows reminded only the base. I have found out that the drawing by Ludwig Madlener, engraving by Joachim Emmerling from DDR
It seems that next time I have to order some late medieval figures, perhaps the Tournament Camp?
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Won Bronze Prize in the class historical figures smaller than 54mm at Nordic Challenge 2017, held at Otahalli in Espoo today. Mine were the only flats, there were some historical figures other than from WWI. I was told that the judges had been astonished by how I captured the flesh tone.
http://www.pienoismallit.net/tapahtumat/2016/nordic-challenge/kuvat/
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Well painted Casper and congratulations!
mark 8)
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Well painted Casper and congratulations!
mark 8)
Thanks!