awong

I'm with KatieG. I transfered GW, Reaper Pro, and some WN inks all by just carefully pouring. I first gave the old container a good shaking up. If you're thinking about adding a drop or two of water (or other additive), now's the time to do it. Shake until your arm falls off. After popping off the dropper bottle top, just touch the lip of the old container to the dropper bottle and slo-o-o-w-w-l-y pour. I found the best technique is to make the initial pour very slow and "thin". Once paint starts flowing nicely in, you can increase the pour speed. Yes, what's clinging to the walls of the old container is probably lost. I actually tried sopping with an old brush and jamming what I mopped up into the dropper bottle, but after 2-3 bottles I decided it wasn't worth it...and some of it was starting to skim over as I was scraping. I forgot which, but one brand actually holds more than what my droppers would so I ended up washing a lot of that down the sink. If your paint is really thick and that first drop out looks like it will cover the whole opening of the dropper STOP! If that does cover the opening, and you continue to pour, you'll end up with a mess as paint won't wait for that blob to drop in, it'll just flow over the top. Thin the paint or use a funnel. Drop in your agitator of choice (see paint bottle skulls thread), wipe the bottle clean, pop on the top, you're good to go. Even with the slow pour, it's a pretty fast process and there's nothing to clean in between bottles...unless, of course, you've spilled . -AW Man, that's an awful lot to say about pouring paint from one bottle to another...I apologize!

The shading and highlight on the red coat is really nice. Green pants are also smooth! Good luck with the matte varnish. Maybe a new bottle of the stuff and a test subject before tackling this one? -AW

That's a great tip! I didn't know that lead would oxidize in H2O. I'm not a brush licker/paint eatter, so that potential danger never occured to me. I have been pairing up a lead shot with a glass bead (gives a nice satisfying rattle)...now I guess I'll be fishing for fishing sinkers...in about 200 bottles...and replacing with Hematite. Yikes! Now when am I actually going to get to paint . -AW

Instead of beheading healthy minis (OK, the sickly ones can be sacrificed), I've been using split-shot lead fishing weights...the smaller ones. I went to a local Big 5 and bought a smallish bag for about $4 and that let me re-bottle a whole mess o'paint. I guess if you look at them just so, they still look like a head...pac-man's

Sorry for reviving this thread, but I was wondering if I could get some of the more engineering minded people on the boards to have a look at this as a potential starting point for a paint spray booth. The manual is showing a squirrel cage fan, so I'm hoping that reduces the potential for sparking / igniting combustible paint spray. 3 air speeds, lowest being 230 cfm. According to this article found on Modeler Site, when I do the math, I could go for a cross ventilation or down draft ventilation design with the CFM provided by this unit. edit: looks like I mis-calculated. Probably only good for a downdraft design :( My idea was to mount a three sided enclosure in front of this unit and have the air draw through the back, or through a plenum below. At 3'w x 2'd x 1'h plus the spray enclosure, this looks like it'll be a chunky-clunky unit. Cost-wise, I think commercial hobby booths are only slightly higher priced. ...I think I'm starting to talk myself out of this idea . Any thoughts? Feasible? thanks AW

This is wonderful! Would there be more pictures on your site? I really like his expression and the lighting. The three cornered hat is really nicely done as well. Is he standing on a wooden deck? Beautiful! -AW

I bought a Loew Cornell 385 paint saver palette at a local Michael's (on line they're cheap...I think shipping would be the killer ). Cost me about $7-8, and that was before the obligatory 40% coupon. I think I had to supply my own sponge (I have a package of replacement wet palette sponges, but Paper Towels or a large kitchen sponge would probably work too.) It's only 4" x 7.5" and perfect for me as I only work on small areas at a time. After about a month, I can toss the parchment paper. I use Surfas brand (it's probably a repackaged brand, Surfas is our local commercial kitchen supply house) and I pre-cut a bunch of sheets to fit the palette. I also reroll the paper opposite of how it comes out...trying to minimize curl. I then store the cut sheets pressed in a big Anatomy Reference book I have handy. I use the super hot prep technique. I immerse the paper in very hot water for a few minutes, then lay it out on the thoroughly soaked sponge. I actually lay pennies on each of the corners of the paper (+ one under the sponge) to help keep the paper in contact with the moist sponge. Occasionally, I do get paint creeping under a penny when I'm not careful, but it's not that bad of a problem. So far, it's a wonderful thing! I've tried many Jerry Rigged wet palettes and I think this one's a keeper! -AW

