Greeting fellow wargamers, Caleb with White Metal Games here. We specialize in creating custom miniatures for your wargames . . . at least, we did, until Murderfrost came along.
I stumbled across this site a few months back and I thought it was high time I share my findings with the world. First off, stop drooling. Here’s the link! Best part of all, $20 bucks each! Woot, woot!
The site that makes these guys, Murderfrost, is a wargaming site that specializes in custom made plastic terrain and apparently a few models. They have some amazing terrain pieces, as well as some cool cannons and other bits of battlefield wargear. Check out their full range. Dirt cheap prices!!!
The range is called Dark Solemnity, which I suppose points to the fact that the primarchs were a serious bunch of guys.
There are currently four figures in this range. The first, featured at the top of the page, is called Lord Blind Portend. Note the red hair, signature weapon, crown and armor . . . remind you of anyone?
Moving on, next we have Lord Lionsbane . . okay, a bit more specific, more on point. If you swapped the pistol, I could actually see using this guy in just some regular fantasy games or RPG’s. Digging that armor.
Next we have my personal favorite . . . Lord Killfrenzy. I just like the name. Who can blame me! The dual axes really give this guy away, and that pleated battle skirt/kilt/whatever. Remind you of any other figures out there?
Last put not least, we have Lord Tenacity. Um . . . wow, that’s amazing, actually.
Never highlight again . . . well, at least not in the traditional sense.
Caleb here with White Metal Games, and I’m here to tell you we’ve all been pushing the cart uphill when we could have been coasting all along.
Traditionally painting works something like this:
Prime
Basecoat
Shade
Highlight
The problem is working in all those shadows and highlights takes time. A lot of time. And time isn’t a luxury any of us have these days. If you’re anything like me you’ve got a dozen or more projects on your desk at any one time, each vying for your attention. What to do, what to do? Well, you could hire someone to paint your minis for you, never a bad idea, or like me, learn to paint faster! And the greyscale method will help to get you there. Here’s how it works:
See the paint stick? Would you believe I painted it all with the same shade of blue? No? Well, I did. How you ask? Simple, the blue was laid down last.
Most paint is fairly opaque, which means not a lot of light gets through it. It’s thick, it covers the mini well. However, it also doesn’t allow for much contrast. It’s flat, it’s boring. To create a sense of depth to the miniature, most painters using a series of shades and highlights to make the model more visually appealing.
But there’s an easier way. By using a transparent paint, such as a candy, tint or glaze, you let more of the underlying color show through. Remember the top level of any miniature is not just the layer laid down last, it’s a cumulative effect built up from all the underlying colors. Another way to say this is every color you lay down effects the next color to be laid down.
The problem with the above is that it requires you find the right tones and harmonies of any paint as you layer up or shade down to make sure the layers look natural. If you want to highlight dark blue for example, you must select the right blue, or add a little white to the original.
By contrast, however, black, grey and by extension white are all natural variations of each other. Black blends naturally to grey, and grey to white.
In many ways, this method starts the same as zenithal highlighting. All we’re really trying to do is let the shadows falls where they may. And to do that, we use the natural contours of the model, rather than creating our own through line highlights or other time consuming techniques.
First, lay down a little black. If you are against black primer as so folks are, use a little dark grey. And by a little, I may lay down an even lay over the miniature. You can avoid the highest points, since these will end up being while, but concentrates in cracks/crevaces, and the like. Remember, these areas and where the shadows would natuarlly fall, so these are where the darkest colors will be anywhere. And by laying down black in these areas, when you finally do apply paint on top, the final layer will naturally appear darker since the underlaying color is in fact black, thus reflecting little to no light.
