Helltown Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 Not really having had the chance to paint anything plastic yet, but having read the forums here quite a bit. The major concern of plastic meltdown seems to be on the stripping end of things and there's a pinned compendium of stripping materials that talks all about what's safe for plastics. Again, it's a matter of asking the painters that frequent your FLGS or if the clerk or owner paints you can ask them for a bit of advice. As a store owner and painter, I can safely say that I'm an oddity when it comes to advice. As far as primers go, get the $1 a can stuff from Wal-Mart to start with as Tamiya and other primers are on the more expensive side. While I'll swear by Armory primers, they're not for everyone. Brush-on primer is also handy to have around on those days where going outside to spray prime is out of the question. Not everyone wants to hang out in a snowstorm or hurricane to spray prime and it's really handy for hard to prime pieces and pieces mounted to a sprue that need a touch-up when clipped free. For sealants, you don't need to match brands with your primer. Ideally, your sealant will never touch your primer to cause problems because you'll have covered up all the primer with the miniatures paint of your choice. There are some that use Dullcote to 'save' their work as they go, which is a good idea for competition pieces, but for table-top it's probably easier to just finish the figure and then seal it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madog Barfog Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 Indeed I hadn't run into your guide until now Madog, thanks kindly, never hurts to have too much information *bleeds from his eyes* ... much. Come on, that's the bare necessities boiled down into 2 pages. You can write books on mini painting! "About the brushes.. is a #3/0 the same as a #000?" Yes. The Reaper set are all synthetic. I HOPE I did not just pay $12 for a synthetic brush! Not everyone wants to hang out in a snowstorm or hurricane to spray prime and it's really handy for hard to prime pieces and pieces mounted to a sprue that need a touch-up when clipped free. I've said it before, I'll say it again - people keep spraying in high humidity/extremem temperature, then wondring why they get bad results. Read the back of the can. The best sealer IMO is Testor's Dullcote. It stinks, but flattens anything and so far I have had no problems when used as directed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alisandra Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 The Reaper set are all synthetic. I HOPE I did not just pay $12 for a synthetic brush! It has been My understanding that their master brushes are Real hair and their normal red handle brushes are a blend.... Can we get an official answer on this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Kutz Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 The Pro Series are Golden Taklon's according to Casket works. Golden Taklons are an entirely synthetic brush, however they use a blend of fiber sizes in order to behave a bit more like a synthetic. The Master Series are Kolinsky Sables. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cerridwyn1st Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 Dull Cote is a Testor brand. There it comes in spray and liquid. Most gaming hobbiests use the aerosol spray. It's just easier to use. I've used Krylon sealers as well, but they never seem as matte as Dull Cote. It is better to spray a couple of light coats of Dull Cote rather than one heavy one. The product can become shiny if you overdo it. One warning: if a model is painted with metalics, you might want to use Krylon Satin varnish instead of Dull Cote. It woun't be as shiny as gloss, and won't dull your metals the way Dull Cote can. I don't paint a lot of plastic models, but the ones I have were fine with any sealer I used. Some one else may have a different story to tell. I'd like to add that Reaper offeres both synthetic and sable brushes. The ones I mentioned above are a three-brush synthetic kit. Personnaly, I really like Reaper's synthetic flats for drybrushing. The #2 will take care of a lot of smaller jobs. A #4 is good for larger projects. I've also used the smaller flat for basecoating. When the rounds get scruffy, you can cut them down to use as fine drybrushes. The synthetic brushes are good "workhorse" brushes, saving your fine sables for detail work and layering. I've been using my sables for years now and I've yet to have one get "scruffy". I do have some sable flats for drybrushing as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cerridwyn1st Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 The Reaper set are all synthetic. I HOPE I did not just pay $12 for a synthetic brush! Emphasis on "SET". As in "more than one". The SET of three brushes from Reaper are synthetic. They do not sell any of the Master Brushes as SETS. They are sold individually and are made of Kolinsky sable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orcsoul Posted July 25, 2007 Author Share Posted July 25, 2007 Another question.. what makes for a good agitator to drop into the master bottles when shaking them? I've managed to find out anything metallic is a big no no :P Or do the master paints really even need an agitator to help mix up the pigment evenly? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vutpakdi Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 Both lines of Reaper paint (Masters and Pro) already include an agitator (a pewter skull) in the bottles. For non Reaper paint, a bit of metal pewter mini sprue makes a good agitator. Ron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orcsoul Posted July 25, 2007 Author Share Posted July 25, 2007 Oh perfect, thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madog Barfog Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 Even better (since I don't have metal sprues) - aquarium rocks. Cheap, plentiful, and harmless, plus the extras can be used for basing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reaper User Vaitalla Posted July 25, 2007 Reaper User Share Posted July 25, 2007 Just make sure that your aquarium rocks are really inert. I used to do saltwater aquariums and there used to be some that react adversely to salt corrosion, which usually means that minerals are present, and some of those minerals do not like paint. If the aquarium rocks you buy are ok for saltwater, you should be fine! --Anne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cerridwyn1st Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 (edited) I use glass pony beads or bits of sprue. I make sure the beads do not have any coatings or lining, just plain glass beads. Glass is inert. Edited July 25, 2007 by Cerridwyn1st Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vutpakdi Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 I've got clear, relatively small glass marbles in my Derivan MiNiS bottles. Larger bits of unused minis (about the same size as the beads) probably would have been a bit better since they're heavier. But, I've also found that one of those handheld back massager things works pretty well as a paint shaker for the Derivan MiNiS bottles, especially when combined with a few seconds of manual shaking afterwards. Ron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cerridwyn1st Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 So what do you do, just rubberband the bottle onto the massager? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vutpakdi Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 So what do you do, just rubberband the bottle onto the massager? I hadn't thought of that. Hmm, that might work... Currently, I just lightly hold one end of the bottle (sort of like a pivot point) while the other end bounces and shakes against the massager. Does shake my hand a bit, but it's fine for the 30 or so seconds that I shake with the massager. Ron PS: Of course, with the Reaper MSPs, I just manually shake for a 5-15 seconds. I still generally like the Derivan MiNiS, particularly the very matte nature of the paints, but they're a bit tricker to use. I've painted one mini almost completely with the Derivan MiNiS, and they're the paint that I let my 4 year old son use when he paints (given they come in a much bigger bottle, I don't mind him using them). I think that I'll still mostly stick to the MSPs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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