Holding your mini while painting

[Molten Gold]

Hi Guys,

check this up:

http://www.beepworld.de/members50/griffinator/

a friend of mine invented this \"figrue holder\", because he was quite upset that each time he finished a figure ha had to repaint some parts after glueing the model to the base.
If you want one of these, contact him under the following adress:

griffinator@gmx.de

Cheers

[finn17]

I swear by (not at!) ring clamps that I have purchased from:

http://www.proopsbrothers.com

The clamps are a bit hard to find as you need to look in: - metalworking - jewellery - ring clamps.

There are two types available and they are (relatively) dirt cheap at 3.45GBP (5.55 Euro). The same company can supply loads of other useful goodies for modelmaking and I have always been impressed with their service.

This might help someone...;)

[smokey]

Originally posted by Molten Gold

http://www.beepworld.de/members50/griffinator/

a friend of mine invented this \"figrue holder\", because he was quite upset that each time he finished a figure ha had to repaint some parts after glueing the model to the base.

That\'s slick, but I no shpreckenzie Deutsche. (see? i can\'t even spell in German!!:) Any help as to how much they cost? the local currency is cool, I can convert it.

I just hold the mini and submit that I\'ll have to do touch ups at some point. although, I\'ve still got every mini I\'ve ever painted, so I\'m constantly pulling them out and changing them in some way. None of my work is ever COMPLETE:(.

Smokey

[Errex]

Recently, I painted the new Reaper Spider Centaur. This is quite a large, multi part model wich I found impossible to paint without holding it directly.

After I primed the thing, and basecoated dark brown (and repairing the damage done by a little \"accident\", don\'t ask). I found that the paint still rubbed off from wherever I handled the mini.

What I did, was touch up all model, and then applied a coat or two of matte sealer. It gave enough protection to handle my model with a minimun of fuzz, and after finishing painting and assembling (since I had to paint separated the torso and the spider body), I gave it again a coat or two of gloss varnish, followed by another couple of coats of more matte spray.

[paleotaur]

For 28 mm bases, I just blu-tac\'em to a really old film cannister I found, um.. somewhere:) Larger (40mm monster base size) I use a low temp hot glue gun (there\'s a contradiction in terms for ya;)) to attatch the base to the cap of a vitamin bottle. The fit couldn\'t be more flush if I had measured it to fit. I usually keep the cap on the bottle, but it handily unscrews when I need to get under a weird space in the mini.

[Lai]

i usually hold my minis with bare hands but now you all gave me much ideas!
thank you...i never stop learning!

[Thri-Keen Priest]

I\'m hearing lots of good ideas here, including some methods I use myself. Still, I feel the need to chime in:

I like using a hemostat** to hold a slotta base during painting. It allows me to get underneath the model, at angles that might be prevented by mounting to a screwcap or cork. After painting, I sprayvarnish the model while it is still in the hemostat. I then remove it and clip away the center part of the slot, leaving a short \"peg\" on the sole of each foot. I then press these pegs into a layer of fresh putty that is spread onto a base. Next I sculpt out the details of the base, leaving the \"peg-holes\" undisturbed. Once the base dries, I paint it and add and moss or grass. Finally I can fasten the model to the base and give it a final coat of varnish. Voila!

TKP
:)

** Hemostat: A long, slender pair of needle-nose clamps with locking arms, used for hands-free clamping of delicate parts, e.g. in surgery.

[AAvH-Darkblade]

Originally posted by Thri-Keen Priest
** Hemostat: A long, slender pair of needle-nose clamps with locking arms, used for hands-free clamping of delicate parts, e.g. in surgery.

Just a really excellent idea. Since I now have to have one, any suggestions of an easy place to aquire one. Thanks in advance.

Darkblade :cool:

[vincegamer]

I have one but I don\'t use it regularly as I don\'t have that many slotta-base minis to paint. Anyway, mine came in a disecting kit bought at a university bookstore for some class I had years ago. I\'d look for medical supply stores or universities that teach medicine.

[SaxonAngel]

For any slotta base type minis I use those big jawed paper clips, Just put the mini in the jaws, squeeze the wire levers out of their slots. Voila! I can get at the underside, don\'t have to touch my mini, and can just stand it up on a table.

If a mini is already based it gets either blue tacked or a quick dab of glue on the bottom to the top of an old GW paint pot or better yet a Ral-Partha pot.

