![]() The goal is to remove whatever remnants of the sprue are still attached, which you can easily do with a hobby knife and a flexible sanding pad - sort of like an emory board, but for plastic models. Once you have all the pieces needed to assemble a given miniature trimmed from the sprue, you need to clean those pieces off. Never twist pieces free from the sprue, as you can severely damage them. Repeat for every point of connection between the model and the sprue to free the piece entirely. Then, gently pull the two halves together until the piece comes free. To use sprue nippers correctly, carefully place the nippers with the flat edge touching the surface of the miniature you’d like to clip from the sprue. Unlike scissors, the edges of these blades should never overlap - if they do, you’re simply squeezing them too hard. Sprue nippers look a bit like scissors, but with one flat side and one angled side. To do that, you’ll need a pair of cutting pliers called sprue nippers. Plastic minis will likely come on a sprue - the plastic frame that holds them safely inside the box for shipment. Stick with plastic miniatures your first time out. Both of these materials require different tools to assemble, which won’t be covered at all in this guide. When selecting miniatures that you do need to put together, I’d recommend avoiding metal and resin miniatures out of the gate. Note that even if you aren’t assembling your miniatures, you’ll still need a simple self-healing cutting mat to protect your work surface. Some even come primed and ready to paint right out of the box. WizKids also offers a huge selection of preassembled miniatures, including a wide variety of miniatures custom-made for D&D. Other options include The Witcher and the Cyberpunk Red lines from Monster Fight Club, as well as the huge new range of plastic miniatures for Catalyst Game Labs’ BattleTech. Plenty of miniatures are sold preassembled these days - especially ones that come with hobby board games. While choosing your first small passion project, consider if you’d like to spend any time at all assembling those miniatures before you paint them - because you don’t actually need to. How to assemble your miniatures No assembly required Just a handful of minis is enough to get you where you’re going, so start small and build from there. Piling up too much plastic on your desk before you even have the basics under your belt is a surefire way to get discouraged. ![]() Wherever your interests lie, start with a game or a universe you really enjoy and that bit of passion you feel in your gut will help to get you across the finish line with your first batch of painted minis.īut don’t start off by plopping down hundreds or thousands of dollars on a big army for Warhammer 40,000, or any other large-scale miniatures wargame for that matter. Or maybe you’re curious about more freeform miniatures skirmish games, like Star Wars: Legion, Marvel Crisis Protocol, Necromunda, or Warhammer 40,000 Kill Team. Maybe you’re more into strategy games, like Scythe or Twilight Imperium: Fourth Edition. Maybe you’re really into dungeon-crawling board games like HeroQuest, Zombicide, Gloomhaven, or Descent: Legends of the Dark. My recommendation is to start with one of your favorite games or subjects. There are so many different kinds of miniatures on the market that just narrowing things down to a handful of choices can be difficult work. Below you’ll find my personal recommendations, not just of the paints and other tools you’ll want to buy, but a handful of carefully curated teachers and artists I’ve come to trust over the last seven years of exploring. In this guide, my goal is to demystify those first few steps beginning painters need to take. But it can be daunting to build up the skills and tools you need to get started. Painting miniatures is an incredibly relaxing and rewarding hobby, one that can bring a bit of meditative joy to your free time while also adding beautiful bits to your favorite board games and role-playing games. Read his photo essay from the Golden Demon awards. ![]() In 2023, Games Workshop included his work in a roundup of the hobby’s top painters. He’s served as a judge for GAMA’s Origins Awards. After spending time as a writer and reporter, he became Polygon’s tabletop editor in 2021. Charlie Hall is a journalist, photographer, and miniature painter with 10 years’ experience working at Polygon.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |