Figure painting, or miniature painting, is the hobby of painting miniature figures and/or model figures, either as a standalone activity or as a part of another activity that uses models, such as role-playing games, wargames, or military modeling.
In addition to the painting of models, the creation of scenic basing for the model to be affixed to is also an important part of the hobby (although not all figure painters are concerned about the basing of their models). These can range from very simple applications of textured pastes, grit, and static grass for gaming bases, to larger scenic bases for display models, and even full dioramas depicting a scene of a single model or a group of models together in tableau to create a story in one moment. It can also include aspects of sculpting, for the purpose of creating additional details for models and bases, as a means of customizing the model to make them more unique, or to create entirely scratch built models for painting. Many figure painters also paint scale busts as part of the hobby, often in bigger scales than figures with a higher level of detail, and display bases and backdrops for them.
As figure painting has grown in size and popularity as a hobby independent of miniature gaming the techniques and methods involved have been developed to advanced standards. Many online forums and online galleries have been created as places for figure painters to share their display and competition pieces for others to view and vote on, such as CoolMiniOrNot and Putty & Paint, as well as figure painting conventions or figure painting events at larger tabletop gaming conventions.
Models
The models used for figure painting can vary greatly in materials, genres, subject matter, and style. These differences often relate to the production intention, whether the models are made purely with gaming in mind (gaming models), purely with painting and display in mind (display models), or gaming models made with consideration for painters.
Materials Originally, all scale models produced were made of metal. Early models, produced for miniature wargames such as H. G. Wells Little Wars, were hollow cast and made from lead. These were not made with painting as a consideration, although could be painted to help distinguish forces and armies at a glance. Models continued to be made from metal for many decades, with the models produced by Jack Scruby, credited for the rebirth of the miniature wargaming hobby in the 1950s, being made from type metal. These would be hand sculpted in clays then cast into a mold to be used to produce copies.
Models continued to be made from lead-based white metal alloys until the early 90s. In 1993 the New York legislature banned the use of lead in miniatures following health concerns, so many model manufacturers began casting in lead-free white metal alloys as there was a widespread concern that other states would introduce similar regulations, often at higher prices.Bigalow, Robert 1993. "Through the Looking Glass", Dragon Magazine 192:112–118 (April 1993). Although the legislation was eventually changed to exempt miniatures,N.Y. P.B.H. Law § 1376-a many manufacturers continued to use the lead-free metals.Bigalow, Robert 1984. "Through the Looking Glass", Dragon 205:114–122 (May 1994). As this became more widespread more manufacturers began moving away from lead metals, with lead being rarely used anymore.
Models produced in metal had limitations. The price and density of metal made producing larger models both cost and weight prohibitive. For the production of larger models sometimes parts would be cast in injection molded plastic, such as the wings of a large dragon, so that the model could stand without the need for support or risk of breaking under their own weight.
Once plastic had been introduced to miniature production, it started to become more widespread. Manufacturers began to produce models entirely in plastics as a cheaper alternative to metal. Early plastic models often lacked well defined details as the softer plastics used, such as soft PVC, held details less easily and the casting processes were less successful than the established metal casting process. For this reason metal models were, for a long time, considered superior to early plastic models.
As the casting process was refined and newer plastics were introduced the details that could be cast in plastic improved. Plastic models started to become much more common, being produced to high levels of details and sold as equivalent quality or superior quality premium product compared to metal. Many companies now produce all or the majority of their models in high quality plastics, often polystyrene. With the increase in production of plastic models the models produced could be made increasingly larger and with more details. Whilst hand sculpting a master to then cast a mold is still a common practice, it is becoming increasingly common for models to be digitally sculpted and a master 3D printed to then cast the molds from. This has greatly increased the quality of details that can be sculpted, as finer details can be included. For these higher levels of detail, plastic models have become more popular for higher standards of painting, as well as plastic models being less susceptible to flashing or casting imperfections and requiring less preparations before painting. Plastic models also allow for more options in the pose of the models as they are often sold on the sprue in pieces to be assembled, rather than a single piece of cast material. This allows for the kit to include multiple parts, as plastic is significantly cheaper than metal, that can fit together to allow multiple different variations of the model to be built, for example a kit might provide multiple different weapon options.
