Will McCammon's Minis (Formerly: My wallet hates me, but...)
Moderators: mjwest, Albiegamer
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Steve Cole
- Site Admin
- Posts: 3846
- Joined: Wed Oct 11, 2006 5:24 pm
Update on status of new minis:
BORDER BOX SIX
Starbase: This ship is already in production
Fed BB: This ship is already in production
Klingon B10: This ship is already in production
Romulan KCN: This new ship is already at ADB.
Kzinti BB: This new ship is en route from sculptor.
Gorn BB: This new ship is en route from sculptor (Mike Raper)
Neo-Tholian Battleship: This new ship is en route from sculptor.
Seltorian Hive ship: This new ship is already at ADB.
Hydran Battleship: This ship is already in production
Lyran Battleship: This ship is already in production
SQUADRON BOX 16
Fed DN: This ship is already in production
Fed DNL: This ship is already in production
Kzinti DN: This ship is already in production
Kzinti DNL: This new ship is en route from sculptor.
Neo-Tholian DNH Collar: This new ship is en route from sculptor..
SQUADRON BOX 17
Klingon C8: in the original SB17 plan, but we now want to delete it and use the Leige.
Klingon C5: This new ship is en route from sculptor.
Lyran DN: This ship is already in production
Lyran DNL: This new ship is en route from sculptor.
Hydran DN: This ship is already in production
Hydran DNL: This new ship is en route from sculptor.
SQUADRON BOX 18
Klingon C8: This ship is already in production
Romulan Condor: This ship is already in production
Romulan Shrike: This new ship is en route from sculptor.
Gorn DN: This ship is already in production
Gorn DNL: This new ship is en route from sculptor.
Tholian DPW: Part of the original SB18 plan; we now will delete it to make room for Gorn DNL.
BORDER BOX SIX
Starbase: This ship is already in production
Fed BB: This ship is already in production
Klingon B10: This ship is already in production
Romulan KCN: This new ship is already at ADB.
Kzinti BB: This new ship is en route from sculptor.
Gorn BB: This new ship is en route from sculptor (Mike Raper)
Neo-Tholian Battleship: This new ship is en route from sculptor.
Seltorian Hive ship: This new ship is already at ADB.
Hydran Battleship: This ship is already in production
Lyran Battleship: This ship is already in production
SQUADRON BOX 16
Fed DN: This ship is already in production
Fed DNL: This ship is already in production
Kzinti DN: This ship is already in production
Kzinti DNL: This new ship is en route from sculptor.
Neo-Tholian DNH Collar: This new ship is en route from sculptor..
SQUADRON BOX 17
Klingon C8: in the original SB17 plan, but we now want to delete it and use the Leige.
Klingon C5: This new ship is en route from sculptor.
Lyran DN: This ship is already in production
Lyran DNL: This new ship is en route from sculptor.
Hydran DN: This ship is already in production
Hydran DNL: This new ship is en route from sculptor.
SQUADRON BOX 18
Klingon C8: This ship is already in production
Romulan Condor: This ship is already in production
Romulan Shrike: This new ship is en route from sculptor.
Gorn DN: This ship is already in production
Gorn DNL: This new ship is en route from sculptor.
Tholian DPW: Part of the original SB18 plan; we now will delete it to make room for Gorn DNL.
The Guy Who Designed Fed Commander
The minis arrived yesterday. The postman walks up (as I'm in the garage painting some Gorn) and puts the mail in the mailbox. Then he takes MY box out of his pouch...Scoutdad wrote:Only because you outbid me and I didn't get the outbid notice [work emailStarfury wrote:On eBay I decided to bid on some ISC ships just for fun.
I won.
13 ships: 3xDN, 4xCA, 3xDD, 3xFF Cost per ship: $2.75 and this includes shipping.
I don't really need these...but it was too good to pass up. My wife will be a bit...irritated...with me when the box arrives I think.] unitl after the auction had ended.
That's OK, though - I already have 3 DNs, 3 CAs, 3DDs, and 3FFs - It was just too good not to attept to acquire (but my bid maxed out at $2.50 / ship)
But I did manage to get ahold of 4 packs of Fderation Officers for our upcoming Prime Directive campaign.
Congrats and have fun painting them!
Tony
And drops it on the porch. Yes, drops. From waist level.
Lucky for me it's kind of hard to damage the ships and I could hear them rattling around in the box; the guy didn't pack them well at all. Most of the fleet I'm going to have to drill out the base holes, it looks like the stands were glued in and then snapped off. Good thing I have extra stands.
