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This is a thread for any and all questions, advice, tips and tricks for all of the figures from the Bones 5 kickstarter! Feel free to post pictures when asking questions or to illustrate your advice. Thank you @lexomatic for the idea!

I put together a few documents related to using Bones. I've submitted these to the Craft section of the website, but as it may be a little while before Reaper has the time available to add them, Bryan suggested that I post them here. Bones - Frequently Asked Questions Bones - Preparation (this document) Bones - The First Coat is the Difference (primer, primer alternatives, paint durability) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Painting Bones Miniatures: Preparation Reaper’s claim that you can open a Bones miniature package and just start painting is absolutely true! However, it is also true that there are optional steps you can take to better prepare the miniature, depending upon your desired end result. Cleaning Bones Figures Undiluted paint adheres well to a Bones figure straight out of the package. However, many people find that the paint goes on more easily if the figure has been washed. Also, if you’ve had your figure out of the blister for a while, or you’ve handled it to remove mould lines or otherwise prepare it, you should clean it before painting, as it probably has dust and skin oils on it that may repel paint or cause paint to chip off. All you need to clean it is some dishwashing liquid on an old toothbrush. Give it a scrub, and then rinse it really well to get off all the soap. Let it dry before painting. (You can hurry up the drying with a hairdryer set on low.) Note that if you paint resin or metal figures, you should always clean them before painting. The moulds used to make these are dusted with powder before the miniature is cast, and the residue of that power can stick to the miniature. Reshaping Bent Parts Bones is a somewhat flexible plastic material that has a ‘memory’. If you bend a sword out of the way to paint the part behind it, the sword will flex back into place when you stop holding it. However, that also means that if your figure has a sword or spear that is crooked, you can’t just bend it back into place the way you can with a metal figure. To reset the position of a thinner area like a weapon or arm, hold the figure with tongs or in a sieve, and dip it into boiling or near boiling water for at least a minute or two. Remove it from the water, reposition the part, and immediately dunk it into a bowl of ice water for at least a minute. It should hold in the new position. If you expose the figure to heat at a later time, it may revert to its original position. For this reason, if you want to wash the figure with soap and water prior to painting, you should use cool water or wash it before you heat it to reset a warped part. Important safety notes: Please exercise caution! The Bones material may get hot when dipped in boiling water, so you should use protective gear rather than touching it with your bare fingers. The Bones material might be damaged or damage your pot if placed in direct contact with the pot surface. If you are under the age of 18, please ask your parents for permission and have them read this section before boiling Bones figures. Filling Part Gaps Some Bones miniatures are assembled from multiple pieces at the factory. These pieces are designed to fit together snugly, and the glue used to assemble them usually fills any small gap that might remain. Occasionally you might find a Bones figure with a slightly larger gap. If this bothers you, you can use Green Stuff putty (sold by Reaper) or a similar epoxy putty to fill in the gap and create a smooth surface. Alternatively, you can try dabbing a tiny bit more superglue into the gap with the end of a pointed toothpick or pin and pushing the two pieces together while the glue sets. Products like Vallejo’s Plastic Putty, Games Workshop’s Liquid Green Stuff or fine art supplies Modeling Paste are also useful for this purpose. If you receive a Bones figure that is assembled incorrectly or which is missing a piece, you should contact [email protected], and a Reaper representative will work with you to correct the issue. Removing Mould Lines Grab one of your Bones figures and take a close look at it, particularly along the sides of the figure where there are smooth areas like skin or cloth. You will see a thin ridge of plastic that sticks up slightly from the surface of the figure. (You might have to try looking at it from different angles to spot it.) That ridge is called a mould line, and you will also find it on metal or plastic miniatures, regardless of manufacturer. Miniatures are made by injecting material into a mould in the shape of the desired figure. The mould breaks apart into two halves after the material hardens so the figure can be removed. Mould lines form where the two halves of the mould meet. Lots of people choose to ignore mould lines, particularly if they need to paint a number of figures quickly for a game. Some people like to remove them before painting if they plan to paint the miniature as a decoration or to give as a gift. There are several tools you can use to clean off the lines. Reaper doesn’t sell these, but information on how to find them is included at the end of this section. One tool you can use to remove mould lines is a basic hobby knife with a sharp #11 blade, or a scalpel. With metal and hard plastic/resin miniatures, you can do that by holding the sharp edge of the blade perpendicular to the mould line and scraping it off. This does not work very well with Bones miniatures and may damage the surface. Rather, you need to position the blade just under the line and carefully slice it