Problems with Painting Rig

[Tahn]

Hi, I\'ve made a painting rig according to Borg\'s article and I\'ve got a problem. I want to paint my base seperately so that the mini doesn\'t get in the way etc...

This means that I can\'t attatch my mini to the rig by the base. It also has no tab at the feet, and I would like to avoid drilling into his feet at all costs. Is there any good way I can attach him to the rig, if so how?

 

[vincegamer]

I assume this \"rig\" is some sort of vice to hold a pin?
Are you pinning anything else on the mini such that you could have a rod sticking out to grab?
Can you paint the base, varnish it, then attach the mini and paint the mini?

 

[Tahn]

By rig I meant a handle to hold with the miniature on the end. It is exactly the same as this one: http://www.coolminiornot.com/article/aid/38

Your Idea of attaching to the base after it is painting seems alright. But would the base get in the way of the model when I\'m painting?

 

[airhead]

If the mini has no tabs, and you are not going to drill the feet, then how are you going to attach the mini to the base?

 

[Tahn]

The base might include a Rock, so I don\'t want to risk breaking my dremel drilling into it.

 

[vincegamer]

Airhead poses a good question.
Can we have a pic of the mini so we know what your dealing with? If there is no slot, and you don\'t want to \"drill into the feet\" then what is the mini like? I\'m not aware of too many minis that are just free-standing, with no base or slot.

As to painting when on the base, I usually base my minis before painting.
Just make sure the bottom bits are black or some other suitable dark color. The bits you won\'t be able to reach during painting are the bits you won\'t be able to see when it\'s done anyway. If you want to paint the base first, then you will definitely need to varnish it so that any accidental spills from the mini can be cleaned up easily. You may still need to do some touch-up though.

Drilling rock: never done it. Might need a special bit. I don\'t drill with a dremel, but I can\'t imagine it would hurt the motor, just possibly the bit.

 

[DrEvilmonki]

I have drilled into a stone before using a pin vice. It just depends what sort of stone it is, some are harder than others.

 

[Tahn]

I guess it wouldn\'t hurt to pin it. I was more worried about dilling through and out the side of his leg and breaking the drill on the rock. Meh.

 

[airhead]

The trouble with most rocks is that they don\'t look right in scale. You\'d be better off to model up some cork and/or greenstuff to \'make\' a rock. Added plus is that you can drill into them and pin your mini into the \'rock\'.

Unless this mini is destined to sit on a shelf, it will need more attachment than a half a drop of superglue on the bottom of the boots to a painted rock. Even a show mini has to survive transport to the show.

Check out some of spacemunkie\'s (Groundforge) slate bases. They are cast resin and easy to drill into.

 

[penguin]

If you are using slate, don\'t worry about breaking your dremel. Sandstone is nice and soft too. You don\'t need to drill too far in
I used slate on Lord Castor of Kislev. I find it works well in that scale.

 

[Dragonsreach]

Yep I agree. If it\'s slate don\'t worry about your Dremel. Those tools can take a lot of punishment, the only thing to worry about is the life expectancy of your drill bit.
Personally I use a Pin Vice for all pinning operations due to the control you can maintain with it.

As Airhead has said most rocks don\'t look right in scale, Slate being the exception.
I tend to break my pieces of Slate to the size I want by holding it in the jaws of two sets of Pliers (pointing in opposite directions) and twisting. I can usually obtain a clean break and some fine pieces for other bases.

 

[penguin]

We have loads of spare slate (I have two large bags in my bedroom alone lol), from doing part of the garden. The average size is about the same as the big one Lord Castor is standing on. I smash it up with a hammer for smaller bits Because it\'s a sedimentary rock, it has nice layers which both shatter off nicely and look realistic in small scale. Ideal, really :yes:

 

[Tahn]

Hey guys. Thanks for your responses. I\'m going to use slate then, or sculpt a rock from green Stuff/Milliput thanks to your help.

Hey Penguin, could you send me a bag? Just kidding

 

[Ritual]

Most types of rock look good, scale wise, if you paint them. Also, if you have problems drilling through a rock you can attach the mini to the rock using epoxy glue. That stuff\'s extremely durable!

 

[Tahn]

Well, ditching ideas of putting him on a demon world, volcano planet, or in snow, I decided on a Jungle base, with a large rock and ferns. Still not for definate. If you read through my recent posts, especially in the Games Day threads, you\'ll be able to guess my entry, but I\'m not going into any more than that.

 

[demonherald]

If your gonna use rocks to avoid the problem with scale go for highly textured stones the high amount of texture means they look good representing any size.

If your pinning the model by it\'s feet drill into the bottom of the foot on line with the eg to avoid popping out the top of his foot.

 

[penguin]

Originally posted by Tahn
Hey Penguin, could you send me a bag? Just kidding

Cost for slate: free
Cost for postage: £38

:innocent: