|
Post by nukesnipe on Apr 6, 2014 17:05:13 GMT -5
I got my start in minatures gaming back in the mid-70s with a handful of Martian Metals miniatures for Melee/Wizard. In the interest of my marriage, I've stuck with 15mm exclusively (true 15mm, not "15/18" or "Heroic 15mm"!) and have branched from Fantasy to Science Fiction (DCG's fault!), Zombie Apocalypse, Pulp, Pirates, and Colonials. Looking back at my Martian Metals miniatures, I'm amazed at the improvement in detail with the miniatures available on the market today. On the chance that some of you might be considering investing in 15mm miniatures, I thought I'd post some pictures of some my Zombie Apocalypse miniatures I recently completed. All these miniatures are from Rebel Minis and are true 15mm. The bases are 1"x1/8" wooden disks. If there is interest in these photos, I'll try to get smarter and more efficient and post more as I mount them. I'll also try to get a better camera; I didn't realize the photos were as dark as they are. I hope you enjoy them! EDIT: My 17 year old technical adviser has taught me how to properly attach photos to forum posts, so I've replaced the attached Word documents with embedded photos. Survivors Survivors Gangers Gangers CAUTION: Some of the Zombie miniatures might not be appropriate for the young ones.
|
|
|
Post by mister frau blucher on Apr 10, 2014 9:49:51 GMT -5
Hey these are great! Much better paint jobs than on my 25mm hosers! My washes never come out well so I kinda stopped. Recently I started using Minwax Polyshades, which leaves decent shadows but alsio ecxellent protection, and then use Testor's Dull Coat over it.
I have a shipment going to you soon, I have been 12 hours a day at work - sorry!
I'd love to see some of your Martian Metals Fantasy Trip dudes...
Bret
|
|
|
Post by nukesnipe on Apr 10, 2014 13:07:39 GMT -5
Bret,
Thanks for the kind words.
I'm in the process of mounting all of my previously painted miniatures. I'll gladly post some photos, but remember my Martian Metals miniatures were all painted in the late 70s/early '80s (when I was in my late teens) using enamel paints, and frankly aren't as good as my more recent work. I never lacquered them, so some of they show their age, especially the ones that got the most use.
Nowadays, I wash and prime the miniatures before painting them. I use thinned acrylics, stupidly small brushes, a lighted magnifying light, and a mangnifying visor - all stuff I only dreamed of having back then. Oh, and patience; I have a lot more of that than I did back then.
As for the washing, I've tried a bunch of techniques over the years: thinned black paint at first, then REALLY thinned out India Ink. I still use the India Ink for my 1/6000 scale ship miniatures, but have recently shifted to The Army Painter's Quickshade Ink Wash, specifically their Strong Tone, for my 15mm miniatures. The Quickshade is acutally a lacquer and one has to be really careful to get all of the excess off or the miniatures get really dark (I overdid the Ganger Chick in they yellow pants and the Lunging Blonde Survivor), really quickly. I admit, it's a bit nerve wracking to spend so much time painting a miniature only to smother it in brown goop, but it dries clear, and the Dullcote takes the shine off perfectly. All of the miniatures pictured were treated that way.
One thing about the Quickshades: they are not cheap. 30 USD per can, but it goes a long way.
