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Hobby WIP Wednesday 1/29/20

January 29th, 2020

Nothing much exciting to report–some work piled up, so I needed to spend a lot less time on hobby projects this week. No video of a completely magnetized Primaris Infiltrator / Incursor just yet. Soon.

I managed to clean up sprue lines from a couple pieces and magnetize a couple more. Didn’t quite like the results on magnetizing the pouches for the Primaris Infiltrator because the top of the pouch was not sitting anywhere near flush with the dude’s upper thigh, and I ended up with two magnets in his thigh and two in the pouch.

Primaris Infiltrator with thigh magnets and magnetized ammo pouches.

Primaris Infiltrator with thigh magnets and magnetized ammo pouches. At least there’s only one magnet in the Incursor knives.

Blah.

Primaris Infiltrator with thigh magnets and magnetized ammo pouches with pouches attached.

I think the pouches look OK attached to to leg. They seem to lie naturally.

On the next one, I’m going to try two magnets in the thigh (upper one for the pouch, and lower one for the knives), but only the upper one in the pouch. See how that goes.

Other than that, I did some stripping for the first time.

Stripping paint. From models. What were you thinking?

I have a ton of miniatures from playing D&D as a teen. While I have an emotional attachment to all of them to some degree, I need to be realistic about the fact that they’ve mostly all been in storage at my parents’ place for more than a decade. If I ever get back into D&D like I keep saying I am, I’d likely not use as many miniatures. Sorry, but do I have the space and money to keep a miniature that will be used once in a campaign for one random encounter? Not really. It’s time to liquidate some assets, and I’m more likely to sell these guys if they aren’t caked in twenty-five-year-old paint.

Now, if you go online and search “how to strip miniatures,” you’re going to find lots of very passionate people who are passionate about their method of choice. After watching a number of videos on YouTube, this one sealed it for me:

So, I stopped at the dollar store last week and picked up a 32-oz bottle of LA’s Totally Awesome for, yup, a dollar. I then tossed a bunch of plastic and metal minis in a plastic bottle and poured enough of the stuff into it to cover all of the miniatures.

Bottle of LA's Totally Awesome and an empty plastic bottle for stripping paint from miniatures.

Bottle of LA’s Totally Awesome and an empty plastic bottle for stripping paint from miniatures.

It sat on the shelf for three days or so before I opened it. The clear liquid had gone super cloudy.

LA's Totally Awesome in a plastic bottle after soaking painted miniatures in it for a number of days.

LA’s Totally Awesome in a plastic bottle after soaking painted miniatures in it for a number of days.

I used tweezers to fish some models and bits from the murky depths. Some paint had dissolved (obviously, from the look of the liquid), with a couple metal miniatures completely devoid of paint. Most required scrubbing with an old paint brush and an old toothbrush.

I hadn’t thought to take pictures before starting the process, which I now regret–but some of the miniatures still had enough paint on them before scrubbing to provide an idea of what they looked like before the stripping process began.

Ral Partha gnoll raider about to be scrubbed of paint.

Ral Partha gnoll raider about to be scrubbed of paint.

Ral Partha gnoll raider after scrubbing.

Ral Partha gnoll raider after scrubbing: the head and weapon were separate pieces that had been glued on with CA glue. I’m not sure if LA’s TA normally dissolves the stuff or not. This one needed to go back into the dunk tank after the first scrubbing.

Ral Partha ogre about to be scrubbed of paint.

Ral Partha ogre about to be scrubbed of paint.

Ral Partha ogre after scrubbing.

This guy came clean really easy.

Another Ral Partha ogre about to be scrubbed of paint.

Another Ral Partha ogre about to be scrubbed of paint. I also finally put on a glove–not that I’d been dunking my hand in the chemical bath, but still . . .

Another Ral Partha ogre mostly clean of paint.

This one came mostly clean. He did go back into the bath to soak the last bit of paint.

Of course, here are the color-test models from last week:

Red, white, and blue LOTR high elves from the front.

