Bones Kickstarter #2 Discussion

[Last Knight]

 

That's a good point -- but surely small pieces like that would be produced on a sprue of similar pieces, requiring the creation of only one mould, thus offsetting the cost.

 

What I'm wondering is why the griffon is eight bucks and the great worm is 3, since when I look at the two the size is pretty similar.

 

While things like complexity of the mold and amount of material used are important in pricing minis I would bet just as important is what the manufacturer feels the market will bear for any given piece. I would imagine that, in the long run, griffons, being seen as a fantasy staple with a wider appeal, will outsell giant worms - thus the market (i.e. us) will pay more for them that they will for a big worm monster.

If this, specifically, were the case then the Bones earth elemental and treant would have remained at the Kickstarter pricing or higher, rather than retailing at a lower MSRP.

[Laoke]

 

Also, I know the bones are different from resin in that they dont need to be primed, I intend to prime anyway, unless there is some advantage to not priming. Are their any other difference to working with the bones plastic than normal resin?

Priming bones is kind of a waste of time. Instead just do a undercoat of whatever color you like, and don't water it down much if any. I usually do walnut brown and leave it as the shadow then put color wherever I want it.

I want the hd paints from the KS since I think they will work very well as that bottom coat.

 

Has anyone else tried washes made with Acrylic Medium rather than Water? I did one of my zombies with Reaper Black Wash straight onto the Bones, and it worked fine - no pooling, no pulling away from the detail at all. I was surprised as hell, and I'll be trying it again when I next prep a figure : )

 

Anyways - check out the unofficial FAQs in the Bones subforum, they answer most of your questions. In general though:

• Wash the Bones thoroughly - mold release agent can (not always, but sometimes) cause paint adhesion issues
• Cleanup of flash can be tricky. Plastic sanding needles are apparently the best thing for the job, but a sharp craft knife and slicing, rather than scraping, will also do the job
• The first coat makes the biggest difference. Because the bones are fairly hydrophobic, using a thinned paint for the first coat isn't the best idea. Instead put down an undiluted base coat and once that's on, continue as usual
• Some spray primers & spray varnishes have resulted in a tacky figure. Check the FAQs for a definitive list.

[Slendertroll]

 

I may have to start freezing all my Bones and attempting separation prior to painting from now on... just to be sure.

 

Because some of them, like the sword-and-shield skellies, are an absolute woof to paint in spots...

 

What do you mean, freeze them? Why? Are some of the figures pre-glued?

 

Also, I know the bones are different from resin in that they dont need to be primed, I intend to prime anyway, unless there is some advantage to not priming. Are their any other difference to working with the bones plastic than normal resin?

 

Priming primer: DO NOT use spray primers; it'll result in a sticky mess. There is no reason to use brush-on primers, but not much of a disadvantage, besides excess work for no reason. Paint actually forms a stronger bond with Bonesium than primer does, and is also more likely to bend and flex with the figure. Primed figures are more likely to result in paint cracking or flaking off than unprimed ones, but priming usually isn't a problem.

 

Has anyone else tried washes made with Acrylic Medium rather than Water? I did one of my zombies with Reaper Black Wash straight onto the Bones, and it worked fine - no pooling, no pulling away from the detail at all. I was surprised as hell, and I'll be trying it again when I next prep a figure : )

I tried a wash of paint and RMS sealer, and it worked... okay. It was really thick and goopy and not actually that transparent, and it used a ton of sealer, but it did end up with paint in the cracks and not on the raised bits. I don't think it's worth it except for on the transparent figures.

[SamuraiJack]

Bones Episode III: Revenge of the Stilitz

Edited October 15, 2013 by SamuraiJack

[Sabith]

 

 

Also, I know the bones are different from resin in that they dont need to be primed, I intend to prime anyway, unless there is some advantage to not priming. Are their any other difference to working with the bones plastic than normal resin?

Priming bones is kind of a waste of time. Instead just do a undercoat of whatever color you like, and don't water it down much if any. I usually do walnut brown and leave it as the shadow then put color wherever I want it.

I want the hd paints from the KS since I think they will work very well as that bottom coat.

 

Has anyone else tried washes made with Acrylic Medium rather than Water? I did one of my zombies with Reaper Black Wash straight onto the Bones, and it worked fine - no pooling, no pulling away from the detail at all. I was surprised as hell, and I'll be trying it again when I next prep a figure : )

 

Anyways - check out the unofficial FAQs in the Bones subforum, they answer most of your questions. In general though:

• Wash the Bones thoroughly - mold release agent can (not always, but sometimes) cause paint adhesion issues
• Cleanup of flash can be tricky. Plastic sanding needles are apparently the best thing for the job, but a sharp craft knife and slicing, rather than scraping, will also do the job
• The first coat makes the biggest difference. Because the bones are fairly hydrophobic, using a thinned paint for the first coat isn't the best idea. Instead put down an undiluted base coat and once that's on, continue as usual
• Some spray primers & spray varnishes have resulted in a tacky figure. Check the FAQs for a definitive list.

