The other week I noticed some flats for sale on EBay and kept an eye on them as I'm interested in the idea of painting some . The various popular subject groups sold for relatively high prices (flats are not cheap) but nobody seemed to be interested in a collection of about a twenty WW1 figures , so at the last minute I bid and won them . I then wondered what to do with them and hit upon the idea of painting and mounting them in small picture frames..
The first thing I had to do was try and identify the various figures with the help of my 'Blandfords' WW1 book , I have a good selection of various types and nations and decided to try painting a French Infantryman to start off with.
I searched on the Internet for tips on how to paint flats but came up with very little info , I remember reading once that you must decided where the light is coming from and shade the figure accordingly , above the light is coming from the top left corner (as it were) so all the highlights are on the left and things get darker the further right you go . Finding out what shade of colour 'Horizon Blue' is was fun - with no two visual sources seeming to agree , so I decided on the above shade .
Having finished the figure I cast around for a suitable frame , the strange thing is pro-rata the smaller the frame the more expensive they seem - the above one being £5 from EBay ! about five times the cost of the figure ! . Before I do anymore I must try and find a cheaper source , I'm quite pleased with the finished job and when I get more frames I'll do some more.
Nice work, esp for a first go at flats. ( I've had a small set waiting since the turn of the century )
ReplyDeleteWould it be possible to mount several figures in one frame? "Types of the French Army" sort of thing. It looks as if you could fit several figures if you turned the frame sideways. At least you wouldn't need as many frames or as much wall space!
btw are these the bigger flats? I tend to think of them as being 30mm by default.
I never thought of putting several together , may give it a go . They are 30mm figures .
DeleteJust make sure they all have the light coming from the same direction when you frame them!
DeleteGood point !!!!!
DeleteNice work there Tony on the 30mm Flats - especially as it is your first go at them. Several Flats in a large frame would look good as well. Cheers. KEV.
ReplyDeleteI'm quite pleased with the finished result , very different than normal figure painting .
DeleteTony
ReplyDeleteInteresting looking flats, beautifully painted. The idea of groups of figures sounds interesting. I have a tiny number of some smaller WW1 flats put away for Christmas.
Hobbycraft do cheapish box frames and have mail order / click and collect. https://www.hobbycraft.co.uk/craft-essentials/picture-frames-and-albums/box-frames
I bought one such box for my suffragette figure conversions for entry in a local village show but never finished it in time!
https://manoftinblog.wordpress.com/2018/03/31/marching-for-votes-for-women/
Thanks for the info I'll have a look .
Delete