Red, white, and blue LOTR high elves from the front.

And the results:

LotR High Elves color-test models after being stripped of paint.

LotR High Elves color-test models after being stripped of paint. These were the least successful models, with some white paint residue (I don’t think I used true primer on these guys twenty years ago) and a bit of metallic around the armor. I put them back into the LA’s TA this morning and will give them another little scrub at some point in the next couple days.

Here are all the models and bits that I stripped this week:

All the stripped miniatures.

My first batch of stripped miniatures. From D&D minis to Rogue Trader-era 40K Space Marines . . . Overall, I’m impressed with the results.

That’s for about $0.50 in cleaning fluid . . . which I don’t plan to dump. After I gather up another batch of minis to clean, they are going right into this soup to soak. There’s my Depression-era grandmother’s sensibilities affecting me again.

Hoping to have more magnetization and assembly done by next week! Then I’m likely going back to experimenting with some painting techniques on the 2nd-Edition Marines. I wanted to have a Kill Team roster done by now, but I want things done to a certain standard, and I have to give myself time to knock off the rust and try out new techniques.

Hobby WIP Wednesday 1/22/20

January 22nd, 2020
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This week, I worked on some color tests. Having primed only three 2nd-Edition Space Marines, I didn’t want to jump right into experimenting with them when I didn’t know how exactly the Citadel Contrast Paint line was going to work, and I wasnt certain about how the colors would turn out. So, I went through some boxes from my parents’ and found some high elves from the GW LotR game that I’d primed (kinda badly) years ago.

I mixed four different ratios of Talassar Blue and Ultramarines Blue, deciding, ultimately, on the darkest blue. I also laid down some Blood Angels Red to provide the necessary contrast because my ultimate plan is for a scheme that is heavily red and blue.

I found some pooling and splotchiness with the blues, but the red went on beautifully. I chalked part of the splotchiness to the uneven priming job, but I definitely need to practice with the paint to avoid the pooling.

Red, white, and blue LOTR high elves.

Red, white, and blue LOTR high elves.

Red, white, and blue LOTR high elves from the front.

Red, white, and blue LOTR high elves from the front.

Because the ultimate paint scheme also requires some metal, I tried out two methods, both with Army Painter’s Plate Mail Metal. I then threw down a wash of Citadel’s Nuln Oil on one and more carefully applied Citadel’s Black Templar Contrast Paint to the other. I was pretty certain that the Nuln Oil would give the effect I was looking for, but it was a good excuse to try the BTCP over metal. I really like the look of both (though the black one didn’t photograph all too well), but the Nuln Oil is perfect for the ultimate plan. I’ll save the BTCP for a Warcry project–though I’ll likely this it down with Contrast Medium a bit so the black isn’t quite so overpowering.

LotR high elf with Nuln Oil-shaded Army Painter Plate Mail Metal.

LotR high elf with Nuln Oil-shaded Army Painter Plate Mail Metal.

LotR high elf with Black Templar Contrast-shaded Army Painter Plate Mail Metal.

LotR high elf with Black Templar Contrast-shaded Army Painter Plate Mail Metal.

Then it was time to try things out on Marines.

The blue didn’t turn out quite right on the legs, and the red ended up pooling really badly.

Duh. The cloaks and gauntlets on those elves don’t match up to surfaces on the Marines. Because of how the Contrast Paints run into crevices, providing a built-in-wash, they are going to look different applied to various surfaces and textures. Should have taken that into account.

So I continued experimenting with the blue ratio.

On top of that, the paints were frustrating to work with. I was making a mess, and the paint was drying too quickly for me to touch up areas that were splotching. Maybe I’m just slow–maybe the air isn’t humid enough. Probably a little bit of both.

Anyway. Time to reveal the paint scheme and Space Marine chapter: I give you the Fists of the Prime, an Imperial Fists successor chapter.

All three 2nd-Edition Space Marine test models of the Fists of the Prime chapter.