Despite this, metal models are still widely and commonly available as plastic casting is more cost prohibitive for smaller manufacturers. The plastic casting process is cheaper for mass production, but expensive on a small scale as the steel molds are expensive to produce and maintain, so whilst many larger manufacturers have moved from metal to plastic, many smaller manufacturers continue to use metal.
Models are also sometimes cast in polyurethane resins. Resin shares some of the advantages as plastics over metals. They are lighter, so can make larger models, can cast higher levels of details, and will often require less preparation before painting than metals. This makes resin a common choice for smaller manufacturers of larger scale models with high levels of details intended for display or competition painting, where resin casts can match the details of plastic models whilst still being affordable for smaller production lines. However, resins are often more brittle than plastics, with small details likely to break so, whilst smaller scale resin models are still produced where the productions are small, plastics are still favored by most manufacturers for smaller and mass-produced models.
Genre, subject and style Models are produced in almost every genre. Due to the prominent links of production to miniature wargames the most common genres that models are made in are fantasy, sci-fi, and historical/military. The connection to wargames also means that a majority of models available are single characters (sold individually or in unit sets) in offensive or defensive poses. Within the broad genres, there is still large variation in the models produced by different manufacturers or even by the same manufacturer in different lines. For example, Games Workshop produces models for Age of Sigmar and Middle Earth SBG, both of which are fantasy settings, however the style and aesthetic of the dark fantasy Age of Sigmar is very visually distinct from the high fantasy Middle Earth SBG.
Models produced for gaming can either be generic figures or specific variations on common tropes unique to a manufacturer, for example a generic goblin figure or a licensed model sculpted to fit the unique Pathfinder goblin design. Manufacturers also often have a specific house style or aesthetic for models they produce across all lines as part of their visual identity, so models are easily recognized.
Outside of gaming models, models can vary even further. Often models are sculpted with similar subject matter, many being produced depicting sci-fi, fantasy, or historical characters in combat stances, however the restriction of models needing to fit a game's style, setting, or scale do not exist for non-gaming models. As such, the range of genres and subjects is wider, including models of prominent non-military historical figures, figures of contemporary individuals, licensed figures of media characters, or original characters in different settings and scenarios. It is also common for display models to be sculpted as depicting a snapshot moment to tell a narrative story in tableau. As such, display models are often sculpted with a more realistic style.
It is also common for models not to depict human or humanoid characters. Many gaming systems include rules for using vehicles, such as aircraft or tanks, or mechs so there are many available gaming figures to represent these in gameplay. There are also companies that make scale kits of vehicles such as aircraft or tanks as standalone models rather than gaming pieces, such as Airfix models, however there is often a distinction made between those who paint such kits (scale modellers) and figure painters. It is also common for both gaming models and display models to depict mundane animals and fantasy creatures, either as single models or as part of a diorama set.
Some companies also produce detailed scale busts for display and competition painting. As a subset of display models, these can vary just as widely in subject and setting.
Model sizes
Models come in a variety of different scales. The size of full body figures is commonly given in millimeters, although the stated size of the models is not always accurate due to scale-creep, where over time models have become larger whilst still being called the same scale. For example, Games Workshop models are still stated as being 28mm scale, however over years of production the size has crept up and they're now closer to 32mm scale. The size of busts is almost exclusively given as a ratio scale rather than in millimeters.
The most commonly found full model scale is 28mm scale as this is the most common scale used by gaming companies in recent years, although these models can be closer to 32mm scale or even 35mm scale due to scale-creep. Additional to scale-creep, often models that are sold and marketed as being a 28mm scale have anatomical features such as hands and heads that are out of proportion with the rest of the model. Originally a result of limitations fine details in metal, this is commonly done as a stylistic choice to create a more imposing or impressive looking character, referred to as "heroic" scale. Models made to be exactly in scale are referred to as "true" scale. Heroic scale and scale-creep are more common in sci-fi and fantasy models than historical or military war game models, although true scale models can still sometimes suffer from heroic proportions.
Other common scales for models are 54mm and 72mm. These are less common as few games use models this big. Companies that make models in these sizes are often independent producers of models intended to be display models. As these models do not often get used for games they do not often suffer from scale creep. The larger scale offers more opportunity for higher levels of detail that would otherwise be impossible to cast in smaller scales, as well as the larger size offering more physical space to include such details. Due to their larger size and higher levels of detail these are often the scales of choice for competition painters, where size restrictions allow them.