Hot Lead

FWIW to add to the "translucent" Whites discussion I've been using Golden's Zinc White Liquid Acrylic lately to add some tinting without chalkiness. Seems to work well, though the mention of zinc causing problems with paint over time makes me a little leery now. :( I also swear by Vallejo's White Glaze. It's a premixed matte medium with white pigment in it. Thinned down it makes a nice mixing white, or can be glazed on in translucent layers to build up a nice subtle white highlight.

I think the key here is the oxidation with the liquid in the paint. ZInc and copper both oxidize like crazy, as does steel/iron (even stainless will go eventually when kept in a liquid for long periods. Pewter can vary - never had a problem with MSP, but in my Vallejos it would break down, depending on the paint. Lead I suspect is one of those metals that "skins" over with a outer layer of oxide patina that doesn't continue to oxidize beyond the initial layer. This is why old lead minis turn grey, but in most cases *don't* turn to lead rot. The metal mix of the lead can make a difference - high bismuth content IIRC will promote lead rot. In any case I've always been super paranoid because paint binders, mediums and even pigments (if liquid) can have different chemical properties. SO I just use glass beads or preferably hematite (iron that's already been oxidized.) Never had either react in any bottle. (FWIW Reaper switched to hematite beads in their MSP also.)

Surprisingly, these don't have much of an odor. I always thought they did (these are my first partha paints in some time). I'm aiming to stockpile a minimum of 4 of each partha if I can. Extras beyond that I might find it in my black goblin heart to break you off a piece. Gratis, even, 'cause you're a pretty cool guy. And also a green goblin. I've also discovered, to my extreme shock, that partha paints are hands-down the best layering paints EVER. They even beat the MSPs. I never used layering back when parthas were common, and the pictures you'd see in catalogs wouldn't indicate it, but holy macaroni today's layering - even with sleep deprivation and a severe case of the crankies (I snapped a kolinsky in half) - was the most sublime joy I've had in a while. ETA: I'm actively hunting partha paints now, that's why I suspect I may wind up with extras in the future. I'm calling in every favour, debt, and blood oath I've got to track down more of these. Yeah, it's funny I still have many old Partha paints in bottles and in many cases they're still usable. The "smell" can be pleasant but sometimes it means the paints are going bad - I've had bottles get mold in them! Seriously. Had to toss a few back in the day, Hmmm, when I painted with them, though, they were usually very grainy when layering. It's why I switched first to Vallejo, and then Reaper MSP. Also, Iron Wind Metals used to sell some of the old Partha paint colors, but I think they're dq'd now... You may still be able to find them at obscure stores, cons, etc. Whatever bottles you get smear some petroleum jelly on the threads on the bottle. This will help keep the bottles from leaking air past the threads and extend the life of your paints.

I used Golden's gesso on some minis recently and it worked out rather well. I mixed enough water to get it to flow and added a drop of matte medium to the mix. The medium helped it stick the surface better. Took 2-3 coats to get a smooth, even white but it was worth it in the end.

Interesting. I have the same sculpt, but it was a Hound of Tindalos from Grenadier's Call of Cthulhu Mythos Creatures boxed set. Grenadier would often rerelease figures under different names and sets over the years. The Cthulu minis esp. were rereleased under the "Nightmares" range of minis after they lost the official Cthulu license to RAFM. It was a way to circumvent the restriction and still sell the minis under the "new" names.... It actually worked out for me as I collected a lot of old minis I'd never been able to find before the rerelease. See this great site for info on the Nightmares line (and other old minis): http://www.miniature...%28Grenadier%29

If you're going to try the stage-lighting effect, be sure to account for areas of the mini that will be shaded by ambient room light in the real world. In other words if the bard is wearing a hat, the brim will shade the painting underneath the hat, darkening the lighting effect from below. You can compensate for that by making the highlights brighter in those areas than ones not shaded from above.

I wouldn't recommend Future. It's glossy and will act more like a varnish than a flow aid. I'm surprised neither place had it... You may need to look in the craft paint aisles if you can't get Liquitex or Golden Acrylic artists brands. (BTW I trust store employees to know about their stock about as far as I can throw them! Ask me about my hardware store experiences.) Look for any of these: http://www.decoart.com/cgi-bin/Products.cgi?Easy_Float http://www.plaidonline.com/folkart-outdoor-acrylic-colors-flow-medium/72/product.htm http://shop.hobbylobby.com/products/folkart-floating-medium-898858/

The Rallidium discoloration has been covered in depth, but I wrote some comments about lead rot in this thread you may find helpful: http://www.reapermini.com/forum/index.php?/topic/41632-prepping-lead-mini-questions/ BTW, it's acetic acid (vinegar) out-gassing from the wood or other material around the minis that starts the rot. Unfinished wood is the worst, then it depends on the type (softwoods more so than hardwoods.) So yes, paper boxes are bad... BUT, not all lead rots. It depends on the metallurgy of the lead mixture. If you see rot starting (like the GW minis you posted) it's best to treat it if possible (see the thread I posted) and prime it all over to seal it completely (including the base.)

I've had it go "bad" by turning orange and getting very watery, but it was useless for cleaning anymore by that point. But that was a singular case. That bottle was at least 5-6 years old IIRC. (I used to keep it in my travel paint kit.) Mostly it just dries up on me when the wife leaves the cap open for days... (She uses it for her watercolor brushes too.)

Hmmm, haven't tried that but that it would work. Honestly I have an ultrasonic cleaner I've tried for stripping paint like this. However, I haven't really seen any big difference in stripping when I used it. The stripper I use seems to make the biggest difference of all. I did try to use the ultrasonic cleaner to mix paints when I first got it, but it was too much of a pain to put the bottles in something waterproof, fill with liquid, drain, etc. It's also why I decided to make something that works "dry".

Nice work! I like the subtle color scheme. I always liked this old succubus too. One of the few good ones from back in the day. (Along with the Grenadier succubus from the Monster Manuscript series: http://s.ecrater.com/stores/88954/4d65f289c1ad3_88954b.jpg)

Hey Vicky! I remember seeing this when you posted it to Reaper's Facebook page. I love it. Great work on the subtle red effect on the armor.

Thanks Errex! I love Harley Quinn and had to do something apropos.

Thanks! She was a lot of fun to paint up. If you decide to convert note the lead is really soft. I tried to move her hand to better position the bomb and broke it off. I pinned it back in the stock position.

Here's some pics of my Harley Quinn model "Why so serious?" which won gold in Painters at Reapercon this year. She's a "free" give away from a UK magazine by Eaglemoss publishing. They publish titles for both Marvel and DC Comics superheroes - each magazine has a history of the character and includes a prepaint lead miniature. (Yes lead! These are heavy.) I'm guessing the scale is 75-90mm. The minis are a deal at ~$14-16 per magazine! For reference here's what the stock prepaint looks like: The cast-on base is a resin DC Comics logo I broke off on mine with my trusty Xuron cutters. The feet had lead tabs I sawed off and pinned instead. The base is a print out of the Joker card glued to a playing card and hand-painted. The pop-gun cork was real cork - cut and sanded to shape before inking. The "fuse" for the bomb is a braided electric wire unwound a little and dipped into super glue to thicken the tips of the wires. Bomb itself is just a wooden bead with plastic tube for the top.