All three together. Even with the rough technique and quickly slapping the paint on, they do pull together in a group. There’s something to that “unit effect” that makes multiple minis look better than a single one.

Yup. I’ve married my love of Transformers to my love of the original grimdark property, 40K. It’s the geeky collision nearly no one asked for.

I’ll break down each one and what I tried with them.

First Fists of the Prime Marine test model.

First Fists of the Prime Marine test model. Original darkest blue from the elves on the left leg and head. Just a bit too dark for what I wanted. Aquila painted with Contrast Aethermic Blue with a Nuln Oil wash. Doesn’t look bad in the picture, but it came out muddy in person. Black Templar on the pouches and scabbard.

Second Fists of the Prime Marine test model.

Second Fists of the Prime 2nd-Edition Marine test model. I tried some Army Painter blue with some Contrast Paint on the left leg, and it didn’t quite look right (actually looks better in the picture, somehow). Then I went back to the Contrast Paint mix and went down to a 1:1 mix of Talassar Blue and Ultramarines Blue. This was much closer to what I wanted. I again painted the aquila with Contrast Aethermic Blue, but this time I lightly ran some Talassar Blue over it. Nope. It looks cool, but it’s too deep of a blue because I want to capture the glow of Optimus Prime’s windows. The Black Templar on the pouches and scabbard wasn’t working for me. Too dark and felt like weird shadows on the model. So I went for brown with Contrast Snakebite Leather.

I did realize that I was using a brush that was too small. I ran over to Michael’s (thankfully right around the corner!) and picked up a Royal & Lang round 3 brush, which definitely made a difference. I also decided to add some Winsor & Newton fluid retarder in order to slow down the drying process.

Ultimately, I used a mix of 1 part fluid retarder, 1 part Contrast Medium, 1 part Talassar Blue, and 1 part Ultramarines Blue for the blue. This mixture was easier to work with but requires two coats. For the red, I used 3 parts Blood Angels Red, 1 part fluid retarder, and one part Contrast Medium. It’s hard to see in the photos, but the red on the third one isn’t quite as deep. I might raise the ratio to 4 parts paint to fluid retarder and drop the medium.

Third Fists of the Prime Marine test model.

Third and final 2nd-Edition Marine test model. Sorry for the blurry picture on this one. Both the blue and the red went on much better and was easier to move around with the bigger brush and the thinners added. I did not add any extra shading to the aquila, and this really is more what I was going for. I’ll likely add more subtle shadows and highlights without major washing. By this time, I’d settled on the brown leather pouches, which I think ties things together better for some reason–plus, the weapons are going to be black to match Prime’s rifle, so I thought it best not to allow too much black to take over.

Three 2nd-Edition Space Marine color-test models.

Here are all three from behind. The red worked fairly well on the backpacks, but they are more like the gauntlets on the high elves: full of texture. The one on the right with the fluid retarder and medium added is a bit washed out, though it’s not nearly as noticeable in the picture.

I’m going to have to work on technique, but I think I’ve figured out enough to be ready to start painting once the unit is built and primed.

Speaking of which, I got back to cleaning up mold lines, assembling, and adding magnets.

Here are some pictures from that process:

Primaris Space Marine Infiltrator/Incursor with holes drilled in top of torso and bottom of neck for magnets.

Primaris Space Marine Infiltrator/Incursor with holes drilled in top of torso and bottom of neck for magnets.

Primaris Space Marine Infiltrator/Incursor ready for a dry fit of his arms with Sticky Tac.

Primaris Space Marine Infiltrator/Incursor ready for a dry fit of his arms with Sticky Tac. I’m planning on painting using sub-assemblies, so the arms won’t be glued on until after painting. Note that the infiltrator scope is already magnetized and can be swapped out for an incursor scope.

Primaris Space Marine Infiltrator/Incursor with Sticky Tac and paperclip placement tool.

Here, I’ve used a bent paperclip and some Sticky Tac to gauge the placement and fit of the bolt pistol in its holster. Eventually, I ended up using it to glue the piece in place.