I\'m practically a compulsive hand-washer. I also tend to give a mini a quick rinse if its been sitting around unattended for awhiles. I guess I\'m just a bit paranoid about touching them you could say :)

Peace!
-Saxonangel:innocent:

[AAvH-Darkblade]

Originally posted by vincegamer
I have one but I don\'t use it regularly as I don\'t have that many slotta-base minis to paint. Anyway, mine came in a disecting kit bought at a university bookstore for some class I had years ago. I\'d look for medical supply stores or universities that teach medicine.

Cool. Thanks.

Darkblade :cool:

[Sand Rat]

I\'ve used hemostats, (hooked and strait jawed), bottle caps, and popsicle sticks - and just gone back to holding the mini by hand and just dealing with the paint loss.lol

[laurence]

Hey Corvus, I\'ve been using master foods spice jars for a little while now and find them to be reasonably effective. Basically you just blu-tac your (heroic scale) mini to the lid of the jar and wahlar.:) If your mini is heavy just use a little more blu-tac to support it. When removing the mini from the jar I use some glad wrap (clear plastic sandwich wrap) to cover my hands and protect the mini from skin contact. I also use glad wrap as a kind of tent over my minis in between painting sessions this keeps the dust off. Happy painting:)

\'Theres no shortcut to experience\'

[AstroLabe]

A local craft store in the neighborhood sells wooden spools in large discount bags; I stick the slottabase to the spool with blue tac for easy removal. The spools also stand upright nicely without any awkward toppling, and they are thin enough to place multiple mini bases against one another for viewing.

[Spanky]

I generally paint with my bases on, so I use 3/4\" dowels, 4- 5 inch long. My slotta bases are usually filled with epoxy putty for balance, so I glue them or non slots right to the dowel with small amounts of white glue. I then built a \"tray\" with 5 - 1\" holes, 2.5\" apart, that these dowels will slip into and be held upright. I works well for painting multiple models as well as individuals.

[flyingdragon]

I wear latex gloves on one hand and handle the mini at the base.

[Corvus]

Thanks my friends for the numerous responses and ideas.

But yesterday evening I tried something on my own. I took a plastic screw cap from a PET bottle (1.5l or 2l water bottles for exampe). I roughed up the surface with sanding paper (to enable the glue to attach itself) and glued the mini and its base onto it with two small drops of glue on the opposite sides of the base.

Because those caps are made of quite flexible plastic, they can be removed by kind of \"peeling\" it off the base. Remaining glue can be removed with sanding paper.

The grip of these things is great. A very good position I have experienced is holding your thumb on the inside of the cap, against your index finger. The line texture on the outside also feels very good.

About the gloves: I never use them, but I have experienced that sweat on your hands easily rubs off paint. Therefore I always go and wash my hands with soap when I take a short break (pee, drink, ...) from painting (about every hour). This helps really well.

Thanks again.

[mouse]

I rely on the flyer\'s stand from GW stuck to the mini via blue tack. Seem to work wonders for me. :)

[vincegamer]

Originally posted by Spanky
I then built a \"tray\" with 5 - 1\" holes, 2.5\" apart, that these dowels will slip into and be held upright.

This sounds similar to my hunk of 2x4 with holes for the nails under my minis. Maybe I\'ll take a picture and add it in this list to show what I\'m talking about. I\'ve appreciated the pics others have linked, especially since I didn\'t know what a ring clamp was.

(from corvus)
About the gloves: ...I always go and wash my hands with soap when I take a short break (pee, drink, ...) from painting.

And from a hygeine point of view this is very smart. Always wash your hands after you use the bathroom and always before you eat/drink.

[sippog]

I\'ve built up a whole collection of clamps, vices and holders for painting every scale of figure over the years. The ideal for me is a rig that holds the figure securely for you at any angle, preferably hands-free.
To me it\'s obvious that you shouldn\'t touch or hold a figure while you paint; apart from anything else, the natural grease from your skin prevents the paint from adhering properly

For the really big stuff, I just stick wire pins into the feet, because the material is normally resin or vinyl, and then shove the pins through drilled holes in a bit of thin wood and bend them. It acts as a temporary base and keeps them secure until you\'re ready to mount them on your real base.

For mid range (54 - 200mm) my favourite is my Dremel D vice which is basically a vice mounted on to a ball joint with a collar that you twist to lock it in any position. (I have one with a wider base made by Amati that\'s not bad either).

For 25mm, I use a pin vice (a pair of screw tight jaws on a handle) and for really small bits - swords, guns, etc - I find the best thing is a bit of fine fuse wire twisted around them and made into a handle. Insures you do the very least repainting.

Holding them is no good if you cant put them down. I have used styrofoam blocks, florists blocks and a variety of mini rack-type things for that. Always make sure it\'s heavy or broad enough not to tip over though!