Cheap Plastic Minis to Fantastic Mini Monsters.
Jan 30, 2014 0:33:22 GMT
DMScotty, indigo777, and 8 more like this
Post by icyfrozen on Jan 30, 2014 0:33:22 GMT
We have all seen those collections of plastic animals or bugs at the dollar store or Michaels and although they can be used quite readily with a simple base or even out of the bag, they can be improved through just a little bit of conversion. I have been picking up a few tubes of these plastic bugs to build up a collection of plastic ants and bees for possible 'hive' based dungeons I've been considering and decided to see if how many of the plastic insectoids I can salvage for other game uses. Waste not, Want not.
First the unaltered bits;
Having done a quick review of what I felt was usable I immediately pegged the bee, ant, fly, ladybug, cockroach, caterpillar, scorpion, dragonfly and centipede. The moth and butterfly are also looking hopeful. The spider sadly is pretty flimsy and a bit unmanageable. The grasshopper I'm not sure I see a use for. Its pretty large even for a giant insect in the 28mm scale. We'll see
The Fly
The Fly conversion was inspired by the Giant Fly from the video game Dungeon Keeper. I wanted a creature that served more as a low-level annoyance then a serious threat. A distraction even.
So the first thing I did was clip the wings off. The back of the fly and the wings was one part of clear plastic which left the Fly's back transparent and it looked awful. Next I glued the hind legs back against the abdominal to create a better 'in flight' look. I cut off and repositioned the head so its in a better position for flight. Coincidentally I googled Flies and used the images as a reference for the pose and coloring. Next stage is a simple flat black base coat to establish a starting point for the paint job. For the wings I wanted a frantic flapping look so I traced the severed wings on clear plastic (the tube), cut them out and hot glued the cut outs to the original wings at angles to give the impression of a fast moving wing. Some points here; First be very careful with the hot glue at this point. The best way to do this it to use the original wing and lower it into place on the cut out so your not touching the piece with the glue. Secondly use the glue sparingly. Too much glue and most plastic will melt or curl and you want the glue to be relatively hidden on the final mini. Reattach the new wings basically to the same place you originally cut them off. Next is a quick paint job, I choose a house fly pattern since I intend to do a specialized 'plague fly' later on. A quick black wash can bring out some texture and give the eyes a slightly darkened look, also trace the existing pattern on the wings to make it stand out a bit more. A few quick highlights and your painting is done. I recommend a touch of bright red on the eyes to compliment the previous wash. I then placed them on a flight stand that I made. If your interested I can detail the intense process of creating these flight stands (its ridiculously easy ) All in all a very simple conversion that is a marked improvement.
More to follow
First the unaltered bits;
Having done a quick review of what I felt was usable I immediately pegged the bee, ant, fly, ladybug, cockroach, caterpillar, scorpion, dragonfly and centipede. The moth and butterfly are also looking hopeful. The spider sadly is pretty flimsy and a bit unmanageable. The grasshopper I'm not sure I see a use for. Its pretty large even for a giant insect in the 28mm scale. We'll see
The Fly
The Fly conversion was inspired by the Giant Fly from the video game Dungeon Keeper. I wanted a creature that served more as a low-level annoyance then a serious threat. A distraction even.
So the first thing I did was clip the wings off. The back of the fly and the wings was one part of clear plastic which left the Fly's back transparent and it looked awful. Next I glued the hind legs back against the abdominal to create a better 'in flight' look. I cut off and repositioned the head so its in a better position for flight. Coincidentally I googled Flies and used the images as a reference for the pose and coloring. Next stage is a simple flat black base coat to establish a starting point for the paint job. For the wings I wanted a frantic flapping look so I traced the severed wings on clear plastic (the tube), cut them out and hot glued the cut outs to the original wings at angles to give the impression of a fast moving wing. Some points here; First be very careful with the hot glue at this point. The best way to do this it to use the original wing and lower it into place on the cut out so your not touching the piece with the glue. Secondly use the glue sparingly. Too much glue and most plastic will melt or curl and you want the glue to be relatively hidden on the final mini. Reattach the new wings basically to the same place you originally cut them off. Next is a quick paint job, I choose a house fly pattern since I intend to do a specialized 'plague fly' later on. A quick black wash can bring out some texture and give the eyes a slightly darkened look, also trace the existing pattern on the wings to make it stand out a bit more. A few quick highlights and your painting is done. I recommend a touch of bright red on the eyes to compliment the previous wash. I then placed them on a flight stand that I made. If your interested I can detail the intense process of creating these flight stands (its ridiculously easy ) All in all a very simple conversion that is a marked improvement.
More to follow