Bones Black Questions

[Wren]

I think several of the expansions are in Bones Black, I don't think the core set is.

 

[undel]

Will any existing bones be updated to bones black, or will the new material be for new releases only?

[Corsair]

7 minutes ago, undel said:

Will any existing bones be updated to bones black, or will the new material be for new releases only?

I wonder if they can still use the same molds for the different materials.

[Cyradis]

2 hours ago, Corsair said:

I wonder if they can still use the same molds for the different materials.

 

I would imagine yes, unless they have drastically changed the properties of the material. Bones is still Bones, not resin or pewter, after all. 

[Disserrma]

In one of the reaper live videos they discussed the different molds for the different materials, I can't remember which one atm.  IIrc Bones and Bones Black use different methods to make the molds, so they might not be interchangeable. 

[Gadgetman!]

There's not all that many ways to shape plastic.  

 

There's injection molding that's used on normal Bonesium and the Gray stuff, 

there's 'rotacast' (you pour molten plastic into a metal mold, then spin it every which way to distribute the plastic evenly as it slowly cools and hardens.) this is usually used for hollow designs.(My kayak was made this way)

and there's 'pressing'....

That's the way you make LPs. Take a lump of nearly-molten plastic(vinyl) shape it into a thick disc, place it on top of a metal mold,then press down on top of it with the other half of the mold. 

 

Yes, there are a few other methods, but...

I doubt vacu-forming is used for this. 

 

 

The only real differences to different injection-molding processes is the temperature, pressure and cooldown times used. 

 

Rotacast is really better suited for large items, so we can probably ignore that.  

 

The big difference between injection molds and press molds is that the press molds doesn't need holes to inject plastic. 

 

I may need to watch more of that video. 

Or not. (speculating is a lot more fun )

 

I like that Reaper is experimenting with different techniques. If they can combine a few it might open up for some astonishing work...

(Imagine the angel minis, but with wings made of thin brass that has been stamped like coins....   )

[ttuckerman]

It was the first video that they said that.  It might be the size of the injection ports needed? The properties of the plastic might require bigger channels because of viscosity?  Just speculation.  My father could have speculated more knowledgably because he was a master mold follower.   He worked in a machine shop where his job was to take a mold from drawing to shipping.

[Cygnwulf]

Temple dragon is in regular bones, just tinted grey so the detail shows better.  It's actually no harder than the regular bones, but it IS thicker than most of the tiny bones figures, so it feels stiffer just from being a thicker sculpt.

 

[TheAuldGrump]

I would say that miniatures are slowly changing over from being primarily metal to being primarily plastic - but it really ain't all that slow.

 

Quality is getting better, mold making is increasingly automated, and turn around times are dropping. (I recently heard a quote of 40 days from payment to a finished mold - and that was for HIP.)

 

Metal and resin still have the edge on speed from model to production - but modeling time is dropping with 3D CAD also becoming more automated.

 

And a lot less chance of the cat using the sandbox for vulcanizing the mold as a litter box. (Tale from the early days of Ral Partha - they thought that heating the sand and the vinyl mold was supposed to smell that bad.... )

 

The Auld Grump

[Marc]

Wow! I just found out about this!

 

Gotta say I'm super excited! My biggest complaints about Bones currently are difficulty in picking out details on the white material, soft, bendy weapons etc, and the need to sculpt thin things really thick or over-sized.

 

Sounds like Bones Black will address some or all of these issues. Can't wait to get my hands on some Bones Black minis!!!

 

[Cerberus]

On 12/10/2018 at 3:45 PM, Disserrma said:

In one of the reaper live videos they discussed the different molds for the different materials, I can't remember which one atm.  IIrc Bones and Bones Black use different methods to make the molds, so they might not be interchangeable. 

There's also wanting to have separate molds for each line so that they can be molded in different materials, or in entirely different factories, at the same time.

 

Bones Black material is more solid once cast. It still has some flex to it on thinner elements, but not nearly as much as original Bones. Swords and such won't be bent out of shape as on Bones, but the new material also won't be re-poseable by just soaking it in hot water. That rigidity and color change also makes details sharper and easier to pick out. It's less resistant to damage than original Bones, but not as likely to snap when dropped as typical plastic minis and not prone to shattering when dropped as resin minis can be. But avoid dropping or chucking it on concrete anyways. Really sharp external details (pointy ears, ect) will be damaged if it takes a hard fall, but I expect pretty much everything except the super bendy Bones would be to some extent.

[Corsair]

I found out that not only is the new Owlbear in the BB material, but also the CAV Enforcer has been made in this. The Enforcer painted up very nicely and both show excellent detail. I am super excited about this as it does really get close to resin in detail. A few more years and I can see it being as good as the best metals.

[Lars Porsenna]

Any word on what sort of media these things can be primed with? I got the owlbear & it looks good. The plastic feels different from the original bones or the more "solid" grey bones material, so I'm wondering if these can be primed with the more normal spray primers, like Krylon?

 

Damon.

[Corsair]

3 hours ago, Lars Porsenna said:

Any word on what sort of media these things can be primed with? I got the owlbear & it looks good. The plastic feels different from the original bones or the more "solid" grey bones material, so I'm wondering if these can be primed with the more normal spray primers, like Krylon?

 

Damon.

There is only one way to find out...

[lowlylowlycook]

I think Ron talked about spray primer in one of the Reaper live videos on YouTube.