Next, move on to dark grey, or light grey if you started with dark grey. I tend to do this with an airbrush, but you could dry brush it on to the same effect. You want to work against the grain of the model. The best way to describe this is imagine a wooden beam, with grain running through it. You want to go against the grain. In the below, rather than going left to right (with the grain) you want to do up and down, against the grain. Think of it like cross the lines, making X’s, turning it into a graph. Whatever visual helps you. The bottom line is you want to apply the paint in such a way that the dry brush picks up the natural higher edges of the figure. If you use an airbrush, then as the paint is dispersed across the miniature, it will naturally settle on the higher areas, much like snow clinging to the top of a mountain peak.
Finally, apply a little white to the uppermost edges of the model, the highlights. If you do this with an airbrush, just remember to have a light touch. If you oversaturate these areas with white, then they will appear washed out. You don’t want that. You want contrast, you want variation. In short, you need all the greys to be visible. But these white areas are indeed crucial, and in terms of the color selected, they will be the closet to the color you selected in terms of a 1:1 ratio of color.
Now comes the fun part. Select a glaze, tint, or candy. If you don’t have a tint, then simply select your favorite paint, something hopefully not too opague and thin it down to the consistency of skim milk. Basically the same consistency you want with any airbrush paint. To test it, spread a little out across a piece of old newspaper. If you can still see the letters through the thinned down paint, your about right. If you can’t read the words anymore, keep thinning.
Using your now properly thinned down paint, apply the paint to the entire model. That’s right, the whole thing. Don’t overdo it. You don’t want to lay down so much paint that the underlying layers don’t show through.
Now behold! A miniature with natural looking transitions between darks and light (contrast) with minimal effort. So what do you think? Is it a win, or is it a cheap trick with no use in a painters arsenal?
To give credit where credit is due, I first got this idea from watching Asjarra’s St. Celestine video. If you’ve never seen Asjarra’s work, then I can’t recommend him enough. His channel is a huge inspiration to me.
In addition, I found this video on youtube that loosely outlines the principal I am talking about.
What SHOULD be noted is that this is by no means a perfect substitution for highlighting. The highlights will never be as bright as they would be if layered on top. They are great for shadows, however because, in essence, shadows are a lack of color and this achieves just that.
They’re also great for cranking out decent looking miniatures in a hurry, giving the illusion of blending without as much work as you might expect. Go speed painter, go speed painter, go speed painter, goooooo!!!
Until next time, this is Caleb with White Metal Games reminding you to . . .
Painting miniatures can be a rewarding experience, but how do you showcase your work in the best possible light. Here are 5 easy tips to improve your lighting studio set up to make photographing your minis that much easier!
1. Adequate Lighting
Unless you are going for a Noir style look, you are probably going to want more than one lamp. Fortunately lamps are cheap.
You can pick up a clip light such as this from a DIY store like Lowes or Home Deport, even Walmart, for about $5-6 bucks each. We recommend about 3 to be on the safe side.
Can’t get to the hardware store? Not to worry, because it’s Back to School Time! You can find a lamp like these practically anywhere. They’re a tad more expensive because, well, because they look a bit more aesthetically pleasing and they’re intended for college kids with parents flitting the bill. So in that vein, ask your mom to pick you up one (or three) or these for about $10-20 bucks each.
2. Kill the Shadows Now that you’re got your snazzy new lights, arrange them around your subject like so. This is the basics of three point lighting.
The idea is to eradicate shadows by filing in every angle of your subject, flooding those gaps with light. Sort of like how we use washes to fill out the details on a mini.
3. Quality Lighting
Things have changed since the day Thomas Edison first brought us the light bulb. Move over Edison, daylight is king! While your at the store, pick up a pack of Daylight balanced bulbs. $12 bucks will get you a four pack, which is more than enough lighting.
Not only are these bulbs brighter than traditional bulbs, they use less energy, so they save you money. Normally heat is a bi-product of using a traditional light bulbs. In general terms, the original light bulb was poorly designed from an energy use standpoint. These newer bulbs don’t get nearly as hot to the touch, so it’s more comfortable to photograph your models, which means you can shoot an entire army and still not break a sweat. Trust me, at the studio, we learned this the hard way. And even better, these bulbs will last much longer than traditional bulbs, so I’ll save money that way too!!!
