Miniatures (Wargaming etc)

[Hazkali]

Hi guys,

I've just got myself my first 28mm miniatures from a company that wasn't Games Workshop, and it got me thinking about all the little fish in the GW-dominated pond. Really, the purpose of this thread is to recommend different miniatures companies to like-minded people (i.e. those who need a regular 'lead fix' to get them through the working day :smallbiggrin:) in the name of trying different things.

The company that I've just got my order off of was Renegade Miniatures, and I've got to say I'm really chuffed with their quality. About half have no visible mould lines at all, and the others will just need a little attention with a needle file. They are slighter than GW figures (more "true 28mm" than "heroic 28mm") but I'm planning to use mine in an IG army anyway. The only real problem is that the don't have any real bases, just a blob of metal at the bottom so they stand up, kind of like those "bucket of soldiers" do.

So, I've had my say, now shoot!

[LordVader]

You could always just glue them onto a base.

[DeathQuaker]

You could always just glue them onto a base.

In fact you'll need to if you're going to use them for 40K, as a lot of stuff is measured "from the base". Those also won't be tournament legal but you probably already know that.

As for other miniature companies....

Reaper is my favorite source of fantasy miniatures; gorgeous, very high quality stuff for reasonable prices. And theoretically in a year or so they're going to have a modern/sci-fi line which would be awesome.

Privateer Press's miniatures are also wonderful, if you're looking for something steampunk style. Even if you don't play one of their miniature games (WarMachine and Hordes) many of their minis are worth collecting for other stuff.

There're also a lot of smaller companies that sell interesting minifigs.... one good place to check out a number of lines simultaneously is the Warstore (http://www.warstore.com, I believe).

I'm always looking for a source of good "modern" style minis; I've seen a few (the best I've seen are the Call of Cthulu line) though finding something where the faces don't look smashed in/undetailed has been hard. Any leads are appreciated.

[Winterwind]

There's also Ral Partha (which made, amongst others, the Classic BattleTech miniatures). According to Wikipedia, the company ceased to exist when FASA went out of business, but at least here their miniatures are still being sold (however that is possible).

Which brings me to my question (even though I'm sure I'm about to embarass myself for asking). How does one best glue tin miniatures together? I have a couple of CBT 'Mech miniatures lying around here, waiting to be used in a game, yet I sure as hell am not able to glue them together in such a way they don't fall apart instantly. Any tips from you, oh wise miniature gurus, on how to do that?

[Were-Sandwich]

Pin them.

Confrontation's mini's are works of art. Hghly priced, very specific art,but veritable masterpieces.

Urban Mammoth have some cool stuff as well.

Ground Zero Games' stuff is good, especially their spaceship range.

[DeathQuaker]

Pin them.


Just in case Were-Sandwich's answer did not make sense, I will elaborate. For this, we're going to pretend you have a model which comes with its arm unattached. I broke this down really step by step, but it's honestly not very complicated:

1. Purchase a pin-vise. This is a small drill workable by one hand, designed to hold tiny drill bits. You can get lots of different ones from Micromark (http://www.micromark.com) for a reasonable price.

2. Steal paperclips from your workplace. Or, if you're all fancy, buy some brass rod from your local homeware or hobby store.

3. Install a drill-bit into your pin-vise that is roughly the thickness of your paper clip.

4. Optional: If you have a candle you hate, drill a hole into your candle. (This can make drilling easier)

5. Optional: With an Exacto knife, score a small hole into the center of your miniature's arm socket, and into the center of the arm where it needs to be glued into the socket.

6. Center your drill bit (using the score mark if you made one) into the arm socket and drill a hole. Doesn't need to be more than a few millimeters deep--just enough that when you stick a paper clip inside, it will stay in. Do the same to the arm. (Addendum: I should note that you should get it as deep as you are comfortable making it. It shouldn't pierce through the other side of the model, but the more rod you can get in, the more potentially sturdy the final product will be.)

7. Using wire cutters, clip off a piece of paperclip, probably about a centimeter long (or otherwise, a tad longer than you will think you need). I suggest wrapping the paperclip in a cloth when you do this so it doesn't go flying off into the middle of the room -- or more importantly, into your eyes.

8. Make sure excess shavings are removed from the model. Put a small drop of superglue into the hole you drilled in the arm socket.

9. Insert piece of paper clip into arm socket. Let glue cure.

10. BEFORE applying more glue, test your paper clip length by trying to attach the arm to the socket, pinning it onto your paper clip. If it's too long, clip a little off. Do this in little bits so as not to make it too short.

11. Now put another small drop into the hole you made in the arm, and then attach it to the arm socket via the pin you've made. Let the glue dry.

12. Optional: If there are gaps and/or you have some green stuff (blue/yellow epoxy putty) or other gap filler available, smooth out the joint with that.

Once you're done, you have a much more sturdy joint than if you had just glued the arm directly to the socket. It is much less likely to break off. This also allows you to vary poses on your models, and is an essential technique if you become interested in converting models (swapping weapons, etc.).

[Winterwind]

Wow! Thank you very much, that was most helpful! I'll definitely try that! :smallsmile:

[DeathQuaker]

Wow! Thank you very much, that was most helpful! I'll definitely try that! :smallsmile:

Cool. Let us know how it turns out. :smallsmile:

[Oeep Snaec]

How well do magnets work? I play only Warhammer, but it would be nice to get some other ideas in case GW prices get too high.

[DeathQuaker]

How well do magnets work? I play only Warhammer, but it would be nice to get some other ideas in case GW prices get too high.

I am assuming you mean to hold models together.

Depends on the size of the model and what it's made of and what you want it to do.

Rare earth magnets work really well for stuff like arms on large walkers (which may well suit some mechwarrior kinda stuff--I don't know how big the arms are) and gun turrets on tanks and stuff like that. On some of my tanks I also use them to hold openable hatches shut. But they only come so small, and so for some pieces it's not feasible to get them to fit in well to a model and hold on the appendage/armament without a funny gap showing.