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Got a Black Knight at Dragon's Lair earlier. Finally puttin the thing together, till I realized I need glue. Soon as I get that, it'll be finished.

Course the problem is that I'm a crappy painter. So while the thing might look half decent, it'll have the worst paint job in the IS.

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Do not feel bad you are not alone I farm out most of my painting I have assembled about 2/3rds of my minis and farmed out the rest.What you do is find freinds that paint and assemble models to do the work ,you could use it as a way to introduce non-players to BT they will ask you what the minis are for and you can start to tell them about the game keep some maps and books with you and you can set up an impromto session on the spot I have done that a few times

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Having more fun than a human being should be allowed to have-Rush Limbaugh
For more from Rush go here: www.rushlimbaugh.com
Still crazy after all these years.
Force of nature : :
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Well, I found some modeling glue. Doubt it'll be great, but it'll do for now anyways. At the same time I'm puttin that thing together, I also started on a Dodge Challenger model. I don't got any black paint, but figured dark green will do on a hood. Course the rest of the thing's painted orange. Wrote it off as being color blind.

Anyways, most of the damage of the paint's in the right arm. Hey, I can argue that somebody hit it with an LB-X. Plus I primed the sucker, painted it red, tried to paint the head and part of the upper torso orange, but big dumb me forgot to let the paint dry a little longer.(Hey, I waited 30 minutes at least. I'm impatient.) Course, I paid about $7 for the mini and $5 for the primer. Not to mention I bought the BMR revised, cost me about $30. When I told my dad about that, he freaked about me paying $40 for the whole shebang. Ain't told him yet that I bought the primer. Plus my mom ain't found out.(There's a reason this plays in together, but I won't say how). I think the main freak was mostly due to how bad my housekeepin skills are, but hey, they'll do. Plus, I don't think they understand my little "hobby." Worse case scenario, I got a cousin who could use some reforming. I'll teach him to play B'tech. My kid brother complains about my painting skills, I'll tell him to do better with a mini.

Sorry for the rant, but I think I may have found a way to get my kid brother and my cousin into Battletech.

Now I gotta scrap up the money for Heavy Metal Pro. Grave apologies for not doing it yet Rick. I can hear the rants now. ("Dammit Clarke, what the hell are you putting on yer computer?" "Relax." )

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When I was doing a lot of minis, I found it cheapest to just buy those three-packs of superglue. And if your dad thinks $40 is expensive, try building an entire Warhammer Fantasy army. At least in Battletech you don't need a hundred minis just to play a decent game.

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Be careful what you wish for. I might let you have it.

You DON'T???

Hey Clarke I guarantee you house keeping skills are not as bad as mine,in some places in my house you do not walk you CLIMB. Be glad you still have a mom and dad I lost mine 15 & 14 years ago respectivly.

Now I know why we do not see any designs from you ,considering recent events you may want to get HMPro real soon Rick is really going to need the help

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Having more fun than a human being should be allowed to have-Rush Limbaugh
For more from Rush go here: www.rushlimbaugh.com
Still crazy after all these years.
Force of nature : :
[img]http://www.heavymetalpro.com/countries/flag-us.gif[/img]
[img]http://www.heavymetalpro.com/countries/ ... chigan.gif[/img]

And you just got your first mini? Darn, we thought you were really experienced!

