Tips on Reaper Bones?

[Lemmeron]

I have just started painting the reaper bones myself. I managed to pick up the vampire kickstarter box off eBay cheap so I am swimming in miniatures !

The first thing I did was scrub them with warm water And a bit of dishwashing liquid.
Then drop them in boiling water for 5-10 seconds then into ice water.

I was able to paint it without doing anything special afterwards.
I just mixed a dark red base coat for this miniature and also a dark blue. I also painted bleached bone straight on it no problems. I also tend to use ink medium and surface tension breaker to thin paints instead of water especially on bones miniatures if I haven't layed a base coat.

I will be posting a step by step progress of this miniature if you are interested.



Here is a link to the post on this guy viewtopic.php?f=56&t=2960

[Anderas]

For the GW Layers and Washes,
I was able to do soe things with them that i just couldnt do with other color ranges, say, vallejo for example.

If you thin a GW layer with Vallejo thinner, it goes perfectly through the Airbrush as well.
Easier is to use Vallejo air color directly- they were always going so smooth through the Airbrush it was a marvel. So these are my recommendations. Vallejo air and GW Layer and GW Washes. Plus the holy Tamiya clear red for slimy blood of course and Schmincke Airbrush white, which is the only white i was ever able to spray without problems.

[Ragnar IronFist]

Thanks for the tips, everybody! I tried a couple minis (with brushes) last night, and it all works surprisingly well. The only problem I noticed was if I thinned GW paint AT ALL with just one drop of water... it will bead up dramatically on the mini. Maybe because I didn't try to soap wash them first. Worked great when I didn't thin the paint. .. So it seems I had to walk a fine line between the often-too-thick-GW paint and too-thin/beading-on-the-mini paint. But actually for the most part, it wasn't a bad painting experience at all.

Lemmeron... what is this 'surface tension breaker' of which you speak? Maybe that's the secret I need for thinning.

Still haven't bought an airbrush pen yet. I figure I have plenty to do with brushes before I allow myself to try the big dragon. I notice a pretty big price range with the different pens. Pricier ones worth it? Get what ya pay for? Or overrated gimmicks and I should go cheap?

[Lemmeron]

Hi Ragnar

This is the stuff I use. Any good art shop will stock some form of it but brand will differ. This was convenient and on sale cost me $2.80
A lot of people use a flake of soap in the water they use to dilute their paints, but I use this exclusively and it works on all my paint brands. Tamiya, Citadel all ranges, Vellajo, Derivan


It has been a steep learning curve for me with painting, but using this and ink medium for washes and glazes has been helpful.

When using surface tension breaker I usually add it 1/10 to paint. If I only have a few drops of paint I want to use I dip the tip of my brush in a drop of surface tension breaker and then mix it with the paint I am using.

If you are still finding the paint beads up. Either you have oil from your hands on the mini, or still has mould release agent on it - give it a scrub with soap and water again OR you may need to use an acrylic ink medium rather than water for thin coats straight into the unprimed bones.
I hope this helps you.

[joec]

I just switched from Army Painter brush on and spray primers to Armory spray primer, and I'm enjoying the results. Army Painter primers took two coats to base the Bones, no matter what I scrubbed them with. The primer would pull away as if the Bones mini had a protective seal on it.

Note: I soak my minis in Simple Green for 8+ hours, scrub them thoroughly with a toothbrush, and then thoroughly rinse them, before allowing them to dry for 24 hours.

Outside of initially getting them primed, I've had no issues with Bones minis.

[Lemmeron]

Joec, I think you had so much trouble priming them because the bones are designed specifically not to need priming. Reaper actually advises against priming them. It is good to know that some primers work atleast.

Does anyone have any experiences with airbrushing bones ? I am considering giving it a go and wanted to know if it is likely to work ok.

[slev]

Two things I've not seen covered...

Citadel paints that are too watery have often settled out. Give them a good shake and you're set..

With Bones (or anything else), if you're having trouble with adhesion even after washing, varnish them first. Then prime them. Works like a charm, especially if the mini has large, smooth areas.