Painting Soft Plastic Figures
by Chuck Theidel
For years companies like Airfix, Ertl, Revell of Germany and others have produced a variety of figures in both 1/72nd and 1/35th scales. The quality and detail on these figures are very good; however, painting them has been a problem since most paints do not take to the type of plastics used to produce them.
Here’s a technique that seems to work quite well. Start by using a water-based acrylic paint like Tamiya or Model Master. Do not use enamels as they will crack and peel off over time. The main reason for using a water-based paint is (and this is the trick) because you can mix Woodland Scenic cement into it.
This will enable the paint to bond to the plastic with less chance of peeling and or cracking. Also, Woodland Scenic cement dries to a flat finish, not glossy. When mixing your paint you will want to make sure the ratio is two-thirds paint to one-third cement. I airbrushed some figures to see want would happen and was quite impressed from the results.
Photo by Chuck Theidel