One 72nd Fantasy Figures

Thursday, March 28, 2013

1/72 Giant Spiders Construction

I wanted a set of giant spiders to use as nuisance monsters. I was not wanting really giant bugs, but for my first set some thing about the same size as my giant rats and bats. I checked a lot of miniature sites and just could not find a set of spiders that would work as 1/72 nuisance monsters. Every set I found was just way too big.

I was about to give up and move on when I noticed some charms in the bead section of a craft store, and I wondered if the internet had any spider charms that I might use. I went to eBay and searched for pewter spider charms and I found these little fellows.

(Click on the image for a larger version)

I thought a quick snip to remove the loop on its back side and I would have my spiders. I am still hoping to find a use for the spider webs. After searching for a while to find the best price I ordered 12 of the little guys. The charms survived the surgery from take them from jewelry to miniature with no complications.

(Click on the image for a larger version)

The next step was to glue some cork to the washer with PVA/white glue. I allowed the glue to dry and then shape it into a piece of rock with an razor blade knife.

(Click on the image for a larger version)

I took a pair of pliers and adjusted the spiders arms to give the models some variety and then glued the spiders to the cork. The last touch was to add some sand to the bare spots on the washers and I was done.

(Click on the image for a larger version)

After an about face you get the view from the figures from the other side. I think that adjusting the arms and placing them in different locations on their respective boulders has taken one figure and given it a lot of variety.

(Click on the image for a larger version)

They are now ready to prime and paint. I will be showing pictures of the completed colony/swarm/cluster/nest and individual spiders in my next post. Questions and comments are always welcome. Thanks for reading...

Sunday, February 10, 2013

1/72 Giant Bats Construction

I purchased a Splintered Light Miniature's Bat Swarm. A bat swarm comes in six basic pieces: the individual bats, a base, a rod to use as a pole, and three different sizes of bat mounting gadgets (for lack of a better term). I included a straight pin on the right as I will use them for mounting and to give a rough scale to the pieces. The set from Splintered Light is designed to make a swarm of bats, but I had different plans for these "creatures of the night".

(Click on the image for a larger version)

I decided to base these bats individually so that I could use them as nuisance monsters with the rest of my 1/72 fantasy figures. I started by using # 10 washers and filling the empty spaces with pieces of plastic card. Except for the smaller size washer, it is the same procedure I always use when basing with washers.

(Click on the image for a larger version)

The next step was to glue some cork to the washer with PVA/white glue. I allowed the glue to dry and then shape it into a piece of rock with an razor blade knife.

(Click on the image for a larger version)

I then took the individual bat models and glued then to straight pins. On the underside of each figure was a spot modeled to allow it to be glued to the bat mounting gadgets. I used those places to super glue the bats to the straight pins. Luckily the heads of the straight pins were the same size as ends of the bat mounting gadgets so the models required no modification.

(Click on the image for a larger version)

After the glue had dried and the bats were fixed on their new perches, I bent their wings into various poses so they would appear to be flapping instead of soaring on thermals like buzzards of the night.

(Click on the image for a larger version)

Here is a view of the bats from above so you can see the posing from another angle.

(Click on the image for a larger version)

I finished my models by dipping the straight pins in super glue and inserting it as deeply into the cork base as I thought looked good. I then added PVA/white glue to tops of the washers and dipped them into sand to make the rocks appear to be surrounded by gravel. Below you have a a view of the completed bats from the front.

Click on the image for a larger version)

I have to take a small break and talk about the name of these models, the "Bat Swarm". I have to say that a group of bats is not called a swarm but a colony. Except these bats are no ordinary bats, these bats are evil man eating bats that swarm all over you. I think that in the case of fantasy bats, which exist only to swarm over adventurers and devour them, you would call them a swarm. Returning back to the models, I give you the last photo of the models - the reverse view.

Click on the image for a larger version)

They are now ready to prime and paint. I will be showing pictures of the completed colony/swarm and individual bats in my next post. Questions and comments are always welcome. Thanks for reading...

Friday, May 25, 2012

1/72 Sci Fi Fantasy Figures Found, and Star Wars to Boot

I had always thought there were only two sets of 1/72 figures designed for science fiction. Imagine my surprise when I found that Micro Machines Star Wars figures were 1/72 scale figures. I went from a world where there were only 24 sci fi figures to one with over a hundred. They are all based on major sci fi movies as well: Star Wars, Aliens, Starship Troopers, etc. The figures are pre-paints as well. The only shame is they are mostly not in production anymore.

