Reaper Bones minis? Yay or nay?

[shponglefan]

I've been looking at the Reaper Bones lineup. Given how inexpensive they are, it seems like a good way to pick up some inexpensive minis to practice painting on.

But a couple of things have me hesitant:

1) The extreme bendiness of the minis seems like they might be a bit frustrating to paint. I'm worried that the "give" of the plastic could result in a more challenging painting process and possibly cause more error.

2) The detail; I've read some reviews suggesting they lack the level of detail of the metal minis.

The impression I'm getting is that these are "tabletop" minis, designed for quick painting and use in gaming. I have no interest in gaming and am trying to learn to paint solely for display purposes. So would Reaper Bones minis be a good investment or no?

I'm also curious if anyone has painted the same mini both as a Bones version and metal version.

 

[Yuggoth]

I can only say "it depends". I found that those sculpts that where made especially for bones are very sharp and nice (the female fighter / paladin in fox or wolf themed armor by P. Keith is my favourite), while some of the older ones converted from metal have lost detail.
Some minis from the kickstarter had lost facial features like well defined lips and noses for example. I can generally recommend the bigger kits (the dragons came out really well and benefit from the lighter material. The clockwork dragon and the female giant are especially sweet imho). Some of the older sculpts that came out quite sharp include the "Klocke Classics"
Bendyness is a continuing issue with all smaller weapons like rapiers or thin staffs, all thicker ones can be easily fixed by hot/cold water treatment.
Something I was more or less disappointed with are the transparent bones. They hold paint badly, look cheapish and the material is stinky as hell.

 

[TrystanGST]

I don't really game, and I usually paint for display, and I would definitely recommend picking some up. Probably not the whole box, but they are a breeze to prep (very few mold lines, no need to prime) and I've been having a blast painting them. If nothing else, they are a great break from display minis. They also make great practice minis to try out new things on - things you wouldn't want to risk on a $25 resin mini, but don't really mind if it comes out poorly on a $1.50 mini. I have had very little issue with bendy bits. Nothing so soft that the brush would move it around.

 

[freakinacage]

The bigger the better with them. I bought the kickstarter stuff. The thin stuff is a bit crappy but not horrendous. Shouldn't affect painting, I mean, how hard do you press with your brush?!! Bigger bits are pretty solid and well done, no real loss of detail. The only pain is the mould lines, require more cutting than filing mostly. That said the bigger stuff (I'm talking chaos knight and bigger, no crappy elves or skellies) seems harder. It paints very well and the give means it tends to bounce when dropped! Any bent bits can be set straight by immersing in hot water then holding straight while running under cold

 

[shponglefan]

They also make great practice minis to try out new things on - things you wouldn't want to risk on a $25 resin mini, but don't really mind if it comes out poorly on a $1.50 mini.

That's a good point. And I suppose in cases where they have both the Bones version and regular metal version of a particular mini, the bones version could serve as a sketchpad of sorts versus the metal.

 

[KruleBear]

That's a good point. And I suppose in cases where they have both the Bones version and regular metal version of a particular mini, the bones version could serve as a sketchpad of sorts versus the metal.

I agree with all the points made, although the two i have worked on had a lot of light mold lines that were a pain in the butt to remove...i think it is a learning curve with this material. It appears that existing human size or smaller minis did not tranlate well to bones (lost noses being one of the biggest issues). Reaper has nnounced a handful they were not happy with that will not be offered for sale outside of the vampire package deal. I actually think some of the larger and more stout minis could make decent display minis with a little effort. Look at Trystans "quick" paint job in his wip on some of the smaller minis and it will give you an idea of the potential.

For the price, they cannot be beat for practice/experimental mins. They are also easy to chop up for part or potential modifications. I could see myself buying a bunch of rats for use in dioramas.