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Tuesday, 21 July 2020

Paint pens

I am not the world's best painter, and I am always looking for new ideas that will help me improve. One that I came across recently were paint pens ... so I bought a .packet of twelve Artistro acrylic multi-surface paint markers with extra-fine tips (0.7mm) from Amazon. They cost me £15.99, and I have been trying them out.


I have been using them to write unit designations on the bottoms of some of my recently renovated figures, and it means that sorting them out after a tabletop battle should be much easier.

I have found the pens easy to use, and once the paint is flowing freely (which it will do once you have read and followed the instructions!) it goes on easily and dries reasonably quickly.

14 comments:

  1. ........read and followed the instructions........ah,the perennial problem.
    I am always being told that NOT...........is a man thing, but we usually seem to get there in the end.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Barry Carter,

      Instructions? There are instructions? Well, I never!’ (An oft-heard comment from men when faced with something that requires assembly.)

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  2. Wonder if they would do for shield designs or pictish tattoos on figures ?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Good Soldier Svjek,

      If the tip is thin enough and you don’t mind waiting for the paint to properly dry, I would have thought that it would be suitable.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  3. I use a white paint pen on some of my figure bases to allow me to group figures in the correct divisions. So far I use the regimental number but may switch to a brigade/division format.

    I have also used paint pens on figures but you have to be wary of overpainting them as they take an awful long time to become waterproof. i.e. they smudge or even lift off.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jim Duncan,

      I have tried painting numbers on figure bases, but made a right mess of it. The paint pens seem to be much easier to use.

      It does take time for the paint to dry properly (I leave mine at least an hour before handling them) but the upside of this is that if you make a mistake, it can generally be wiped off before it dries.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  4. G'Day Bob, thanks for the briefing on the paint pens. I've seen them around a bit but have hesitated from buying them so far - I think I'll give them a go now. Cheers Greg

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Delta Coy (Greg),

      I had hoped to buy a couple of paint pens to experiment with, but it was just as cheap to buy a pack of twelve. I’m glad that l did, and can see possible uses for the gold and silver paint pens.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  5. I used gold and silver pens to paint medals and epaulettes and you get the picture on my 15mm French Napoleonic army. I then gave them a final varnish, at least 24hrs later, resulting in a mess. The gold and silver both sort of dissipated into the varnish as it dried, not as I was varnishing. So I would advise great caution and patience.

    Bert

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bertalucci (Bert),

      Thank you for that very, very helpful warning! It certainly means that doing a test piece is very advisable before going the whole hog with paint pens.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  6. I have dim memories of some metallic paints not always working well with varnish back when I mainly used enamels.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nigel Drury,

      I have similar recollections of metallic paints not reacting well with varnish.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  7. Looks like something to add to my 'Gotta Have' list!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Archduke Piccolo,

      So far, I have found mine very useful indeed, although the caveats noted in some of the earlier comments are well worth noting.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete

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