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Help me go shopping...
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Jeffr0
Commander


Joined: 19 Jun 2009
Posts: 743

PostPosted: Tue Nov 23, 2010 5:30 pm    Post subject: Help me go shopping... Reply with quote

My 7-year-old son likes the spaceships on the cover of Romulan Armada and wants to get lead minis.

We've looked at Squadron Box #9. (He's miffed that it doesn't have *all* the Romulan ships, but we gotta start somewhere.)

And I probably need Deluxe Space Battle Maps, too. (These are the same map panels you'd get with Fed Com, right?)

I've never done miniatures before. What else do I need...?
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phdillman
Lieutenant SG


Joined: 09 Jun 2008
Posts: 180

PostPosted: Tue Nov 23, 2010 6:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Patients, model paints, brushes, pet free zone to work in, patients, sandpaper, xacto knives, patients, goods lights, magnifying glass, good digital camera to share pics, small clamps to hold minis and last of all, patients.

Very Happy
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Bolo_MK_XL
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Joined: 16 Jan 2007
Posts: 836
Location: North Carolina

PostPosted: Tue Nov 23, 2010 6:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Your correct about Deluxe Space Maps --

If hes interested in all Romulan ships, you get a larger group of them with Border Box #3/4 -- But they do come with ships from other Empires --- Approx 1/3 of the 24 in each box are Romulan -- Good deal for the number of Minis you get at one time --
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Scoutdad
Commodore


Joined: 09 Oct 2006
Posts: 4754
Location: Middle Tennessee

PostPosted: Tue Nov 23, 2010 6:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I assume you're asking what else you need to complete the minis... and not what minis you need in addition to squadron box #9. So, that's the assumption I'm going with:

#1: tools to clean-up/prep the pewter minis.
A small hobby knife (Ex-acto or equivalent), small files, and sandpaper.
The minis will have a small ridge wherethe two halves ofthe mold met. This will needto be filed/sanded away to provide a smooth miniature. In addition, depending on the mini, the age of the mold,etc... there may be flash (excess white metal) that will need to be removed from between adjacent detail parts.
depending on how "clean" a mini you want, you may want to get some modelers putty to fill gaps between joined parts or to fill "[pits" in the surface of the white-metal.

#2: Adhesive
Sq box 9 contains all one-peice minis, so you do not have to concern yourself with assembling multi-piece minis... yet. [Try assembling one of the old-style, 14-piece Kzinti SCS minis!] You will probably want to super-glue the minis to the stands - but that will be a matter of personal taste. Many pepole glue them to th stands, but some use jewelry-type barrel connectors... some use the Ninja Magic connectors... some use rare earth magnets... etc.

#3: Soap
Surprisingly enough, many people do not take the easiest, cheapest step...
Prior to casting, the insides of the molds are coated with an old based release agent. Some of this agent adheres to the miniature and can cause the paint to fail to adhere to the minitures.
A quick wash with warm water and dish detergent before priming will remove both the mold release agent and any contaminents that may have come from your hands / fingers during prepping.

#4: Primer
The first step is to apply a primer to increase the adherence between the mini and the paint.
There are as many preferences here as there are minis painters. You can use brush-on or aerosol, water-based or oil-based, and so on.
My personal preference is for Walmart brand, aerosol primer. 96 cents a can and it works as well as the higher priced hobby-brands.
As for colro... again as many choices as painters. Soem swear by grey, some by white, some by black... I tend to use whichever color is closest to the desired base color - or white if the finla color is expected to be bright.
When priming, the idea is not to "glop" on the primer - but to apply a light, even coat.

to be continued in the next post...
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Scoutdad
Commodore


Joined: 09 Oct 2006
Posts: 4754
Location: Middle Tennessee

PostPosted: Tue Nov 23, 2010 6:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

#5: Paint
Here's where you can go wild...
Do you want to use aerosol, brush-on or airbrush?
Do you want oil-based enamels? water-based acrylics? solvent based lacquer?
What color Romulans do you want? SFU canon light grey? TNG canon green?

