Rec.Games.Miniatures FAQ (Under construction)
Allan Wright
Spelling corrections and addition of some previously submitted information
is criminally overdue. I'm sure the holliday bread ill allow me some time
to do this.
I'd also like to include a section on abbreviations - but I'm still
formulating a list. I'll include all those currently in use as de-facto
standard abbrevs (i.e. GW, HIS, SM, WH.....etc).
Thanks,
-Al
Rec.Games.Miniatures FAQ
I. Introduction
Rec.Games.Miniatures is an unmoderated newsgroup formed for the
discussion of topics reladed to games involving miniatures figures.
Including historical, science fiction and fantasy games. Any
discussions relating to gaming with miniature figures are welcome!
This FAQ is posted on a montly basis and has been constructed by
the readers of Rec.Games.Miniatures. It is maintained by Allan Wright
a...@unh.edu. Comments or additions can be sent there.
II. Outline
This FAQ contains the following information divided up into sections.
I. Introduction
II. Outline
III. Painting
A. Types of Paint
1. Oil based
2. Water soluable
3. Inks
B. Applying Paint
1. General Advice
2. Dry Brushing
3. Washes
4. Painting Eyes
C. Removing Paint
IV. Figures
A. Popular Scales
B. Manufacturers
C. Making Them
1. Making Originals
2. Casting Figures
D. Lead figures and lead poisoning.
V. Rules
VI. Reference Materials
A. Publications
B. Other Materials
VII. Things to be added
VIII. Credits
III. Painting Figures
Please also read the painting FAQ posted by Britt Klein
(tie...@agora.rain.com) as it contains much detailed painting
information - the information provided here will be general in
nature in comparison.
A. Types of Paint
There are two basic types of paint: oil based and water soluable.
Within these two major groups there are several sub classes.
1. Oil based
Oil based paints are mainly available in two forms: Artists oils
(sold in tubes for oil painting) and enamels. Artists oils are claimes
by some to be the most controllable and best covering paints
available. Unfortunately for painting miniatures they must be thinned
and mixed with a drying agent (japan drier) and even then take very
long to dry before the next color can be applied.
Enamels come in a wide range of pre-mixed colors and are
manufactured my several companies. Testors, pactra and Humbrol are
some of the major brand names. Enamels are usually prefered for
airbrushing as they tend not to clog nosels as easilly as other
paints. They allow for good coverage and allow for very brilliant
colors. Enamels must be thinned with oil based thinners and brushes
must be cleaned with solvents. This may be a concern if small children
are going to have access to your paints.
2. Water soluable
There are several brands of acrylic paints made specificly for
models or figures. Testors, Howard Hues Poly S and Citidal are some major
brands. They clean up with water, contain little or no solvents and
come in a variety of pre-mixed colors. Some brands tend to be a little
pastel or 'chalky' so try a few colors out before you buy many bottles
of any particular brand. These tend to be the fastest drying paints
and allow for rapid re-coating of colors.
Artists acrylics are usually less expensive and come in larger
quantities. They can usually be found at arts and crafts stores. They
tend to be thicker in texture than other paints and can hide detail in
figures if not thinned. This thickness, however, makes them good for
drybrushing. Some brands tend to be fairly transparent when thinned
appropriately for painting figures. This can be a drawback or, if used
as washes, a benefit.
There is a brand of paints designed for plastic models made by
Tymia. These have some solvents in them but are water soluable. Some
readers have reccomended against using them but I have found that the
dransparent colors (like smoke) are good for making washes.
3. Inks
Several types of inks can be used to do outlining and washing on figures.
(ED: could someone who knows some brands/techniques please forward me some
info on this. I don't use inks and am not qualified to add any info
here.)
B. Applying Paint
1. General Advice
Always clean figures well before painting. Both lead and plastic
figures have mold release agents on them that will inhibit the paint
from adhering to the figure. Figures should then be primed. There are
two schools of thought here. Some painters prime with light colors
(white, light grey) to allow for better coverage of light colors or
brighter colors.
Others prime in dark colors (black, dark brown) so recessed areas may
be left black which allows for a nice effect. Some also prime black,
dry brush over this with white and them paint. This allows for the
best of both systems.
Most painters paint figures unsing an assembly line system,
painting one section of detail on each figure at a time then changing
to the next section. Start with the hardest areas to reach first
working your way out. When beginning, start with a small number of
figures (5 - 10) at a time. Also some people find it helps to do the
faces early in the painting process. This seems to give the figures
more 'personality' and makes painting seem to go faster.
2. Dry Brushing
Dry brushing is a technique where a darker than desired base coat
of color is applied, and then a lighter coat is 'dry brushed' over it
to reveal the detail in the figure. This is done by loading the brush
with paint and then rubbing it on a cloth or paper towel until almost
all of the paint is gone. The brush is then drawn over the surface
leaving paint only on the raised portions of the figure. This produces
pronounced highlights on the high points and shadows on the low
points.
