During a recent bout of spring cleaning, I rediscovered the only minis I ever bought... in the same box where I put them into storage in the mid-'90s. I never did anything more than a half-hearted job of painting them - no primer, only a few colours, lots of bare lead where I didn't have the right colours yet (and never did get them) - and several of them have never felt even a single brush-stroke.
Being that I've long since forgotten what little I knew about painting minis, does anyone have any advice on what to do with them by way of restoration/refurbishment? I mean, would a proper coat of primer let me cover up the shoddy existing paint-jobs and let me 'start from scratch' on their new appearances, or by painting bare metal to start with (fifteen years ago to boot), did I completely miss and vacate the point of using a primer?
Basically, if anyone's holding classes in 'Painting Minis 101', I'm looking to sign up. :S
Trace,
The easiest method I have ever used to 'clean' minis is to put them in a sealed container filled with simple green. Leave them there for about a week. Then, take an old toothbrush and scrub scrub scrub :)
However, did you use enamels (ala Testor's) or did you use acrylics? If you used enamels, I suggest ditch them and start over.
Also, you said mid-90's? Hmmm.. May I suggest checking out some of the new goodness over at reapermini.com? There are lots of good websites and good mini companies. :D
Technical Stuff:
You must clean the models before you begin painting. Simple techiques like just dish soap and warm water, or a vinegar and water solution work fine. Just rinse VERY well when done.
Primer is a second MUST do. You are looking for a good light-weight primer. Armory Primer does well, and GW Primer does, too if a bit pricy. Most 'walmart'/Krylon primers are too heavy for good detail work. (if you are doing vehicles they work fine and are cheaper :) )
When it comes to priming, color is very important! If you are doing a dark or metal colored (lots of armor) yo uwill probably want to prime black. If you are doing more vibrant colors, white is generally better. If you are only getting one color, go with white: it is easier to make a light basecoat into a dark than vice versa.
When you prime, hold the nozzle 10-12 inches from the target and 'brush' the spray across the models in slow even strokes. I suggest practicing on non-model metal obejcts first. If you are too close you will cause the primer to pool and clump, and if you are too far away yo uwill waste a lot of paint just 'speckling' the model. Also, if you go to fast, it is wasted paint and too slow also pools the primer. Do your spray primer during comfortable/warm daylight hours. If you do any priming in the cold it will not come out: it will probably look like fake snow applied to the entire model and give the whole thing a sandpaper texture.
The paint itself:
Colors are entirely a matter of taste, but if you have a good idea of color theory you will do well. Just remember to make a *good* looking model you need a mix of complimenting and contrasting colors.
When you paint, imagine the model from interior to exterior. Paint your basic flesh, then shirt, then armor and weapons. This is so you don't get that armor just right and then have to try to go back *under* it and get the shirt painted!
Once you get your basic colors on the model, go back and do some highlighting. Take a color that is a shade lighter than the main coat and just lightly tag the high points-cheekbones, shoulders... Just imagine a single point of light for the whole model and paint where the light lands first.
That is the fast and easy way to get decent looking 'table ready' models. You won't win any awards, but it's a start :)
I hope you do well!
GNOME
(PS: some game sites have great detailed techniques. You may want to take a look at Games-Workshop.com)
Trace,
The easiest method I have ever used to 'clean' minis is to put them in a sealed container filled with simple green. Leave them there for about a week. Then, take an old toothbrush and scrub scrub scrub :)
... "Simple green"? To what (other than me) does this refer? :P
However, did you use enamels (ala Testor's) or did you use acrylics? If you used enamels, I suggest ditch them and start over.
No, I've always had an acrylics-only policy - I always thought it was a better idea to use paints I could thin without poisoning myself. :D
Also, you said mid-90's? Hmmm.. May I suggest checking out some of the new goodness over at reapermini.com? There are lots of good websites and good mini companies. :D
You tempt me, sir, even though I have a hard time finding money for gaming books, much less new minis. (Especially when they'd spend their entire lives sitting on the shelves for lack of a gaming group. :()
Nonetheless, I'm browsing Reaper in another window right now; some of those figs do look very nice, not to mention fitting very well with some character concepts I've had for a while....The minis I'm asking about at the moment, on the other hand, are long-since paid-for, and I figure I owe it to them (and their years of dust-gathering) to at least try to do things up right. :D
Technical Stuff:
*** snip EXACTLY the sort of advice I need! ***
Awesome stuff, FireberdGNOME, and MUCH appreciated!
Simple Green is a non-toxic, biodegradable, environmentally safer cleaning product.
~takes some notes~ Thanks.
Oh, one more thing!
Painting minis as an amateur is about impressions, not about details: if you get it almost right it will look good and you can 'finish' models. If you are a perfectionist, you will never finish models! You can think of it as 'tabletop distance' or 'arm's length distance' Does it look good *on* the table; does it look good at arm's length?
You are welcome, of course :) I think good looking Minis help a game immensely. We take the time to make characters, we take the time to get together, sometimes we take the time to draw or photoshop a picture. A good mini (dynamic, interesting, painted) is another step to helping each other visualize our characters :D
GNOME
|
Trace,
The easiest method I have ever used to 'clean' minis is to put them in a sealed container filled with simple green. Leave them there for about a week. Then, take an old toothbrush and scrub scrub scrub :)However, did you use enamels (ala Testor's) or did you use acrylics? If you used enamels, I suggest ditch them and start over.
I will differ here, with Metal minis, the simplest thing I have ever found for stripping the paint is...mmm...paint stripper. I personally use Selley's, which is a sort of gel. Paint it over the figure, getting it in all the hollows, leave for a minute then, using an old toothbrush and an icecream container of water, scrub, scrub, scrub. Word to the wise however...Do Not Use this on Plastic Figures, you will end up with a pile of goo in the palm of your hand that used to be a figure. However, it is fine on resin.
|
There are lots of options when it comes to striping the paint off of miniatures. I personally use oven cleaner in a baggie with a scrub with an old toothbrush then reapplication of the oven cleaner. I use the like nonhorrible smelling stuff so my minis have the clean scent of lemon. Takes a couple of hours per "bath" for them and they come out very clean.