Painting Miniatures
Stephen Webb
brand of paint to use on pewter miniature figures. Does anyone know if Testors
model paint would work well for painting pewter?
Michael Brown
Stephen Webb <ayy80...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:19991012130239...@ng-fk1.aol.com...
You mean the stuff that one would use on polystyrene models? It
doesn't wind up looking nearly as good as (flat) acrylic paints do on
miniatures - at least, that's my experience. I think it has something to
do with their texture, Testor's is either too flat (muted) or too glossy
(looks silly), while the acrylic achieves this almost chalky texture which
is perfect for calling attention to small details.
You can do fine work with one of those 'introductory' paint sets
warhammer or ral-partha make.
Remember washes and highlights!
-Michael
-Michael
Damon Agretto
> Remember washes and highlights!
And don't forget to prime!
Damon.
--
____________________________________________________________________________________
Damon "Anthraxus" Agretto
"Si vis pacem, para bellum"
Small Scale Armor Modelling:
http://www.geocities.com/Pentagon/Bunker/1187/index.html
Now Building: Revell/Germany's Leopard A1A3
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Jefferson Krogh
> I was wondering what recommendations this newsgroup might have for the best
> brand of paint to use on pewter miniature figures. Does anyone know if Testors
> model paint would work well for painting pewter?
No, enamel paints like that don't work too well. Water-based paints, such as the
type sold by Citadel, Ral Partha, Chessex and others, are the way to go. They
apply better and don't bury the details nearly as much. Also, you can clean the
brush with water--no thinners needed. (Note that while I despise GW miniatures,
their paints are quite nice.) I use a spray white primer for most things--my
roommate even uses Krylon for priming sometimes. Finally, I use a spray clear
matte finish. The Armory is the local brand here.
I used Testors model paint when I was a kid on my first figures. While it worked,
it was a real pain.
Have fun!! Figures are one the best things about this hobby.
--
Jefferson Krogh, MCSE
IS Manager
Kennerley-Spratling, Inc.
LARE
ayy80...@aol.com (Stephen Webb) wrote:
> I was wondering what recommendations this newsgroup might have for the best
> brand of paint to use on pewter miniature figures. Does anyone know if Testors
> model paint would work well for painting pewter?
OK, a couple of things...
- I hope you really mean lead or ralidium (sp?) and not pewter figs.
Pewter figs are much more expensive and not intended to be painted (metal
quality is better). You tend to find pewter figs in novelty stores such as
Cutlery World and find lead (only very old and some European figs) and
ralidium figs in gaming stores. Sometimes you'll also see plastic or
partially plastic figs in gaming stores as well. These tend to be cheaper,
but are less durable.
- I have not used Testors model paints fo a long, long time. They used to
sell only oil based paints. If that's stil the case - avoid them. Water
based paints are much easier to work with. Other companies' water-based
paints to try include: The Armory, Games Workshop, Chroma-Rama's
Create-a-Finish, Ral Partha, Citadel & Polly S Colors.
I really like the selection of colors that Polly has & the paint/dollar
ratio of the Armory paints but the problem with these two are the jars.
They still use the older glass jar/metal lids that tend to get stuck and
the paints tend to dry up relatively quickly even when you strive to keep
the threads/lids clean. Store these types of jars upside down (paint
somewhat seals lid from air) to prolong their lifespan. The best jars at
preserving the paint are those like Partha's plastic jars with the white
screw-top lids (3/4 oz) and the Citadel's plastic jars with flip-top lids
(.62 oz)
Games Workshop paints, while readily available, tend to be the most
expensive and provide the smallest amount of paint (.406 oz) of the ones
I've listed. By no coincidence, their Warhammer figs are also amongst the
most expensive on the market today.
For primer, we tend to avoid the ones they sell for miniatures, as they
tend to be WAY overpriced. We get Krylon, or any other respectable brand
in large spray cans. Gray primer seems to work best, followed by black
then white. Priming the figs someway gives a much better finish. The shade
of the primer is very important, as well, as all of the paints we use tend
to be influenced by the colors below them (which actually is very useful).