Dry brushing tends to wear out brushes fast. It is reccomended that
you use older or dedicated brushes for drybrushing so as not to wear out
all of your 'good' brushes.
3. Washes
Washes are thin solutions of paint or ink. The main portion would be water
(for water based paints) or laquer (for oils). Once a figure is
painted the solution (or wash) is applied liberally over the figure.
When it dries areas that were recesses will have more pigment than
raised areas thus giving a shadowed effect.
4. Painting Eyes
I paint eyes on 25mm (and 15mm officers, standard bearers, etc)
with a technique taught to me by a friend. I'll try to describe it
here in ASCII. It sounds like it takes a lot of steps, but I find it
faster than most methods and produces EXCELLENT results.
The key is to realixe EYES AREN'T ROUND. Look at someone - the
white and colored part of their eye is kind of a flat sided oval.
Here's how to paint an eye that shape.
1. Fill the eye socket with white. I use an OOO brush - one stroke
horizontally across each socket - be sloppy - it's OK.
2. Paint the middlle of the eye, Black, Dark brown or Dark blue - your
choice. Paint a verticle stripe down the center of the eye - taking up
the middle third of the eye socket - don't worry about going over the
top/bottom edges. Again I use an OOO brush. In both let the brush
'fan out'
3. Eyebrow - paint with hair color of your choice. paint the eyebrow on
the crown of the eye socket in a slightly cresent shape - cover the
white and black from 1 & 2.
4. Under eye - use tan or slightly darkened skin color (under the eye is
usually darker or shadowed.) cover the whide and black from 1 & 2 with
a slightly cressent stroke.
Once you do a few eyes this way you'll see the amazing results.
Also, none of these strokes is painfull (like trying to place a pupil
in the center of an eye is) Once practiced you can go through a unit
doing these eyes in very little time. I finish faces off with a dab of
blush flesh on each cheak and a moustache or lips. I find it gives the
faces a real 3-D look.
C. Removing Paint
Paint can be removed using conventional paint removing solvents.
Liquid types seem best for figures as pastes are difficult to get into
small crevices on figures. They work fast and if stored are re-usable.
The drawback is the caustic nature of these chemicals as well as the
potential harm to the environment they have. Many of these will also
disolve plastic figures!
Pine cleaners (like pine-sol) will remove almost all paint from
figures if the figures are left overnight. Some light scrubbing or
repeated soakings will remove stubborn paint. This is also safe for
plastic figures and more environment-friendly.
IV. Figures
A. Popular Scales
All figure scales are in millimeters and are measured from a foot
figure's eyes to the ground. This is done because headgear varries and
would distort figure scale if took into account.
The figure scales that are available for historical miniatures are:
54mm - Not used for gaming much - mostly collectibles.
30mm - Large figures for skirmish type games.
28mm - New lines of 'Overstuffed' 25mm figures. Could be used in
place of 30mm or 25mm also sometimes called 'Epic' scale.
25mm - Very popular - all periods available
20mm - Popular for WWI + II as it closely matches 1/72 scale tank
models.
15mm - Very popular - used for all periods. Good for larger numbers
of figures - i.e. Napoleonics, 7 Year's war. Also armor
models available.
10mm - Less popular - WWI + II armor, others available
6mm - Sold in strips rarhet than by the figure - Ancients,
Napoleonics and others available.
The figure scales that are available for Sci-Fi / Fantasy miniatures
are:
(* AEW - I need help here as I know nothing about these ranges *)
B. Manufacturers
There is a seperate list of manufacturers that is maintained by
sill...@dcs.warwick.ac.uk It is very extensive and accurate. I believe
it is posted to rec.games.miniatures on a regular basis or e-mail the author.
I will not duplicate his efforts here.
C. Making Them
Figures can be made yourself instead of purchasing them. This
requires two main steps, making an original (sometimes called master
or dolly) and replicating it by casting the figure in a mold.
1. Making Originals
Use fairly generic hardware-store two color epoxy ribbon (yellow & blue).
I recommend against a similar product by Devcon (I think) which is white
and black - it's too grainy and is less durable. Also have some stiff wire
(for cores of weapons) and if possible a skeleton figure in a similar pose.
Glob bits of the putty onto the skeleton (stronger than putty alone) and
shape with dental tools, pins, whatever. Work a bit at a time. Do the legs,
then a kilt, and so on.
2. Casting Figures
Sleazy Mold:
------------
Output from this method is almost always a disappointment, but it's cheap.
I'd have to get you the address, but we used some DOW silicone mold rubber.
You pour some into a "frame", let it sit a bit, Place the figure into it,
along with some kind of lugs or whatever to line it up, and pour in more
goo. AFter hardening, split the mold and cut some vents and sprues.
