-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1
Hi folks,
just got the samples I ordered, and am contemplating their painting. What I'm
curious about is, how do you people paint them? Do you mount them on the
stands and paint them while so mounted? Do you mount them on something else,
during painting?
I would guess the stand would get paint-splotched during painting, which
would seem a shame. But holding the model itself during painting would only
result in a lot of metal showing through, I'm afraid.
Oh, and on a somewhat similar issue, how do you transport them? I base all my
figures on magnetic bases for transport and storage, but I doubt this would
work with the FT models on their long spindly stands.
Cheers,
> On 13-Jun-01 at 07:44, Derk Groeneveld (derk@cistron.nl) wrote:
What
> I'm curious about is, how do you people paint them? Do you mount them
Is there an FT painting FAQ? We really need one as this is asked often.
I go down to the hobby store and buy square brass tubing such that one fits
tightly inside the other. (Actually, the outer is tubing, the inner is
channel). I drill into the mini a bit and epoxy the smaller to the mini. I
epoxy the larger to one of the big lead bases. That makes transport in a
tackle box with a piece of foam easy. I also have a couple of bases which are
horribly out of line from when I first started this. Those are my painting
bases.
> Roger Books wrote:
What
> > I'm curious about is, how do you people paint them? Do you mount
One FT Painting FAQ, at your request! :-)
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Station/3565/ft-painting-faq.html
The info in there is a few years old (at least with respect to my posted
response; I've changed my ESU scheme from the metallic maroon
to olive/dk green. The UNSC ships weren't out at the point the FAQ
was put together, but I've done all mine in Ral Partha's Paladin Blue, with
some of the fiddly bits highlighted in a lighter blue or metallic color
(engines I paint gunmetal metallic and blood red).
As for transporting things, this has come up a few times in the past. THere's
probably a thread or three in the archives, but for a quick answer, people do
it differently. I use gun cases and carve out a likeness of each ship in the
foam.
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1
> On Wed, 13 Jun 2001, Roger Books wrote:
> Is there an FT painting FAQ? We really need one as this is asked
Whoops. I now recall having seen this pop up... Before I got FT figs, so I
didn't pay much in the way of attention.
> I go down to the hobby store and buy square brass tubing such that
Ah... I seem to have received plastic bases, as opposed to the lead ones you
describe. I guess lead ones are more stable? Where do you get the lead bases
from?
Still doesn't quite solve the transport question, though?
Cheers,
> On 13-Jun-01 at 08:43, Derk Groeneveld (derk@cistron.nl) wrote:
They come with the big ships but you can also pick them up seperately.
> Still doesn't quite solve the transport question, though?
I'm playing FSE so I just cut a little slot in a piece of foam and
stick the brass tubing through the hole. I only have 10-15mm extruding
from each ship.
I am going to have to figure out something different for my ST ships and my
UNSC stuff.
***
Ah... I seem to have received plastic bases, as opposed to the lead ones you
describe. I guess lead ones are more stable? Where do you get the lead bases
from?
***
In the US only, I think.
Geo-Hex produced 'em, and I think KR's now shipping with the plastic
bases, though the metal ones are still available, I think.
Personally, I think they are pretty good, given they are slightly bigger than
the plastic, and draw the center of gravity down, as well as having
the twelve-point rosette. You also get the offset four fire arcs if you
want to do original FTII. ;->=
As an aside, I've broken too many plastic posts on ships not to question them,
too.
***
Still doesn't quite solve the transport question, though?
***
Have you tried cutting a slit into a foam roughly thick as the base post is
high? The ships can be pushed in, with the body of the ship above, and the
base below.
However, if you go with the inner/outer post scheme, you can just punch
both parts into the foam.
The_Beast
> On 13-Jun-01 at 09:08, devans@uneb.edu (devans@uneb.edu) wrote:
There is one disadvantage of the metal bases. They are bigger, which means
ADFC coverage is more difficult.
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1
> On Wed, 13 Jun 2001 devans@uneb.edu wrote:
> ***
Ugh.