For glue, get either 5-minute epoxy (the kind where you mix the two parts
to activate the bonding agents) or a nice little superglue variant called
Zap-a-Gap made by a company called Pacer.
HtH,,
LARE
--
Campaign Journals, House Rules, PO:S&P conversions for NWPs, Characters, Fig Pics, Recipes, Places, Myths...
In short, lots of stuff. (over 600 html pages & growing)
Well organized & easy to navigate.
http://www.nb.net/~casper/Larry/dnd/
Gebhard Blucher
> I was wondering what recommendations this newsgroup might have for the best
> brand of paint to use on pewter miniature figures. Does anyone know if Testors
> model paint would work well for painting pewter?
I like to use big, cheap tubes of Liquitex acrylics and gesso for
primer. I use a handful of basic colors and mix them to achieve
different hues. This works very well for me and is much cheaper than
buying all those little jars of paint. However, if I were to use
hobby paints I'd go with the Poly brand of acrylics.
GB
Chris Pierson
Shadowknight <shadow...@boone.net> wrote:
>
>Stephen Webb <ayy80...@aol.com> wrote in message
>news:19991012130239...@ng-fk1.aol.com...
>>brand of paint to use on pewter miniature figures. Does anyone know if
>Testors
>>model paint would work well for painting pewter?
>
>canisters (after you're done with them for holding film) and
>use elmers glue to glue the miniature on it. This makes
>an easier time for painting, as your hands aren't constantly
>getting in the way or are rubbing paint off (THAT'S a
>real pain...) The only problem is that the edges of the bottom
>of the miniature have paint that fleck off after you snap them off
>the cannister, but you can always touch up after spray matting them.
Y'know, I've been painting miniatures for years, and I often use film
canisters to store human-sized ones, but for some reason this never
occurred to me. Consider my forehead duly smacked, and thanks for the
idea.
--
Chris Pierson ** 10 Favorites at the 1999 Toronto film fest: The Hurricane,
** Deterrence, American Beauty, Ghost Dog, Mr. Death,
Author ** Me Myself I, Buddy Boy, The War Zone, Wonderland,
Game Designer ** The Emperor and the Assassin
Jefferson Krogh
> Y'know, I've been painting miniatures for years, and I often use film
> canisters to store human-sized ones, but for some reason this never
> occurred to me. Consider my forehead duly smacked, and thanks for the
> idea.
Since I end up gluing pennies to the bases of most of my figs, that makes a good
enough place to hold onto.
Barry Smith
> Since I end up gluing pennies to the bases of most of my figs, that makes a good
> enough place to hold onto.
I use a small vise to hold my miniatures while I'm painting them that
can also be placed on a table when my wrist gets tired of holding them
up. It has a rotating ball base that can be rotated 360 degrees for
every angle, and it's heavy enough to hold up Dragons and those really
big miniatures without tipping over. :)
Allen Wessels
Pierson) wrote:
>Y'know, I've been painting miniatures for years, and I often use film
>canisters to store human-sized ones, but for some reason this never
>occurred to me. Consider my forehead duly smacked, and thanks for the
>idea.
I use dowel rods and rubber cement for most human size figures. Works ok
and gives a decent gripping surface.
- Allen
Shadowknight
Stephen Webb <ayy80...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:19991012130239...@ng-fk1.aol.com...
>I was wondering what recommendations this newsgroup might have for the best
>brand of paint to use on pewter miniature figures. Does anyone know if
Testors
>model paint would work well for painting pewter?
Oh, yeah, in addition to the other advice, get some plastic film
canisters (after you're done with them for holding film) and
use elmers glue to glue the miniature on it. This makes
an easier time for painting, as your hands aren't constantly
getting in the way or are rubbing paint off (THAT'S a
real pain...) The only problem is that the edges of the bottom
of the miniature have paint that fleck off after you snap them off
the cannister, but you can always touch up after spray matting them.
Have fun,
Shadowknight
P.S.- I recommend painting Reaper Miniatures. They make some kick
ass monsters (but their player character are mediocre.)
