For the Baton Rouge Locals

Had some fun over the weekend. Got a little bit of painting done, and spent the majority of Sunday being photographed doing so! Baton Rouge’s 225 magazine (www.225batonrouge.com) had a photographer come in to the game store to get pictures for an article they are writing on different aspects of painting (instead of the usual portrait painters, water colour painting…etc, they wanted to do something totally different) It was a lot of fun, and their photographer was a great guy! I was told it’s for the December issue, and possibly a second article in the future!!

Hard at Work

The past couple of days have been so-so for productivity. I have done a lot of small work lately, on the commission true scale marines (Black Templar Marshal and Emperor’s Champion) that I am working on this week. I think I’ve even got all the sculpting finished, other than making two backpacks, oh wait, and there’s that pesky pointing right hand…it’s gonna be cool! I’ll get pics of it either after it’s sculpted or once it’s painted.

Worked out the character sheet for my Deathwatch RPG character. I am choosing a librarian for my primary character (Iron Snakes Chapter, using the Storm Wardens) and my secondary is going to be a Devastator Marine, although unsure of chapter. Thinking currently about Ultramarine due to their options.

Played a couple of games of Death Angel, the new card version of Space Hulk from Fantasy Flight Games. After getting through the rules (which I have to say are AMAZING! They answered every question that came up with the guys I tried it out with) it’s a very simple, fun game. Once you go through it a couple of times, it can be a very fast paced game too. Bit pricier than I expected (24.99), but I believe it’s worth it.

Also managed to get my actual model to represent my Deathwatch character almost entirely finished. All thats left is the sculpting of the snake hood. Seems fairly straightforward too, just have to get time to do it when I am NOT in a vibrating truck and have to worry about putting an eye out with a sculpting tool. I used the metal librarian model, turning the staff into a spear (rather easily!) with a few loose bits. Gave him a plastic bolt pistol left arm and a DW shoulderpad…voila! Looking forward to painting him, as well as the two true scale marines too (hey, I’m in the mood to paint black, and…the two marines are Templars, go figure lol)

On the boards:
a few more True Scale Marines, including a Salamander, Blood Raven, and a couple more (Chapters undecided yet)

Stripping………Miniatures!

So, who hasn’t had one of these problems, or something similar? Test model that needs to be cleaned up, miniatures from ebay that have way too much paint on them, getting more skilled at painting and deciding to redo a unit, primer fuzzing, wrong colour, paint scheme doesn’t look right and more.  Rather than throw these models out, why not take the time to strip them?

A ll too often I see results being the person gets frustrated and throws out the models in a moment of madness, they give them away to a “new player” so they don’t have to deal with it, or they just purchase new models to take the place of the ruined ones.  Any of these options get rather pricey after a while, so why not just strip them and save yourself some cash?

Debunking myths surrounding stripping models.

1. It takes too much time.

False.

This is all dependent on the method you strip the models with.  If they are metal, you can have them done in as little as 20-30 minutes.  For plastics, it depends on how much paint is on them as to how long it will take.  It can be as little as 1-2 days of soaking to upwards of 7-10 for heavily coated or very large miniatures.

2. It’s too painstaking.

False

With stripper designed for metals, you spray it, let it sit, and wash it off.  For the most part, you don’t have to do a lot of scrubbing, and if you missed areas, you can dry the figure off and repeat the process as often as necessary.  Most metal strippers only need to be left on about 5-10 minutes.  With plastics, you put the model in the container, fill with simple green, and leave it, changing it as often as necessary until the model is stripped. With either choice you can scrub on it if you want to, but you don’t necessarily need to.

3. It’s cheaper to buy replacements than to spend time fixing it.

False.

With Games Workshop and others needing to adjust costs of their miniatures due to the economy, this is no longer a sensible answer for 99% of miniatures.  The only way this could be accurate is if you’re talking about the low cost Reaper D&D miniatures, for the small ones, cost an average of under $10.00.

Here’s the math on this one:

1 can of Tuff-Strip (about $7.50 with tax in most states, can be purchased at Lowes) can strip an average of 50-75 infantry sized (2mm base size) models. So, for example a Chaos Bloodthirster miniature costs $57.75.  This doesn’t tax, pinning material, glue or rapid cure. (What is rapid cure you ask, check back in a few days for a detailed post about this wonderful item) So if you chose to rebuy this, rather than strip it, you’re looking at a cost of about $60-65.00 including tax for the miniature, versus the can of stripper cost ($7.50) plus a metal disposable pan for it (Available at walmart, if you use the single loaf aluminum tins, about $2.00 range)  $2.50, so a total of $10.00 for the investment, saving yourself approximately $55.00.  Beautiful part about the can, it’s an investment that keeps on giving, until it runs out.  You then can strip other models that you’ve been meaning to, since you picked it up, which keeps saving your more money on top of the initial numbers.  On average you can save yourself upwards of $200.00 with a single can, maybe even more.