I have 4 Andromedan ships (Conquistador size) that I have just thrown in my bits box. They were the older, lead minis and someone dropped them on the rear ends. All of the engine bells have been flattned / rounded / mangled beyond repair. Eventually [216 years from now] when I'm out of ship minis to paint, I may pull them out and try to reconstruct the bells - but until then, be warned - SFB (or in your case, Fed Comm) minis can be damaged from being dropped.Starfury wrote:The minis arrived yesterday. The postman walks up (as I'm in the garage painting some Gorn) and puts the mail in the mailbox. Then he takes MY box out of his pouch...
And drops it on the porch. Yes, drops. From waist level.
Lucky for me it's kind of hard to damage the ships and I could hear them rattling around in the box; the guy didn't pack them well at all. Most of the fleet I'm going to have to drill out the base holes, it looks like the stands were glued in and then snapped off. Good thing I have extra stands.
I've gotten so many ebay specials that part of my ADB order for Origins was 48 stands. But the bad thing is I still need more...
Commander, Battlegroup Murfreesboro
Department Head, ACTASF
Department Head, ACTASF
Finished base-coating 95% of my Feds yesterday.
I ended up not painting three. After a lot of work trying to fill gaps and fix other problems, I was still very unsatisfied with how my two Battleships and my Starbase looked. Bad prep-work and assembly on my part (although, I will say the BB mini is very unforgiving). After a lot of filing/sanding, re-priming, more sanding, and more priming they ended up with way too much primer in some places. The starbase in particular looked like it had been dunked.
Time to start these three over.
I soaked them overnight in SimpleGreen, but the primer pretty much laughed at that stuff (which does a good job on paints). So, while I was at the store today, I picked up a can of EasyOff. That did the trick in a couple of hours, although it also attacked the surface-putty and superglue.
The minis falling apart was a bit of a drag (I had quite a bit of time invested in all three trying to clean them up) but it is for the best. This time around I heavily scored the mating surface (to allow more surface area and stronger bond) as well as filled the gaps with two-part epoxy putty (which will reinforce the joints further).
In the end, I'll have better looking minis than I would have.
I have a bit of left-over epoxy putty, so I shaped that into the beginnings of a FedEx courier boat mini. If that sets up OK, I'll scribe some panel lines into it tomorrow, add some engines, and mount it on a stand.
I ended up not painting three. After a lot of work trying to fill gaps and fix other problems, I was still very unsatisfied with how my two Battleships and my Starbase looked. Bad prep-work and assembly on my part (although, I will say the BB mini is very unforgiving). After a lot of filing/sanding, re-priming, more sanding, and more priming they ended up with way too much primer in some places. The starbase in particular looked like it had been dunked.
Time to start these three over.
I soaked them overnight in SimpleGreen, but the primer pretty much laughed at that stuff (which does a good job on paints). So, while I was at the store today, I picked up a can of EasyOff. That did the trick in a couple of hours, although it also attacked the surface-putty and superglue.
The minis falling apart was a bit of a drag (I had quite a bit of time invested in all three trying to clean them up) but it is for the best. This time around I heavily scored the mating surface (to allow more surface area and stronger bond) as well as filled the gaps with two-part epoxy putty (which will reinforce the joints further).
In the end, I'll have better looking minis than I would have.
I have a bit of left-over epoxy putty, so I shaped that into the beginnings of a FedEx courier boat mini. If that sets up OK, I'll scribe some panel lines into it tomorrow, add some engines, and mount it on a stand.
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Jiraiya1969
- Lieutenant JG
- Posts: 91
- Joined: Thu May 17, 2007 1:39 pm
Would that work on plastics?Starfury wrote:I use Jasco paint stripper. It's water soluable and will strip the mini's to bare metal very quickly. It also eats away superglue.
Wear gloves. Good ones. Chemical burn on your hand does not feel good.
I have a Zochi (sp?) CA that I tried to mix a light gray base coat (white and grey), and, well, it didn't work
Sarpeidon: I use regular, run-of-the-mill Easy-OFF brand oven cleaner to strip the paint from plastic "Zocchi" miniatures obtained from ebay sources. It's never damaged any of hte ships I've used it on.
I place the "target" in a metal dog-food bowl, spray enough Easy-OFF to cover it (do this outside - the fumes build up wuickly), and let it sit for a couple of hours. I then take an old tooth-brush and scrub the paint off.
The only problem I've encountered is this: Be sure to scrub the mini with soap and water after stripping and then rinse it thoroughly. I got in a hurry once and didn't do a good ewnough job. Apparently some Easy-OFF was left in a couple of the crevices... Once re-air brushed, the paint began to bubble and lift off in the deeper recesses on the ship. Another stripping, followed by soap/water adn more water took care of it.
