Bones: Frequently Asked Questions - Unofficial!

[Heisler]

I'm familiar with that technique but I don't think that its at all necessary with Bones. They already accept paint very well right out of the package. Enough people have put them through the ringer and have proven that its pretty hard to flake or rub the paint of a Bones miniature as it is.

[Laoke]

Any recommendations on sealers once done? I typically have applied an aerosol acrylic, then an aerosol layer of Testor's Dull-Kote when working with metal figures. Has anyone tried a similar method on painted Bones?

 

If no response, I will try it out on a spare kobold, and post results.

 

I've used Reaper Brush-On Sealer, and it works fine. Given that you're applying the sealer to the paint, not the figure, anything that works for a metal figure should work on Bones with the obvious exception already noted - because the figures are more flexible, the sealer will need to flex as well.

 

I'd suggest giving it a try, bending the crap out of the figure and then seeing if it rubs off.

[Berik]

I just wanted to say thanks very much for these guides. My table has just been taken over by a pile of Bones and these tips make me feel much more confident over tackling preparing them and such.

[Broodslayer]

Anyone have any other unique-to-Bones terminology they would like to add?

 

Glossary of Bones terminology

Bonesium: The plastic material that Bones miniatures are made from.

Flubbery: The rubbery state and feel of a Bones miniature after it has been boiled in water for reshaping.

[Laoke]

Boneschosis: Hopefully soon to be archaic. The mental derangement bought on by obsessively waiting for your Kickstarter to be delivered. Believed to be similar to the figmentia derangement. Symptoms include: speculating wildly on delivery related issues with little or no evidence, feeling like it's Christmas in March... in July, checking your emails immediately on waking to see if you've been delivered, checking the forums compulsively on a daily basis since the Kickstarter went live, and having the Shipping Tracker as your home page on your home PC, your smart phone, your tablet, your gaming console, your work PC, your laptop, your netbook, and your smart TV. All at once.

[Unit04]

and having the Shipping Tracker as your home page on your home PC, your smart phone, your tablet, your gaming console, your work PC, your laptop, your netbook, and your smart TV. All at once.

 

This has been proven to make the Bones ship faster. FACT!

[Dr.Bedlam]

1. For conversions, I have found that warming the figure with a hair dryer makes Bones material cut smoothly and easily with an X-Acto.

2. Elmer's is a fine primer, but tends to clog detail. That being said, using it as a sealer, sandwiched between coats of spray acrylic, makes the paint durn near indestructible.

[haldir]

Medium Plastic Sanding Needles

 

BY Alpha Precision Abrasives

 

Just curious what grit is the best one to use for general mold line removal?

 

thanks

RM

[scipio.au]

So it seems that Spray primers are a bit of a lucky dip, and perhaps some of the spray sealers people use aren't a good option either, resulting in permanently-sticky/tacky models. That's ok. I'm using a combination of Citadel Foundation/Base mostly, and that's working well enough for base coats. I've found that the Vallejo Game Colour "Extra Opaque, Heavy" (ie Not-Foundation) paints don't seem to work all that well, so far.

 

But anyway, that's base coating sorted.

 

I'm more concerned now about the varnish/protective top coat.

 

I used to use GW/Citadel spray varnish, but it's no longer available, at least here in Australia. Never got to try it on Bones. I used an Army Painter varnish can on a pre-KS Bones model, but it messed it up pretty badly. To be fair, it wasn't a good finish on my non-bones models either. Probably not going to use that can again, or the crappy AP stuff again.

 

So now, I'm using brush-on Vallejo Gloss/Satin/Matt Varnish.

 

I'm wondering if anyone has experience with spray-on Polyurethane on Bones? (Wattyl Estapol for Aussies/Kiwis) I've used it for years decades on regular metal, resin and plastic models with no issues. I'm wondering how it will play with Bones?

Edited August 8, 2013 by scipio.au

[smokingwreckage]

Water-soluble polyurethane brush-on works great. I'm not sure if that's useful info, though.

[yazza]

the new vallejo surface primers, paintable and spayable are with polyurethane

[Slendertroll]

Is Reaper's "09107: Brush-on Sealer" a matte sealer, and will it thus work fine with Bones? I'm having a hard time figuring out any sort of consensus since I discovered my spray sealer is no good.

[smokingwreckage]

It's a matte sealer and its an acrylic so it should be A-OK

[OneBoot]

I've used it and it's more of a satin look if you put it on undiluted. Various people have reported it looking dead matte when diluted just a little with water, though I haven't tried that myself yet.

 

Huzzah!

--OneBoot :D

[Magnus Mercury]

Medium Plastic Sanding Needles

...

Just curious what grit is the best one to use for general mold line removal?

 

I'm using the blue sanding needles, which I think are medium grit. I definitely wouldn't go with a higher grit, as they'd probably get clogged too quickly and just require more work to sand down the mold lines.