The Best Deal in Gaming Miniatures—Now With More Pathfinder!

Ok, so what do you get auto for 100 bucks now, and how much is optional for more?

Right now for $100 you are getting 221 miniatures automatically.

I believe if you buy one of each of the optional add-on minis (approx 36, orcpocalypse is another 25) its an additional $250 approximately.

Then there are the paints and miniatures case @ 1 of each for and additional $99.

Ok, so what do you get auto for 100 bucks now, and how much is optional for more?

Right now for $100 you are getting 221 miniatures automatically.

I believe if you buy one of each of the optional add-on minis its an additional $250 (including the orcpocalypse) approximately.

Then there are the paints and miniatures case @ 1 of each for and additional $99.

See also: an insanely good deal.

Currently 221 minis: 220 Bones Plastic, and 1 Metal Sophie*.

(Zombie and Wraith Levels will ship in September 2012. The Ghast and Mummy Levels are expected to ship in March 2013)

Bah!

I did it.

Yeah, couldn't resist its siren call any longer...

Indeed!

Now you just have to come to terms with checking back on the Kickerstarter site every three minutes for the next twenty-four hours, just to see what extras you get. :P

Best site to see what you get:

LINK

In for Vampire, plus extras and minus Sophie (for another $25 in extras). Roll on awesome Golems!

Right you are Hitdice, ol' horse!

They just hit and added a new Stretch Goal, and posted promising a Grand Finale for tomorrow!

STOKED!

Yeah, couldn't resist its siren call any longer...

One of us! One of us! ;-)

I've still held off, but I keep having that nagging feeling that when it ends, I will regret the deal I passed up on.

The thing is space for the minis, and I'm afraid they will end up sitting more than being used.

*sigh* Decisions.

I've still held off, but I keep having that nagging feeling that when it ends, I will regret the deal I passed up on.

The thing is space for the minis, and I'm afraid they will end up sitting more than being used.

*sigh* Decisions.

You really should do it. This is one of those few actual "Too good to pass up deals"

Couldn't resist any longer. Had to be done. In for 120, Vampire plus the Frost Worm and the Red Dragon.

And yes, it really IS a deal too good to pass up.

As an owner of a miniatures company I am jealous, as a gamer I am overjoyed.

I've still held off, but I keep having that nagging feeling that when it ends, I will regret the deal I passed up on.

The thing is space for the minis, and I'm afraid they will end up sitting more than being used.

*sigh* Decisions.

I was hesitant, as well. But, I asked myself if I would really miss $100 a year from now. Also, would I regret it once I saw the full price of the collection. According to website cited above, the Vampire Level is over $1000 in minis. Unless you already have a ton of minis you aren't using, you won't want to pass this up.

At some point it stop being a moderate Will savings throw to not buy,
and became, at least for me, a low DC Intelligence test to buy.

I've been looking over the kickstarter and I have pretty much decided to contribute, but unsure on what options I am going to choose.

Like for the paints, part of the reason I want to buy these minis is to try my hand at painting, but what is the shelf life of the paint? For sealed and opened containers?

I want to try painting, but there are times I can get really busy and might have to put the painting off to the side for a little while. From what I understand, they are good quality paints, but I don't want the trade-off that they go bad relatively soon, as well.'

Edit: Ok, I pledged. I chose Vampire, and with all the options it came out to $382.

From what I understand, Reaper will know what options you want from a survey at the end?

I hope they (Reaper) are sending out their own survey, and not one from Kickstarter, as that just worked out pretty badly for FGG with Rappan Athuk.

Like for the paints, part of the reason I want to buy these minis is to try my hand at painting, but what is the shelf life of the paint? For sealed and opened containers?

It depends on the manufacturer. New GW paints are notorious for drying out sooner than their earlier versions. Reaper paints come in eye droppers, so will last a long time. They can clog, but all you need is a needle or bent paperclip to unclog them.

I hope they (Reaper) are sending out their own survey, and not one from Kickstarter, as that just worked out pretty badly for FGG with Rappan Athuk.

Reaper is using their own survey. See the video FAQ, especially for the No-Sophie option for $25 credit.

The thing is space for the minis, and I'm afraid they will end up sitting more than being used.

