holding on to a mini

[Dakwan]

What do most people use to hold onto a mini while they paint? just the base doesn\'t give you a lot of room to hold onto it.. i just tried gluing the base to a cap off a bottle of water but i am concerned about breaking something when i remove it from the cap...

any good ideas?

 

[TAB Studio]

I use a large prescription bottle top I place the mini on the top with super glue and then I can flip it upside down etc. to paint
When
I am done painting for the night most minis are a size that I can I can screw the top on to the bottle and they are protected till next time I am ready to paint. If this makes no sense check the blog link below and go to episode one there is a visual you can see what I mean, sorry I do not have a still shot.

I used to use cork wine stoppers but often the cork was a bear to get off the foot of the mini, with the script top I can easily slide a xacto knife under and break the seal of the super glue.
Hope this helps
Tracy

 

[Vanth]

Normally I use old paint pots that I have spare or, if the mini is too large for that, a small can I have for this purpose. The key to not breaking anything is not gluing the mini down: I use blu tack to fix it and it holds perfectly. When you need to remove the mini it is quite easy, you just need to turn it around and it will come off.

 

[freakinacage]

as i usuallu pin the feet to the base, i attach one of the pins to my pin vice and hold that

 

[DaRat]

I use craft wood candle stick cups (turned upside down). The minis are stuck to the upside down cup with some poster tack.

 

[fortunesfool]

I magnetize the bases of my minis (or the minis themselves.

I then take ferro impregnated plastic sheeting and apply it to the top of a used wine cork. This is further secured with a big fat nail.

The magnets (rare earth magnets) stick like a charm to the altered wine corks.

 

[Sand Rat]

I use blue tac to hold the mini to a soft drink bottle top.

Works well, and you\'re only out the cost of the cokes and the blue tac.

 

[QuietiManes]

I just hold a mini by the base. It is a bit of a hassle making sure not to smudge off the lower half of the paint scheme with my thumb but it is easier to make sure not to rub off my work than it is to hold something double the weight and size for multiple hours. IMO...YMMV.

If you do a search through the older forum posts this topic has come up a few times and there should be some good info to be found. Not that I mind it coming up again, chance to see what\'s new and hip in holding your toys. And...have you seen the articles?

http://www.coolminiornot.com/article/aid/38
http://www.coolminiornot.com/article/aid/180
http://www.coolminiornot.com/article/aid/466

I\'ve got a jewellers vise...vice? operates similar to what was made in the middle link. Been meaning to try it out, just haven\'t gotten around to it yet.

 

[chrispasseno]

I hot glue the base w/ model attached to the top of a mouthwash bottle cap. When I\'m done painting, I can put it under a desk lamp to warm up and pop it off.

 

[airhead]

flat bases - Reaper, etc - twist off cap like a 16 oz coke. One drop of superglue. When you are done, just squeeze the cap and the mini pops off.
(Much like TAB\'s perscription bottles)

Slotta bases - GW, Warlord, etc. - Rubber wine cork, cut a slot with a Zona saw. Slide the slotta into the cork slot. Generally that is all that is needed.

 

[Sand Rat]

The advantage of the blue tac over the super glue is no worries about it not coming off - and I have used this for up to giants from reaper with no problems.

 

[Einion]

Since I pin practically everything for years I\'ve used the pin to hold the piece/figure during sculpting or painting, held in a pin vice. The ribbed texture and the small diameter of these mean they\'re not that comfortable for long sessions though.

So, for larger pieces - especially when sculpting, where there\'s a lot more sideways pressure than with a brush! - I finally got off my ass and made myself a set of custom holders. These are small clamps attached to the top of large-diameter wooden dowels for comfortable holding (very important when you\'re gettin\' on a bit!)

If you like to work bent over your desk the length of the handle also means you can rest the butt on the tabletop, making for a very steady platform with the work still quite high off the surface.

Einion

 

[Godlikebuthumble]

a) Pin the feet/bottom of the miniature and hold the pins in a pin vice.

b) Hold the slotta tag with a pair of small pliers, hold those shut with rubber band. Works a bit better than the above for bigger and heavier minis, like Rackham Wolfen or such.

 

[Talonicus]

I always cut the tabs etc off and pin both feet.
These i then superglue into a cork.
I always have them nice and long so when I am finished I just cut the pins.

 

[matty1001]

I use Guinness, it\'s like liquid licorice that stuff.

 

[Torn blue sky]

I was blessed at birth with steady magnetic hands! I can only paint Iron minis though which is a bit of a shitter... :no:

 

[Dakwan]

awesome lol

thanks for the feedback! now the next step is to figure out which of all the incredible ideas to try first!

 

[TKNY]

I\'ve used needle nosed pliers as sort of a hand held vise. Grab the base tab tight with the pliers, and use duct tape to wrap the handles tight.

 

[supervike]

Originally posted by steelcult
I use blue tac to hold the mini to a soft drink bottle top.

Works well, and you\'re only out the cost of the cokes and the blue tac.

Ditto.

 

[mickc22]

I remove the tab and pin into corks, everything, even for big minis

for more awkward to reach spots just leave the pins a little long, you can then bend them to reach
here\'s a few more things on corks