Add caption(Click on the image for a larger version)

I tried out a 30 second figure improvement by hitting two of the figures with Games Workshop Black and Brown Washes. The third figure from the left got the Black Wash and the fifth from the left got the Brown Wash.

(Click on the image for a larger version)

I then spent about three minutes on each figure to add some paint highlights of orange, grey, and white. The end results of three and a half minutes of painting speak for themselves. Figure one is the Black Wash, figure three is the Brown Wash, and figures two and four are untouched pre-painted figures.

(Click on the image for a larger version)

I have about 50 figures ready for the paint table, I just need to find time base them and then it is time for Star Wars fun on the game table.

As usual, Friar Tuck (an Airfix Robin Hood set figure) and Conan (a Caesar Miniatures Adventures set figure) make their appearance for scale, as well as the Scale Picture (a scale picture).

Questions and comments are always welcome. Tell me in the comments which figure you like the best: black wash, brown wash, or pre-painted. Thanks for reading...

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

1/72 Giant Rats (Nuisance Monsters) Completed

(Click on the image for a larger version)

Name:    Rat Swarm, Rat Swarms

Manufacturer:    Splintered Light Miniatures

Poses:    2 poses, (the single rat figure can be repositioned to give variety)

Figure material: metal

Ability to Take Paint:    excellent

Pose Quality:    it looks quite rat like and the tail and front leg can be bent to create different poses

Sculpting:    excellent, for such small creatures the detail is well done

Mold Lines:    little to none

Created:    2009ish

These models were fun and easy to paint. The rat swarm proper has a lot of character, and the single rats can be used as separate models, as I chose to do, or around the swarm model to make it larger and add some variety. I think these models could be used from 10mm up to 28mm, I mean a giant rat could be anything from a foot long to the size of a small car. All that is needed for fantasy figures to work well is to match the pictures in your mind.

You cannot go wrong with large numbers of easy to slay monsters to slow down adventurers and maybe give them the creeping crude. The creeping crude will force them to seek out Cedric the Cleric leading to even more problems and/or adventures.

(Click on the image for a larger version)

As usual, Friar Tuck (an Airfix Robin Hood set figure) and Conan (a Caesar Miniatures Adventures set figure) make their appearance for scale.

Next up will be articles on Splintered Lights Giant Bats, the number two batch of different nuisance monsters I have completed.

Thanks for reading...

Sunday, April 29, 2012

New Case to Carry My Fantasy Figures

I found this large toolbox that has three separate pieces, two large wheels, and a fold up handle to roll everything from game to game. At only thirty-five dollars a bargain price to move my figures in style.

(Click on the image for a larger version)

As usual, Friar Tuck (an Airfix Robin Hood set figure) and Conan (a Caesar Miniatures Adventures set figure) make their appearance for scale.
Questions and comments are always welcome. Thanks for reading...

Saturday, April 28, 2012

1/72 Giant Rats Construction

I purchased three Splintered Light Miniature's Rat Swarms. A rat swarm comes in five pieces, a big swarm of rats and 4 single rats to customize the swarm or use how ever you see fit. I decided to base these single rats individually so that I could use them as nuisance monsters with the rest of my 1/72 fantasy figures.

I started by using # 10 washers and filling the empty spaces with pieces of plastic card. Except for the smaller size washer, it is the same same procedure I always use when basing with washers.

(Click on the image for a larger version)

The next step was to glue some cork to the washer with PVA/white glue. I allowed the glue to dry and then shape it into a hill with an razor blade knife.

(Click on the image for a larger version)

I then covered the cork with sanded latex grout(fancy caulk). I simply smeared on enough to cover the mound and bring the caulk out to the edge of the washer.

(Click on the image for a larger version)

After the caulk had dried, I drilled a small hole in the mound. The individual rats came with a spike or pin sticking strait down out of their undersides and their tails were designed to be poseable. I put super glue on the pin and the hole on the base. I then forced the pin into the previously drilled hole. I then held the figure in place and adjusted the tails to add some character.

(Click on the image for a larger version)

Here is a view of the rats from the other side so that you can see the posing of the tails from the other side.