off, similar to the motion you would use if you were paring a potato or hand-sharpening a pencil. Another tool you can use in a similar way is a micro chisel. This is a very tiny chisel with a sharp, but not knife-edge sharp, edge. It takes very little pressure to push it just under the mould line and along the surface to slice it off. If you are nervous about knives, you might prefer this tool. You can still jab yourself with it, but the potentially for injury is much less than with a knife or scalpel. Many people use files to scrape off the mould lines on metal figures, but files tend to damage the surface of resin and some plastic figures. You can use files to clean the mould lines from Bones figures. There are two types of files – the classic toothed files (which have a pattern of lines or crosshatches etched into them), and diamond files. For either, you want small, fine tools designed for small-scale hobby work. For best results with files, carefully scrape across the mould line in one direction, moving the file perpendicular to the mould line. After you’ve removed the mould line, you may notice a few remaining stringy bits. Carefully scrape the file very lightly in the opposite direction to detach these. Sand paper and sanding sticks are another option. Use these in a similar fashion as files. Some people have also experimented with using rotary tools (like a Dremel) or a battery operated jewelry maker’s engraving pen. In my experiments with a rotary tool, I got better results with a tiny cutter (like the last item in the tools picture above, but with a smaller head). The diamond coated bit (the second to last item in the tools picture above) left a pretty rough surface. Because these tools are powered, be aware that it is possible for them to get away from you and damage the figure. It is also possible for them to injure you, and you should always take appropriate safety precautions, such as wearing goggles and safety gloves. Which of those options works the best? A lot of that comes down to personal preference and comfort, and the nature of the surface area you’re working on. For example, if you’re leery of sharp tools, you might prefer files. In my experiments, the hobby knife and micro chisel worked best over smoother, flatter areas. It was easier to get into some crevices and depressions with files and the rotary tool cutting bit. Below is a picture of the surface results I obtained with the different mould line removal tools I tested on Bones Cave Troll figures. From left to right: as produced by factory; exacto knife; micro chisel; diamond files. From left to right: crosshatch tooth files; emery board (sand paper); rotary tool – cutter on torso, diamond coated on leg; combination of a variety of tools. ADDENDUM: Since writing this, I have also tried Alpha Precision Sanding Needles, both medium (blue) and fine (white), and highly recommend this product for removing mould lines from Bones figures. Where to buy products mentioned in this document: Hobby knife – hobby store, craft store, art store Micro chisel – Google search ‘mission micro chisel’ for the one pictured in this document, or do a general search on micro chisel for other possibilities Files – jewelry section of hobby/craft store. For online search, use the terms ‘needle file 2mm’. Looking for a 2mm diameter file set will ensure you find ones small enough for use on miniature figures. Rotary tool bits – hobby store, hardware store, Micro Mark online store Engraving pen – jewelry section of hobby/craft store Sanding needles - hobby/craft store Converting and Customizing Bones When people talk about converting a figure, they mean altering how it looks in some way. For example, you could cut the head off one figure and swap it on to another, or you could replace a large sword blade with a pin to make a rapier. Another way to customize a figure is to cut off an arm or a leg and glue it back on in a different orientation to change the pose of a figure. You can also cut a Bones figure off of its base if you’d like the option of positioning it on a pre-made or custom base of resin or metal. The Bones material cuts easily with a sharp hobby knife or sprue cutters. Bones and Glue Reaper recommends using cyanoacrylate glue (superglue) to glue the Bones material, whether to itself or other materials. I tested a few different kinds of glue, and in my tests the superglue bonds were the strongest. I tested three different types of glue, and how well they would attach Bones figures to various types of basing materials. The glues tested were: cyanoacrylate (superglue, HobbyTown store brand); 5-minute epoxy glue (HobbyTown store brand); white glue (Titebond brand). The base materials tested were: standard black plastic; flagstone textured metal; unfinished craft wood; MDF wood base; concrete textured resin; thin styrene/plasticard. After allowing all of the glued pieces to cure for more than a day and a half, I subjected them to a couple of tests. First, I tried pulling each figure away from the base to which it was glued. Any that survived that test were thrown together with an additional metal figure loose in a plastic container that I shook vigourously for several minutes. I also examined the figures and bases for any sign of chemical reaction between the Bones and any of the glues. I did not detect any. The cyanoacrylate glue bonds were demonstrably stronger than either of the others. Only one figure adhered with cyanoacrylate glue was detached from its base during the tests - I was able to pull the Bones glued to a craft wood disk off with moderate force. Only two Bones attached with 5 minute epoxy made it to the box shake testing stage – the one attached to the craft wood base, and the one attached to MDF. The box shake test broke the bonds