You can get a catalogue at www.reapermini.com
azothath
> best brand of paint to use on pewter miniature figures. Does anyone
> know if Testors model paint would work well for painting pewter?
>
what ever kind they like to use, as the Minature's are doing
the painting . . .
umm - or did you mean that your painting little pictures of your
minatures?
lol -
ok - ok
technically speaking (as I'm a technical kinda guy), your best bet is to
use a acrylic primer with zinc followed by an acrylic paint. The main
problem minatures face is thermal expansion and rubbing (besides the
occassional flood of regular coke). Try not to let the paint gather in
the small cracks too much, as this lowers the level of detail. So cut
the primer with acetone or ethyl alcohol and apply 2 coats with a fine
artists brush.
You need a primer, as the model alloy probably contains a fair amount of
zinc and possibly nickel, which is tough for paints to adhere to. So
wash the model with rubbing alcohol (or acetone) and a q-tip first!
Don't touch the model(getting body oil on it). You might wanna wear
plastic gloves while priming. Don't use nail polish remover, as this
has oil in the mix.
I don't think lead alloys are still distributed in the US (due to lead
content) but I'd avoid these, as lead alloys are very soft and when the
figure deforms, the paint will bubble and peel. The primer acts as a
sponge, sticking to the zinc and allowing some flex under the harder
layer of paint, but can't compensate for too much movement.
Testor's are oil based, and are enamels, which makes them harder to
layer successfully in a "painting" like manner. Lacquers are better -
as they dry thinner and faster, but are not very flexible, and would
tend to crack. Also they dry almost too fast.
-some boring stuff-
Acrylic paints are composed of platelets of paint with the colorant
mostly in the vehicle surrounding the platelets, not a homogeneous
liquid like lacquer. This is why acrylic paints "chalk" as they age and
enamels crack and peel. Think of acrylic as many hard little white tiles
mixed with white glue and food coloring, and you slather on a mix of
this stuff. As it dries the tiles lay flat on the surface (mostly) and
the glue dries and hardens, holding the tiles in place. Oil based
paints are like a layer of white glue with solid colors in it and lots
of solvent. You lay on a layer and the solvent tries to get out of the
paint, etching the surface it's on, and making a hard layer on top (at
first) due to high evaporation rate. It hardens as all the solvent
dries out.
Gloss or shine has to do with the smoothness of the outer surface, so
lacquers are shiny, as where most acrylics (all those bumpy tile) are
not. You can fix this by applying a sealer at the end, a clear layer
that forms a nice smooth clear hard layer over the layers of paint.
This will darken all of your colors, so be forewarned. For this reason,
really good metallic paints tend to be oil based. Lastly, you can put
oil based paints on acrylic (usually), but not acrylic on oil.
/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/
can it be? Azot...@AOhell.com ! (that's aol...)
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.
Shadowknight
Shadowknight
Chris Pierson <cpie...@tiac.net> wrote in message
news:7u0ejs$f...@news-central.tiac.net...
>In article <XTNM3.11146$UG5.6...@typ11.nn.bcandid.com>,
>Shadowknight <shadow...@boone.net> wrote:
>>
>>Stephen Webb <ayy80...@aol.com> wrote in message
>>news:19991012130239...@ng-fk1.aol.com...
>>>I was wondering what recommendations this newsgroup might have for the
best
>>>brand of paint to use on pewter miniature figures. Does anyone know if
>>Testors
>>>model paint would work well for painting pewter?
>>
>>Oh, yeah, in addition to the other advice, get some plastic film
>>canisters (after you're done with them for holding film) and
>>use elmers glue to glue the miniature on it. This makes
>>an easier time for painting, as your hands aren't constantly
>>getting in the way or are rubbing paint off (THAT'S a
>>real pain...) The only problem is that the edges of the bottom
>>of the miniature have paint that fleck off after you snap them off
>>the cannister, but you can always touch up after spray matting them.
>
>Y'know, I've been painting miniatures for years, and I often use film
>canisters to store human-sized ones, but for some reason this never
>occurred to me. Consider my forehead duly smacked, and thanks for the
>idea.