Once these questions have been answered, the rest is easy...
Apply your base coat (remember... sevral thin coats are superior to one thick coat!). The paint should have the consistency of milk... not as thick as straight from the pot, but not as thin as water either.
Once the base coat is dry, you can begin the finer details. Paint these slowly and carefully and then go back and touch up any oops with your base color.

#6: Brushes
This is another biggie. Always go for the best brushes you can find. A good, high-quality brush will last far longer than a cheap, stiff-bristled plastic brush. Andit'll give you a better finish as well.
Always clean the brush thoroughly, store it with the bristles up, and avoid getting paint / thinner / cleaner inside the ferrell [Ferrell - the small metal cap enclosing the upper end of the bristles] as this will loosen the bristles and cause the brush to shed. Usually right in the middle of the biggest, most visible flat surface on your miniature!!! Wink

#6: Clear coat
Once you've completed the painting... the mini must be protected. Nothing is as upsetting as having the paint peel off a miniature while it's in play. There are two main types of clear coat available... gloss and matte, and both have there uses and both are usually used on every miniature.
The gloss coat provides a thick, smooth finish that's perfect for the application of decals, but many people (although not all) think the gloss finish gives the starships and "unrealistic" finish.
The clear coat dulls the colors to make them look more "natural", but it leaves a coarser finish (at a microscopic scale) that can lead to silvering of decals.
If you plan to decal your mini. most people will gloss coat the finished product, apply declas, and then matte coat it.
Again - the final choice is yours.

#7: Decals:
Some swear by them, some refuse to use them.
I paint 95% of my ministures by hand, but somethings just can't be done correctly with paint. Such as; The war circles on the Fed W era ships... the name / hull numbers of the Fed ships - Imperial insignias of the Gorn / Klingon / Hydran / Lyran empires, etc. In these instances, I resort to decals.
Romulan "heraldric" birds on the bellies of their ships, I paint by hand. Hydran fleet stripes - paint; Lyran cat camoflage - painted; Orion flames - painted; and so on.
If you decide to use decals, there are several good suppliers, although Mark Tutton has arguably the largest selection. Links to his site (and the others) can be found on this forum.

#8: Most importantly - Photos!
And after everythign is done - we want to see photos.

This went a bit longer than I had intended, butI hope it helps...
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SFU_FEAR
Lieutenant SG


Joined: 28 Jun 2010
Posts: 137

PostPosted: Tue Nov 23, 2010 9:38 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
I paint 95% of my ministures by hand, but somethings just can't be done correctly with paint. Such as; The war circles on the Fed W era ships... the name / hull numbers of the Fed ships - Imperial insignias of the Gorn / Klingon / Hydran / Lyran empires, etc. In these instances, I resort to decals.
Romulan "heraldric" birds on the bellies of their ships, I paint by hand. Hydran fleet stripes - paint; Lyran cat camoflage - painted; Orion flames - painted; and so on.


Don't let Scoutdad fool you. His "stickers" as we call them are some of the best I have ever seen. Just kidding, Scoutdad has some of the best hand painted minis I have seen.
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Jeffr0
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Joined: 19 Jun 2009
Posts: 743

PostPosted: Wed Nov 24, 2010 5:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks, guys....

Good. The minis are all one piece.

1) Wash 'em with soap.

2) Spray on grey primer from Walmart after sanding/trimming.

3) It looks like you can get away with some pretty simple paint jobs. I think I will skimp on the crests-- they are underneath anyway.... I will get them ready-to-play first I think, and then try it later.

Border Box 4 looks totally rad. I didn't see that in the store-- it's under Romulan Attack. If these go well, maybe we can try that for next Christmas...!

The Romulan Carrier Group set is high on my list, too-- but I'd need to pick up Advanced Missions and Module J with it. I expect I will be playing more Starmada the next while than SFB... so I should probably look at getting the full Starmada Rulebook next I think. Romulan Border looks great, but anyone that would play that would probably play SFB, too.

So:

Squadron Box #9... Then Deluxe Space Maps... then Starmada Rule Book.