on both of those. The white glue bonds were pretty weak, with some figures being knocked off their bases by light contact, and the rest requiring little effort to pull off. It took more effort to pull the Bones off of the white plastic base than expected, but it did come off. White glue is not the best choice for Bones conversions or for attaching Bones to bases. However, it should work as well as it does with metal figures for attaching gravel and flock textures to Bones material bases. For my initial experiment, I did not score or roughen the Bones bases or base materials, nor did I use pins. Using either or both of these should increase glue adhesion. I tested the 5 minute epoxy glue a second time on standard black plastic, flagstone textured metal, MDF wood, concrete textured resin, and styrene/plasticard. For this second test, I scored lines into the base of the Bones figure and the surface of the base with a hobby knife. After allowing the glue to set for a couple of days, I tried pulling the figures off of their bases. I was able to pull the figures off of the styrene and MDF bases with moderate force, and to remove the figure from the metal base with a little more effort. The figures on the black plastic and resin bases remained in place. For the next stage of testing, I placed these loose, with other figures and items, into a plastic container, which I shook vigourously and threw onto the ground several times. The figures on the black plastic and resin bases remained attached. Bones and Epoxy Putties Epoxy putties such as Green Stuff can be used to alter and customize a figure, and to fill and smooth gaps left after converting or assembling multi-piece miniatures. These are two part putties. Once you mix them together, they stay workable for an hour or two, and fully cure within four to six hours. I tested the putties I had available on Bones figures. For each skeleton spearman, I moulded a cylinder of putty around its spear, and a crest on its head. I gave the putties a full day to cure and then tested them. I tried to bend the spears under and to either side of the putty cylinders. I worked to pull the crests off of their heads. Then I threw all of the spearmen loose in a plastic box and shook it for several minutes. From left to right in the above photograph, the putties I tested were: Kneadatite (Green Stuff); Brown Stuff; ProCreate; Milliput Yellow-Grey; Apoxie Sculpt; GF9 Gray Stuff; Magic Sculpt. After the tests, I examined the figures. I found no signs of damage from the testing on any of them, nor any reaction with the Bones material. All but the Milliput and Apoxie Sculpt crests detached from the figures with mild to moderate force. Of the ones that detached, the ProCreate crest took the most effort to remove. However, it should be noted that the same thing can happen with putty on metal figures, and that it is easy to glue on a custom-shaped part like that. NOTE: The crests on the two end figures popped off during testing. I placed them back on for the photograph. Due to the differing natures of the putties, the sculpting on the two that stayed in place was a slightly different shape, which may have contributed to them being harder to pop off. Smoothing Rough Areas If you remove the mould lines from your figure or do any conversions to it, you may find that it has areas where the surface looks a little rough. Reaper makes a product called Brush-On Sealer. You can paint a coat or three of this over a rough area to smooth it over. It won’t look any different to your eye, but once you put a coat of paint over it, the area will appear much smoother. If you don’t notice that an area is rough until after you’ve started painting, stop and apply some Sealer, then paint another layer of paint over it and you’ll get that same smoothing effect. Using Brush-On Sealer to smooth rough areas also works on metal or resin miniatures. Note that more than a coat or two of the Sealer will start to obscure small, finely sculpted details. The Brush-On Sealer is essentially acrylic medium. (Or what makes up paint apart from the pigment colour and binders.) There are other products you can experiment with for a similar effect – gloss sealer, matte medium, glaze medium. These may or may not work the same way, but if you happen to have some around you can try it until you get your hands on some Brush-On Sealer. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the Brush-On Sealer, I applied several tools to the bottom of a Bones Purple Worm to scratch and gouge it. The picture on the left shows the surface following a wash of paint to make the damage easier to spot. The picture on the right shows the same figure after I applied three coats of Brush-On Sealer, two coats of white paint and the same paint wash. There are still a few areas of damage apparent, but the majority of the surface is smooth and ready to paint. (And I could easily apply another coat or two to the problem areas.) As you can see from the text in the middle, the Brush-On Sealer will also fill in some detail, so it is best not to use more than one coat on areas of intricate sculpted detail. Removing Paint from a Bones Figure Sometimes painting a figure doesn’t go exactly as planned. If you would like to strip the paint from a Bones figure so you can start from scratch to paint it another way, just drop it into a dish of Simple Green Concentrated All Purpose Cleaner for 12 – 24 hours, then scrub it with an old toothbrush and it is ready to paint again. Some paint colours may leave a stain on the Bones material, but should not leave any texture or affect subsequent layers of paint. Simple Green in an eco-friendly cleaner sold in most hardware stores and some grocery stores. Brake fluid also works, though is a much more toxic material.