John Simpson
>I was wondering what recommendations this newsgroup might have for the best
>brand of paint to use on pewter miniature figures.
I've never considered painting pewter, but it's probably time to
dust off my recommendations for standard figures. Skip the typical
paints that are sold in the same stores that sell miniatures. Hie
thee instead to a more craft-oriented shop (Michael's is a major
American chain), and look for brands such as Delta Ceramcoat, DecoArt,
Folk Art, and Apple Barrel Colors. These water-based paints are much
more economical--you get two fluid ounces for about a buck, the same
price that you would pay for a half-ounce bottle of Polly. These
brands I'm touting offer a much wider selection of colors, too.
Peace,
John Simpson
Real username's in the URL
http://home.earthlink.net/~silverjohn
"A gentleman is a man who knows how to play the bagpipes, but chooses not to."
Denakhan the Arch-Mage
Jefferson Krogh wrote in message <380395C1...@skaldheim.com>...
>Stephen Webb wrote:
>
>> I was wondering what recommendations this newsgroup might have for the
best
>> brand of paint to use on pewter miniature figures. Does anyone know if
Testors
>> model paint would work well for painting pewter?
>
>No, enamel paints like that don't work too well
>Jefferson Krogh, MCSE
>IS Manager
>Kennerley-Spratling, Inc.
Personally, I use both. :-) Hell, I use whatever works for the effect
I'm trying to create. There are some things that are quite 'hard' (re: time
consuming) with water-based paints (Ral Partha, Armory, Citidel, etc). that
one simple color can do with Texstors (Lime Gold and Ruby Red come to
mind...:). My best friend swears by Testors and has done some kick-ass
looking skaven and a few trolls! (WHFB).
Testors will work just fine....but they are a bit harder on your
brushes. (Paint thinner and all that tends to 'wear' a brush faster than
the water-based paints do).
My suggestion? Use all of them. ;-)
^_^
Denakhan the Arch-Mage
Lost Dragon
>Folk Art, and Apple Barrel Colors. These water-based paints are much
Sometimes they are on sale too. I have had pretty good luck with the
stuff from Michael's. Of course, I don't do that much painting, but if
I had more free time I would...
-
==- Signed: Lost Dragon. Freeware author and hard-core CRPG Fan
==- Forever dead forgotten lie. Remembered souls, they cannot die
==- Visit the Dungeon Bane web page at http://www.lostdragon.com/
Werebat
up for 49 cents a 4" tall bottle at Micheal's, a girlie hobby crafts
store down the street. Sure, they aren't called "Armory" or "Dragon
Paints", but they work damn well and at such a low price I can afford to
buy many shades and then mix only occasionally.
- Ron ^*^
W Smith
Twice as much paint for a fraction of the price. The only thing is you have
to figure out which color matches with "goblin green" or "Kobald Red." But
a minor inconvienience for the price you pay.
Werebat <hes...@etal.uri.edu> wrote in message
news:38049A...@etal.uri.edu...
W Smith
container. Then affix the figure to cap with some kind of glue. This way you
can use the canister for moving the fig while painting. When you are done,
just pop the lid of with fig' intact and then you have a base for you
figure. Then you can flock the base, paint it, or cut it with an x-acto
knife if it is too big.
Jefferson Krogh <jeff...@skaldheim.com> wrote in message
news:3803BF43...@skaldheim.com...
> Chris Pierson wrote:
>
> > Y'know, I've been painting miniatures for years, and I often use film
> > canisters to store human-sized ones, but for some reason this never
> > occurred to me. Consider my forehead duly smacked, and thanks for the
> > idea.
>
> Since I end up gluing pennies to the bases of most of my figs, that makes
a good
> enough place to hold onto.
>
>
> --
W Smith
Argent Warning
I buy all of my brushes at Michaels, but so far I've avoided the paints.
Obviously, the name does not matter, but I've found that different
brands of paints are in fact quite different, and ones that are
formulated for miniatures would probably work better.
I'd be concerned that the pigment grind on the Michaels paints would not
be nearly as fine, since the kinds of things they are marketed for,
picture painting and wall stenciling come to mind, do not require
showing fine detail though the paint. Indeed covering flaws is probably
a goal for the paint. I would think they'd tend to dry thicker, too.