(Click on the image for a larger version)

They are now ready to prime and paint. I will be showing pictures of the completed swarm and individual rats in my next post. Questions and comments are always welcome. Thanks for reading...

Sunday, March 11, 2012

Paint Maintenance

Dead soldiers aka dried up paints

I haven't painted anything for a year, and GW's old style paint lids were prone to drying out. I double checked all of my paints and found eight paints dried up, eights inks dried up, and three paints I had mixed dried up. I had a gift card for the GW store so I went down to replace the dried up paints. The success rate was low. GW long ago quit selling inks, and half of the dried paints are no longer being sold. They did have "Liquid Green Stuff" and I picked up a couple of the washes that replaced the inks, but it bugs me when products I like disappear.

At this point you are probably think this is just a pointless post where I will grumble about GW policies surrounding how they offer/discontinue products. I suppose I could, but instead I searched the internet and l found lots of helpful inks to help replace the missing paints. I have my shopping list:

Citadel	Vallejo Game	Vallejo Model	Rackham	Reaper Master	Hex Code
Vile Green	Foul Green (025)	Park Green Flat (969)	Antique Green (13)	N/A	82C59C
Storm Blue	Stormy Blue (018)	Blue (925)	Migol Blue (5)	Ritterlich Blue (9115)	27357E
Ghostly Grey	Ghost Grey (046)	Flat Aluminum (993)	N/A	Ghost White (9063)	C3C6CD

It is a hard thing, but I suppose a visit to the game store to buy replacements is in order.

Questions and comments are always welcome. Thanks for reading...

Friday, February 24, 2012

Wordle of my Blog

Nothing too earth shattering, but I did find it interesting to see the frequency of words on my blog. I also found it interesting that the word "fantasy" isn't in it.

Link to this Wordle for One 72nd Fantasy FIgures

Questions and comments are always welcome. Thanks for reading...

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Now for Something Completely Different...I am a Thinker!!!

Thanks to everyone who is following my blog. You interest has taken me from being a Commentator to a Thinker.

Old School RPG Blogger Advancement.

I suppose I should quit thinking about painting some figures and get some painted so I can add some new posts. Thanks to everyone who helped make this happen by following my blog, but special thanks to Andrew Beasley for being the 40th person to follow my blog.

I am sure you are all trusting me to become more expert so I can reach the next level of "Maven". :)

Thank goodness it wasn't a man with three buttocks. Thanks for reading...

Sunday, May 1, 2011

How to Base Figures with Washers

When it comes to basing for my 1/72 figures, I prefer using washers. The washers give the finished figures added weight and stability, The washers also allow for using magnetic tape to store my figures. The only problem is gluing the vinyl figures to the metal and making them stick. I solved this problem using Loctite Activator, and plastic card to make a strong bond.

(Click on the image for a larger version)

I use a 3/4 inch circular paper cutter to clip small pieces of plastic card. I clip the pieces large enough to cover the hole in the center of the washer but not so large it hangs over the edge of the washer.

(Click on the image for a larger version)

I next glue the plastic card in place using super glue. Once the glue is dry it is time to glue the figures in place.

(Click on the image for a larger version)

I then apply Loctite Activator to the plastic card and the bottom of the figure. I allow the pieces to dry for at least a minute (that is why the activator pen above has a picture of a red stop hand with 1 minute on it). I then apply a couple of drops of super glue on the plastic card and then put the figure on top. As soon as the super glue is dried the figures are ready to finish basing.

(Click on the image for a larger version)

I have taken to using Ceramic Tile Caulk to add texture to my bases. I use a caulking gun to dispense a glob of the caulk onto some junk mail or other disposable stuff. I then use a toothpick or old craft knife to trowel the caulk on to the figures base. This caulk has the texture of normal tile grout, but it is flexible when it is dried since it is made of latex caulk. I also like the fact that after it has dried for 15 minutes the caulk forms a skin on the surface. At this point, you can sculpt the surface into any shape you like since the caulk below is still soft. You can use your finger tips to make it really smooth or a tooth pick to rough it up. The more I play with it the more I learn new ways to get different effects.

(Click on the image for a larger version)

If I have a slotta figure instead of ones with a flat base, I use the technique pictured above. I then seal up any remaining gaps with plastic card and apply Ceramic Latex Caulk.

Questions and comments are always welcome. Thanks for reading...