Hey there Humansquish, I don't know how old you are (some of this reference goes back a-ways), and this suggestion might just be way too literal, but both themes actually come from songs (and a Movie). "Summertime Blues..." - someone bummed because he's got no spending cash, due to summertime being too nice to work. "Born on the...", - this one is actually new to me. or the more traditional Little Johnny Jones,"The Yankee Doodle Boy" - I've got visions of James Cagney prancing about my head. or the Movie "Born on the..." - I've got visions of Tom Cruise prancing with James Cagney now Again, these are probably way too literal but as a starting point, they may contain some interesting ideas. Good Luck, and I can't wait to see what you come up with. -AW

I think I may have shared my space already...don't remember. I also have two kids and it's very nice to be able to quickly hide everything away. I use a magnetic child-proof lock like this to secure the lid. It also comes with a hutch / cabinet section that I haven't attached (it made the unit way too tall for the living room). One of my biggest hurdles to consistent painting time was the drag of setting up and breaking down each session...this little desk helped keep everything in one place and allowed for quick clear-up and set-up. That and the magic of a wet-pallet edit: My paints are in artbins that I can leave on the toy shelf to the desk left, or secured in that Purple Artbin shoulder bag on the floor under the desk. I've also got my paint shaker on top (that orange box), and extra plugs for my dremel below (when I'm not charging laptops, phones, clies...) -AW

How about something like this. Armor modelers have lots of stuff they use for tow cables. I've stripped wire and twisted them together, used picture hanging wire, etc. The only thing I couldn't use was real thread. Even when I coated it, I'd get straggly fuzz...didn't look right for steel cable but might work perfectly for rope (if you can get it stiff enough). -AW

Welcome Back Jenova At the risk of sounding like a "fan-boy", I've always been an admirer of your work. I'm looking forward to seeing your amazing work again. -AW

ACK! Primer and paint flaking off mini?! You'd think, with all the recent threads about primers I would have licked this problem . Oh well, into the drink, a quick brush off and some putty repairs..."the second time is always faster". Mini exchange, take two. -AW

Papabees, Boltman is actually a member of these boards. Perhaps he'll see this and chime in. If he misses this thread, you can always PM him. -AW

If you paint first and then assemble, be sure to clean the mating areas of paint. Otherwise, you'll just be gluing paint to paint, and if the paint separates from the metal you'll need to repair again. Much better to glue metal to metal, and I too would go with Dargrin's suggestion of pinning. -AW

Darn! I missed out on the 12" Sophie Oh well, good thing my FLGS had what I was looking for. Cleaning up and doing a few modifications now. -AW

If you have a dremel or similar motor tool, that might speed up the process of removing the nubs. A light touch, don't go all the way down to the leather, finish off with files, sand paper, xacto, etc. You'll definitely need greenstuff / putty as the head removal will leave a very rough neck area. Sculpting that long hair down over the cut would hide it nicely. After removing the nubs, you'll probably need the greenstuff to fill in some of the recessed seams in the jerkin(?) as well. Grind down the codpiece thingy a bit and use the greenstuff to continue the skirt of the jerkin to better match the cut of V's costume. Grinding down the boot turnbacks might be tricky and probably unnecessary if you paint it all black (but if you wanted that cool, riding boot look...dremel! I'd like to suggest using sewing pins cut at the right length for the daggers (be careful, this will make this mini quite pokey!). For the daggers on his belt, just cut a pin to match the length of the blade and handle. Glue into place with CA glue. When dry, use greenstuff to model the hilt, handle details, retaining straps... For the two in hand, cut off the current blades and handles, drill (using a twist drill) into the fist where the blade would stick out. Cut a pin the length of the blade (plus the depth of the hole) and insert into the hole (so the exposed length is what you want). When dry, model the hilt against the fist using greenstuff. Karl's left hand dagger already has a similar pommel to V's dagger. The right hand sword end could work if you just cut off that spiky end. Looks like a fun conversion. Please be sure to post your results! -AW