I'm looking for something to stick Bones, specifically Ma'al Drakar's terrain, to a wooden base. It's not thick enough, at the area I want to place it, to pin effectively. What kind of adhesives would work? I'm thinking epoxy, maybe? I just /really/ don't want to melt it accidentally and have to buy a new one.

So. I decided to try and make some ponds... Maybe with other water features. I have 2 silicone mats and several hot glue guns. I used both and used a fondant roller to flatten things out. I'm going to try a few things. This is about 1-1.5in x 2+in

Hey all! My DDS 2 came in the mail today, and I pulled out the tower to look at it. Boy does that stuff feel weird to an guy who has pretty much only done metal, with some resin here and there! So, what kind of Glue does one use to assemble the tower???? I read Wren's post that super glue was best, but this material makes me wonder... Is this most people's experience? Also, do most folks base the whole this as a piece, or leave them separate? Thanks in advance! 8) George

This looks like an interesting product forgluing together minis with extra small parts...

My box of figures from DSM for their Stephanie Law kickstarter came in. They're gorgeous. Many of them are in multiple pieces and need assemble. These are too pretty for me to half-donkey assembly. I have classic super glue. I have green stuff. What are your preferred methods to attach arms and whatnot so there aren't gaps and whatnot? How do you avoid slopping the superglue around swiftly before it hardens? Toothpicks perhaps? Some of these joints are very fine, so I don't think I can really pin them. They aren't heavy, so that has to help, and they do have knobs/sockets in most cases. I'd really like to make sure that gaps are sealed, and things like that, so they appear smooth. If they're fragile, that's not the end of the world, since these are unlikely to be used for tabletop purposes. This pack is all pewter, although I have a Kraken of Bones material that will need some guidance too. I generally have stayed away from assembly type figures in the past. Time to branch out! Help, pretty please?

I'm thinking of purchasing a Hot Glue Gun and wanted to know if anyone had recommendations and why you like a particular one. Thank you! ~Devin

Just checking. I am soon to assemble my first small-scale multipart resin miniatures, the sort with a number of possibly fiddly bits (Eyeballing them quickly, it looks like things like arms were fairly well-designed, with integral pin/pegs and corresponding shoulder holes already provided). I have assembled great slabs o' resin before, but this is the first delicate resin I've had to glue. On the whole I favor epoxy as glue, but would cyanoacrylate glue be a better choice for little minis? Any tips? The figures are more or less Egyptian-style cat people ("The Republic of Khaliman") from a French skirmish game called "Alkemy", if that makes a difference. Lots of thin little tails and arms.