Case in point, see the two Daemon Princes below.
The first figure was photographed using regular 60 watt bulbs. The second, using the daylight balanced bulbs above. See how much cleaner and crisper the second image looks?
Soft Lighting
You’ll want to soften the light in some way, so it doesn’t strike the model directly. Softening is a term photographers use to describe the quality of the light striking their subject. Remember when you were in the highschool and the photographer had those white umbrellas with the flashes pointed into them? Same principle. The light didn’t hit you directly and as a result the indirect light was softer as it drifted over the subject. See in the below picture how none of the lights are pointed at the subject directly? The light is being bounced around the inside of the light box, creating a ‘soft’ overall light.
This will also help to prevent any damage to the figure over long periods of exposure to bright light. After all, you don’t want to spend weeks painting a figure and then have it fade when you leave it in the photo booth for too long!
Another way to do this is to take a thin white material, like tracing paper, white muslin (for you drama majors out there, cheese cloth (for you bakers out there), or even you’re mama’s nice white linens. The material should be thin enough that light can beam through it. Remember, if the light doesn’t reach your subject, then it doesn’t matter how soft the light is, the subject will still be too dark.
4. Simple or gradient background
I see a lot of photos like this one out there:
And while this is okay for a quick upload to a site like Facebook or the like, it’s not really adequate when you want to showcase a model. There’s so much going on in the background I can’t focus on the model at all. You’re going to want something more like this: Gradient backgrounds are quite simply a fade from light to dark, usually colored in some way. Blue is common, mostly because it suggests a skyline. We’re used to seeing blue, we see it everyday outside (well, most of us do). Without getting into too much detail, finding a tutorial for how to print a gradient background isn’t all that hard. Just google it. Don’t have access to a printer? Then any basic blank white sheet of paper will do. Just try to position the sheet so we can’t see the edges. Ideally position the figure on the bend of the page. The idea is to create a seamless background, so all we have to focus on is the figure.
5. White = Bright!!!
Ever notice that most photoboxes are white? Do you know why? It’s simple. White reflects light. So a nice bright white photobox will help to bounce the light around and brighten up the subject matter. Case in point, take a look at these Tau we recently did for a client.
See how overall the figure just looks darker? It’s not your eyes, it’s the background.
CONCLUSION:
By following these simple tips you’ll be able to improve the quality of your miniature photography in no time and then you’ll really be able to . . . .
Well, we did it. We jumped on board the podcasting band wagon. You can find our first three podcasts here
Every podcast has their thing. Some are more narrative driven, some are more tournament play driven or competitive in nature.
I like to think of our podcast as a dialogue between two wargamers who are keenly interested in wargaming culture, trends, balanced play, rumors, and getting a better grasp on the rules.
We don’t spend a lot of time focused on game mechanics or strategy, we spend much more time focused on the passion of wargaming, what drives us to pursue it, understanding the wargaming mentality, and the like. It’s the perfect engine for me to talk about recent commission, kit bashes, upcoming releases, and its the perfect venue for Justin to combine his academic vernacular with his unabashedly encyclopedic knowledge of the 40k Fluffiverse.
So if you’re a wargamer like us, a beer and pretzels style gamer that just likes to have fun, this might be the podcast for you. We share some similarities to the Screaming Heretic Podcast, another podcast that is just a bunch of good friends have a few laughs.
All of the podcasts are uploaded on our website but we will also be uploading them to itunes soon.
While your on the site, be sure to peruse our gallery of almost 10,000 images of custom kit bashed miniatures, painted samples, full armies, terrain, and more!
You can also check us out on facebook and follow our updates, respond to queries we post on the show, etc.
So . . . have a listen, take us for a spin, comment on the facebook page and let us know what you think, and until then .. .
I was recently contacted by a repeat client who wants a customer squad of ‘The Eight’ created. The Eight are the members of Ta Commander Farsights personal bodyguard, consisting of a handful of crisis suits, a broadside, and a riptide!
