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Post by Jaymz on Sept 19, 2014 13:34:21 GMT
With people starting to get their wave one pledges and many like me, being relatively new to this, what advice do you veterans have?
I plan to use regular testers model glue. Is that ok?
What about mounting? Should you paint first then mount to the base?
Anything else?
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Post by Deleted on Sept 19, 2014 21:16:57 GMT
With people starting to get their wave one pledges and many like me, being relatively new to this, what advice do you veterans have? I plan to use regular testers model glue. Is that ok? What about mounting? Should you paint first then mount to the base? Anything else? Painting is by choice, some do the bulk of the painting on the sprue, then assemble, others assemble on the base then paint, its all what works for you, as to assembly if this is your first time assembling miniatures, I would practice on the Zentraedi models since they seem simple and straight forward, as to the UEDF figs that might be a problem, since they seem designed towards advanced modelers, as to glue I would buy an ABS friendly glue, basic Testor's modeling cement is not ABS friendly, it could do more damage to your minis over time then basic wear and tear. |
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Post by roadrunner on Sept 21, 2014 12:56:12 GMT
One tip would be to get hold of a decent pair of sprue cutters to cut the pieces away from the sprues rather than trying to use even a new "X-Acto knife. You will hvae more control and less likley to break delicate parts. A decent pair will also not leave the ragged tears on the model that need patient cleaning up later if you are going to paint.
Sausage finger? Trouble with fiddly little parts? I suggest that you might want to DIY a little gizmo, I nickname the setter, Basically take an old biro/ballpoint pen and attach a long straight pin or piece of wire to the end. Put a small blob of Blu-Tac or similar at the end. Use this to pick up and place those fiddly bits. Takes some getting use to but I find it ideal to place bits in those hard to reach places - later on you might create a second setter with a curved or right angle wire.
Last tip work on a table or tray with a raised edge, put a baize cloth or something dark on top. Keeps pices in sight and easier to pick out that tiny piece rather than scrabbling on the carpet. I know its tempting but suggest one model at a time and take your time, rush jobs tend to be messy jobs and likely to end up missing pieces .
Other useful kit is a jewellers apron, bits that fly off are caught in the large pocket and jewellers/watchmakers magnifying glasses (just wear them leaves your hands free, ideal for the tiny stuff)
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Post by Jaymz on Sept 21, 2014 13:01:54 GMT
Excellent suggestions guys
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Post by melodramatic on Sept 21, 2014 14:44:06 GMT
Some of the things that I have found helpful:
1. When cutting the pieces from the sprue, work on one model at a time. Use flush cutters to cut near the piece and then you can use an X-acto or sanding files to finish removing the flash. I prefer using sanding files (found them next to the paints at my local Hobby Lobby) just to be safe.
2. Sometimes the specific "hobby" tools can be expensive, I find that generic jewelry tools can be used. They are more affordable and more readily available, i.e. Wal-Mart.
3. YouTube can be your friend. I like to find model/miniature painting videos and watch them for tips and tricks. If you find a painter with videos and styles that you like you can learn a lot.
Mounting and painting can be done in all manner of orders like scarapis mentioned. I've also seen and done painting in sub assemblies. Basically, you assemble smaller sections so that it is easier to paint and then put together. Find a way that makes sense to you and experiment, but have fun with it.
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Post by Bad_Syntax on Oct 1, 2014 22:11:45 GMT
I posted these on facebook:
- I used cheap testor's plastic model glue. It made assembly easier, didn't glue my fingers together, is cheap, and best of all it filled in many of the seams.
- Get proper tools, it'll save your miniatures, time, and frustration
- Be *VERY* careful trimming some parts, I had a couple pieces break on the Glaug/Quel-Regult sprue as they were so fragile (I just cut stuff nearby, and they broke)
- Magnets work great on the head
- Get some little clamps. I bought half a dozen at Home Depot for like $0.50 each, and they kept the parts with seams together much longer and better to ensure a proper fit. Without these, seams abounded.
- Take your time, use a file, use a sharp blade, and do it right. I half-assed much of it.
- The arms of the Guardians/Battloids were a HUGE pain, and I mean HUGE. They never really fit very well, and finding the right combination was a pain. On top of that, for both models you get *double* the amount of arms, so you are never real sure what goes where. The assembly instructions have a few errors that didn't help.
- Make sure you check the poses of your Regults, the legs can go all sorts of angles and a couple of mine look goofy. The feet on 4 of the models are too close to mount on a base wthout 1 leg out, or in a flying position.
- Think about basing. Litko.net has 30mm clear acrylic hex bases that are almost exactly the same size as the average base in the game, but being clear means it works great in space games, OR ground games.
- Battloid legs need to be spread apart a bit, else the toes look funny.
- VF-1R heads simply don't work unless they are pointed sideways (maybe the twin lasers are backwards or something, but I couldn't get them to fit any other way) VF-1S head barely works
- Make sure you do not throw away sprues until you are SURE you are done. I threw away a tiny valkyrie piece that goes on the chest battloid and didn't notice until too late.
- I dread mounting the weapons on the valkyrie wings. Lots of choices, but they are just sooo small, hard to trim, and will take a considerable amount of time.
- Pre-fit your parts before gluing, sometimes they need extra trimming.
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Post by zachmandoo on Nov 22, 2014 2:12:03 GMT
When building the tactical regult battlepods are the feet meant to match or are they meant to mix and match. I noticed that the foot and leg positions come in three different styles( such as one leaning back and the other standing up straighter)
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Post by melodramatic on Nov 22, 2014 14:54:55 GMT
For the battlepods I've moved to assembling a sprue at time. With that I can lay out the legs and feet for each without having to remember. For the feet there are 6 but two of them have a different bottom (it's all flat) and the other four have detailing. Use the flat bottom feet for glueing to the base. For the spread apart legs, I put them as either flying or standing. I mix up the other two leg sets. With the last few sprues, I've taken one leg that will sit flat and use it as the "standing" leg and then use one of the leaning leg types for a "walking"/"running" leg. Also, I usually build the pod, thrusters, back lasers, and hips first. Once they are dry I can then safely hold up the legs to test poses. I'll then glue the legs and feet. Lastly I add the guns.
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Post by ItsUncertainWho on Nov 22, 2014 16:28:57 GMT
I built the hull, with guns and hips, leaving off the thrusters for painting. I didn't notice any detailing on any of my pod feet, just some ejection pin marks on some.
As for stance, I'm placing one foot on a piece of tape, putting a leg on it and test fititting the body and second leg. Once I decide the stance, I glue the legs and try to repose them as the glue cures. I doubt any of my pods will be flying, as I can't bring myself to use the rainbow fart stands.
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Post by gromik on Nov 24, 2014 18:28:56 GMT
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