Unpainted plastic mini's still have enough detail for gameplay. I mean, look at the entire D&D Adventure System games (eg. Castle Ravenloft), whose mini's are unpainted. Besides RPGs, BoardGameGeek has a geeklist of what games you can use the mini's for.

As for storage, unpainted mini's can be stored in baggies or like any other game piece.

Only 7 hours left. And just 130k from the 3M mark.

Thanks for the replies, ced. That's really good to hear Reaper is using their own survey.

And as I said, I already did pledge. However, it's still going to be an issue on storage space, putting them in bags won't really help, but I'll make do.

I am conflicted.

Do I get the Undead Dragon or the Miniature case to hold all these buggers?

I think we are up to 228 figs at the vampire level. Gotta admit this is turning into one heck of a promotional event for Reaper. I'm seeing forum postings about it just about everywhere I usually visit and it's raising a lot of Brand Awareness.

Seen some posts from people in the UK who had thought Reaper was dead and gone long ago. Apparently the line is hard to get over seas. Something about a conflict with the main distribution company over there.

Regardless, People are taking a good hard look at Reaper because of this

ced1106 wrote:

Agreed. Over the last few years, I've noticed MUCH more support for the new miniatures painter. Also, the big secret to miniatures painting is washing your mini with Army Painter Strong Tone ink wash (aka. the replacement for GW's Devlan Mud). I'm as far as base coats and washing, and my paint jobs look MUCH better than any prepaint.

Is this something you need to do with the plastic (BONES) minis? Or only needed for metal minis?

I've heard the term "washing" the mini, but really don't know what that means, or how involved it is. Obviously it's not running it under water, so it's basically just another coat applied?

Washing is using a really runny/watered down paint. It helps highlight the crevices because it flows off the flatter surfaces more while it is drying. You can either water down your paint yourself, or buy a wash already watered down to the appropriate level.

However, there is a problem with the bones line with washing. It is still a little too slippery for washing so if you want to wash before painting the entire thing you still do want to use a primer coat so the wash sticks a little better.

Now... I am not an expert miniature painter, but it is really easy to do a better job than wizard's line. Also there are probably more experienced painters that can give a better explanation of washing.

However, there is a problem with the bones line with washing. It is still a little too slippery for washing so if you want to wash before painting the entire thing you still do want to use a primer coat so the wash sticks a little better.

Is there a reason why you would want to wash before painting instead of afterwards? Is it not beneficial, or as beneficial, after painting the fig?

Terek wrote:

However, there is a problem with the bones line with washing. It is still a little too slippery for washing so if you want to wash before painting the entire thing you still do want to use a primer coat so the wash sticks a little better.

Is there a reason why you would want to wash before painting instead of afterwards? Is it not beneficial, or as beneficial, after painting the fig?

If you don't have the time to paint all your minis, a quick wash will cause the details to stand out. So instead of looking like a lump of white plastic, it would look like a ghost.

I'm already committed to getting these, but if I paint them at all, I want to do it the laziest way possible. Is this right?

1. Ready to use!
2. Primer coat them all (I dunno with what).
3. Wash them all (ced1106 mentioned Army Painter Strong Tone ink wash).
4. Ready to use looking better!
5. Paint whenever, it's in eyedroppers.
6. Wash a mini again after done painting it.
7. Ready to use looking the best!

Now at 240 miniatures. So for $100 it comes to $0.42 per mini.

Terek wrote:

However, there is a problem with the bones line with washing. It is still a little too slippery for washing so if you want to wash before painting the entire thing you still do want to use a primer coat so the wash sticks a little better.

Is there a reason why you would want to wash before painting instead of afterwards? Is it not beneficial, or as beneficial, after painting the fig?

Washing before painting brings out the details, thus helps the painter decide what to do with all the details.

I'm already committed to getting these, but if I paint them at all, I want to do it the laziest way possible. Is this right?

1. Ready to use!
2. Primer coat them all (I dunno with what).
3. Wash them all (ced1106 mentioned Army Painter Strong Tone ink wash).
4. Ready to use looking better!
5. Paint whenever, it's in eyedroppers.
6. Wash a mini again after done painting it.
7. Ready to use looking the best!