Have you had good results? If the paint screws up a $2 to $5 figure, it
is costing you money, not saving. Which paint brand(s) do you use? I've
read someone's Web page where they said they use the Liquitex in the
tube for miniatures.
I'm picky about the sealer as well. I know a lot of people use Krylon,
but I figure that the sealer is a small part of the overall expense of a
figure, and I want one I know won't mess it up.
The brushes are great, though. Good selection, you can find good quality
(though they have junk, too), reasonable prices, and they run frequent
sales.
azothath
FYI - fuji film cannisters are indented on the ends. Kodak and Polaroid
may still use old flat topped cannisters. Expect foil/plastic pouches
to replace cannisters ASAP (cheaper).
I know a painter that uses locking surgical forceps/clamps to hold figs.
/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/
can it be? Azot...@AOhell.com ! (that's aol...)
Michael Brown
Argent Warning <Argent_...@rocketmail.com> wrote in message
> I'm picky about the sealer as well. I know a lot of people use Krylon,
> but I figure that the sealer is a small part of the overall expense of a
> figure, and I want one I know won't mess it up.
This may sound nutters but the last time I painted I was in a pinch and
I found that *hair spray* seemed to do a very nice job. It is, after all,
clear glue.
-Michael
Matt Devney
> OK, a couple of things...
>
> - I hope you really mean lead or ralidium (sp?) and not pewter figs.
He did mean pewter figs. Ralladium is a pewter-based alloy. GW doesn't
produce lead figs any more - due to laws passed in UK & USA (I think)
all miniatures have to be lead-free, therefore everyone has switched to
pewter alloys.
> Pewter figs are much more expensive and not intended to be painted (metal
> quality is better). You tend to find pewter figs in novelty stores such as
> Cutlery World and find lead (only very old and some European figs) and
> ralidium figs in gaming stores. Sometimes you'll also see plastic or
> partially plastic figs in gaming stores as well. These tend to be cheaper,
> but are less durable.
Yeah - I guess you're on about those figurines which have 'crystal
balls' attached to the bases, or in the hand of a wizard or stuff like
that? They definitely SHOULDN'T be painted over :-)
As far as the rest of your post was concerned - good advice! Although I
kinda like WH paints etc. even though they are expensive (I must have
too much disposable income :-)
--
Matt Devney
My opinions are not Ford Motor Company's opinions. Obviously...
Gebhard Blucher
> This may sound nutters but the last time I painted I was in a pinch and
> I found that *hair spray* seemed to do a very nice job. It is, after all,
> clear glue.
Heh. That is nutters. Did it come out glossy?
GB
Werebat
> I know a painter that uses locking surgical forceps/clamps to hold
> figs.
This is what I use, also.
- Ron ^*^
--
"Get your priorities straight, Debbie. Your spiritual growth through the
game is more important than some lousy loser's life."
- Ms. Frost, "Dark Dungeons"
Fingers of Serpents Hold
(1/2" or 1"). I would leave them on the tiles and finish the base with
artifical grass or soil that is used for model train displays. The tiles
would help keeping the minature upright during play and would give a base to
hold the miniature while painting and playing (they were lead back then).
As for paints, I used tube acrylic over a thin base of white primer. Also,
I only used Winsor/Newton brushes, they seemed to perform better and out
last all the others. I also used some of the oild based paints for
highlights such as floresents and glow in the dark
After they where painted I would seal them with a watered down acrylic
sealer.
al tamont
>balls' attached to the bases, or in the hand of a wizard or stuff like
>that? They definitely SHOULDN'T be painted over :-)
portion (the crystal portion) or very carefully paint it over with
rubber cement before I paint or primer the rest of the mini. When the
paint job is done, simply peel off the rubber cement with your pencil
eraser and all is well.
al tamont
<Argent_...@rocketmail.com> wrote:
>I buy all of my brushes at Michaels, but so far I've avoided the paints.