Got my assignment. Now for a little research, then, place my order with my RCon 2009 Sophie purchase. -AW

Both pictures are showing the area to be slightly shiny (I'm seeing a very marked sheen on the pants and leggings). Does the wash usually dry this shiny/slick...reminds me of what I get with inks? Could that account for the thinned subsequent layers to creep during drying? -AW

One of these days, I'll make it! I was reading the class list quietly to myself and suddenly moaned out loud when I saw all that I would be missing. Shocked my wife, she thought I hurt myself or something. Oh, the agony. Who knew Basketball league goes on the whole year 'round. Now, my sons are stuck with tournaments every Memorial Day...and they're not even 7 yet When I played, BBall was a season long, then we did things like Boy Scouts and family trips. Whahappn'd? -AW

Thanks for letting me play, Joe! Looking forward to this. It's the only time I actually complete a whole figure :) -AW

If you can find a local club or paint group, join...or at least visit. Probably the fastest way to get up to speed with any skill is to actually see how it's done, preferably by someone whose been doing it for awhile. Even if there aren't super experienced painters in the group, trial and error learning with others is much more enjoyable than working in a vacuum (I know this only too well, coming from the pre-internet generation :)). All the sites mentioned are excellent for reference. This site has been my favorite for the range of expertise, subject matter, support, and freely offered neighborly advice. That being said, a one on one session will really help make things click. Testing paints, brushes, alternative techniques...plus the friendships forged...priceless. Check with your local hobby shops for leads. -AW

Here's a nice one on painting faces with Acrylics. He shows each step very clearly and probably harsher than normal, but that really helps illustrate his points. http://zyclyon-tutorials.blogspot.com/ -AW

Hello there, I had the same question long ago and asked a co-worker of mine that did this for a living. For large batches, yes, he'd use a vacuum rig to remove bubbles, but for most items he suggested pouring in the silicone in a very slow / thin stream/ribbon off in a corner. This had two effects. The first was that bubbles tended to pop once in the thin stream. Two, the silicone would slowly flow around the original, forcing potential air pockets out. Assuming you don't have deep undercuts, the gentle flow of the silicone should give you a pretty bubble free mold. I've also kept a toothpick nearby to gently tease out any bubbles that I see (if you're allowing a slow flow, you can actually see potential trouble spots). Another technique is to first lightly coat the original with a skim coat of silicone applied with a toothpick, old brush, popsicle stick. Again, you can ensure a bubble free surface if it's a thin coat. Once satisfied, go ahead and pour the rest of your material in. The critical area (for cold casting anyways) is the surface right up against your original. You can have bubbles in the thicker mass of the mold, just not marring surface detail. I'm not sure if this holds true for people casting hot materials in the molds (whether the air pockets pose a potential danger). After the pour, lightly tap the base to loosen and help bubbles rise to the surface. Hope this is helpful. -A(occasionally back from the dead)Whang

By "translate" I was thinking of tackling the articles and items piecemeal with the help of Bablefish :) I wanted to start with the glossary because some of the terms don't necessarily translate correctly with Bablefish. Actually, a twiki type page for a combined translation effort would be neat, but I'm sure it would tread on copyright. Oh, the things we do for this hobby :) -AW

I've also read that you can tint plaster during the mixing stage. Has anyone tried this? I found this tip in Osprey's Terrain manual. Seems like a good way of getting a good even base color, BUT, future paint applications may still yield splotchy results. Just a thought. -AW