Hobby Hint

 I painted several 54mms with Jo Sonya acrylics about 10 years ago. Although I was happy with the results, I found that color mixing and consistency were crucial and there was very little tolerance for errors in color mixing.

The shadows and highlights were layered with 8-10 color tones and no blending. For me, this was very labor intensive and time consuming. I didn't have any problems painting dark colors like black and dark blue but I had real problems with white and lighter colors. The bottom line: it was a hit or miss procedure for me. With very limited painting time, I couldn't afford to waste three hours of painting when things didn't work out.

I still use acrylics for some things but I prefer oils for the majority of my painting. I am more familiar with the oils and they suit my painting style. The most important thing for me is that I get consistent and predictable results with the oils.

It really doesn't matter what medium you use; just learn the basic techniques and practice. Bill Horan paints with Humbrols; Doug Cohen; Greg Difranco paints with oils; Mike Good with Humbrols, Testors and other hobby paints. Yet they are all some of the finest painters in our hobby. Medium is not as important as technique and practice. I think it is important to start in one medium and learn to paint well with that medium before moving on to another.

  Phil Kessling is a graduate of Tulane University and a former F-14 Tomcat RIO. He is a critically acclaimed miniature painter, author of Osprey Publications Battle Honours, and a contributing editor to Historical Miniatures magazine.