> As an aside, I've broken too many plastic posts on ships not to
I've done that, too, with old Citadel mini's which were mounted on such posts.
Don't ask me what mini's, this is back in '88 or something;)
I may just use the plastic stands for painting and look around for metal
stands. Suggestions for a european supplier'd be welcome. I checked the
GZG catalog but could only find reference to metal _posts_.
> ***
Mmm. I'm a bit reluctant to go for foam. I used to store my 25mm mini's in
foam, and looking at the abrasive damage that did, over time, compared to the
magnabase storage I use now, I'd rather find another option.
Although I guess if the mini's are held above the foam, the problem should be
less (they can't move across the foam)
Cheers,
Roger Books schrieb:
> I go down to the hobby store and buy square brass tubing
I had difficulty finding square brass tubing in the correct sizes. It also
works reasonably well with round tubes cut to a 45 degree angle. See my
webpage:
***
Mmm. I'm a bit reluctant to go for foam. I used to store my 25mm mini's in
foam, and looking at the abrasive damage that did, over time, compared to the
magnabase storage I use now, I'd rather find another option.
***
That had crossed my mind; I was thinking of pointing out the importance of
a good sealant coat. ;->=
There's still the problem of painting the post in my suggestion, which is a
good idea as a metal post doesn't have the plastic advantage of either being
clear or black.
On the other hand, I like starting with a black over coat to include the post
and base, then a bit of masking tape with paper where the post meets the ship.
With a 'skirt', I'm protecting the base if spray painting, and my hand for
brush painting, which is ok as I've never picked up the
wipe-on-thumb brush techique.
By the way, this IS an admission that I have tried painting; I still prefer
almost anyone else's paint job to my own.
You might try a combination; if you use the magnabase, with a foam
'cap',
you may have less shifting of the figs, which is where you get the most
damage. But, I'm clutching at straws, here...
I'm looking at heat-finished soft foams, and if I can make my own forms,
as I think these would be less abrasive, but haven't found the right sized
pieces to do testing.
> just got the samples I ordered, and am contemplating their painting.
What
> I'm curious about is, how do you people paint them? Do you mount them
I mount them first but then I usually cut down the post, both plastic or metal
with escorts getting the shortest posts. Then I use barrel clasp to connect
the base to the mini. On the smallest ships I do mount them
directly to the post, but after cutting off the top 1/2"+ of the post
and drilling out the hole on the mini.
> I would guess the stand would get paint-splotched during painting,
I paint the bases black anyway so extra paint on the base is no problem. Even
if a black plastic base, I paint away since a coat of black over the primer or
sploches is quick and easy.
> Oh, and on a somewhat similar issue, how do you transport them? I base
Since the barrel clasps make the base removal easy, I still use convaluted
foam in a few different types of cases I've picked up cheep (all my minis have
a couple coats of clear gloss and then a coat of dullcoat for protection and I
haven't seen any abrasive damage to the mini's paintjob, usually packed in too
tight to move anyway)
> Derk Groeneveld wrote:
I tried using magnetic strips or velcro to hold my FT ships, but it was not
able to hold my larger ships successfully.
What I was able to use are Rubbermaid storage boxes with 1/8" elastic
tape
from a fabric store. I drill small holes at a regular intervals based
on the spacing I want for my ships and the metal base size of the ships.
I then weave the elastic through the holes such that two bands will support
the ship base. This method does not use foam and can securely hold my larger
SDN ships and BattleFleet Gothic battleships I have.
The advantage of having a transparent box is that I can quickly find the
ship I'm interested in for a game.
> From: Derk Groeneveld <derk@cistron.nl>
I paint them on the stands. The metal stands with some of the models need to
be painted anyway.
If you like the plastic black colour, you can do what I did with some smaller
FT ships and some Silent Death ships. You cut out some newspaper in a four
pointed star shape. You put the figure in the middle, fold the paper upwards,
and then tape the paper to the top of the stand. It covers up all of the
stand, though it can make it somewhat unstable.