4. It doesn’t clean green stuff/putty off, I then have to do that.

False, for the most part.

I’m not saying there’s not a putty the metal stripper won’t eat, but I haven’t found one yet.  For the most part with simple green it will loosen the bond with most putties, and they will separate from the miniature.  It doesn’t always work this way, sometimes it just doesn’t happen the way you plan on.

Important Information

– Yes the metal strippers DO SMELL BAD.  Follow the instructions on the can, ensuring you use them in a well ventilated area.

– Other than simple green, which can irritate your skin, DO NOT handle models sprayed with any type of stripper without rubber gloves of some form on (If you’re using latex/nitrile gloves make sure to double layer them, that way you can simply take the outer layer off and keep clean gloves against your skin at all times)  while handling them

– Depending on how much you’re using of the spray stripper, you may wish to consider a respirator of some form, or a simple dust mask.

– Make sure with strippers designed for metal, you use a METAL container for the stripping process.  99% of strippers will EAT plastic, which releases toxic fumes, so it’s a two fold bad idea.

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Recommended Shopping list for stripping miniatures

– Your stripper of choice (Simple Green for plastic and Tuff Strip for Metal are my recommendations)

– Rubber Gloves

– Container for the model (Remember, metal container for stripping metal models; you could even use a soda can for a single miniature, and a clear plastic one with a securely fitting lid for using simple green)

– Something to Scrub with ( Tooth brush, or a recommended investment, a Sonic Scrubber found at Wal-Mart for $10.00)

– Well ventilated area to spray and let model sit (metal), or a good place to store the container while the miniature soaks that’s out of reach of the little ones or pets (plastic)

– Sink to wash model off, and scrub it.

– Strainer of some form for the sink to prevent chunks of paint from going down the drain and subsequently clogging it, also to prevent the loss of tiny pieces.

– Paper towels to spread model(s) out to dry

– Clippers, or pair of pliers that won’t damage the model while moving it around.

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Metal Miniature Stripping Process (Spray can/Gel Tuff Strip Method)

1. Take all plastic parts off the miniature, including the base.

2.  Place miniature face up in the container, put protective gloves on, and spray model liberally.  Flip model with pliers to get the other side if feasible.  If it’s not feasible, simply do one side at a time.

3. Ensure the model is liberally coated, and let sit, for approximately 10 minutes at most.

4. While waiting, take a moment to prep your sink area, including spreading out the paper towels, ensuring the strainer is in the sink, and that there isn’t anything vital in the sink, such as dishes or anything plastic.

5. Carefully pick up miniature, either with your gloved hand, or by the tab with pliers, being careful not to grip too hard to damage model.  Ideally, a small metal screen strainer would be the best, as you can just set the model in it with no worries about the tiny parts falling would be best, but you can just carry it with one hand under it.

6. Turn the water on, not at full force, and put model under it, taking care not to lose parts (see screen suggested previously, or make sure you have a steel drain strainer) letting the water itself take what paint is loose off.

7. Scrub if desired at this point, if necessary.

8. After deeming it clean, place it on paper towels to dry.

9. Inspect your mini after it’s dry.  If you find that it needs to go another round with the stripper, repeat steps 2-7 as needed, remembering to ensure the model is dry if it needs to be stripped again.  At most models should not need more than 2 rounds of this, but depending on the amount of paint being stripped, this could change.  This also works with the gel version of the Tuff Strip that comes in a 1 quart container.

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Plastic or Metal Stripping Process (Siimple Green Method)

1. Gather all the parts you are stripping, and make sure you have a suitable, preferably clear, plastic container that has a  lid that can be secured onto it tightly that all the components will fit into snugly.

2. Pack all the models into this container, again, making sure the lid will fit securely.

3. Fill the container with Simple Green, and secure the lid.

4. Find a good spot out of direct sunlight to put it and leave it there.

5.  Shake the container every 3-4 hours to start loosening up the paint.  Continue doing this as needed.  Change the Simple Green in the container as often as necessary, to ensure it continues to remove the paint (it will lose effectiveness at a point, when it becomes saturated with paint).

6. When you’ve deemed the models ready to come out of the solution, empty the Simple Green out of the container, leaving only the models.  If you have a strainer, it’s now the perfect time to use it.

7. Place paper towels out before starting to rinse the components.

8. Move models to the strainer, rinse liberally, and scrub as you see fit.  Make sure the mesh in the strainer is smaller than the smallest bit that can come off of what you’re working on.

9. Spread the pieces out on the paper towels to dry.  Make sure to check the larger clumps of paint in the strainer for any missing parts.

Voila! You have two very common ways to strip miniatures.

Questions regarding the article? Email redstickstudio@gmail.com, putting the article name that you have questions about in the title!