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Rick
~~~~~
[email]rick@heavymetalpro.com[/email] [img]http://www.heavymetalpro.com/countries/flag-us.gif[/img] [img]http://www.heavymetalpro.com/countries/ ... rolina.gif[/img]

* There are 10 types of people in this world. Those who understand binary and those who don't. *

Hehehe Motown, I don't have a lot of minis left actually. I lost probably a thousand dollars (maybe more) in minis of mixed types, including two WH40K armies, when I moved in 1995. Stupid movers crushed the box.

Since that disaster, I've largely been out of minis, but I'm starting to get back into them. My current project of ambition is painting up an Ice Hellion Mech trinary and some associated forces (Elementals and Flurry units). My money is tight, so I'm just buying them one or two per paycheck.

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Be careful what you wish for. I might let you have it.

Well Clarke as the old saying goes, practice makes perfect.

And with all the minis I've got I'm going to be practicing for a long time!

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Clarke, swing on by this Tuesday. We've got some good painters who can give pointers. Or you could turn it over to one of us. My wife loves painting minis, even if she doesn't play.

And Clarke, Pinesol absolves you of almost all your painting sins. Nothing wrong with stripping a mini and starting anew.

BTW, model airplane cement ain't really good for sticking metal together. That cement melts the plastic of the pieces you're trying to glue together, actually welding the joint. Try Zap-a-Gap or Crazy Glue. That will hold just about any mini together for a while.

actualy painting the black knight isn't that hard. Might I make a suggestion?

(cheap persons guide to a mini that won't get youl aughed off the mapboard)

Always base your mini's. they ballance better, and they are less likely to fall and break. I recomend using real haxes, but some of us aren't made of money. if this is the case then base it on a poker chip. (Bonus points if you file said chip to the shape a hex)

Prime it black glossy (with good old fashoned krylon spraypaint found in any garage)

then go to any half decent art supply store and get a 2 dollar tube of acrylivc in whatever color you want to paint the mini in. (I'd suggest slate grey or something nutral)

DRYBRUSH the entire thing in said color (very easy, I can post to another topic how) leaving all the panal lines and the visor thingie and the gunbarrles still black.

Let the thing dry

Take elmers glue to a tissue paper and cover the base with a THIN layer of glue. let it sit for a minute or two to get somewhat dry but still gooey

take it out into some of that fine central texas dirt in your back yard.

throw a handfull on the base, then GENTLY blow off the excess.

Let the thing dry

Then spray the entire thing with a sealant. I personaly use Plaid brand "Clear Acrylic Sealer" from michaels. (found in the spraypaint isle)

let it dry then coat it with sealant again. do this for 3-4 coatings.

Your mini is now Dice proof, but should you tire of the paint job, 3 hours in pinesol and the paint will drop off like a bananna peel.

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Big Nick, the Chainsaw Assassin
[i]Making Bad News Worse since 1980[/i]
[b]What... There's only ONE of you?[/b]

A few years back at the Solarus league at the Riders Hobby in Canton MI,we had a guy whos wife painted his minis for him she did not play either but she came along so she could take credit for her handy work I think her husband felt it was only right that the people should meet the artist and she was good too. He drove a tiger striped panther she painted had a7-5 record I believe ,I had to work hard to beat him with my Jenner JRF-7F his paint job was a lot better than mine though.

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Having more fun than a human being should be allowed to have-Rush Limbaugh
For more from Rush go here: www.rushlimbaugh.com
Still crazy after all these years.
Force of nature : :
[img]http://www.heavymetalpro.com/countries/flag-us.gif[/img]
[img]http://www.heavymetalpro.com/countries/ ... chigan.gif[/img]

I personaly don't do to many that way, but as I teach kiddies to paint at the local shop, I have to sometimes improvise.

For the record,

DYED SAND is a better substitute for dirt

ZapaGap is the best superglue ever made

Adding any level of detail to said drybrushed mini makes it look better

and the best source for BULK hex bases is Hetzerdog (a tad smaller than the "real" hwxes, but ten for a buck fifty? plus these flight bases work so much better than the BT flight bases)

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Big Nick, the Chainsaw Assassin
[i]Making Bad News Worse since 1980[/i]
[b]What... There's only ONE of you?[/b]

I would advise against using gloss black as a primer. Paint doesn't adhere well to gloss, which sorta defeats the purpose of using primer in the first place....

I've started using Sculpey to make bases. I make them, then use a Dremel cutting tool to make them look more 'rock-like' I've also got some urban terrain bases for a company I'm painting as Urban Assault Specialists. (though making little traffic lights is a pain, and I'm buying some for model railroad use.)

