Painting Riders

Painting unmounted riders can be a pain in the butt since they lack a stable base which can be easily affixed to a painting stand. Here are some suggestions on how to mount rider figures for easily painting:

Stan Olson: I've been thinking about painting bases for Riders. Each would hold 3-4 15mm rider figures. The materials required include Leggo blocks and a small wood dowel the right diameter to replace a 15mm horse's saddle/back.

I would use 3 spot or 2 spot wide Leggos to build a wall/base/handle. (to hold while painting)
I would put a strip of 1 spot wide Leggos along the top, then crazy glue the wood dowel (to sit the riders), on top of these. Hopefully this will allow full access to spray paint, brush paint, clear coat the riders, etc.
Use white glue, or Blue Tac sticky putty from stationary stores to hold the riders on the dowel.

Like other temp. re-usable painting bases make enough to mount a whole army at once, or even a few armies. Try this out and let me know how it works.

Keith Venables: I've always used lengths of dowel on their own, but long enough to use the dowel as a handle - say 6". Glue the rider astride the dowel, near one end, and use the other end as the handle. When you put the figure down, stand it on the tripod formed by the long end of dowel and the figure's feet. Alternatively rest the length of the dowel on a box or a book, with the figure's feet hanging in mid-air. I usually use chopsticks for the dowels - they may need sanding to get a good fit depending on the size of the figure.

Randel Clawson: A method I've found that works well for painting riders involves paperclips, a pin vise, and a block of styrfoam. Please note that I "pin" all of my rides to their mounts, making the bond strong and clean, and the technique below is only useful when pinning is to be done.

Use a pin vise and an appropriately-sized bit to drill a hole about 2-3mm deep in the underside of the rider, centered between the legs.
Straighten out a paper clip completely, so that you now have a long, straight length of wire.
Superglue this into the hole, so that you now have a "rider popsicle."
Stick the rider into the foam.

Other notes:

Use the thick-sized paperclips, as they are obviously stronger and more stable.
When you get ready to mount the painted figure, trim the paperclip to the right length to fit a hole drilled in the back of the mount.

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Last Updated: August 11, 1999

Comments, questions and additions welcome. Send them to Chris Brantley at brant@erols.com.