mlavanish

Thanks for the help folks. These were Master Series brushes (or supposed to be), on blister cards for retail sale. Help your FLGS out if you see any on the shelf. Thanks Bryan. I figured it was a mix up of some sort. I'll send you an E-mail with the relevant product numbers as soon as I'm back at the store. Hey Qwyk!

I'm seeing Reaper Master Series Brushes coming in that seem to be different. I'm used to seeing brushes with black handles that say Kolinsky / Ireland on the side. The last batch we got in are red and say Red Sable / Sri Lanka on the side, which of course is at odds with the packaging that says 'Kolinsky' and with the price of $12. And my #2 large rounds (RPR8601) aren't even rounds - they're flats. The quality, visually speaking, seems a downgrade as well. Is this a packaging error, or is this the new direction for the master series brushes? Thanks.

If I recall correctly, Tom Meier was sculpting this line for Testor's, and I've seen some shots of some of the figs bouncing around the internets. I'll see if I can dig something up. They were very nice.

Chances are they are not the same product, but I'm sure they are comparable. There are tons of companies churning out tools of various quality. Most end up being pretty much the same in my experience, with a difference sometimes in the level of refinement of the tool edges. I have seen the GF9 tools and they are of a high quality. The canvas bag is nice too. That being said, I would probably buy the cheaper set, as you probably won't end up using half the tools anyway, and can probably polish or grind out any imperfections you might find with relatively little difficulty in the event the quality isn't great.

As far as old stock being raised in price I disagree. If the cost of production is raised, the value of the miniature is raised as well. If I were to do an exchange with Reaper, they would honor the new price of the miniature, regardless of how old it is. The simple fact is it is a metal, a commodity, and it is worth what it is worth (not getting into it is worth what someone will pay for it, as in the collectible game). If a store decides to sell you older stock at the older price after a price increase, in my opinion they are doing you a favor. That being said, I know lots of stores that do this, and I frequent them. I wouldn't hold it against a store if they raised the price on old stock, however. Of course, if the price increased miniature also includes a game card or whatever that the older priced miniature doesn't, then it is effectively a different product and should be treated as such.

I just started using this stuff, and I must say it is hands down the best I've ever used. Just awesome.

Nice work. I especially like the reds on the back of Aaron's cloak. Blending could be better overall on other parts, like the sleeves and pants, but you have some good contrast going on. Keep at it!

My answer is . . .yes.

If I manage to get things together to go, I'll be staying at the BW.

I will most likely be attending (85% sure at the moment), and would love to share a ride and/or room. I don't smoke or snore, and would prefer someone who also does not smoke or snore. I'll be concentrating more on my sculpting this go 'round, so anyone with similar interests is certainly welcome. And I'll probably be taking about as many classes as possible, and maximizing my time at Reaper HQ. PM me if you're interested.

Hope everything goes well Jester. Hang in there!

I guess I'm the odd man out here, but I wasn't overly impressed.

Best wishes to you. I hope everything goes well.

Thanks for posting those fine pieces! It's a nice change of pace, and they look great. I'm sure whoever you sold them to are very proud owners.

I've been transferring all the paints I get, including the new P3 paints and older GW paints. I have just poured, and haven't had a problem. Some of the thicker paints I've mixed in a little water first to get more of the paint out. I figure I'm going to thin it anyway, so what the heck. If you're having trouble with fitting all the paint in the dropper, as someone said you may have with the pro paints, note that Vallejo dropper bottles are around 2.5 ml larger than the Reaper dropper bottles. You should be able to get either through any FLGS.

I just bought brushes from dickblick.com not too long ago for the first time, and I must say they were priced very competetively, shipped quickly, and even did a brush replacement (bent ferule) with no hassle. As far as online stores go, you can't ask for more than that. I did investigate special ordering Windsor Newton Series 7s through my local art store, but the cost was just so much more than dickblick that I couldn't warrant the purchase.

I think these look great, and I love the colors. I would love to see some higher res pictures before offering any critique. These seem a little blurry.

How about starting with the darkest color and layering up from there?

Another winner. Nice lookin sculpt, and like most said, definitely your best yet. Keep up the good work!

I will say that my slight dissatisfaction in this case was really the only slight disappointment over a very nice weekend. And I have no problem with newbies. I really just felt it redundant to be learning something again I had just spent time and money on learning in a previous class. I for one would really like to see what the sculptors think is an advanced technique, instead of fielding questions from the students. Those are the questions I really want answered: the questions I don't even know to ask yet.

Always good to hear a company standing by their product. I've always thought Reaper's customer service was among the best, whether you're one person with one fig or a retailer exchanging 250 blisters. Sorry to hear the RMS paints didn't work out for you. I haven't used them enough to recommend them one way or the other, but I would say VMC would probably suit your style well. And if you haven't tried them yet, you really should try Privateer Press's P3 paint. It's supposedly formulated to be exactly as you describe. There aren't a ton of colors yet, but what I've used has been as they describe.

I just wanted to say I loved the sculpting classes I took last year, and I'll probably be taking a bunch again this year. However, one thing I didn't like was the generally unfocused nature of the advanced sculpting class. I still learned a lot, but a lot of time was wasted for me seeing Werner repeat a tutorial on head sculpting for some guys who didn't attend his head sculpting class earlier on, and a lot of time was wasted with people asking questions that were really questions for a beginning sculpting class. There seemed to be a lot of people there who had never worked with green stuff before, which seems out of place for an advanced sculpting class. I'm not sure if there is any way to control this, prerequisites or whatever, but it would make the advanced classes more valuable to those actually hoping to learn some advanced techniques if the classes were more focused.

A couple ways I've seen: You can use a skimming ladle (not sure if that's a technical term or not), basically a ladle with holes in it that allows the molten metal to pass through. I also have a ladle which has a sort of dam built in. The molten metal pours under the dam through a couple holes, and the dross stays on the top. I'm not terribly sure how much dross would affect your setup. I would guess it would be in your interests to skim the majority off the top before pouring though.

Nice lookin' moon. That's a great little piece of scenery. I almost feel compelled to go out and buy little starships and make my own. Looking forward to seeing the rest.

Yeah, I never did like that measurement to the eyes thing. I really don't like using measurements for describing a "scale" at all. If it is 28mm, you have to figure out . . . is that to the eyes, the top of the head, the helmet, or whatever. If it is simply 1:64 scale, it is what it is. No ifs, ands or buts. IMHO, companies serious about creating consistency between their figures should all use a scale, and not a mm measurement, and then everyone would know what they were getting. As far as Reaper goes, I have no idea what they're claiming these days. But there is really no consistency in the line that I can see, beyond I guess most human figures being between 25 and 38mm tall. Warlord may be a little more consistent.