Needless to say I was overjoyed at the prospect of building this squad, not only because it just came out ( the Tau Farsight Enclave) but because its so rare that I get to kit bash me some Tau. Tau just aren’t one of those armies that get modified that often. Not at least in the same way that Nids, Chaos daemons/marines, or Orks do.
Since I don’t have the supplement yet, I was a little confused on what sorts of bits I’d need to do this. I read something about Fusion blades, sort of a lightsaber for Tau, and heard you need twin linked fusion guns to do it. So I immediately tried to find some.
However, in doing a little more research only ONE of the Commanders carries a TL fusion gun and thus has access to the fusion blade. So I was stuck with all these extra bits! While I could have hoarded them for future work, I felt it would be better, for both me and community, to turn them back over to the vendor and release them back to the 2nd hard bits market.
I emailed the vendor, explained my situation, and waited to hear back from them. In hours the situation had been resolved amicably and the purchase was refunded.
Now with Spikey Bits no longer offering bits sales, the bits market is getting harder and harder to work through. If a client wants a specific model modeled up, it can be a challenge to get all the bits you need. My situation with the Looming Horror model a few days ago was no exception to this.
In many cases it might actually be cheaper for modellers like myself to buy up several kits, use the bits we need, and then keep the spares on hand for other projects. But this isn’t always the best solution, sometimes you just need that ONE BIT. And without the second hand market to make that happen, it’s getting harder and harder to provide that service to clients.
So I’d like to make two points.
Firstly, I’d like to publicly praise Bits World for their outstanding customer service.
Secondly, I’m curious how companies like Bits World continue to stay in business with the recent shift in GW policy regarding the second hand bits market.
Are bits providers like Bits World a dying breed, hunted to extinction, and if so, what’s a miniature studio to do when clients have custom orders to fill?
I’ve requested an interview with the owners of Bits World to let us see the men (or women) behind the mask. Stay tuned for details . . .
And until then . . PUT YOUR MINIS WHERE YOUR MOUTH IS!
See this model? This one below . . .I used to build these all the time. It was a hallmark piece of mine, a cornerstone of my business model. Custom miniatures are what sets one clients army apart from any other clients (that and a great paint job)
A client recently contacted me regarding the above model. “I just want an aesthetically pleasing, awesome looking model, without breaking my wallet, lol.”
It’s the LOL that really made me grin. I mean . . . don’t we all want that? But we can’t have our cake and eat it too, at least, not anymore. In the past, I’d charge as much as $45 for the model above, or when I needed to move inventory, as little as $25.
Compare this to a service like Blue Table Painting’s Doom of Malantai Conversion , which is a nice enough model, don’t be me wrong. Nothing fancy. But nice. They charge $72 bucks for that guy. $72! And I thought they were insane, who would pay such a thing . . .
Then a client emailed me about the above model, and I quoted them $60. I hated to do it, but I couldn’t figure out a way to quote the model for anything less, and even at $60 . . . I’m worried I’ll take a loss.
Finally, I understand where BTP was coming from asking so much for their Doom. I got it.
Here’s the problem . . . bits are a commodity. A few months ago, I could contact Rob over at Spikey Bitz and custom order some of the bits. Even the bits he didn’t have in stock, he’d sell me a kit for 20% off. So okay, I have leftovers for all my little future conversions. Maybe I break even in the mean time, but make a profit down the road. Not the worst outcome.
But the problem is now, with GW cracking down on the bits market I CAN’T do that anymore. Finding a Hive Tyrant tail? There’s only one place selling them, Hoard of Bits, and I don’t do business with them anymore. Long story, but let’s just say customer service is not their strong suit.
So to get a tail I have to buy the entire tyrant kit. Even at 20% off, with shipping it’s still almost $50 bucks! Yikes . . .
Now you could argue that I’ll have the Tyrant left over and I can sell them. That’s true . . but I can only sell the walking variant. And Brother . . . since Flyers hit in sixth edition you just don’t see too many walking tyrants anymore.
