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Ok Im tired of buying prepainted Mini's. My best friend passed away and I wanted to get mini's of our last adventuring group together. Now I found the Mini's I wanted and I understand the painting part. How the devil do you assemble them. I was preparing to order them online and it said in the description "needs assembly". What exactly does that mean and do I have to have soldering gun and such prepared for this? Im diving head long into this and I just need advice from people who know what they are doing. Thanks for any input. Any Painting tips would be most helpful too.
BTW I found a brush that looks like a hair on a stick, REALLY?!?!?!? Guess Im investing in a magnifying glass. Be gentle...
You'll need super-glue or epoxy glue. I use super-glue. Depending on the miniature, there might be a sizeable gap between the two pieces. Also, a larger miniature will benefit from "pinning." But if the miniature is for a PC, don't worry about it yet. Things like dragon's wings and ogre's arms require pinning, because the glue can't hold the entire piece of metal in place by itself.
There are a couple good threads around here about beginning miniature painting and the tools you need.
But if you have a paintbrush that looks like a hair on a stick, you're using a brush that's too small. What you want to look for is a good tip. I use a size 1 or 2 brush for most of my painting, and I can get everything I need for a basic miniature using just those two brushes. If you think you'll stay with the hobby, drop about $12 for a Kolinsky sable brush. Don't bother with synthetic fibers. High end weasel butt hair is great stuff to paint miniatures with.
More great advice is found over HERE. The crowd over at Reaper are great, and some really high-end painters hang out on the boards. And they routinely post to new painters!
Regarding a magnifier: Unless you have really bad eyes you won't need a magnifying glass. A beginning painter won't be doing the cool embroidery detailing of a wizard's robe, trust me. Heck, I've been doing this for over 20 years and I still don't do that on every miniature!
Hope that helps. Don't worry, there will be lots of other people along shortly.
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Ok Im tired of buying prepainted Mini's. My best friend passed away and I wanted to get mini's of our last adventuring group together. Now I found the Mini's I wanted and I understand the painting part. How the devil do you assemble them. I was preparing to order them online and it said in the description "needs assembly". What exactly does that mean and do I have to have soldering gun and such prepared for this? Im diving head long into this and I just need advice from people who know what they are doing. Thanks for any input. Any Painting tips would be most helpful too.
BTW I found a brush that looks like a hair on a stick, REALLY?!?!?!? Guess Im investing in a magnifying glass. Be gentle...
It depends on the minis in question. you can try superglue, but the best is to use what they call green stuff. Its a putty that comes in two strips, one blue and one yellow. when they are worked together they make a green sticky putty.. I havn't used it yet, so I'll leave other descriptions to those who have
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http://www.rpgshop.com/miniatures/fantasy-miniatures/carinth-dark-elf-sorce ress.html
http://darkswordminiatures.com/mainwebsite_html/gallery/V_7403_MaleRanger.h tm
http://www.rpgshop.com/miniatures/reaper-miniatures/ranger-archer/nienna-fe male-elf-ranger.html
http://www.rpgshop.com/miniatures/reaper-miniatures/wizard-mage/elf-fighter -mage.html
http://www.rpgshop.com/miniatures/reaper-miniatures/ranger-archer/talathlan -elf-ranger.html
http://www.rpgshop.com/miniatures/fantasy-miniatures/thelgar-halfblood-half -orc-barbarian.html
http://www.rpgshop.com/miniatures/reaper-miniatures/ranger-archer/woody-stu mpwimple-halfling-ranger.html
http://www.rpgshop.com/miniatures/reaper-miniatures/knight-paladin/templar- knight-lightbringer.html
http://www.rpgshop.com/miniatures/fantasy-miniatures/saori-shadow-sister.ht ml
http://www.rpgshop.com/miniatures/fantasy-miniatures/uglunuk-half-giant-her o.html
I dont know how to post links so I hope someone can help me out with that also. Anyway these are a few. It took us a year and three months to finish the adventure. My friend passed away about 7 months after. It was perhaps one of the greatest campaigns I have ever Dm'd and we want to have the miniatures of her characters and the various important characters of the Campaign story. The Mini's from WOTC just didnt cut it and I wanted something I could put a little of myself into. There is one complicated one that is a giant Eagle with a female rider and DEAR LORD is it bloody confusing. I just want to get these right. I do believe I am making it harder than it has to be.
Oh and another question. If I wanted to add something to a mini say like angel wings, is there a special process? Could I use hat green stuff on it or would I have to do something special?
I have used epoxy tubes bought at WalMart for attaching wings to a huge miniature and it seems to be holding well. Super glue will attach things well but some super glues are brittle and given enough stress they will just break free. I wouldn't use my epoxy putty for this sort of thing because it's too expensive and I do my best to use that for mini sculpting, not adhering parts together.
Of course this is also a perfect example of when "pinning" is helpful too, but usually it's not necessary for small minis. I've only used pinning on one dragon figure so far, the epoxy has worked for my other minis.
UPDATE: I actually opened my tool drawer to see what I used to attach the wings on my last mini, and it was actually "JB Weld" that I used. It worked fine.
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Here's the links; I found my own link for the second fig, as original wasn't working.
If you click 'reply', you can see the formatting for how I did it.
thelgar halfblood half-orc barbarian
Most of those look like pewter/metal miniatures.
Most folks use superglue (cyanoacrylate or cyanoacrylate+ glue) for them. I like this brand: Zap-a-gap but use whatever you like.