Better Way ($):
---------------
Requires:
Mold Frame ... ~$25
Clamps (2-4) ~$10
Teflon spray ~$5
Rubber disks ~$20 (should make about 15-20 25mm figs)
Cut up the rubber disks to fit the mold frame. Sandwich the master and some
positioning lugs between 2 pieces of rubber coated with the teflon mold
release. Clamp and bake for about 1.5 hours @ 325 (I think). Separate the
mold halves from the frame, each other and from the master. Cut vents and
sprues...
The detail here is quite fine, as this is very close to the way it's done
on the big scale (except we use smaller frames, requiring the disks to be
cut down...).
Caution: experiment with masters about which you care little first.
The baking _can_ melt & ruin lead portions of masters.
Sleazy Pour:
------------
(Also almost always a disappointment)
Wrap mold w/ rubber bands & hold mold with tongs or something and pour in
boiling lead from the stove top. Please note the fumes from this are not
good for you, and I'd recommend against reusing the saucepan for spaghetti.
Spin Casting ($):
-----------------
requires:
Blow Torch ?
Mold "holder" ~$15
Jewelry Spincaster ~$400 ( we split it 4 ways)
Mold made with the harder, baked rubber.
Casting is done by heating a small ammount of lead (FAR fewer fumes) in a
crucible in the spincaster. The mold is held in a swinging arm inside a
spring-loaded spinnable drum. When the lead is hot enough, pull the lever
and bang. The mold can be separated almost immediately, and rereadied
in about 15 seconds (if you're good).
Quality of cast is nearly perfect. Quality of figure is based almost entirely
on the mold and master.
D. Lead figures and lead poisoning.
The material with a leading > was taken from _Clinical_Management_of_
_Poisoning_and_Drug Overdose_ by Hadda Winchester, ISBN 0-7216-4447-3,
(c) 1983 by W. B. Saunders Company, 4th printing, pg 650-21.
>Humans without unusual exposure appear to reach a plateau. It appears
>that modern peoples live dangerously close to a limit of lead intake
>when their intake is at the average of the population, and that an
>increased intake will lead to potentially dangerous elevations.
>
>>This is attributed to Settle DM, Patterson CC: Lead in albacore:
>>Guide to lead pollution in Americans. Science 207:1167, 1980.
>>in the text
...
>Lead sinkers and retained bullets may account for toxic levels of
>lead in adults.
This would also apply for lead miniatures.
Symptoms of lead poisoning:
>In the toddler, anorexia is the earlist symptom, which may not be recognized
>until the appetite improves following completion of chelation therapy.
>Other prodromal signs include occasional vomiting, irritability, and
>refusal to play. More serious signs include persistant vomiting, stupor,
>peripheral nerve weakness, convulsions, and coma.
>In the preschool-aged child, behavior and learning may regress; the
>symptoms mentioned previously may occur.
>In the school-aged child, adolescent, and adult, colicky abdominal pain,
>nausea and vomiting, anorexia, a metallic taste, constipation, and limb
>pain are all early symptoms. Anemia and convulsions can occur swith
>prolonged and high exposure. Peripheral neuropathy, with wrist drop as
>the classic sign, may occur. In the adult, nerve conduction velocity may
>be a useful laboratory test if blood tests are to be delayed.
Treatment:
Get to a doctor as soon as possible, the quicker the better. Establish
urine flow. Drink clear liquids or sodas, tell the doctor when you
get there what you the poisoned person drank.
Low-level lead poisioning during the developmental years:
Low levels of lead exposure offer a risk to developing children. None
of the above signs typically occur if the level is below a threshold.
What does happens is as below:
>The syndrome is one of cognitive and behavioral delay. Children show a 3-
>to 5-point drop in I.Q. In the subtest for intellectual functions, auditory
>and visual associative difficulties have been most frequently identified.
>Behavior changes include distractibility, impulsivity, and hyperkinetic
>behavoir. Teacher rating of these behaviors on populations of children
>have shown a remarkably close correlation with tooth lead, which serves as
>an indicator of past dose. While these symptoms are not life threatening,
>the impact on the social and intellectual development of children is
>pervasive.
What you can do when working with lead models:
Keep your lead models in a place safe from toddlers and developing
children. If a young person wishes to work with lead, make them wear
gloves or at least wash their hands after working with it. The highest
risk comes from a child eating or chewing on a lead model. The next
highest risk comes from melting lead and breathing the fumes. If you
plan to cast miniatures, work in a well ventilated area. Also when
casting wear a mask over the nose and mouth of the highest quality
for fine dusts, mists and fumes that you can find. Filings from lead
models are quite risky because of skin absorption. Filing lead models
is not recommended. Use a sharp blade to cut away flash and excess.