Tough choices!
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OGOPTIMUS
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Joined: 10 Nov 2006
Posts: 980

PostPosted: Wed Nov 24, 2010 7:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Glad to see there are more people getting into minis.

I also have to stress the posting pictures of them once you're done. I know I love seeing photos of miniatures. Especially when I don't get a ton of time to work on mine these days.

Jeffr0 wrote:
Romulan Border looks great, but anyone that would play that would probably play SFB, too.


Don't be too sure about that. Plenty of people play Federation Commander exclusively over SFB. And yes, it is great. That was the first FC product I bought.

Good luck with the minis!
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djdood
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Joined: 01 Feb 2007
Posts: 3412
Location: Seattle, WA

PostPosted: Wed Nov 24, 2010 8:35 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Indeed. I was an SFB *reader* for many years, due to a lack of opponents (all potentials ran screaming from the tome of a rulebook). I ended up playing FedCom pretty actively in two different groups.
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Jeffr0
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Joined: 19 Jun 2009
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 24, 2010 10:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

djdood wrote:
Indeed. I was an SFB *reader* for many years, due to a lack of opponents (all potentials ran screaming from the tome of a rulebook). I ended up playing FedCom pretty actively in two different groups.


No... must... not... buy... space game....

Must... play... SFB!

</shatner>
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schoon9953
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Joined: 12 Nov 2010
Posts: 65
Location: Oakland, CA

PostPosted: Thu Nov 25, 2010 2:30 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Jeffr0 wrote:
No... must... not... buy... space game....

Must... play... SFB!

</shatner>

What harm could there be in trying it just once Wink

Rumor has it that the first game is free...
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mojo_billbo
Commander


Joined: 07 Mar 2010
Posts: 426
Location: Danville, PA

PostPosted: Thu Nov 25, 2010 4:51 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

schoon9953 wrote:
Jeffr0 wrote:
No... must... not... buy... space game....

Must... play... SFB!

</shatner>

What harm could there be in trying it just once Wink

Rumor has it that the first game is free...


As a matter of fact, the first few are free..

http://www.starfleetgames.com/federation/FCFirstMissions.pdf
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Kang
Fleet Captain


Joined: 23 Sep 2007
Posts: 1976
Location: Devon, UK

PostPosted: Thu Nov 25, 2010 3:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

djdood wrote:
Indeed. I was an SFB *reader* for many years...


That's me. Now, I play only FC and no longer 'collect' SFB stuff.
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Bolo_MK_XL
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Joined: 16 Jan 2007
Posts: 836
Location: North Carolina

PostPosted: Thu Nov 25, 2010 3:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

All games are free (just a little investment of time), long as you have a friend or acquaintance with the game --

That is until you become addicted and have to have every single item related to the game Smile
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Jeffr0
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Joined: 19 Jun 2009
Posts: 743

PostPosted: Fri Nov 26, 2010 5:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Okay... if I start with Squadron Box #9...

Then there is overlap there with Border Box #3. That box also comes with the lame priority transports.

Border Box #4 would rock, however. I'd get several of my favorite ships: Gorn CL x2, KF5R x2, Snipe x2... and the 4 "new" Hawk class ships would go with the Sky Hawk from the squadron box... getting me a start there with that type of fleet. (The cruiser plus two small escorts is a nice size fleet for SFB... and very quick game for Starmada. A large Starmada fleet could be done by combining ships from each of two types of Romulan ship styles.) The Fed fleet would look good together and the Gorns would be a decent enough collection of ships for the Roms to pound on.

Yep... if Squadron Box #9 goes well... Border Box #4 will be great.

...

I started painting my 11 Reaper Minis kobalds last night in order to get in some practice before the Roms. Once you have trimmed, primmed the minis, and put down the base coat, you have better game components than just about any board game. From there, everything else is gravy. I was really wishing for sand paper last night, though....

It looks like I can sneak in 30 minute painting sessions here and there and (over time) get stuff done. It's relaxing... and kinda fun. I only get one game session in every couple of weeks, so minis do not cut into gaming time.

Yeah, I think this can work.



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