I place the "target" in a metal dog-food bowl, spray enough Easy-OFF to cover it (do this outside - the fumes build up wuickly), and let it sit for a couple of hours. I then take an old tooth-brush and scrub the paint off.
The only problem I've encountered is this: Be sure to scrub the mini with soap and water after stripping and then rinse it thoroughly. I got in a hurry once and didn't do a good ewnough job. Apparently some Easy-OFF was left in a couple of the crevices... Once re-air brushed, the paint began to bubble and lift off in the deeper recesses on the ship. Another stripping, followed by soap/water adn more water took care of it.
Commander, Battlegroup Murfreesboro
Department Head, ACTASF
Department Head, ACTASF
I'll second Scoutdad on the Easy-OFF recommendation. I use Simple-Green for paint stripping, but when it can't cut it Easy-OFF does the jobs it can't. I spray the Easy-OFF onto the minis in an old "Glad-Ware" container that I only use for stripping (and it is clearly marked as-such to avoid food accidents).
I checked mine that were stripping with the oven-cleaner every hour or so. For plastics I most certainly wouldn't trust them in it over-night. Your mileage may vary.
I soaked my minis in water after stripping for about 20 minutes and then flushed them under the tap thoroughly, several times.
I checked mine that were stripping with the oven-cleaner every hour or so. For plastics I most certainly wouldn't trust them in it over-night. Your mileage may vary.
I soaked my minis in water after stripping for about 20 minutes and then flushed them under the tap thoroughly, several times.
It's been pretty quiet here in the Mini's section of the board for a while.
I've been working on mine quite a bit, but haven't posted pictures lately.
Right now, I have all of my Feds basecoated, I just finished basecoating my Klingons on Friday (minus a couple that need touchups), launched a sculpture to ADB for possible use, and have a pair of Fed CS modifications underway for a client. I also launched my final order to Mark Tutton for Fed decals as well as very nearly have my art finished in Macromedia FreeHand for my freighter decals I'll be laserprinting.
I should have some fun pictures to put up in the next few weeks.
I've been working on mine quite a bit, but haven't posted pictures lately.
Right now, I have all of my Feds basecoated, I just finished basecoating my Klingons on Friday (minus a couple that need touchups), launched a sculpture to ADB for possible use, and have a pair of Fed CS modifications underway for a client. I also launched my final order to Mark Tutton for Fed decals as well as very nearly have my art finished in Macromedia FreeHand for my freighter decals I'll be laserprinting.
I should have some fun pictures to put up in the next few weeks.
Still plugging away at my minis.
I have two Fed CS kitbashes built-up for a client, as well as another for myself. Those are base-coated and I've started detail painting on them. I'll hurry them up when the decals I need for them arrive.
I acquired two old lead Starline 2200 Klingon D-7's in a trade recently.
They were both in great shape overall (one had the engines popped loose, but that is all too common with the old multi-piece Klingons) Both had really nice paint jobs on them, with some impressive hand-painted detailing - one as a Klingon and the other as a Romulan KR.
I debated long and hard about what to do. Considering how nicely they had been done, I really didn't want to strip them, but their color scheme was totally different than the uniform light blue-grey I am using for all of my Klingons (and the light grey Romulan was a "white elephant" for me).
I'm in the middle of painting all of my Klingons. Several need touch-ups on their basecoats. If there was ever a time to pick up a 'last couple' of ships and get them in the same batch of paint, it is now.
With no small amount of sadness, I put them into the Easy-Off on Saturday and stripped and disassembled them. I did take photos of them with their old paint first though.
Sunday was spent drilling holes and reassembling the minis with steel pins (no engines popping-off allowed in my fleet). I also added Tamiya putty to the underside of the wings and struts to further reinforce the engine joints.
Last night I filed the putty down to nicely blended shapes.
If I can get myself set up with a spray booth to allow painting inside the house, I should be able to get those two into paint sometime soon.
I have two Fed CS kitbashes built-up for a client, as well as another for myself. Those are base-coated and I've started detail painting on them. I'll hurry them up when the decals I need for them arrive.
I acquired two old lead Starline 2200 Klingon D-7's in a trade recently.
They were both in great shape overall (one had the engines popped loose, but that is all too common with the old multi-piece Klingons) Both had really nice paint jobs on them, with some impressive hand-painted detailing - one as a Klingon and the other as a Romulan KR.
I debated long and hard about what to do. Considering how nicely they had been done, I really didn't want to strip them, but their color scheme was totally different than the uniform light blue-grey I am using for all of my Klingons (and the light grey Romulan was a "white elephant" for me).
I'm in the middle of painting all of my Klingons. Several need touch-ups on their basecoats. If there was ever a time to pick up a 'last couple' of ships and get them in the same batch of paint, it is now.
