Painting Prep Work
Before you start painting your newly purchased miniatures, there is some basic prep work that you will need to do to get them ready to receive the paint.
The first and perhaps most important piece of prep work is removing unwanted flash or mold markings. Flash is extra metal that typically appears between the arms or legs of your figure where the metal leaked into the seams of the mold or at the mold release points. Mold markings are similar and appear as a slightly raised or uneven surface where the two halves of the mold come together.
Flash can often be worked or pulled off with your fingers, but don't exert too much pressure or you'll risk breaking or bending the figure. A sharp Exacto razor knife is a good tool to cut away flash or mold lines. You can use the back side of the blade to scrape the surface flat without cutting into the detail. But be careful, a sharp knife can deliver a nasty slice or puncture wound. You can also use small round (i.e. "rat-tail) or flat files to file away extra metal.
Whether you use knives or files, be careful to do this away from children and to collect the lead flash and filings for disposal. You don't want anyone to ingest the lead filings or dust, which can be especially harmful to children.
Miniatures are typically coated with a mold-release agent during the manufacturing process to make it easier to remove them from the mold when done. This process can leave a light film on your miniatures, which can affect how well your paint adheres to the metal. Although not absolutely necessary, many gamers give their minis a good soak in warm water with ordinary dish soap or a mild cleaner (e.g. Pinesol). Don't try to rub or brush the figures; you might end up bending an arm or breaking off a weapon if you're too rough with them. Rinse them well and let them air dry.
Since miniatures are hard to handle when painting, and you don't want to touch the wet paint while working on the figure, the next step is to temporarily base your figure. Here are several methods:
Pick up a package of tongue depressors or wooden craft or popsicle sticks. Use a small dot of white glue (or hot glue or rubber cement) under one-half of the base to attach several miniatures to the stick, making sure to leave plenty of room to access all sides of each miniature with a paint brush. Let dry. Now you can handle the painting stick and paint each of the attached figures without having to touch them. When done painting, carefully remove each miniature from the painting stick with the edge of your Exacto knife or by carefully rocking the miniature back and forth. The trick is to use just the right amount of white glue (i.e., make sure to leave approximately 1/2 of the base unattached). And by all means, don't use a permanent glue or you'll never be able to remove the figure.
Another alternative is to purchase nails with wide, flat heads (e.g. roofing nails, flashing nails, etc.) You then glue your miniature one per nail head. You can stick the nail heads into a thick sheet of styrofoam or drill holes in a piece of wood to receive the nails, which allows you to transport and store a number of "in progress" figures quite easily. When painting, you can hold the nail between your fingers and twist it to gain 360% access to the figure with your brush.
Chuck Duggie suggests using clothes pins, the type with the metal spring. Cut
notches in the sides of the jaws to hold the figure base securely. The figure can be easily handled and, when you're not painting, you can hang the clothspin over the edge of a high sided box for storage.
Riders pose a particular problem since they lack a stable base to attach to a painting stand. Here are a variety of possible solutions, using materials such as Leggo blocks, dowel rods, chopsticks, and paper clips.
Some painters use scaps of cardboard or the plastic twist-tops off soda bottles as temporary painting bases.
Whatever your preference, the key is that you do not have to touch the painted surfaces of your miniature while painting. Depending on what you're painting (e.g. psiloi at 2 figures per 20mm deep base rather than heavy foot at 4 figures per 15mm deep base), you may find that you don't really need painting sticks, but can go ahead and permanently glue your miniatures to their bases. The bases then serve as your painting stick.
Another important step is priming your miniatures. Priming with a base coat of paint makes it easier for subsequent coats to adhere. Priming can be done before or after you attach your miniatures to painting sticks or stands. Spray priming is often the easiest way to quickly and easily prepare your minis. Gaming companies such as Wargames Workshop and the Armoury sell spray primers in a variety of colors. You can also buy spray paints less expensively from the hardware or home improvement store. Automotive primers are particularly good since they are specially formulated to adhere to metal.
When spraying on a primer, start by aiming the spray to the right or left of the miniature(s) and then moving the spray across them. Don't leave your spray pointed directly at the miniature long enough for the paint to bubble or run. You don't want to put so much paint on that it obscures the detail. It is better to give your miniatures several very light coats of primer rather than one heavy coat. If the paint is too thick or the coat is too heavy, try pulling the spray can back a little bit farther from the miniatures. If using a spray primer, be sure to work in a well ventilated area and use a painter's mask to avoid inhaling paint.