>Obviously, the name does not matter, but I've found that different
>brands of paints are in fact quite different, and ones that are
>formulated for miniatures would probably work better.
I've never had a problem using non-miniature branded paints. I use
Folk-ART, Liquitex, Delta and other brands. Works just like the
others at a far lower price.
>I'd be concerned that the pigment grind on the Michaels paints would not
>be nearly as fine, since the kinds of things they are marketed for,
>picture painting and wall stenciling come to mind, do not require
>showing fine detail though the paint. Indeed covering flaws is probably
>a goal for the paint. I would think they'd tend to dry thicker, too.
No problem, all paints can be thinned if need be (like tube paints) I
like liquid stuff. A drop of liquid soap, some water and voilla!
Thin as you wanna.
>Have you had good results? If the paint screws up a $2 to $5 figure, it
>is costing you money, not saving. Which paint brand(s) do you use? I've
>read someone's Web page where they said they use the Liquitex in the
>tube for miniatures.
Very good results.
>I'm picky about the sealer as well. I know a lot of people use Krylon,
>but I figure that the sealer is a small part of the overall expense of a
>figure, and I want one I know won't mess it up.
Personal preference there... I've used a couple sealers, usually a
matte finish (except where I WANT shiny, like mechanized beings and
teh like).
>The brushes are great, though. Good selection, you can find good quality
>(though they have junk, too), reasonable prices, and they run frequent
>sales.
TRUE!
Remember, always buy GOOD brushes, they last longer and give better
service. Great rule of thumb for brushes is : if you've never seen it
worn on a fashionable lapel or stole, don't have it in your paint
brush! Horsehair, camel hair, oxhair brushes are awful! Mink, sable,
etc are wonderful! Also, use a brush soap with CONDITIONER ... you
know how living hair gets when frequently wetted and dried without
conditioning, well, brushes are that way too!
more cool gamestuff on my site
Michael Brown
Gebhard Blucher <blu...@usa.net> wrote in message
news:38052C8D...@usa.net...
Not at all; the dried glue is just as diffusive as the paint; neither
glossy nor particularly flat. The figurines still look great.
-MIchael
krystal_blade
azothath <Azot...@aol.com> wrote:
<snip>
> FYI - fuji film cannisters are indented on the ends. Kodak and
Polaroid
> may still use old flat topped cannisters. Expect foil/plastic pouches
> to replace cannisters ASAP (cheaper).
>
> I know a painter that uses locking surgical forceps/clamps to hold
figs.
I use Hemostats as well for holding figurines. Personally, I like the
bent nose ones better, but that's pretty much personal choice.
One thing I found out is that the metal they use (Don't let em fool ya,
it's "pot" metal) is fairly easy to bend if you have a small butane
torch. One of the hardest jobs I did was bending a stone giants arm
into the right position to hold an upside down halfling.
Most of the stuff you can pick up in a model shop is GREAT (IMO) for
figurines. I actually prefer to use testors model master paints over
other brands. Personal choice there, of course...
A friend of mine uses the old overhead projector plastic sheets, cut up
and glued to pen caps. When he's done, he scores the edge of the figure
with an exacto blade, and just tugs the paper free. (The glue sticks,
but not extremely well.)
krysta...@hotmail.com
--
愛OFL!!! [thump!] [thump!]......... I just laughed my nuts off.
- QUENTIN FAI
廈OW CAN YOU BOTH USE THE LORDS NAME IN VEIN? - MARY SMITH
A large syringe and some sort of minced god? - BRIAN KO
Gebhard Blucher
> Not at all; the dried glue is just as diffusive as the paint; neither
> glossy nor particularly flat. The figurines still look great.
The reason I asked is that I was in a similar situation once and used
some adhesive spray I had lying around. It turned out way to glossy.
Should have bought some hair spray at the corner market... :-)
GB
Werebat
> <Argent_...@rocketmail.com> wrote:
> >I'd be concerned that the pigment grind on the Michaels paints would not
> >be nearly as fine, since the kinds of things they are marketed for,
> >picture painting and wall stenciling come to mind, do not require
> >showing fine detail though the paint.