1) I use unpainted miniatures when DM'ing if I need them. Better than a penny... but not better than skittles where the person who get the killing blow gets to eat the skittle.

2) Get a primer that is designed for miniatures. Primers for other things like cars and such might can be too thick and hide the details. Plus there is a specific type of primer that doesn't work well with the bones line.

3) Washing before painting will help you see the detail and thus aid you in painting.

4) Yup, looks better than no wash at all

5) Use a brush... If you want varied colors on a cloak it is kindof nice to partially mix a few colors and paint with a mixed color to get easy varied colors... really there are a million tips and tricks out there.

6) You may want to consider washing with different colors based on what areas you are washing.

7) You might want to do a matte or glossy sealer to protect your paint job. If you want shiny, go with glossy, otherwise use matte. There are spray sealers, and there are sealers you brush on.

Try as I might to stop them and educate them, some of my players have some miniatures hit the other miniatures with their weapons... tempts me to have them become the primary target.

Really... look at tutorials somewhere, I really an a newb when it comes to painting and have an unsteady hand due to some health issues. I still do have a few miniatures that I am very proud of.

Just got in at the last minute for a flat vampire level pledge. Really bummed I couldn't afford the add-ons.

Just got in at the last minute for a flat vampire level pledge. Really bummed I couldn't afford the add-ons.

Don't foget you can trade the Sophie fig in for $25 credit toward some of those add-ons you've got your eye on! Rawk!

That's awesome, but I tallied at least $160 in add-ons that I really want! I wonder how much more they will cost on the shelf, and if they will be available before or after the kickstarter rewards ship.

You'll get the opportunity to add additional add-ons after the Kickstarter is over.

Really! That's excellent news.

I'm already committed to getting these, but if I paint them at all, I want to do it the laziest way possible. Is this right?

1. Ready to use!
2. Primer coat them all (I dunno with what).
3. Wash them all (ced1106 mentioned Army Painter Strong Tone ink wash).
4. Ready to use looking better!
5. Paint whenever, it's in eyedroppers.
6. Wash a mini again after done painting it.
7. Ready to use looking the best!

This is what i do with my plastic miniatures that i don't care about as much as my metal ones.

1) Spray them with white primer (haven't painted any bones yet but supposedly you can skip this step with them (although i probably spray them anyway))
2) Put on a basecoat
3) Blackline
4) Dip in one of the Army Painter Shades
5) Shake, brush of excess and let it dry
6) Seal with matt varnish

This doesn't produce rockstar results, but they are decent enough for table top and it's sooooo fast and thanks to the quick shade also gloss varnishes the paint stays on. The time i spend on each mini is something between 10 - 20 minutes.

These are some of the results i've got: Zombies and Mixed

With an hour to go, I'm still waiting on these "all day surprises" this morning's email promised. Is it about to be a crazy hour, or are my expectations too high? =-)

EDIT: I take it back -an 8" Cthulhu is a pretty big surprise!

Wow Cthulhu......Yeah I kind of need that.

With an hour to go, I'm still waiting on these "all day surprises" this morning's email promised. Is it about to be a crazy hour, or are my expectations too high? =-)

EDIT: I take it back -an 8" Cthulhu is a pretty big surprise!

The Latest Dragon was one of those timed ones as well, and it wouldn't shock me if they try to squeeze one more out of it...

The Kickstarter site went down with all the hits... But Cthulu is within reach

Got an Email saying Cthulhu is in. They are in the middle of recovering some lost Pledge data when things crashed but that seems to have put them over the top for the big guy.

Come March I am going to receive this huge box and be completely confused until I open it.

Gonna have to hold a Paint Party I think, see how many of my friends are up for Pizza and Paint

Hopefully I'll have healed from the beating I'm going to get when the Credit Card Bill shows up

3rd biggest Kickstarter of all time to-date! Really looking forward to next March. Be cool (and smart) if Paizo runs a store blog around then with a wish list of painting supplies and links to good tutorials. :)

This is what i do with my plastic miniatures that i don't care about as much as my metal ones.