What’s the moral of this story?
I’m not sure there is one. Maybe that GW really shot us in the foot with their new policies regarding bits. Thanks GW.
It’s hard to be a gangsta and it’s equally hard to kit bash a model on a budget these days. At least if you want specific bits. If the client had asked for a ravener tail THOSE I have . . . but the question is can the client get exactly what they want for a price that is reasonable?
It’s looking less likely these days.
I hate to end on a sour note, so let me say this . . .. at White Metal Games we specialize in creating custom models, but we have limits to what we can do, and that limit is YOUR budget. So when you commission a model, ask yourself reasonably in all fairness what YOU could do it for, if you had to do it. Then compare that to what we’re asking for, consider our time and our experience, and ask if it’s worth it to you?
For a one of a kind centerpiece model, is $60 really too much to ask? I don’t think so. After all your paying for a one of a kind bit of hobby goodness.
If you allow us a little wiggle room, I’m sure we can find a good alternative. Check out of gallery of over 9000 images for examples of our outside the box thinking.
But if its still too much, then let me sweeten the pot.
The first client to commission a 2000 point army with WMG after this post is published can pick either one Doom of Malantai kit bash (as per BTP’s model) or the above Parasite kit bash and get it FOR FREE! How’s that for having your cake and eating it too!
Since the release of the Khorne Lord of Skulls about a week ago, the internet has been a buzz with conversion gossip. The kit is just ripe for kit bashing, and like most enthusiasts out there I couldn’t wait to get it on my workbench.
In expectation of the release, MBG over at Spikey Bits released this article. The Dreamforge leviathan has a nice look, but sadly it won’t be released in 15mm scale for a few more months. And I wasn’t willing to wait.
The Khorne kit bash, that we dubbed the ‘Deathknight’ stands just a smidge taller than the Wraithknight, and would defiantly put the eldar in it’s place in a one on one. The legs are from an Iron Monger toy from Iron Man movie a few years ago. They had the right shape, feel, and bulk to really sell this conversion. While I do think I could add a few more Khorne icons onto the legs, I just haven’t found anything in my bits box that is screaming to me right now as being right for this model. Not to worry, I can always glue them on later.
We also came across a pretty decent sized base for the model in our base box. This particular base is hard plastic, black, and beveled/convex. Perfect! It will be include with the model when sold (see below).
Like most of our work, this model will be up for sale on ebay on Thursday, July 25th. Check out all our listings including this one here. And be sure to check out all the great deals we are offering on our website, too. With so many codex’ coming out back to back, maybe it’s time to get that new army youve been promising yourself. Ask us about our Looted Armies, too, for other ways to save some green. In other news, we’ve been working hard to promote our social media. You can find links to our facebook page, youtube page, flickr pool, and more from our homepage.
We’ve also been working on a new podcast that we hope to debut in the coming weeks, so stay tuned to get all the most recent updates. And until then . . .
In the spirit of sharing the wealth, we are giving away a free digital camera!
When we first decided to throw out lot in with the rink of other miniature painting studios, the first thing we knew we needed was a digital camera. We had a budget of less than $100 bucks, so it took some hunting but we eventually settled on the Fujifilm Finepix 2800, which had the best macro lens we could find for our budget.
We’ve used this camera for the past few years and had some great times together. Here are some pictures from our most recent outings! And more can be found right here!
But as life happens, we grew apart. We wanted different things. Namely, we wanted a newer sleeker camera with a longer lens . . . and the Fujifilm just didn’t want to change with us.
We quite literally traded up for the newer, younger version, much like Hugh Hefner. But unlike Hef, we can only manage one camera at a time.
The details of the contest can be found on our Youtube channel, here. But the details are simple:
-In the comments section, list a good reason you think you deserve the camera
We reserve the right to disqualify you based on your reason (IE, if you want to add it to you collection of cameras, or you want to make a quick buck on ebay). We want this camera to go to someone with an interest in photography, preferably with an interest in miniatures, and tht NEEDS a camera.