Which is why a beginer would use it for his first attempt at drybrushing. Why else did you think I suggested shelacking it to hell like that.

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Big Nick, the Chainsaw Assassin
[i]Making Bad News Worse since 1980[/i]
[b]What... There's only ONE of you?[/b]

Hey, I've been playin with a friend for the past 4 years. My problem: I'm uber cheap. And funds have a lot to do with it. Plus relying on a friend and all, but still hey, small collection, but enough experience. But hey, I'm gettin there.

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Besides, those of us at the Lair have enough minis to supply several regiments by this point....

Hey it took me almost 6 years before I got my first mini then I won a lawsuit and boom over a hundred and thirty in 3 months now 7 years later they are finaly getting painted

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Having more fun than a human being should be allowed to have-Rush Limbaugh
For more from Rush go here: www.rushlimbaugh.com
Still crazy after all these years.
Force of nature : :
[img]http://www.heavymetalpro.com/countries/flag-us.gif[/img]
[img]http://www.heavymetalpro.com/countries/ ... chigan.gif[/img]

Well, I won't be able to stop by Tues. Work becons on that day at night. But I'll try to swing by eventually.

And if you guys are wonderin, the guy who runs the campaign I take part in(WotD know who) has been using the cardboard cutouts(or as I call them, the "Ghetto Mini's") that come with the box sets, though he's been gettin mini's lately(And he's been playin since the late 80's). He's got a big collection, not sure if he's got the BMR but he's got enough of the rules to come close(though we've been doin house rules, and last time I looked I seem to recall the original BMR on his shelf. Though now that I have the Revised version, I'll now have something heavier than my Comstar FM to bang him upside the head next time he decides to pull off that "torch the forest" )

(And yes, that last part was meant sarcastically.)

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Hehehe...it's amazing how many rules we think are standard are actually 'house rules' as opposed to the real rules.

Piloting skill got a *lot* more important when we started using the real rules, I tell you what.

I wanted to say about some of my earlier posts here, that if I sounded a bit younger than what I am, it's probably due to the fact that during the painting, the ventilation in the room I was painting in was cut off a bit. Just so you know, I do know about how important ventilation is, just that I had to work in our game room, and the ventilation wasn't too good, so I kinda posted when I was a bit high off of the fumes.

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Whoo-hoo!

KIlling brain cells is another wonderful side effect of working with Btech minis!

Try moving a portable fan into the room. THe fumes are always a lot stronger right around your work area.

I'm doing my Ice Hellion minis by undercoating them with a flat medium blue, than drybrushing the heck out of them with light gray and white. It comes out a nice icy blue-white color overall. Then I do a few details, such as black for the cockpit glass, and then I varnish them. Nothing too fancy. I do my bases mostly in white, makes it look like they're walking in the snows of Hector.

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Be careful what you wish for. I might let you have it.

Spiffy!

If you want a snow-like effect, dust the base with talcum or baking soda before the paint dries. Gives it a little more texture.

...after seeing the bases done up by Mr Dave Fanjoy ( www.heavygauss.com ) I am NEVER going to buy another pack of hexbases again! First off...I can make at LEAST twice as many bases for the same money. Secondly...THEY look a hell of a lot better! And as Khan Mallan can attest to...MY paintjobs do NOT suck! (Tim and I swept the painting contests at Foundation 2003)

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FanPro Commando #95
http://www.commandohq.com

You can go a long way with a smile. You can go a lot further with a smile and a Battlemech!

Well, I got the mini finished. Got me some QuickTite super Glue, assembled it, holding together pretty good.(Hey, it stayed together in a car ride in a little pouch). And I forgot to get the hexbase, but I can get one easy(Friend has surplus ones). Soon as I get the hexbase attached, I'll get a picture and post it.(Not here, that website I was given the link to.) Like I said, paint's pretty bad, but I can take some Pine Sol to it when I get some decent paint. Oh, and thx for the pointers.

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WHAT?! A friend with extra hexbases?! In AUstin???!?!?! How is this possible?? The regular Btech group at the Lair has been forced to resin or Sculpey hexes due to a chronic shortage!

Well, close to Austin. This guy bought a few extra hex bases online, just in case.

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