|
|
|
Post by mister frau blucher on Apr 10, 2014 16:01:16 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by nukesnipe on Apr 11, 2014 10:37:41 GMT -5
I brush it on, but for all practical purposes, I dip them, given how much with which I drown them. Once' it's on, I leave it for ~60 seconds, then take off as much as I can. I then let them sit for a day or two before mounting them on their bases. Another day to let the epoxy I use to mount them dry, then I paint the bases with an appropriate color (Earth Brown, for instance) and dump the flocking onto the bases while the paint is still wet. Another day to let the paint dry, then I hit them with the Dullcote, which takes the gloss of the Quickshade away and further "glues" down the flocking onto the bases. Since I'm usually only doing all of this on the weekends, the process takes the better part of a month as I first clean up the castings with a file (one day), then wash them with soap and hot water (another day to dry) before I prime them (yet another day of drying!) for painting. Depending on the miniauture, it takes me about an hour to paint a 15mm miniature. Since I usually process them in groups of 20 (I'm working with Rebel Minis right now, and that's the standard pack size), it takes about a weekend to paint them once I get started, provided I'm acutally afforded the time. I've just mounted some Snakemen I purchased from Lone Gunman Games' Army of Arcana 15mm line a couple of years ago (I'd never needed Snakemen until DCG came along!), but have yet to flock their bases. I'm also in the process of mounting some Black Raven Foundary Lizardmen I purchased from Old Glory 15s. The Lizardmen are technically 15/18mm, but I can handle Lizardmen that are somewhat taller than my true 15mm humans. I bought them before I discovered Splintered Light Miniatures and realized that folks were still making true 15mm. I'm also working on a Reaper Miniatures Shadow Dragon, sculpted by Sandra Garrity, as one can only paint so many zombies before seeking psychiatric help. I plan on using a 7-hex dragon from Crown of Kings as a template to cut a wood base for it. Should be a good fit.
|
|
|
Post by nukesnipe on Apr 23, 2014 20:30:57 GMT -5
So, how, exactly, does one serve crow? Some short time ago, I wrote, with much snobbery: In the interest of my marriage, I've stuck with 15mm exclusively (true 15mm, not "15/18" or "Heroic 15mm"!) Well, a funny thing happened as I was basing my Martian Metals miniatures. I stumbled across Copplestone Castings and their "15mm" Fantasy line. They are very up front and state they model their 15mm miniatures as 1/100 scale, with is actually 18mm. They clearly state a 6-ft man is 18mm to the top of the head. Damnit! They have the most amazing miniatures; one of their female barbarians is simply breath taking. So I'm thinking, what's 20% (3mm is 20% of 15mm) between friends? The photos I've seen look to be of the same "bulk" as the Black Raven Foundry miniatures I have, which makes them just too big for my taste when compared to my Martian Metals and Splintered Light. But.... That female barbarian is to die for. And, Barbarians are supposed to be tall, right? And they only look as "bulky" as BRF's miniatures. They might not actually be as bulky.... So, I took a ruler and started measuring some of my miniatures. Martian Metals: 15mm head to toe. Ditto Chariot. Splintered Light? 18mm. Huh? But David McBride at Splintered Light told me his were "true" 15mm! I mean, I've spent hundreds of dollars on SLM stuff! They can't be 18mm! They're not nearly as bulky as BRF. So, thinking to show that silly ruler, I compared a SLM miniature with a BRF miniature. Told you! The BRF miniature is much bigger than the SLM miniature! Ha! Yeah, but they're the same height, you dimwit. The BRF miniature is just bulkier. A lot bulkier. Oh. I hate getting smacked by a ruler. Reminds me of Mrs. Ing and the 4th Grade. They actually had a chair in the Office with my name on it. So that got me to checking the Rebel Minis zombies I've been painting.... Yep; 18mm. I've been living a lie for the past 6 or 7 years. O, the shame! Lest anyone mistake the tongue-in-cheek nature of this posting, David McBride's SLM products are outstanding and I will definitely continue to add his castings to my collection. They are advertised as "15/18mm" and are, in fact, 15mm feet to eyes, which is one of the accepted "definitions" of "15mm". I've only one final thing to say. 15/18mm Rules!
|
|
|
Post by mister frau blucher on May 1, 2014 19:27:50 GMT -5
Scott,
That is hilarious!
The good news is...maybe that Copplestone female barbarian would not look out of place with the rest of your guys, if the SLM guys had you fooled, eh?
Bret
|
|
|
Post by nukesnipe on May 1, 2014 21:54:44 GMT -5
We'll find out here pretty soon, I hope. After some email exchanges with Mark Copplestone and David McBride, I ordered a set of Barbarians and a set of Northlanders. David had a side-by-side comparison of some Copplestone Barbarians and his Saxons. He stated that the Barbarians were a little bulkier, but it was hard to see it in the photos. They will definitely dwarf my Martian Metals, but I'll have to deal with it.