> >Have you had good results? If the paint screws up a $2 to $5 figure, it
> >is costing you money, not saving. Which paint brand(s) do you use?
I have had good results with the Micheal's paints. I recently painted
four Illithid figurines and an ogre with them. I use mostly Delta
Ceramcoat, and Plastercraft Acrylic Gloss (an old can of it) for a
coating (some prefer matte, I prefer gloss -- especially on those
slimy Illithids!)
Werebat
>
> > On Wed, 13 Oct 1999 16:26:50 GMT, Argent Warning
> > <Argent_...@rocketmail.com> wrote:
>
> > >I'd be concerned that the pigment grind on the Michaels paints would not
> > >be nearly as fine, since the kinds of things they are marketed for,
> > >picture painting and wall stenciling come to mind, do not require
> > >showing fine detail though the paint.
>
>
> > >Have you had good results? If the paint screws up a $2 to $5 figure, it
> > >is costing you money, not saving. Which paint brand(s) do you use?
>
> I have had good results with the Micheal's paints. I recently painted
> four Illithid figurines and an ogre with them. I use mostly Delta
> Ceramcoat, and Plastercraft Acrylic Gloss (an old can of it) for a
> coating (some prefer matte, I prefer gloss -- especially on those
> slimy Illithids!)
It should be noted that some old figurines circa 1980 are so horrendously
bad in detail that they are better off getting the "rainbow dip"
treatment -- make five of those kobolds all-green, five all-red, etc. and
use them for mass combats!
Michael Brown
<grin> Next time you're in crisis, remember- you want the pump-action
stuff, not aerosol.
-Michael
Argent Warning
Werebat <hes...@etal.uri.edu> wrote:
> > >Have you had good results?
>
> I have had good results with the Micheal's paints. I recently painted
> four Illithid figurines and an ogre with them. I use mostly Delta
> Ceramcoat, and Plastercraft Acrylic Gloss (an old can of it) for a
> coating (some prefer matte, I prefer gloss -- especially on those
> slimy Illithids!)
>
Sounds cool. I'll have to select some suitable Guinea figs and give this
a try.
Argent Warning
In article <3805827d...@news.hto.net>,
altam...@hotmail.com (al tamont) wrote:
> >I'd be concerned that the pigment grind on the Michaels paints
> >would not be nearly as fine, since the kinds of things they are
> >marketed for, picture painting and wall stenciling come to mind,
> >do not require showing fine detail though the paint. Indeed
> >covering flaws is probably a goal for the paint. I would think
> >they'd tend to dry thicker, too.
> No problem, all paints can be thinned if need be (like tube paints) I
> like liquid stuff. A drop of liquid soap, some water and voilla!
> Thin as you wanna.
OK, I know you can thin the water based acrylic binder, but the question
I have is about the size of the pigment particulates, is it fine enough,
whatever 'enough' is. I'm sure you've noticed that in some metallics you
can actually see the metallic granules; these tend to be way to grainy
for miniatures.
> >Have you had good results?
> Very good results.
I guess I ought to try it.
> Remember, always buy GOOD brushes, they last longer and give better
> service. Great rule of thumb for brushes is : if you've never seen it
> worn on a fashionable lapel or stole, don't have it in your paint
> brush! Horsehair, camel hair, oxhair brushes are awful! Mink, sable,
> etc are wonderful!
I like sable, too. I've heard recommendations to use yellow nylon
brushes, and just recently picked up a couple to try out. If they work
out, they should last long. Oh, most important - ALWAYS hand pick your
brushes and get ones that have a well defined shape - a good point,
strands not sticking out at odd angles, and such.
> Also, use a brush soap with CONDITIONER ... you know how living hair
> gets when frequently wetted and dried without conditioning, well,
> brushes are that way too!
For being so picky with the paint, here's a place I've cut corners. I
use a plain Ivory bar - almost pure soap. It does a great job cleaning.
I shake the bulk of the water out, then shape the brush before I set it
down to dry. The conditioner sounds like a good idea, though. I'd
imagine Michaels stocks it, right?
> more cool gamestuff on my site - http://b-ware.com
Yes, pretty cool!
