Top-notch kids of this caliber usually get to hang out with the staff after hours, and play in some of our private games.
:Slowly backs away:
Your reaction is understandable, but here's a shocker. Gamers aren't always social recluses with overt sexual perversions. They DO occur, but when I talk about after-hours games, it's usually people hand-picked because they either work there, or are particularly awesome people. It's like a premium event. It's also fun to watch people tap on the glass while we point at the closed sign.
Buge, in regards to your painting comments, I could go into my full lecture on 'how to paint a fig', but I'd need to start taking some photos and that's pretty much an entire seperate thread chock full of juicy content. So here is a highly condensed version.
Miniatures and you.
You will require:
- A miniature.
- A selection of paint.
- A little jar with water.
- A hobby knife/exacto knife.
- Some superglue.
- Some primer (spray can)
- Paint brushes (I would recommend a Round 0, 1, and 2/0) You can get these fairly cheap at a hobby lobby.)
- The ability to accept this is a learning process and you cannot simply start at 'awesome'.
- Some place to work where your parents/girlfriend/subconscious will not execute you if you spill a chemical or cut your working surface
In addition, I recommend:
- Cheap plastic safety glasses (I had a close call with an exacto. I can take a cut on my finger. I cannot take a cut to my eye.)
- Superglue Accelerant (Zap-a-gap, Zip kicker, etc. BE CAREFUL. This stuff causes a chemical reaction that puts out a fair amount of heat. Superglue on hand + accelerant = mild burning sensation.)
Now, you newbies or non-gamers are going to say 'But that stuff all costs money!'. Well, if the idea of spending money to make your stuff look nice is out of the question, then by all mean play with your bare metals and just read the parts on assembly, okay? Some gamers may casually chide you for playing unpainted, but seriously, it should not be an issue unless you want to jump into certain kinds of tournaments for your game. Seriously, if it's not fun, focus on what is fun. Play the game! Anyway, moving on..
Okay. So you've got some basic supplies. Let's say you got a
miniature that is newbie friendly, with a fun russian theme. But when you have it, it will be in various pieces. Play with the pieces in your hands, see how they fit together. Not every company gives you instructions on how a model goes together, so you might have to work off refrence pictures. But I know how this one works. You get an upper torso, lower torso, left arm, right arm, head, legs, and the boiler on the back. You'll notice when you fit it together, the bulky upper body hangs over the legs, around the arms, and would be hard for a paint brush to get in there. So, easy solution. Do this model in two parts. Glue those legs to the base, and put together the upper part seperately. Consider your glue accelerant. It bonds it NOW but the bond is weaker. If you've got flash on your model (this is excess metal that sticks out in either strands, or kind of thin and papery on parts of the model), use your knife to trim it off. If you want perfection, get a set of hobby files to clean up the edges. Otherwise, forget it, it will look okay on the table.
Okay, you got it together. Great. Get a spare cardboard box, or some newspaper. Bring your figure and that can of primer along. Did you buy the fancy stuff at the shop? Man, you paid like $8 for that didn't you? The stuff they have over at the hardware/auto store for $3 is just as good. I personally recommend Krylon or Rustoleum. You can even spend a couple bucks on a can-gun. It's a pistol grip for your spray cans. For beginners, make SURE you have black or dark grey primer. This will become obvious later. Shake up your can as the instructions on it say to do. Hold the can about 8 to 10 inches from your model, and spray in gentle side to side motions, sweeping from top to bottom over the legs you glued to a base, and the upper half you've got sitting there. Let that stuff dry for about ten minutes. If it doesn't have a liquidy shine at this point, you should be able to gently flip over the upper torso and spray the other side of it. Let it dry. Did your model turn to fuzz? That is because you live in a high humidity environment. Don't try to do this when there is snow outside either. Primer is about as picky as your mother/girlfriend/subconscious. Don't stress over getting every single angle covered in primer. Make sure you get just enough on there to turn the metal to the color of the primer on the surfaces you will typically see when this thing is on the table. Too much will cake in all the pretty details. Give it a couple hours to dry. Go do something else for a bit.
