Picked up some Necropunks and Copycat Killer from Malifaux today on a whim. I have decided to focus on painting now, than collecting. I have a lead mountain to enjoy.
The necropunks are typical of most modern minis- thin and fiddly to assemble. Not the robust single part things of my teens that could survive a good game. A large portion of my collection of non-vintage figures are unpainted for this reason... fiddly ass assembly!
So next time I can, I must grab some really fine drill bits. My current ones are paperclip thickness. Not good when drilling limbs as thin as paperclips. Half the time I may as well just rebuild the limbs with greenstuff on wire- easier and more robust for gaming!
What confuses me is why many of these figures are not reposed slightly to allow for minimal part casting. One necropunk had four limbs to pin on- uhg. Not fun.
But I stuck at it and managed to get all three assembled and based (30mm bevel bases not the lipped ones- makes for easier handling). Yay me. This is the sole reason I do not buy infinty models. Way too thin and fragile.
That reminds me... I was promised an intro game by mainly medieval!
So anyone have their multipart horror stories?
Fiddly bits are a total blocker,especially when you are not feeling inspired or in a slump. I would think that your comment on assembly is a weighty statement as a pain point since you are sculptor and still cant be arsed to put 'em together. I've got some resin cast Fenryll dwarves that aren't even based yet for this very reason.
ReplyDeleteMetals really should be as few parts as possible, even if that means less dynamic minis.
ReplyDeleteThe only reason plastic minis are bearable to assemble for most (personally I hate them) is that they don't require pinning!
As a sculptor my goal is to make minis enjoyable- not only to play with, but to paint and assemble. That is why I shifted from slotta tabs to thin integral bases... a dab of glue and you are based up. In the future, I will ship metal figures with components like weapon swaps- but these will come with hands sculpted on, so you pin at wrist cuff or elbow. The model itself will have one option already built on- you will have to saw this off to swap arms. But that means the model is ready to go off the bat.
ReplyDeleteI am looking into plastics for next year- only then will I go kit module crazy.
Very admirable!
DeleteOtherworld Miniatures Huge Spider... that bastard thing almost got thrown across the room in a fit of rage. I am quite a calm person normally. It's a spider it has many limbs that all need to be pinned and placed in the correct spot for that leg, they were lettered, it didn't come with instructions. But the limbs were large enough to use 1mm wire to pin.
ReplyDeleteA handy source of thinner wire is sewing pins. Grab a pack of those and you'll be set for ages. I make mushrooms from the top, then the trimming get used for pinning.
Nice trick! You want bastard hard... Otherworld skeletons. Brilliant sculpts... totally awesome personality... arms impossible to freaking pin and survive a game. If they kickstarted single piece skellys I would be on that like flies on nurgle.
ReplyDeleteDo you use an electrical drill or one of those "you twist it yourself" thingies...pin-vice???
ReplyDeleteI've got those skeletons. My dream skeletons. I didn't even try to pin them, two-part epoxy does the job... until you move and someone drops the box...
ReplyDeleteI'd be a fellow fly there on that one. Well, provided they were more skeleton variations.
Hand drill. I tried a twist push drill and it was great til the bit snapped and impaled my hand. Thinking of getting adapter for dremmel.
ReplyDeletePs. Anyone wanna buy a push drill? One careful owner. Minor blood stains.
ReplyDeleteHi Dave
ReplyDeleteUnrelated to this post as such, but the Darkling webstore link on the blog still points to the old bederken site which no longer exists.
S
Oh cheers- I will add that to my to do list!
ReplyDelete