Argent Warning
see...@earthlink.net wrote:
> I've never considered painting pewter, but it's probably time to
> dust off my recommendations for standard figures.
Standard figures are pewter today. Most of the blister packs say so. A
few use a trade name like "lead free Raladium". I've heard that there
are now laws against selling lead miniatures in the US and Britain, but
I don't know how true it is nor what specific activities are covered. I
know you won't find any recently made lead figures on your hobby stores
racks.
Pewter is better than lead, anyway. Lead is subject to a deterioration,
I think it is called 'lead rot' but pewter is basically stable. Pewter
is sturdier, and is lighter (cheaper to ship).
al tamont
<Argent_...@rocketmail.com> wrote:
>> No problem, all paints can be thinned if need be (like tube paints) I
>> like liquid stuff. A drop of liquid soap, some water and voilla!
>> Thin as you wanna.
>
>OK, I know you can thin the water based acrylic binder, but the question
>I have is about the size of the pigment particulates, is it fine enough,
>whatever 'enough' is. I'm sure you've noticed that in some metallics you
>can actually see the metallic granules; these tend to be way to grainy
>for miniatures.
lucky, of course, I've never tried using house paint on minis <evil
grin> Seriously though, stick to general craft paints... buy only a
tube of any given brand until you're sure you're happy with the brand
then buy the rest of the colors you need. In the past, I've found
many paints that work well for minis.
>> Remember, always buy GOOD brushes, they last longer and give better
>> service. Great rule of thumb for brushes is : if you've never seen it
>> worn on a fashionable lapel or stole, don't have it in your paint
>> brush! Horsehair, camel hair, oxhair brushes are awful! Mink, sable,
>> etc are wonderful!
>
>I like sable, too. I've heard recommendations to use yellow nylon
>brushes, and just recently picked up a couple to try out. If they work
>out, they should last long. Oh, most important - ALWAYS hand pick your
>brushes and get ones that have a well defined shape - a good point,
>strands not sticking out at odd angles, and such.
I've got a couple nylon brushes, but I use them for glue-mixtures
mostly (expendable brushes) also you just can't glue with a natural
fibre, the glue attacks the fibre and you end up with a stick with a
glue-hardened tip really fast that way.
>> Also, use a brush soap with CONDITIONER ... you know how living hair
>> gets when frequently wetted and dried without conditioning, well,
>> brushes are that way too!
>
>For being so picky with the paint, here's a place I've cut corners. I
>use a plain Ivory bar - almost pure soap. It does a great job cleaning.
>I shake the bulk of the water out, then shape the brush before I set it
>down to dry. The conditioner sounds like a good idea, though. I'd
>imagine Michaels stocks it, right?
Yes, I recommend Grumbacher's liquid brush soap.
>> more cool gamestuff on my site - http://b-ware.com
>
>Yes, pretty cool!
Thank you!
It's true you know.
TRAMADOG
years.
Some of the figures never got painted and now have a crystaline like crust on
them.
It is my understanding when lead does this the crust is toxic. Is there any way
to save the figures? some are high dolar figures from the early 80's and may
not be replacable.
thanks in advance
Firefighters go where even cockroaches fear to tread
Argent Warning
tram...@aol.com (TRAMADOG) wrote:
I read something about this in a model ship builders FAQ. (I don't
do ships, I was looking for a source for model chain.) It is called
'lead rot'; it is a reaction between lead and antimony in the lead;
it is pretty much universal. They did not mention prevention. They
didn't mention toxicity.
My additional two cents:
The best prevention would be to use something other than lead.
It appears to be an oxide, so painting should help. Your basement
experience and the fact that I've seen some really old lead figures
in good shape suggests that humidity might be a factor. The white
stuff has lead in it, so it is toxic. It might be absorbed by the
body more easily than lead.
Hope this helps.
DBlizzard
I believe it is supposed to be preventable by dipping your lead minatures in
vinegar and
then priming them ASAP. Also, washing well with soap and water is supposed to
help. You might try soaking them in vinegar and seeing if that helps.
David A. Blizzard