1) Spray them with white primer (haven't painted any bones yet but supposedly you can skip this step with them (although i probably spray them anyway))
2) Put on a basecoat
3) Blackline
4) Dip in one of the Army Painter Shades
5) Shake, brush of excess and let it dry
6) Seal with matt varnish

This doesn't produce rockstar results, but they are decent enough for table top and it's sooooo fast and thanks to the quick shade also gloss varnishes the paint stays on. The time i spend on each mini is something between 10 - 20 minutes.

Those minis look awesome! I do the exact same thing and the results are more than adequate for the RPG tabletop. And it doesn't take forever. Just put on a base coast and dip. Boom! Pretty nice minis. I am planning on taking a couple of minis that I base coated today and take some before and after pictures to show how great dipping can be. I will then put them up on the Paizo blog. I am hoping that with this Kickstarter, folks can learn to paint decent minis without having to spend a ton of time. I want people to get over their painting minis phobia.

-Lisa

Thanks for the painting info from several of you. Although I will admit a lot of it is still a bit confusing to me (even though you all say it is easy).

I have no painting (miniatures) experience.

1) What is a basecoat? I'm assuming that is the actual of the different colors on the minis?

2) What does 'blackline' mean?

3) Why do you recommend dipping in one of the Army Painter Shades, compared to brushing it on?

4) Also, Terek above recommended washing the mini beforehand, is that something you do not use, Patrik or Lisa?

5) I hear there is a specific washer that does not work well with BONES miniatures, what is that brand to stay way from it?

What would really be great is a tutorial online that would go in detail on how to paint, what the recommended brand washers/primers/paints (specifically for the same plastic BONES minis have) there are. I would even be ok with purchasing a book for it.

I did a search online, and couldn't find what I wanted exactly. A lot of them have aspects of what I want, but not specifically what I want to deal with or all the steps involved.

1. A base coat is the bottom (i.e. base) layer (i.e. coat) of paint. Depending on how fancy you want to be, highlights can be applied to the base coat by applying lighter versions of those colours to the raised portions of the miniature, which would get more light than the deeper portions like folds in clothing, and such. Shading the miniature can also be done either by choosing your base coat to be the darkest colour, and doing more levels of highlighting, or by applying a very thin coat of paint (called a wash) which will settle in the recesses. If you use the same colour wash everywhere, rather than individual colours which are darker versions of the portions of the base coat, then your are essentially "dipping" the model, regardless to your actual method of application (be that dunking, or slathering it with a brush).

2. Black lining is painting black, or very dark lines at various transition points on a model. This is useful if the model lacks sufficient definition, or if you want to create your own transitions that would not be achieved by shading due to the sculpt.

3. Army painter shades are dips as they are a single wash rather than a targeted wash when you'd use a thin dark blue on a blue surface, and a dark green on a green surface. For people who use dips, the method of covering the model is often a combination of physical dipping, and using a brush to ensure full coverage, and removing pools which might obscure detail as they dry. Really big models, don't fit in the can, so splashing the dip onto the model by brush is pretty much the only option.

4. Using soap on models is something I find is done by people who've been in the hobby a very long time, were advised by someone who does, or have had an issue with a small manufacturer in more recent times. I've never done it, and haven't had an issue in 20ish years of painting.

5. There have been issues with some primers used on Bones. I don't know which ones they are, and priming is not required for Bones. So I'd suggest you skip priming, and not add lots of water to your base coat. Everything will be fine.

Eric

http://hot-lead.org/dvd/index.html
http://www.darkswordminiatures.com/mainwebsite_html/gallery/DarkSwordDVD.ht ml

The hot lead dvds or the dark sword how to paint dvds are good for beginners. Jeremie Bonamant also does a good dvd, but it's hard to find a copy.

These guys sell the apparently: http://agpminis.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=1&zenid=bl6vfnc 8uev113ncpn6758mbi2

Thanks for the response, Eric.

4. Using soap on models is something I find is done by people who've been in the hobby a very long time, were advised by someone who does, or have had an issue with a small manufacturer in more recent times. I've never done it, and haven't had an issue in 20ish years of painting.

5. There have been issues with some primers used on Bones. I don't know which ones they are, and priming is not required for Bones. So I'd suggest you skip...

I wasn't actually talking about cleaning the mini, I was talking about what I have heard is called washing it. From what I understand, it is a clearcoat that is normally put on before the basecoat so it brings out the details and therefore makes it easier to paint.