 

I actually just mixed up a few batches of magic wash in a variety of colors - 1/3 Pledge with Future Shine, 1/6 Liquitex flow improver, 1/12 craft store paints, and about 1/2 water. Applied it to a Pathfinder Goblin Warchanter with some decent results. The wash went where I wanted it to go. 'twas fairly light though, and took 3 coats before I was happy with the definition visible on the model.

[buglips*the*goblin]

How come nobody ever believes us when we tell 'em to skip the primer?

 

I've never seen so many people so determined to learn the hard way.

[Slendertroll]

How come nobody ever believes us when we tell 'em to skip the primer?

 

I've never seen so many people so determined to learn the hard way.

I don't even understand the desire. It's not necessary, and it's more work. Who does more work when less will do? Especially prep work? Do people really enjoy priming minis that much?

[AZBarbarian]

How come nobody ever believes us when we tell 'em to skip the primer?

 

I've never seen so many people so determined to learn the hard way.

 

I like primer on Bones. I use brush on acrylic white applied through an airbrush. Brings out details and helps me paint better!

[GentleGiant]

I prefer to prime for several reasons:

1. Especially with Bones miniatures it makes it easer to see any mould lines I've missed.
2. When you spray on a primer you can usually get a thinner coat than with a brush on primer (or a thick (to avoid any pooling) brush on base coat).
3. You can actually use an aerosol primer, just use those which don't stay tacky (Army Painter primers seem to work the best of the aerosol primers) - I use an airbrush, though.
4. I prefer to use thinned paints, so a primed miniature is a must.
5. You can use priming to accomplish several effects, e.g. zenithal highlighting.
6. Paint will bond better to a primed miniature than bare Bones (I primarily use Vallejo paints and a few GW paints).

[Baugi]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You don't like it because you have to pay more, but tough cookies.

What is the "it" that I don't like? High prices? Absolutely. I'm surprised to hear you like them, but to each his own.

I... didn't say I like higher prices? You just seemed to be simultaneously complaining about high prices while extolling the virtues of capitalism, which seemed contradictory to me.

You think it is contradictory to like capitalism and dislike high prices? Wow. Just wow

Again, I didn't say that.

Oh really?

"You just seemed to be simultaneously complaining about high prices while extolling the virtues of capitalism, which seemed contradictory to me."

 

You imply that capitalism causes high prices. I believe the opposite is true. I sense we'll have to agree to disagree.

Reaper has, at the moment, absolutely nobody to compete with in the "High quality yet inexpensive role playing/wargaming miniatures" market.

 

 

Not true. At the very least, Reaper is competing with used miniatures on ebay. That's where I buy most of my miniatures.

 

 

Is that really a competitor though? That's like saying that Good Will or the Salvation Army or Value Village or (insert your consignment/used clothing store of choice here) is a competitor for, say, Target. They're related, and SOME customers shop at both, but they're not really competitors.

[Pegazus]

Yeah, I'm a primer. Agree with GentleGiant's points save #5 as I just don't use the technique. And I use the ol' rattle can but I've got every can marked in sharpie which ones contain acetone and which ones don't. I'm pretty sure that's the culprit, but do NOT take my word for it. I'd hate for someone to Raiders-of-the-Lost-Ark-ending their Bones figures.

 

Now to make a topical post. Bit "meh" on the new #2 expansion. I'll have to really wait to see what the expansion expansions are before the pledge goes up.

[Rich711]

I have never painted bones plastic. My main concern is that most of the bones minatures I see look like they have too much paint piled on. A good spray primer made for miniatures (meaning it contracts when it dries rather than expanding like most hardware store primers) goes on very thin. I then use watered down paints as the base, depth and highlighting. The idea of painting on a layer right out of the pot makes me cringe.

[buglips*the*goblin]

If working without primer is a bridge too far, use brown liner as the basecoat. It's thin, robust, and won't do anything weird.

[GentleGiant]

This thread lists some aerosol primers which will work and some to avoid.

Besides that I can recommend Vallejo Acrylic-Polyurethane Primer, which can be brushed on or used in an airbrush.

Some people have used liquid Gesso too.

[Wren]

How come nobody ever believes us when we tell 'em to skip the primer?

 

I've never seen so many people so determined to learn the hard way.

 

To be fair, some of us yelled at them for years to use primer, so I can see why they're having trouble now that we've added the addendum 'except on Bones'. ;->

 

Pegazus - I don't think I recall hearing any reports of a primer actually damaging Bones. The usual issue is people reporting that spray primers don't cure. In some instances that's just being a little sticky to the touch but you can paint over it, in others it's bad enough to be unpaintable.

 

SlenderTroll - Folk Art Glass & Tile Medium is a less expensive alternative than the RMS Sealer. There were a couple of other products I reported on in the FIrst Coat article that also worked pretty well, but had shinier finishes.