With no small amount of sadness, I put them into the Easy-Off on Saturday and stripped and disassembled them. I did take photos of them with their old paint first though.
Sunday was spent drilling holes and reassembling the minis with steel pins (no engines popping-off allowed in my fleet). I also added Tamiya putty to the underside of the wings and struts to further reinforce the engine joints.
Last night I filed the putty down to nicely blended shapes.
If I can get myself set up with a spray booth to allow painting inside the house, I should be able to get those two into paint sometime soon.
Will, my old-style D7's and multi piece Kzinti (14 pieces on the SCS!) ships were put together using a combination of super glue and 2-part epoxy rather than pins. Have you ever tried doing that? It seems a lot faster than drilling something as small as a D7 engine and then using putty and sanding to smooth it in. I have knocked over the D7's and dropped the Kzin (only from a couple of inches or so) w/o losing any engines or weapons pylons.
Mix up the two part epoxy and put a dab on the outer ends of the D7 engine (or whatever you're gluing) and then put a drop of super glue in the middle of the engine mounting point. The super glue will set quickly and hold the part in place while the epoxy cures.
A rather appropos time to bring this up. I just finished assembling and priming 36 more Kzinti ships, a Star Base, a BATS, a Base Station, a Mobile base, 12 freighters, and 18 PFs. Hopefully, they'll be base coated this coming weekend and then I can spend my free time (what little there is of it) over the next few weeks painting these additions to my Kzinti fleet.
Mix up the two part epoxy and put a dab on the outer ends of the D7 engine (or whatever you're gluing) and then put a drop of super glue in the middle of the engine mounting point. The super glue will set quickly and hold the part in place while the epoxy cures.
A rather appropos time to bring this up. I just finished assembling and priming 36 more Kzinti ships, a Star Base, a BATS, a Base Station, a Mobile base, 12 freighters, and 18 PFs. Hopefully, they'll be base coated this coming weekend and then I can spend my free time (what little there is of it) over the next few weeks painting these additions to my Kzinti fleet.
Commander, Battlegroup Murfreesboro
Department Head, ACTASF
Department Head, ACTASF
I was aware of the two-glue method, but I'm a complete clutz, as is my wife. Things tend to head for the floor around here.
My entry in the August kitbash contest lasted just long enough to get some pictures taken before it dived off the patio table and had some damage to its front-end (repairable, thankfully).
The surface area on a Klink engine joint is just too small for even the best glues to really make a strong bond.
The drilling and pinning I do really doesn't take too horrible long and the putty work is no big deal either (I'm a stickler for edges and gaps anyways). Once built-up my way the minis are as tough as the current one-piece ones ADB sells. As I only needed to do this to my old lead minis (5) and a couple new ones, I can live with it.
My entry in the August kitbash contest lasted just long enough to get some pictures taken before it dived off the patio table and had some damage to its front-end (repairable, thankfully).
The surface area on a Klink engine joint is just too small for even the best glues to really make a strong bond.
The drilling and pinning I do really doesn't take too horrible long and the putty work is no big deal either (I'm a stickler for edges and gaps anyways). Once built-up my way the minis are as tough as the current one-piece ones ADB sells. As I only needed to do this to my old lead minis (5) and a couple new ones, I can live with it.
We finally had some decent weather here in Seattle, on a weekend that I was in town so I was able to get some painting done for the first time in many months.
I've got my first batch (baker's dozen) of Fed's about half-way through detail paint and should be able to start decaling them this week. Lots and lots and lots of phaser-dots...
I also clear-coated my sheet of custom decals to get them ready for use and did some spray-gluing of new communique ship cards and a sheet of a new play-aid I worked up (Acceleration tokens/cards). Those will get laminated and trimmed tonight.
Late last week I also filed, sanded, and otherwise prepared my first Romulans and Kzintis in 20 years (a fleet box each) as well as my very first Orions (another fleet box).
This next weekend I hope to go back and finish base-coating the rest of my Klingons (I only got about 3/4 of the way through my collection before the weather shut me down last fall).
I've got my first batch (baker's dozen) of Fed's about half-way through detail paint and should be able to start decaling them this week. Lots and lots and lots of phaser-dots...
I also clear-coated my sheet of custom decals to get them ready for use and did some spray-gluing of new communique ship cards and a sheet of a new play-aid I worked up (Acceleration tokens/cards). Those will get laminated and trimmed tonight.
Late last week I also filed, sanded, and otherwise prepared my first Romulans and Kzintis in 20 years (a fleet box each) as well as my very first Orions (another fleet box).
This next weekend I hope to go back and finish base-coating the rest of my Klingons (I only got about 3/4 of the way through my collection before the weather shut me down last fall).