I've been using the Loctite professional cyanoacrylate (superglue) for Bones. But, one thing I've always liked about toluene based model cement and the plastics it works with is the solid weld you get when it lightly melts the surface of the plastics. With proper pressure and fitting the melted surface can very neatly eliminate any join line. With superglue and Bones I can come close to the same effect, but I was wondering if PVC solvent cement would take it up to the next level similar to model cement. Has anyone tried using PVC solvent cement, such as the Oatey solvent cement used for PVC pipes? My biggest concern is that it would be too harsh for the Bones PVC and melt too much. Oatey PVC Cement Experiment: Components: 4 x sprues from Bones rats 1 x can of Oatey PVC cement - regular 1 x toothpick Application: Application was pretty easy, and I used the applicator brush from the can. I simply raised it up and brought the component to the brush above the can. Attachment 1, End Attachment: I decided to try two combinations of attachment. The first is with a small part of the sprue combined at the back. Closeup: Notice there is a little roughness. My first attempt I went too light with the glue and it didn't melt enough of the surface to form a good bond. Attachment 2, Center Attachment: My second test is attached at the back in the middle. I aligned the center marks, and applied glue between the left and right marks. Closeup: I wanted to add a little more glue at the joint, so I applied with a toothpick: Cure Time: Per the Oatey instructions the bond is dry to handle in fifteen minutes, but requires a two hour cure time before placing a pipe under pressure. Accordingly, I'll wait the two hour period before testing the bond. Post Cure Appearance: I forgot to take a picture after curing. However, most of the glue had evaporated leaving the joint solid. You can briefly see the appearance in the flexibility/center attachment test video. Bond Test 1, End Attachment: It didn't take much force to separate the pieces. There were two factors that could have impacted this. I attempted to bond this piece first, and when I didn't apply enough, I simply applied more. I should have probably removed the covering glue and reapplied directly to cause a greater melt between the pieces. You can see in the post test image that after separation much of the "Reaper" text is still visible, so there wasn't a lot of melt. Bond Test 2, Center Flexibility and Attachment: Flexibility appears good without any cracking or other impedance. As for strength, this bond was much stronger than the first as it didn't suffer from re-application. Post Test Appearance: Test 1, end connected: Test 2, Center Connected: Overall: I think the bond strength would be higher if I lightly sanded the areas to bond, allowing the solvents to penetrate deeper into the surface. The acetone present in the Oatey formula didn't create the melt I feared. I will retest now with Cyanoacrylate and do the same strength tests, although even if the Cyanoacrylate is stronger I still prefer this method of bonding as it is more permanent. As the Cyanoacrylate ages it will weaken and separate, and I don't believe a solvent weld will suffer the same fate.

Experienced Bones modders required! I am building a Reaper Bones miniature (Rauthuros Demon). What is the best glue to use to attach the wings and head? The wings are large and need to be very strongly attached, I think. What glue is best? After that, there will be a quite visible join gap. I want to fill and smooth such gaps, and maybe sculpt in a bit of texture there. Because the Bones plastic is a bit bendy, I want this filler/glue to dry with a bit of flex to it, rather than drying hard (and therefore crackable and fragile). I have read that some people -who seem to be after the same thing- mix Milliput with Green Stuff. What is the best material (or mix of materials to fill gaps, be smoothed and sculpted, and dry with a little flexibilty?

Good evening fellow paint-with-a-#0-brush-ians, I recently picked up a new kind of glue and I thought I would pass along my thoughts. "What's that? A new glue?" you say? Yes Virginia, this glue remains in a gel like state until you cure it by shining an ultraviolent ultraviolet light on it. After having many exciting gluing sessions with liquid superglue and the inevitable swearing and tearing off of flesh that entails I searched for a viable alternative. I could apply the glue, position things as I wanted them at my leisure, use a "third hand" to hold them, then shine the light on them to "cement" things as I wanted them. It works, and it doesn't. It does all those things well. The problem is that the light cannot shine through opaque metal and plastic so the glue inside the joint remains uncured. The glue joint is not strong. There is some good news though. This stuff is very clear and makes wonderful clear ice for those winter themed dioramas you've been making for Santa. Here's what you get in the package: You unscrew the cap from the black tube and apply the gel. Then shine the light of hardening upon it: The UV flashlight is the handy weird thing you see on the left side in the first image. You squeeze and hold it for a four to five seconds to cure the glue. If you've had better luck with this stuff please let me know how you did it? Thanks, Jay

Too much glue? Surfaces not flush fit? Those will do it. Dip the parts in Isopropyl Alcohol to cleanse them to bare metal before re-attempting. (That is the I am in a hurry option; I am sensing impatience.)