#1 Advice for superglue: A little dab'll do ya. Little drops at a time, or you will have details filled in on your mini and fingers stuck together. :)
Someone on these boards also once suggested something called Gorilla Glue, which he said was very good.
The good news: most of those are probably one-piecers that you just possibly need to glue into a stand, if that. For example, I've painted Woody Stumpwimple and he's all one piece--even comes with his own built in stand.
For ones that do come with separate parts--all you still really need is superglue. Make sure you've got a very sharp hobby knife and some needle files on hand, as sometimes you will need to smooth a few edges for a piece to fit properly into another. You'll also want these things to file off mold lines and clear off flash (spillage from the mold).
Superglue will also fill in small gaps.
Pinning is great for stubborn-to-hold-in pieces and generally anything you want to be sturdy. But it is not necessary, so if you don't want to bother with it, you can get on fine without it. If you do want to pin, you'll need some kind of pin vise, which is a small one-handed drill. You'll also need paper clips (or brass rod of a similar diameter) and a drill bit about the same size as a paper clip. Also clippers to cut your bits of paper clip/rod into pieces.
Using a hobby knife, lightly score a dot into the center of where you are drilling (for example, if you are pinning on an arm, into the arm socket and into the center of the arm that is going into the socket. Then holding the mini firmly (I use a table vise to hold down my mini, sometimes), turn the drill so that it drills a hole into each part. It should go in a deep as you are comfortable drilling, without risking breaking through to the other side of the mini. This will take a little time, so be patient.
When done drilling your holes, put a drop of superglue into one (say, the arm socket), then stick an end of a piece of paper clip into the hole. Wait for the glue to cure. Then TEST putting on your other piece (arm) to make sure the length of your paper clip/depth of the hole is about right. After you're sure the pin is the right length for the piece to attach to the mini, then stick a drop of glue into it and affix it to the pin, sliding it down carefully so that it fits tightly and firmly. Once the glue cures, you've got a mini that will keep together even if it takes a little damage.
Greenstuff can be used to help hold on troublesome pieces, but it works better as gap filler. Don't add greenstuff to a piece that has wet glue in it, as it does weird things to the uncured greenstuff.
For adding Wings:
If it's a miniature that already has wings, and you're just affixing them, superglue is fine.
If you're converting the miniature to have wings--for example, you have a pair of wings from a wing pack, and want to glue it to a miniature that doesn't normally have wings, that can be a bit more complicated. Look at Reaper's and other Websites about conversions. Generally speaking, you will probably have to file or clip off a bit of the figure's back to fit on the wings, and you may need to use a little green stuff to smooth out gaps and add any necessary detail to make it look natural. How easy or hard it is depends on the miniature. Something with a nice clear back might just be able to have the wings attached with little drama; something with a cloak or object on its back, or twisted into a difficult position, may create more work.
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Most of the Reaper figures (but not the Pathfinder ones, I notice) come with a base built on.
It's often worth adding a plastic base, to protect the figure, and to protect tables and floorplans from the figure.
It also adds some uniformity to a group of otherwise unrelated figures, if they are based in a consistent way.
Top-heavy figures can be offset by a larger base with a few coins or washers glued in.
I also do this to integrate some with my Warhammer units.
If you know any wargamers, they will often have spare plastic bases (or a hundred), failing that, they can be got cheaply enough.
This isn't always possible, as when the sculptors are given freedom to work outside a default base size, they sometimes set the legs wiiiide apart, or set them on a giant rock. But they need something underneath, as you really don't want to carve a furrow in your (parents'?) best table.
Most of the Reaper figures (but not the Pathfinder ones, I notice) come with a base built on.
That is the Dark Heaven Legends line. The other lines--Warlord, Pathfinder, and Chronoscope--come with separate bases.
What's been said is good advice - Super glue, a file for wearing down molding lines, a razor for cutting, and a hand clipper for heavier duty work is the best place to start. If you're going to be adding bits like wings, you'll want some epoxy puty (green stuff) and sculpting tools to make it look right.
As far as painting goes, you'll want;
Spray Primer (I'd start with Black, it's easier to work with)
Paints (Water Based Acrylics, mostly Citadel or Reapers line)
A small brush for details, a mid sized brush for painting surfaces, and two larger brushes, one for basecoating and one for drybrushing.
A tile, ceramic plate, or blank cd for use as a pallet.
A color wheel (you can find one online for free. They let you know how colors interact)
The important thing to remember when you start painting is that paint needs to be thinned. You won't apply it directly out of the paint pot, you'll want to cut it with water. Generally, if you dip your brush into a paint pot, put the paint on the pallet, then dip the brush into the water and mix the water it picks up with the paint on the pallet you'll be fine.
Apply the paint in layers to the area you're painting. The following is how I would start painting;
Primer (sprayed this on) -> Base coat (darker version of the color you want)--> first layer (the color you want the area to be, leave the base coat color in the recesses of the fig)--> Highlights (a slightly brighter color for the raised areas).
Ask questions! Someone with more experience will always be around and eager to help. Remember that no one starts out doing fantastic work, and don't get discouraged by your first few projects.
CoolMiniorNot is a good website to look at for tutorials, ideas, and examples.
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The notes on these photos describe using Green Stuff for both filling gaps, and sculpting additional detail.
I must get some more of my stuff up some day.
It's only been mentioned briefly, but I can't stress how important it is to remove mold lines with an exacto knife and file. It makes a huge difference in the final product. Also after you have done this wash your minis in some soap and water, be sure to rinse very well. This removes a lot of the chemical residue left on them from the molding process and well help give you a more even primer.