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Post by wilmanric on Dec 11, 2013 2:54:55 GMT
There's a great post here about a really high-quality tealight hack for the Bones Flaming Sphere. The crafter makes a cool switch and swaps out the batteries. I didn't want to go to that much trouble... I figured that there was a way to hide a flat battery in a normal 25mm base. I was right. Here's a schematic of what I did -- By all means, if that's not clear, send me a message. Here's a picture of the mini with no battery in the base. You put the battery IN to turn it on. I haven't painted it yet. That's flexible modeling paste on the bottom to hide the base and the wire. Here's a peek under the hood -- Note: That's a CR2016 battery. 3V, but it's really thin... Here it is lit --
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Post by wilmanric on Dec 10, 2013 14:22:17 GMT
If spray-painting is an issue, artist's Gesso works very well as a primer. It brushes on, though, so more labor intensive. It is available in White, Gray, and Black. If you want to paint fast, and easy, with Good Enough to Game With (GEtGW) standard, do a simple block painting, followed by The Dip/Magic Wash. Fast, easy, and looks good at arm's length. Also minimizes painting time, but with acceptable results. I paint armies, usually 40+ figures per group, using simple block painting, followed by The Dip/Magic Wash; my average 'brush on figure' time, is around 5 minutes/figure, total. If you have armies to paint, and you want to game with them in this lifetime, either quit your day job, or speed paint... Cheers! I would LOVE to see a tutorial on your "block painting" technique. I am getting seriously bogged down with the painting of all my Bones. Any wisdom you could share would be appreciated.
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Post by wilmanric on Dec 10, 2013 14:08:15 GMT
tauster, those flat, pasta guys with the acorn eyes almost look like you could put a mini on them? The mini/character could catch a ride like a Disc of Tzeench? Is that the idea?
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Post by wilmanric on Dec 9, 2013 14:54:52 GMT
I'm looking forward to seeing what you create!
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Post by wilmanric on Dec 9, 2013 1:12:41 GMT
I took a page out of onethatwas 's book and I switched to hexagons. (Big thanks to him!) I like the size and the feel of them, but man, they are hard to cut perfectly. They "fit" together, but more often than not, there's a gap. Oh well. Maybe that's a dungeon hazard! Here is my first (small) set - I plan to texturize them with the DAP acrylic caulk I bought. I will probably make a few more strategic pieces before starting that project. I do have a bunch more tiles to make...
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Post by wilmanric on Dec 7, 2013 19:35:03 GMT
So here he is finished. Included is the "Bodak Skulk" and a Pathfinder mini for scale. Here's a closeup. I think he turned out well.
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Post by wilmanric on Dec 7, 2013 19:32:39 GMT
So, hope that helps and Inspires Ok. Wow. So cool. I'm re-evaluating my project now, before I run out of cardboard!! Thank you for the inspiration! So, here's a proof of concept. Might be too small. 3" on a side. I really like the scale of 5" on a side; just a bit tougher to make a template (the hex will be 10" wide!!) I "carved" some runes in the floor with a toothpick. I just smooshed the DAP into the cracks around the edges and smeared it around. It washes up pretty quickly being latex.
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Post by wilmanric on Dec 7, 2013 17:37:28 GMT
It depends on how thick you laid it down. 2 hours before painting but, it'll be a bit longer before you can "bang it around". I'll probably give it at least 12 hours... Thanks!
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Post by wilmanric on Dec 7, 2013 17:35:51 GMT
I tend to strip a lot of the old metal/pewter/lead figures for Battletech that I buy off of ebay. I use Pine-sol and let them soak in a jar (I use a mason jar) for about 24 - 48 hours. After that use luke warm water and an old toothbrush, the paint slides right off. Yep. I have a big pickle jar aaaaand I use the old PineSol bottle as the "diving bell." I punched a few holes in it. I drop the minis in the old bottle and it sinks to the bottom of the big pickle jar. When I want the minis back, I just pull the bottle out. The PineSol bottle, of course, won't dissolve in PineSol.