But you refer to the Army painter shades as a 'wash'. However, it looks like Patrik puts it on 'after' the basecoat.

For #5, I was referring to putting on a wash, not a primer.

@ Robert Hawkshaw-Thanks for the urls, I will take a look at them.

I'm already committed to getting these, but if I paint them at all, I want to do it the laziest way possible. Is this right?

1. Ready to use!
2. Primer coat them all (I dunno with what).
3. Wash them all (ced1106 mentioned Army Painter Strong Tone ink wash).
4. Ready to use looking better!
5. Paint whenever, it's in eyedroppers.
6. Wash a mini again after done painting it.
7. Ready to use looking the best!

The laziest way possible to put these minis down on your table so that they can be used is of course to do nothing at all with them.

Beyond that, a quick color code system can be used depending on the type of mini (PC, NPC, undead, etc.) The way you do this is NOT to use a paint, but to use a PVC dye. It's pretty inexpensive stuff, too.

Example of home made PVC dyes: Click HERE

After the PVC dye is applied, you can use Army Painter Strong quickshade to bring out some shadows and details. Please do not confuse Army Painter Strong Quickshade with an ink wash. That's not what this product is and it is not a GW Devlan Brown wash substitute. Army Painter Quickshade is a hobby branded substitute instead of using a Minwax Polyshade Mahogany Dip. Both are oil based varnish products. It goops on and must be brushed off and left to dry for 24 hours or so, depending on your relative humidity. It goes on really dark and you wonder "what the hell have I done" but it dries mostly clear and creates shadows and depths in the model near the fold and corners of limbs, fabrics and so forth.

If you are looking at exerting the least amount of effort while still trying to do something with your Bones before you put em on the table - PVC dye plus a Minwax Polyshade dip is your ticket. You could dye and dip an entire Vampire pledge mini set in an afternoon if you cared to using this method.

First kickstarter project I ever supported. At first I was going to go for the mummy level, but after seeing how many minis you can get for $100 I opted for vampire. It was a tough decision I only had a little over a hundred dollars in my checking account, and I needed some groceries, guess I'll be going on a diet until pay day.

Army painter also has a line of ink washes now - one is a replacement devlan mud.

You're combining two different things/steps.

Applying a clear coat spray has been listed as a way of priming a Bones model if you really want a prime, as all known clear coats will dry properly on a bones model, unlike all primers (which is a frequently pointed out issue). Clear coat will not add any pigment/make transitions between areas of the model more distinctive.

A wash - thin pigment/paint, applying a wash is called washing. A thin paint applied to a Bones model will flow into the recesses and leave paint there when it dries.

Inks are sometimes lumped in with washes, but they are a different animal. (The moaning when GW switched from inks to washes was considerable.) It may be there is an issue of using an ink on an unprimed/non-base coated Bones model. Inks are fairly uncommon these days.

There are some people who apply a wash to a model before painting because they have poor lighting and/or vision. Since watery paint on an unprimed/non-base coated Bones model goes into the recesses as I mentioned earlier, I can't see you having an issue using it if you want to bother with the extra step. I've never found it necessary, and have seen models where details were obscured from overzealous and multiple washing.

I find the best thing is to try things as simply as possible, then add in steps if you have an issue. Researching options is a great thing to do, but it can be easy to make mountains out of molehills in terms of the time required to do a task.

Eric

I can understand the confusion among some here, as terms are flying all around and to anyone who hasn't done any painting before, these terms aren't self-explanatory.

So, this is the easy guide to getting very presentable miniatures that anyone can do, even if they haven't painted a miniature before in their lives.
There are more "complicated" methods if you want to learn to "paint for real" but I'll skip those and you can find tons of tutorials out there on the net and you can buy books about it too (and even DVDs, Robert Hawkshaw has mentioned a couple of them above - the major companies like Games Workshop and some miniature sellers, like MiniWarGaming.com, also have DVDs available).

The easy method to getting quite good painted miniatures, also known as "dipping":
You have an adventurer-type miniature you'd like to paint.

These are the steps you'll go through:
1) Prime the miniature (can probably be skipped for the Bones miniatures).
2) Put down a base coat of appropriate colours.
3) Dip or wash the miniatures and allow to dry
4) Spray them to get rid of the shine and/or to protect them from wear and tear.
That's it.

