Old Glory Bear Skin Rug: Finished

Painting Old Glory's 25mm MW-121 Bear Skin Rug is an easy project that anyone can do with great results. Even kids can do this. After priming, it takes maybe half an hour to paint.

I've included the several steps I took. You can substitute any colors you like for the type of bear you want. I went with the classic grizzly and used the photo to the left as a guide.

(A word of caution about doing a Google Image search for "bear skin rug" while kids are looking at the computer. Make sure you turn on "strict" moderation! Even then, your eyes will be pained with those ancient photos from the 1970's of Burt Reynolds lying naked on a bear skin rug with his select parts covered up. The horror!)

Painting Steps
1. Prime with your favorite primer on both sides. I used Walmart's gray spray paint since that is what I had on hand at the time.

2. Base coat the entire figure in a very dark brown.

3. Heavy drybrush Folk Art #942 Honeycomb. The eyes and inner ears need to remain dark, so try not to dry brush into them. If you do, a dab of dark brown will correct the mistake. (My poor filbert brush I use for drybrushing has seen better days!)

4. Lightly drybrush highlights using Folk Art #953 Camel. I made sure to hit the edges and the top of the ears. Look at the photo to see how fur is different shades of tan. The snout is also lighter, so I hit that. I also hit the cheeks for some highlight. Camel makes the entire model "pop" and look good. My photo below doesn't do the highlighting justice.

5. Paint nose black but drybrush some black onto the snout.

6. Let dry thoroughly and spray with Testor's Dulcote on top and underneath so paint doesn't peel. Place rug in your favorite Western building and enjoy.