I'll try to post some more photos this weekend. I've finished basing my Black Raven Foundry Lizardmen, Armies of Arcana Snakemen, and my Martian Metals Adventurers, Elves, Dwarfs, Halflings, Desertmen, Knights and Wizards. I'm in the process of basing my Martian Metals Orcs, Goblins, and Hobgoblins. I've put zombie painting on hold until I base everything I already have painted.
|
|
|
Post by nukesnipe on May 3, 2014 21:13:42 GMT -5
I have a blog! Who would have thunk it? In any event, I'll be posting photos of my miniatures at my blog Distractions in Miniature. I've just finished uploading a bunch of photos on my Miniatures page. This way, I don't clobber Bret's website. ;-) Come take a look, but don't laugh! It's very much a work in progress, and is my first foray into social media....
|
|
|
Post by ednote on May 4, 2014 0:47:00 GMT -5
Scott, you've done well with your blog and your painting is excellent. I look forward to seeing more.
Regards, Ed
|
|
|
Post by nukesnipe on May 4, 2014 8:33:53 GMT -5
Scott, you've done well with your blog and your painting is excellent. I look forward to seeing more. Regards, Ed Ed, Thanks for the kind words. I'm pretty sure you have the "distinction" of being my first viewer. That and $4.95 will get you a small latte at Starbucks....
|
|
|
Post by nukesnipe on May 16, 2014 16:25:17 GMT -5
Just updated my blog with some photos of my Martian Metals Orcs, Goblins and Hobgoblins. Oh, and I received my Copplestone Castings Barbarian Heroes and Northlander Characters. Wow. Just as Mark Copplestone advertised, they are about 19mm tall for the men (that's about 6'4" in 18mm scale) and 18mm (6 foot) for the women. And, they are not all that bulky. Much happiness was had.
|
|
|
Post by nukesnipe on May 23, 2014 21:18:52 GMT -5
Just updated my blog with some pictures of my Martian Metals skeletons and gargoyles.
|
|
|
Post by ednote on May 24, 2014 1:13:26 GMT -5
Scott, Regarding 15mm vs 18mm, let me add some confusion to the issue. Traditionally 15mm figures aren't 15mm from the ground to the tops of the figures heads, they are 15mm from the ground to the eyes of a standing figure. Back in years past this sort of thing was thrashed out in the hobby press of historical miniatures gaming along with attending charts etc... One reason for this was the headgear in certain eras, e.g. Napoleonic shakos. The same rule applied to 25mm figs, etc. It was assumed that the height from ground to a man's eyes was 5'4", so that actual scale of 25mm figures was about 64:1, adjusted to about 65:1 since 25mm represented 64 inches x 25.4mm/in.
So if you 15/18mm figs are 15mm from the ground to the eyes of a standing man, they are "true 15s".
Regards, Ed
|
|
|
Post by nukesnipe on May 24, 2014 9:55:36 GMT -5
Ed, Thanks for the historical clarification, and for the education on what the heck a "shako" is! I've never been much interested in the land side of the Napoleonic period and never knew what they called the silly hats. I think I may have mentioned the height of eye versus top of head thing at some point. Not sure where I heard it from or in what context. I've sort of reached the point of where I'm not as obsessed with the whole 15mm/18mm thing so long as the miniatures look good on the table together. If my math is correct, 3mm equals 1ft in 18mm which makes it easier to judge the relative "height" of a miniature. Once I'm satisfied with the relative height of a miniature, I move on to what's become important to me: the miniature's bulk. Some, like Khurasan Miniature's Xenobiologist are so delicate they look like they'll break if you look at the crossly, while others have pants legs almost as big around as her torso. In case anyone is wondering, I DID NOT paint that miniature. I'll give her my best effort when I get to painting her, but I hold no false hopes. If only.... It gets very confusing, especially when so few stores stock 15mm miniatures, and never the ones you are looking for. Internet photos can only do so much. One of the reasons I started my blog was to provide comparative photos of various products.
|
|