I just mounted some FT ships last night. The plastic stands have that little
stem on the top. I trim that off and drill a hole for the size of the top of
the shaft. That way instead of it attaching to a small stem, it's attached
directly to the main shaft of the figure. You could simply drill the hole,
paint the model off the stand, and then glue the stand to the hole later.
> Oh, and on a somewhat similar issue, how do you transport them? I base
FT ships are tall to the point of being top heavy, and they are massive. You'd
need a pretty strong magnet to hold them in place, even if the stands weren't
spindly and long.
I'm trying to figure this one myself. I'm leaning towards cutting out soft
foam in the shapes of the ships, and putting the foam in plastic cases.
G'day Derk,
> Do you mount them on the stands and paint
Sort of. The little guys (or any ones really) which will sit easily on a
stand without fear of falling over or having to mangle the hole to get it to
sit are plonked on their stands while drying. Everything else rests (wet side
up) on old nappies or other suitable soft cloth. As for the painting I do
actually hold them in my hand (as I do with all figs I paint). You only paint
a bit at a time and make sure its VERY dry before you paint the other bit
(because you're going to be holding the painted bit... so make sure your hands
are dry, even if paint splattered). Its always worked for
me...
that way I can get the shaking of my figure holding hand to match the shaking
of my brush hand for the fine detail bits;)
> But holding the model itself during painting would
Like I said, not if you let it dry first (and assuming you've got an undercoat
on it).
> how do you transport them?
In Australia they sell large boxes of eggs (say for 30+ eggs), when you
pull out the inner egg holders the actual box is wonderful for figures. Put
the figures in then dump a heap of those "nuggets" that packers or book
transporters use so the figures can't jostle about (going to a book seller and
asking for his "unwanted mass of packers" usually means you can get it for
free). We also mount our stands on balsa so rectangles the same width and
length as the mini (or stand, which ever is greater) and this stops jostling
too. Works a charm and its cheap.
Cheers
Beth
> At 10:17 14/06/01 +1000, you wrote:
> pull out the inner egg holders the actual box is wonderful for figures.
> Put the figures in then dump a heap of those "nuggets" that packers or
> stops jostling too. Works a charm and its cheap.
But don't do what Beth did and fix the bases to the bottom of the box, the
plastic stands snapped:)
G'day,
> But don't do what Beth did and fix the bases to
Whereas the ever wise Derek didn't so his were fine, so that's how come I
still think it works a charm;)
Beth
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1
> On Thu, 14 Jun 2001, Beth Fulton wrote:
> G'day Derk,
Mmm. Well, I gave up on holding figs while painting a long time ago; I would
invariably rub the paint off edges etc.
Anyway, I started painting my first FT model yesterday evening (MarkGraf heavy
cruiser), and simply glued it to the stand.
Oh, as for shaking hands... I tend to brace my elbows on table or knees, hold
the base (or old paint tins, I mount all my 15 & 25mm figs on old humbrol tins
before painting), and brace my brush hand on the other when painting. Pretty
much eliminates the shake:)
> >But holding the model itself during painting would
My experience differs:)
> >how do you transport them?
I'm curious about the balsa thing, not sure I understood it properly?
Also, does anybody have experience what kind of foam to use and what foam
NOT to use (more/less abrasive etc)
Cheers,
> At 09:48 14/06/01 +0200, you wrote:
A picture is worth a thousand words click on the link
http://www.users.bigpond.com/derekfulton/Gallery/GalleryFrame.htm
check out 'Spacecrafts and Starships'.
> Also, does anybody have experience what kind of foam to use and what
I recommend that 'foam pasta' (if that's the right term)
I've had good luck with Chessex cases and also something called an Army
Transport sold around the Atlanta area. It's a big soft rectangular case with
padded sides and foam pieces, some thick and some thin that fit inside. I use
clearcoat as well and I've never noticed damage from friction or abrasion.
> --- Derek Fulton <derekfulton@bigpond.com> wrote:
http://www.users.bigpond.com/derekfulton/Gallery/GalleryFrame.htm
> check out 'Spacecrafts and Starships'.