Once upon a time at PAX, when Bones were still new I asked about having miniatures come in separate pieces as that would make them easier to paint, but the answer I got was they wanted the consumer to be able to take it straight out of the package and onto the playmat. Which, fair enough, that made sense, and it's not like it was that hard to get around. I've been sitting on a pile of KS miniatures from the first two Kickstarters (as well as impulse buying a few other Bones along the way), but having taken a look at them it seemed like they weren't gonna be an issue to paint years later when I finally got around to that. That is until today (er, yesterday now...). Last night I went to the FLGS (one of many in my area) 'cause they were having an everything sale, and I impulse bought Seltyiel after making sure I didn't already get him in a Kickstarter. I did not, and I couldn't resist buying an entirely new miniature at $1.25, so I got him. Then when I finally opened him I noticed his arm was attached in a way that made it so his sword was basically pushing up against his leg, and I'd have to bend his arm everytime I needed to paint his leg or sword. I felt a little annoyed (though slightly vindicated), and thought I needed to fix this before I even wash him. I thought maybe I could chop off his arm and glue it back on later, but I also thought in the 3-4 years that Bones have been out someone else would have had this issue. Unfortunately I'm not even sure how to search this one, so I made my own thread instead. What I did find is someone saying that boiling the miniature would undo the glue, but I also read in one of the sticky threads that the glue is basically superglue, and I'm a little skeptical that the bond would become undone just 'cause I put it in boiling water. SO I guess I'm asking if there's a way to separate glued pieces for the sake of making painting easier. Or am I gonna have to chop off poor Seltyiel's arm off and hope I can get it back on in a good position?

So I've been given some hard plastic models, styrene, I think. They come in grey hard plastic and mostly on rectangular sprues anyway. One is Malifaux's "Whiskey Golem" (or, as my husband said, a wooden steampunk robot), one is Perry Miniatures "Medieval Cottage 1300-1700," and one is a set of Pegasus Hobbies "Gothic City Building Small Set #1." The Gothic Building set snaps together but the makers recommend glue for some delicate parts. The other two must be glued. Can I ask what glues people recommend for this sort of model? I gather there is some sort of special plastic solvent glue for plastic models, but I haven't really played around with it. My children used superglue on their Games Workshop plastic armies because, apart from that one incident of setting the cotton opera glove on fire, they could safely use it. What I have at the moment are several types of superglue and epoxy. Looking at the cottage, I am concerned about whether the model will hold together. It's basically just flat walls glued together at the edges. The structural engineer in me itches to put interior corner reinforcement and braces inside. Is this overkill? Will the proper glue help its integrity? I also note that two of the kits contain nothing in the way of assembly diagrams or instuctions. Should I take this as a given in hard plastic models and treat them as a sort of IQ test?

I have a bit of a question about how to assemble the new gelatinous cube. what is a good glue to use for assembling the two halves of the cube? I usually use krazy glue or a generic Cyanoacrylate glue on my other bones, but I've always heard that it is a bad idea to use such on clear items because it creates a white film as it dries. So what is the recommended glue for putting it together?

I've been real lazy of recent, so a minion of Tsathoggua seems quite appropriate. Top row's colour was thrown off a little. Bottom row is pretty spot on.

So my reaper minis finally came in the mail! Yay! They're awesome, but I'm having a little trouble with the assembly so if any of you more experienced folks could help me out I'd really appreciate it. Issue #1: One of the figurines' legs are spread in a manner that does not fit the base. Namely, the Cthulhu one (the Kaladrax is giving me a little trouble too but not as much). I would litterally have to bend the legs awkwardly to make it fit on its base. Is this normal for reaper products? What do I need to do to fix it? Or do I need to call reaper and ask them for an exchange? What does everyone else normally do in this situation? Issue #2: Are you supposed to paint all the pieces first or assemble and glue them together first? Does anyone know?