AuralEntropy

It's pretty basic. I calculate the approximate total retail value based on the size of the minis and divide by the KS cost. Higher value is obviously better. Just a rough guide really. For the core, there are so many minis I think the approximate value will be pretty close as errors in estimating the cost of each are minimized. For sets with only one or a few minis, such as the scions, it might be less accurate. For example, they seem to be somewhere in the range between your standard $8 ogre and a $13 giant. I went with the giant cost, but maybe I should make one of them an $8 to balance them. In the end, just having fun, passing the time a bit. All suggestions for improvements are welcome.

I have a question I have not found a clear answer to, any help would be appreciated. This is my first Bones KS, excluding Bones 4, which I did the late pledge through Reaper's pledge manager only. There is a limit of 10 items in the current KS. I understand this is a hard limit of what KS will allow. But, after the KS ends, and Reaper takes over with their own pledge manager, can I choose more than 10 options? I really don't want to create another account, in another wave, with additional shipping charges. As an offering for a clear response, I give you some spreadsheets and charts:

Happy accident? Mixed too much putty while filing gaps on a mini. My daughter rolled it into a long stick & I decided to cut it into gold pieces. Next thing I know I’m making scrolls and goblets out beads & crafting a treasure pile token. This was a lot of fun to make. I decided to create Venomfang’s hoard from the D&D starter set module with the rusty dwarves axe inscribed with runes and all.

Howdy. My older daughter, aka Kid 1, finished another mini. I think this is her third mini now. It’s the griffon from Bones 4. The wings and coloring were based on an owl. Enjoying the time spent painting with her and watching her quickly surpass my skills.

Howdy folks, A small update on stripping Wizkids minis. I finally picked up two beholders and was planning to just paint them as is, but the mould lines got the better of me. I started scraping them off and noticed the primer was really thick while doing this and deiced, what the heck, let's see what I can get off the mini. So into my chem bath they went. The pics are from about 48 hrs in Castrol Super Clean with scrubbing/checking about every 12 hours. I think ~85-90% of the primer is gone. There is no sign of the glue they used releasing though. (The primer has a bit of a yellow tint to it in the pictures for reference.) I've noticed that the detail on the spikes seems to be better than what I could see when it was primed. (Sorry, forgot to take a before picture). The gums, tongue and other details have deeper grooves than they first appeared. I'm not sure how much of the primer I will get out of the deepest grooves, but plan to give it another day or two. I switched from the toothbrush I was using to a stiffer brush from my sculpting set. This seems to help a little. This is the stuff I am using. Castrol Super Clean. Biodegradable and almost no smell. Bit very corrosive to skin. You MUST wear gloves when handling it or the container it is in. Any amount will give you a chem burn. I'm not sure if my results are just lucky compared to others who have tried Super Clean, they changed their primer mix, or who knows what. Just hope others have some success, because damn, they really cake on the primer.

I finished up two of the Bones 4 ghouls. The third one will be converted into a nothic when I have the time and urge to do so. Basing and painting them was a lot of fun and I am really happy with how they turned out. Photographing them on my crappy old iPhone was painful. I couldn't shoot on black background as the highlights just burned/washed out in a glare of white, no matter what I did with the light box and filtering the lights. On white the colours went crazy. On the brown/beige they were ok, but the colours were way off, so I had to adjust them as best I could. Still not really happy with how the pictures turned out, maybe it is time to get a new phone with a better camera... Any photography advice, especially for lighter skin/shades/highlights so they don't burn out white would be appreciated. Thanks. Edit: I took Doug Sundseth’s advice and painted out one of my backdrops grey and added a front light. This was just a quick snap, but I think they turned out better and the colours are truer. Thanks Doug. old photos:

While you're recovering from the initial adrenaline rush of the Bones 5 Kickstarter, and awaiting the Reaper folks to wake up from a long night to update the stretch goals, here's a Bones 4 cyclops I just finished. I think I spent more time on the custom base than I did on the mini. This mini was mostly about experimentation. It was my first go at contrast paints, which I wrote about in another post. I also made an attempt at cobblestone for the first time to match the existing base and extend it to a 2" round base. The little pools of water are filled with Mod Podge (thinned with some water to flow better) over a brown/green and static grass growing out of them. I didn't let the Mod Podge dry enough before pics, so there is some white still showing. Think I will add a few more payers to give the water depth. Enjoy.

That was wild. I pledged with 990 Wave 1's left, so I was one of the first few people. By the time I got my pledge to load (multiple tries) I was 1010th. Still managed to get into Wave 1 NA/Euro. Time to sit back and enjoy the ride...

The ghouls are unpainted, but the bases are done. It just seemed much easier to paint the bases (and skull) first for these two, because of all the drybrushing and layering. The ghouls themselves should go quickly.

I think it was printed on an Ender 3. Someone printed a bunch of 3D pieces for me in a trade for some other items.

Yup, it is a well, with some giant tentacles bursting forth. A kind person printed me up some 3D terrain and objects, getting around to painting them. Need to finish off the flame and water options that go with the well. Corners are also magnetized for toppers and the like.

ANother zombie done for an upcoming encounter. This one is an old GW mini I got with random bits. Replaced one hand and tore up his clothes with the scalpel blade. Working on speeding up my painting, just need to try and keep some more quality control as I do so. I was unsure of the colour scheme, but it has grown on me.

They are a springy rubber. There is no pinning. What I did was precoat the base with varnish and then I superglued the legs to the base to pose them standing (as they are cast almost flat). Once you glue them like that they are kept in place by the tension of the opposing legs and don’t move much. To add a little bit of rigidity and ensure the paint stuck I did a thin coat of Mod Podge before priming. You can see I left one front leg in the air to look like it was walking. It moves a bit when painting, but no more than a Bones plastic spear. Hope that answers your question.

Howdy, Here are a pair of budget giant spiders I made for my group's upcoming encounter in Thundertree (LMoP). These are rubber spiders from Party City. Bought an 8 pack with 4 different variants for $2 CAN and popped them onto 50mm Reaper bases built up with drywall spackle. Some modpodge, primer, a bit of paint and flocking, and there you go.

Thanks for the positive feedback everyone! The bloody stumps were a last minute decision. When my party meets the rogre eventually I will at some point have a hand get cut off to surprise them. The extra head is from a GW rogre. I got a bag of bits* in a sale and it was one of the parts. The GW size matched perfectly. You can see the build here. *I love bits bags. I enjoy trying to make each mini a bit unique, even if just something with the basing. I wish Reaper and other companies sold more bits and pieces. I'd even take defects. Donations also accepted.