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Post by wilmanric on Dec 7, 2013 16:29:26 GMT
Really nice work on the bookcases and potion bottles. Top notch!
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Post by wilmanric on Dec 7, 2013 16:18:46 GMT
So, before I shift gears into hexagon mode, I do have a proof of concept going here. I would integrate this with the cool 2.5D walls in the hex tiles, for more texture. I bought some cheap <$2 per tube acrylic caulk. Not silicone. I've applied it as the "walls" on some tiles. I smoothed it a bit with a piece of plastic. I don't know how long it will take to cure/dry, or how durable it will be. EDIT: it says 2 hours to dry before painting. If it works, it's a lot cheaper than flexible modeling paste. We shall see.
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Post by wilmanric on Dec 7, 2013 16:13:57 GMT
So, hope that helps and Inspires Ok. Wow. So cool. I'm re-evaluating my project now, before I run out of cardboard!! Thank you for the inspiration!
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Post by wilmanric on Dec 7, 2013 16:07:55 GMT
Very nice. Thanks for sharing. Cool ideas.
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Post by wilmanric on Dec 6, 2013 18:12:35 GMT
Its funny, I was worried that they would end up finding the kobold king right away and skip most of the stuff. But it looks like they are going to accidentally go into every room lol. That's called serendipity!
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Post by wilmanric on Dec 6, 2013 18:11:29 GMT
Those purple tipped fungus things are EXCELLENT! Well done! I'm stealing that for sure!
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Post by wilmanric on Dec 6, 2013 18:10:29 GMT
Great looking results so far. Only thing I'd worry about is how much water to use, you don't want your cardboard warping! With the TP, you shouldn't have to worry about spray paint melting the foam as well! Yeah. I've got some warping this morning. Not happy. May be changing gears a bit...
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Post by wilmanric on Dec 6, 2013 3:50:37 GMT
OK, the project is progressing-- Here's a "tool" that I made so I can quickly measure the gaps for the hallways. I made a 2" and 1" space. You can place the gap across the gridlines and draw little tick marks. Then you can freehand the walls on the tile. I also made a 4" rule with a 1/4" tick mark for quick use. Here are a few tiles drawn in -- I want to try a proof of concept before I finish the whole thing. No sense in wasting time. I used strips of black foam for the walls. They are flexible and irregularly shaped. It's kind of an eggcarton foam that I get from work (electronics packaging.) Now I've covered the foam and tiles with TP using a glue/water mix. About 50/50. Gonna let it dry. Then I will cut out the tiles and spray paint them black. We'll see how it goes!
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Post by wilmanric on Dec 5, 2013 23:32:04 GMT
Its all metal minis so I don't need to worry about the plastic. Unless it eats the metal as well. I've used PineSol for days with metal minis. I scrub and re-soak. I also bought some metal "picks" at Harbor Freight to get into the cracks and scrape out paint. They weren't too expensive.
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Post by wilmanric on Dec 5, 2013 23:14:01 GMT
Real work has kept me real busy the last month or so but I have been tinkering with the printer as time allows. I have a few days off coming up and will create some molds and get onto casting the book cases in production. I just need to print off another one or two sets and get them cleaned up before making the mold. I have been working on other dungeon accessories (including doors, beds, tables, fountains, and other items) and will post updates in the near future on these as well. Thanks for the interest! Looking forward to this!
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Post by wilmanric on Dec 5, 2013 23:12:21 GMT
Sorry for double post. My phone browser doesn't let me update posts as far as I know. In anycase, I've decided to try making a cavern system with hexagon tiles. So far I have enough tiles to make a full cluster (7 tiles lined up together) and a generalized plan to piece them together, as well as plans to make more. A full set (accounting for most tile arrays...I think I may be missing a small few exit combos, but I can live with that.) In the end I should have 37 tiles and the ability to make one bad ass cavern complex. I really like this idea.
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