On or after July 27th, the winner will be announced on our channel! You have until then to enter the contest!
One lucky winner (randomly drawn from the applicants) will get the camera and all the fixin’s for FREE, shipped anywhere in the world, also for free!
And once you do win this camera, you will have no excuse not to . . . you guessed it . . .
PUT YOUR MINIS WHERE YOUR MOUTH IS!
My name is Caleb and I am the owner of White Metal Games, a miniature painting and assembly studio operating out of Raleigh, NC. Be sure to check us out here!
So I’m a power tool kinda guy. I like anything that saves me time. Most power tools that I use run less then $150 bucks and for the time they save me I feel that purchase price is generally well worth the time saved. Time is money, after all, or so they say.
And if time = money, then mold lines = money wasted. Seriously, how much time does the average wargamer spend cleaning mold lines from models? The honest truth is not much. But when you adverstise yourself as a professional miniature service, you’re held to a higher standard. As I think we should be.
To that extent, cleaning mold lines can be a time burner and finding a way to remove them fast has been a priority of mine for some time. When it comes to mold lines you have a few options:
You can scrape them with a hobby knife: This method is time tested, but can be time consuming, dangerous (if you knick yourself) and can tear chunks out of a model if done with a dull blade (which to prevent cuts, is often the case)
You can file them with a hobby file: A better way, but much slower than the scraping method.
You can sand them away with a dremmel tool
Most people never consider the dremel tool for a variety of reasons (namely lack of a dremel, or no desire to swap out bits on a continual basis, although a speed chuck can help with that). To be fair it’s a bit like using a sledgehammer to nail up a picture.
But there are a wide variety of rotary tools out there on the market and accessories for each. Dog Grooming tools are one option. Another advantage to having multiple cheaper rotary tools is instead of needing to swap drill/sanding bits each time you use the dremel, by having a few rotary tools you can leave commonly used bits in the chuck so you can use them quickly when you pick them up. For example, I tend to keep a 1/16 drill bit in my drill, a 1/32 drill bit in my rotary tool, and I even have a smaller electric pen/rotary tool now (see below!).
The later case is the purpose of this article. In an attempt to speed up my process of removing mold lines from models, I recently purchased a Nail Salon rotary tool out of Hong Kong. My idea was to use it for flash/model line removal on smaller, plastic models. It’s light weight, small, and perfect for 25mm work.
Over 450 sold for just over $10 bucks! Sounds awesome! But did you notice anything weird about the picture? Look closely now . . . ‘
Check out the AC adapter. Look a little strange? That’s cause it’s made for Asian outlets, like in Hong Kong, where it was shipped from.
My stupid American brain never thought about the fact that a Hong Kong based tool might be made to use in native outlets. They sell adapters online, but I just wasn’t 100% sure they would work. So in the end I dumped another 12 bucks to get one of these, it’s American counterpart:
And here’s a link to that tool. As you can see in the description, it has a perfectly normal (to me, at least) AC Adapter. I suppose on the upside of things, now I’ll have 2 rotary tools on hand. Maybe I’ll use one for coarse grinding and one for thin sanding.
As for how the tool performs? I wish I could tell you, but I’m waiting on the new tool to come in! Be sure to check back then!
My name is Caleb and I am the owner of White Metal Games. Be sure to check us out! And until you do . . .
Greetings fellow wargamers! My buddy Spence recently acquired a Wraithknight model for his Dark Eldar/allied Eldar army. I mean, how could he resist? At nearly 9″ tall, this model could punt a carnifex like a football.