A more in-depth explanation:
1) First you would take a white spray primer and spray it to get a solid foundation for the paint to sit on. This step can apparently be skipped with the Bones miniatures, since they take the paint better than e.g. metal miniatures.
If you do prime them, I'd recommend using a white primer, since we want the miniature to be as bright as possible and some colours can be difficult to paint over a black primer. Prime the miniature with light dustings instead of a thick full on blast, which might obscure details on the miniature (there are tutorials out there on how to prime correctly, again, it's quite simple)
Another option is to use a coloured primer, e.g. one from Army Painter, if you have a miniature that's mostly one colour. For instance, you could use a green primer if you have a bunch of orcs with lots of skin showing. Or a green troll. Or maybe a blue or red dragon.

2) Now you put on the base coat of colours. If you can colour within the lines of a colouring book, you can do this step. :-)
I think it's also the step that most people are "afraid" of, since this is where you put the actual coloured paint on them.
So, this is very basic. You put flesh coloured paint on the skin areas (e.g. face, hands, arms etc.), maybe a red colour on the cloak, a leather colour on the boots and any belts, pouches etc. and a silver metallic colour on weapon blades and other metal objects.
Since we're doing the dipping method here, it's important to not choose too dark colours. So e.g. the red for the cloak should be just a tad bit brighter red than you would like the end result. This is because the dipping itself darkens the colours a bit.
Make sure you have all the areas covered and tidy up any place where you might have splashed a different colour in the wrong area.
Some colours, particularly reds and yellows, can be a bit transparent, so you might have to go over those areas twice to get a consistent covering.
If the miniature has areas that you'd like to keep white, just leave them be with the undercoat (if it's even enough).

3) Now for the actual "dipping" part.
You have two options here. You can go with a "dip" or a wash. The results might vary a bit, but as far as technique, they are pretty similar.
A wash is a thinned down paint-type product. I think all the major brands of miniature paints have them in their product lines. Some examples are Devlan Mud, Gryphonne Sepia and Dheneb Stone from Games Workshop (I think they've replaces those with others now, haven't kept up), Army Painter Strong Tone ink wash etc.
A "dip" product is a tinted varnish, either one of the Army Painter Shades or a floor wax like the Minwax Polyshade Mahogany Dip.
Both types of products come in various strengths of darkness and even in various colours (this is especially true of the washes, so you can get blue washes or green washes - the green washes might be suitable for a troll miniature or a sickly green zombie etc.)
Both types of products will flow into the recesses of the miniature and produce shading and even a slight transition from the shaded area to the "highlighted" area (i.e. the most natural light exposed area).
You apply both types of products liberally with a brush so all areas are covered. For the dip products, use an old slightly larger and cheaper brush since it's a varnish product and you'll have to clean the brush afterwards in e.g. turpentine.
You CAN dip the entire miniature (provided it's small enough) into the can of dip and then shake the miniature vigorously to get rid of any excess dip, but you have more control if you apply it with a brush.
Allow the dipped miniatures to dry at least 24 hours before handling them, to let them fully dry and avoid making fingerprints on them.

4) If you do use a dip product the result will be a very shiny miniature (because they are varnishes) so you'll have to spray them with a matte sealer, like the one from Army Painter or a product like Testors Dullcote.
This will also protect the washed miniatures if you expect them to be handled a bit roughly.

Now for some examples.
Here's an example of different models which have been dipped, pay particular attention to the post mid-way down the page (the bottom picture also shows the result of putting a matte varnish on a shiny dipped miniature). Heck, that post mid-way down the page also contains instructions on how to do it.

This page and the next 3 pages, contains pictures of a small dwarven army which has been dipped (he uses the "shake vigorously" method first, which can be quite messy).
Same guy and pictures, just gathered in one post on another forum.

Loooots of pictures of different kinds of dipped miniatures.

Jawaballs is one of the guys who has a painting channel on YouTube and here he shows the whole process (be sure to watch all 3 videos of this).

Last tip!
If unsure about this method, try it out on something you're not worried about getting messed up. Heck, you can even try it out on some cheap plastic army men from the toy store.