Okay! Paint time. Hmm, I forgot something. You need a pallet. Get a paper plate, or one of those 99 cent paint trays from hobby lobby. On this model, it's pretty much red, black, steel, and a bit of bronze. Huh? The grass on the base in the picture? No, that's another lecture, stay focused here. What is the dominant color here? Lots and lots of red and steel huh? Well get a little bit of paint on your pallet (or use directly from the jar, depending on brand). Get the tip of your brush wet in your water jar, and get a little paint on the brush. Do not let the paint go more than half way up the bristles. Once it gets into the neck, it will harden, and make your brush stiffer and a step closer to being utterly useless. We'll get into cleaning these things later. Anyway, work your way over the large flat surfaces. Don't worry about getting the cracks and the crevices. You'll notice that the hard to reach spots remain black, like trim lines (See the little hatch on top in the picture?). Tada, you just pulled off DETAIL. If it's not even, you can touch it up with black or whatever you want to do. Continue working on your dominant colors. Rinse your brush a bit in your water jar when switching colors. If it starts looking a little thick or 'caked on', don't fear.. It's your first model, and this is something you can learn to control in due time. If it happens a lot with your paints, put a single drop of dish soap into your paint or your water jar. This helps break up the surface tension of your paint and helps it flow a little better.
Okay, pick a slightly smaller brush, and work on those detail colors like the blacks and bronzes. If you're not afraid to paint those rivets, go for it. Detail is how you make your dudes stand out. If you're new to this, don't go crazy and try and paint some freehand badass art design on the figure. Stick with the basics for now. Do you not like these colors? Well to be honest, I stuck with the picture paint scheme because the colors they use here are fairly forgiving. Yellow, white, light red are difficult colors in most brands because the pigments are just a little different and do not always spread evenly. This model uses darker colors with pigments that spread in an easier manner. Don't worry about shading techniques, highlighting, or inking. This is your first model. If you want to try something 'extra' on your first try, see if you can get an ice blue, or bright orange into the eye sockets to make the thing look alive. Bonus points if you can keep part of the black trim at the edges. If your hand is steady enough for that, you might be able to work up to more advanced tricks soon.
Okay, glue that torso onto the base. I hope you left the peg that sticks up out of the hips, and the hole in the torso bare. If not, grab that knife and scratch a little bit off in there. The metal-to-metal bond will work a bit better.
If you haven't done it yet, you'll notice that sometimes the edges rub off after some handling. Well, touch that back up if it happens. I forgot to tell you to get a cheap can of matte (non-shiny) or gloss (shiny!) sealer. It's another spray can. Once your figure is acceptable, and you want to say 'I'm done', take it back to your spray area, and give him some spraying in a similar manner like you did with primer. If your figure turns black, one of two things happened. 1. You're an idiot and picked up your primer again. 2. Congratulations, you bought a faulty can of Games Workshop Clear Sealer that was actually mislabeled black primer. Sigh discontently, then kill yourself. Well. No. Hold off on that. Take our your rage in a constructive manner, and I'll help you out with that in a minute.
Do you like what you see? Do you see room for improvement? Was this fun? You don't want to say no at this point, you spent a bit of cash to get here. Try the step below.
If you're happy with what you see, congratulations, you just made your first little guy capable of killing other little guys who are over there, usually of another color.
"Max! I screwed up/hate this paint job!"
Well guess what? You can make a magical 'undo' jar.
Get these:
- Castrol Superclean. This is a degreaser agent you can find at a automotive store.
- A glass jar big enough for you to put a figure in. Perferably one you can seal.
- Rubber gloves. The kind you use for kitchen/cleaning work will do.
- Old toothbrush
Castrol Superclean is (or claims to be) a biodegradable degreaser. So it's not too hard to dispose of it right when you're done. It will also try to detach your skin if you let it sink into your skin. so put on the damn gloves.
Fill the jar carefully, about 3/4th up. Drop your figure in. Let it set overnight. This particular setup won't destroy your models plastic bits. The paint will bubble up in spots and loosen. The glue will seperate very slightly from the metallic surfaces, but will usually retain a bond. The longer you let it set, the easier it should be to get this stuff off. When you are ready, pull the fig from the jar (Gloves, dammit! Probably those safety glasses too.) and rinse it under warm water while scrubbing it with the toothbrush. Oh, hey, plug your sink or use some Tupperware. You really don't want to know what it costs to get replacement parts from most companies. That paint should come right off. Some of your parts will too. A little bit may still cling here and there, and especially in tight recesses. Pick some out with your knife if needed, but you may have to live with a little bit here and there. Once this dries, you should be ready to start over.
Edit: Fuck, that wasn't condensed at all.