Here I’ve drilled the hole in the back of the sheath–talk about fine work. The magnet will stick out just a little, but I’m going to try to sink the magnet in the thigh of the model to match.

I’ve drilled the hole in the Space Marine’s thigh and placed a dab of Superglue gel in it. The magnet is perched on a junk X-Acto blade, ready to be placed.

And the magnet is installed.

I ended up losing the infiltrator ammo pouch–dropped it in my lap right after gluing the magnet in, and the thing must have fallen into a black hole, because it’s gone-gone. I seriously tore everything apart with no luck finding it. There’s a leftover one on the sprue, so I’ll get it clipped, cleaned up, and magnetized.

Next week, I’ll post a short video showing off the magnetization.

Hobby WIP Wednesday 1/15/20

January 15th, 2020

I’ve recently decided that I need to spend a little time on things that I simply enjoy–I’ve spent ten years working and worrying about things, and that’s not healthy. I need time to work on miniatures, which is like meditation. I need to play games with people to relax in another way and to keep the brain agile.

I’ve also decided to keep track of hobby progress and post my successes and failures weekly. Here’s my first report:

Nothing too glamorous to report this week. Still working on cleaning up and assembling the Primaris Infiltrator/Incursor models–and I’ve mostly settled on a paint scheme for my chapter that I think is going to be really fun. More on that next week.

I spent too much time cleaning, organizing, and installing shelves in the laundry room to have space to set up my airbrush station. It took some trial and error, but it’s workable. I found yet another use for the old Ikea dresser parts, laying down a drawer front over the laundry room sink for another flat surface. But it’s exciting to finally be using the airbrush (it’s never been used, just collecting dust the past couple years) even if it’s just for priming at the moment.

Airbrush Workspace

Airbrush Workspace

Anyway, I dug up some old 2nd-Edition 40K Space Marines to experiment with. I’m planning on using Citadel Contrast Paints for my basecoats, so I’ve primed one plain white and two in light gray, both of which were then given a zenithal highlight–one using a white ink and the other with a white primer.

I stopped at @WarhammerWilmington for some paints, and I’m looking forward to experimenting with colors on some old models that I primed ages ago with a rattle can. Once I think I have the colors figured out, then it’s time to paint the test marines.

Results/things I learned: I went too heavy with the white on top of the gray. The picture doesnt really show it, but there is still grey visible from underneath the models, but I think I mostly wiped out the midtones. Getting exact control over the paint flow is going to take practice.

Warhammer 40K 2nd-Edition Space Marines Primed

Warhammer 40K 2nd-Edition Space Marines Primed

Even though I tested each color on empty sprue first, I still had the pressure too high (20 PSI, which works well for the primer) for the white ink when I started spraying the model, and I ended up with some splattering and pooling after the first pass. The second pass (at 15 PSI) mostly covered it up, but the paint job is not as neat as the gray and white primer.

While I think with practice I’ll be able to achieve greater results with the ink, for the squad I’m working on now, I have a feeling I’ll be sticking to the gray and white primer. I’m trying to get them done for a painting competition in a little more than a week. Yeah. Good luck.

My dyslexia is really messing up my ability to do a proper back flow with the airbrush. Because the trigger action is reversed from painting (pull back on the trigger to pull back the needle before pressing down to engage the air, rather than the opposite), I’m always thrown off, and then I can’t remember which to do first when stopping, so I sprayed dirty cleaning solution everywhere or stabbed my finger multiple times. Practice. Practice. Practice. Bleed some more.

The wire rack wasn’t a bad idea for painting bits that are magnetized or stuck on with mounting putty, but it fills the spray box and just isn’t maneuverable enough, making it impossible to hit the bits from all angles. So, back to the Ikea dresser remains. I found a support, cut it in half, then attached some hooks I had lying around from the previous incarnation of the vocal booth. Now I have a bits spraying handle (as seen behind the models).

Bits Painting Handle in the Background

Bits Painting Handle in the Background

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