The most popular colors for priming are white, black and grey. White primer is popular with painters who like bright colors since the white base reflects rather than absorbing light. Dark primers are popular with painters who like to emphasize shadows, folds, or crevices on a figure. A black primer will disguise any area you missed with the paint brush as shadow. Grey represents a happy (or un-happy depending on your perspective) medium. Grey is a neutral color and should not alter (i.e. brighten or darken) the appearance of the paint applied over it, unless it is translucent like a wash.
Some painters will select primers in colors suited to the skin tone or typical clothing color of their army. This lends itself to a quick-painting technique in which you dry-brush over the primer color to highlight only and then paint in detail. For example, you might find a "wicker" color primer that approximates Middle-Eastern flesh tones. Prime your Early Libyans in wicker, highlight by dry-brushing, and then paint the spear, loin-cloth, and headdress in appropriate colors.
Once you've got your figures cleaned-up, primed and temporarily based, you're ready to start painting.
Gamer Feedback and Suggestions
Christopher Fielitz: I found a quick and dirty method of priming minitures where the circumstances are such that you can't use your trusty can of spray primer. I found that using nail polish works ok. Use the nasty smelling acetone-based stuff. Mount your figures onto a painting base. Then after a good shaking, brushing it on quickly. Brushing it on quickly as soon as you dip the applicator brush into the bottle will leave a very thin coat that does not seem to obscure the detail. I used my wife's funky gunmetal-colored polish (make sure you use a color that your partner does not mind parting with!). My acrylic-based paints seem to go on well and there was no need to put a second coat down. As a bonus, all of my armored-clad troops did not need to have another coat of metallic paint. I have only used this method on a few units, but so far the paint has not chipped off of them.
John Desmond : To start, before trimming the flash from your new figures, put some adhesive tape (even a Band-Aid (TM)) around the forefinger, middle finger, and thumb of your non-dominant hand, and the third finger of your dominant hand - cuts down on cuts. Guard-Tex Safety Tape (produced by General Bandages, Inc, 8300 Lehigh Ave, Morton Grove, Ill, 60053-0909), is very good stuf - unfortunately they only sell it in industrial-size boxes - I got my supply as a sample. Drop them a line and maybe they'll package it in single rolls for the hobby-shop market.
When trimming flash, put figures needing repair aside, and repair
or reinforce before priming. Remember that it's always easier to
deal with a weak place before it breaks off completely.
After I trim off the flash, I sand the bottoms of the figure bases
level, using 260 or 320 grit wet sandpaper in a bucket of water. I try to do this under water as much as possible - I don't want to breath lead dust - and dispose of the result in an industrial-strength sewer system. )
When you're finished trimming flash and sanding bottoms of the
figures' bases smooth, wash the figures in Spic-n-Span or other
heavy-duty detergent - removes mold-release stuf, oil from your
hands, and loose bits of lead. Don't use dishwashing detergents or soap for washing them - the stuf that keeps milady's hands soft probably isn't good for
keeping paint on.
After washing, I like to soak the figures, overnight, in a mixture
of 1 part white vinegar to 4 or 5 parts water - the acid seems to
'etch' the metal slightly - makes the metal take paint better.
After the figures are washed, soaked, and rinsed, handle them as
little as possible. Using tweezers keeps the oil on your skin
from unsticking the paint.
John McLennan: I use VHT flat black hi-temp engine enamel to undercoat my figures. After trimming and preparing (some great ideas there onsite already!), I lay all the figures to be painted (up to 100 or so!) on a piece or two of newsprint. I then carefully spray one side of the figures, ensuring I get all the undercuts etc. I find two passes from 4 or 5 different angles is
enough to get all the hard stuff. Then after 1-4 hours (depending upon local
humidity) I turn 'em over and finish the job.
VHT seems to go on real thick, but dries quickly and covers well, with
little obscuring of detail. It took many years to find a good reliable spray
to do the job. It also dries very hard. Not that surprising when you think
what it is designed for. Acrylics such as Polly S (my personal favourites),
Citadel, etc cover well on the finished undercoat. **WARNING** Even though
it is called flat black, it normally finishes with a satin sheen, perfect
for ensuring you get all the area covered. Plus with a black undercoat you
are already shaded!
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Last Updated: Jan. 25, 2000
Comments, questions and additions welcome. Send them to Chris Brantley at IamFanaticus@gmail.com.