Cut over a box that you use specifically for that purpose. Keep that box
out of reach of toddlers. Never use unpainted lead to play with in
a game. I have a special room set aside for just handling unprimed lead.
This all may seem obsessive, but the danger is real. The impact on
children is the worst, would you want to contribute to a child's
retardation?
V. Rules (Alphabeticaly Listed)
(Note, this information is very sparse in comparison to the LARGE number
of rules sets available. Please help me complete this list)
Command Decision - WWII Armor/Infantry Rules
DBA - De Bellis Antiquious - Ancients rules - Small scale - by Wargames
Research group (WRG)
DBM - De Bellis Multitudinous - Ancients rules - Large scale - by WRG
Fire and Fury - ACW Rules - Brigade tatical units - Dave Waxtel & Quantum
printing.
Forelorn Hope - ECW rules
Johnny Reb - ACW Rules - Regiment tatical units - by Games Designers Workshop.
Namplean's Battles - Napelonic Wars rules.
Palo Alto to Peking - Colonial Period Rules
Rally 'Round the Flag - ACW Rules - by Iron Brigade
Space Marine
Sword and the Flame - British Colonial Rules
WHFB
WH40K
WRG 2nd Ed. Reniasance - By George Gush
WRG 6,7,7.5,8 Ed. Ancients
VI. Reference Materials
There is a phenominal amount of information relating to gaming
with miniature figures, especially when it comes to historical
wargaming. Listed here are some materials made ESPECIALLY for the hobby.
A. Periodicals (listed Alphabeticly)
Aces and Airplanes of the Great War - WWI air
First Empire - Napoleonic period
Miniature Wargames
MWAN (Midwest Wargamers Association Newsletter)
Wargames Illustrated
B. Other materials
Osprey Publications - Several series of books pertainting to
millitary history. These books are designed especially for miniatures
wargamers as they contain detailed painting information and color
plates.
Electronic (Network) information -
Miniatures List help file:
The miniatures list is an archived mailing list for discussion of
painting, sculpting, converting, and displaying of miniature
figurines, generally for wargaming or use with fantasy role-playing
games, and generally in the smaller scales (15mm-30mm).
Communicating with the list: To subscribe, get back messages, or
anything other than submitting a message, send mail to
minilist...@cs.unc.edu or
..!mcnc!unc!minilist-request
Submitting a message: Send the message via e-mail to
mini...@cs.unc.edu
Note: for reasons of file space, the figures list does not allow
digitized images of figures as messages. I may at some point allow
the list to distribute such images to list members who want them, but
not archive them.
Getting back messages: Send a message with subject line of
INDEX
for an index of volumes and the range of messages they contain.
VOLINDEX volnum
for the subject lines of all the messages in a specific volume.
VOLUME volnum
to be sent the specified volume.
MESSAGE messagenum
to be sent the specific message. Note that this is not possible
for messages before message 72.
Help:
Send a message with subject line of
HELP
to get this message. (ED: Just about the list - not THIS FAQ)
My .plan file also tells how to get help, so if you forget everything
else, just "finger be...@cs.unc.edu".
Last update: 2/2/92 ACB
Miniatures List Index:
Volume 1 : messages ? - ?
Volume 2 : messages ? - ?
Volume 3 : messages ? - ?
Volume 4 : messages ? - 79
Volume 5 : messages 80 - 90
Volume 6 : messages 91 - 101
Volume 7 : messages 102 - 111
Volume 8 : messages 112 - 120
Volume 9 : messages 121 - 127
Volume 10 : messages 128 - 142
Volume 11 : messages 143 - 154
History FTP site:
BYRD.MU.WVNET.EDU
129.71.32.152
pub/history
Managers:
Mike McCarthy, Marshall Univ. (MMcC...@MUVMS6.WVNET.Edu)
Donna Spindel, Marshall Univ. (HST...@Marshall.WVNET.Edu)
Information on all historical subjects including war history.
VII. Things to be added
The following topics need attention. I would appreciate anyone
willing to offer text on these subjects please mail it to:
a...@unh.edu. Please mention the FAQ in the subject header.
Milton Bradleys address
Where to get WH40K chapter listings (This is posted quite a lot)
Proper headers for messages
VIII. Credits
Many thanks to all who helped to create this FAQ with their
information from posts or E-mail directly to me. Special thanks to
primary contributors:
tie...@agora.rain.com (Britt Klein)
GAR...@UTKVX.UTCC.UTK.EDU (Shawn Garbett)
--
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Allan Wright Jr. | Pole-Vaulters Get a Natural High! | GO Celtics!
University of New Hampshire +--------------------------------------------------
Research Computing Center | "Fate, it protects fools, small children and
Internet: A...@UNH.EDU | ships named Enterprise..." - ST-TNG
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