In a rare shift for GW, the kit contains 4 different arms to explore all the different options for the Wraithknight. Fortunately the model only has a few different builds, which include:
Ghost Glaive/Shield 2 Wraithcannons Suncannon and Wraithcannon
As well as the smaller weapons (scatter laser, bright lance, starcannon)
For this tutorial, you will need the following magnets:
1/4″x 1/16″: Six of these 1/8″ x 1/16″: Six of these 3/16″ x 1/16″: One or Three of these, depending on preference
Let’s start with the shoulder weapons. Now it’s important to note that these weapons could be mounted on the arms as well, but for sake of ease, we liked the shoulder as host points so that’s what this tutorial covers.
To start, go ahead and make a few guide marks where you want the magnets to be. Aim for the center of the mounting point, or the apex or convex of the part depending on what it is you’re mounting. Drill out a 1/16″ hole on the bottom of both of the sponson weapons (the scatter lasers, in this example). DON’T GLUE THE WEAPON BARREL INTO THE HOUSING. By leaving it loose you’ll be able to swap out the weapons later.
Now grab a 1/8″ bit and drill out the hole a little bit wider. It’s important to go up one stop at a time between drill bits, and rushing or skipping a bit could leader to blowing out the hole for the magnet. Generally, the 1/8″ magnet won’t fit into the hole bored out by the 1/8″ drill bit of the same size. That would be too easy. You’ll probably have to wiggle the drill bit around a little bit to widen the hole, or even in some extreme cases go up an entire extra drill bit size. Go slowly, as too much wiggling could break your bit off in the freshly bored hole and then you’ll have to get that out of the way before you can press on.
Once the hole is widen enough, try dry fitting the magnet into the hole. It the magnet ends up stuck in the hole, THAT’S OKAY. Since a snug fit is what you want. Don’t worry about gluing it in place if this happen. If it falls out later, you can always glue it back in.
Drill out matching holes on the eldar wraithknight ‘shoulders’ on the corresponding points. Use the same process as above. Again, go slowly, don’t rush it. If you go too fast you might fracture the bits, and with the bits market about to take a major hit in a few weeks, it’s no guarantee you’ll be able to get ahold of them easily.
Once you’ve got all your holes drilled out, now it’s times to glue, finally. Polarity won’t be much of an issue on this figure, for a few reason. Firstly, it doesn’t have a lot of options you’ll want to later add on, like new wargear or the like. Secondly, the host points are so far apart that the other magnets will likely never pose a polarity risk to your other bits. What I mean by this is that there is ZERO chance that the magnets on one shoulder will be close enough to the other shoulder to rip them out magnetically. The model is just so big that it’s not an issue, unlike, say, a carnifex, where all the dual arm sockets on either side of it’s body are always going to be a problem unless you make sure you match the polarity, so they aren’t fighting each other.
Glue the host magnets down first (by this I mean the shoulder magnets). Don’t use more than you need. Once dry (with the help of a little zipkicker to speed this along) you’ll be able to check the polarity of the attachments. If you do this before the host point is dry, you might get a little glue onto your attachment magnet and then it might just stay glued down. Glue+Magnetization= a really strong bond if you rush things.
Again, the only that thing really matters here is matching the polarity for each point. It doesn’t particuraly matter if the guns are either shoulder match each others polarity. The only real reason I can see this being a problem would be in the case of storage. If you store these bits close together then there is a chance they will attract to each other and eventually that could be a problem. The simply solution here is to separate your magnetized bits the same way you would painted figures . . . in individualized foam cells to protect them.
Next up, the suncannon arm. This is a right arm, and it allows for either a suncannon or wraithcannon to be mounted. So instead of drilling out this arm, we simply glued a 3/16″ x 1/16″ magnet into place. Again, the polarity wasn’t a bit deal here, since it is so far away from any other bit on the model. Once painted up, this magnet will be invisible to the eye.
On the corresponding bits (the wraithcannon and suncannon barrels) we sanding down the square peg so that we could sink our magnets. It’s important to note that while a 3/16″ magnet will fit on this space, it is entirely too big to drill out a hole for this magnet on this bit. So, you have two options: Firstly, you can simply glue the 3/16″ magnet into place. Check the polarity, obviously. This has the advantage of being fast and easy, but since it has no support around it, there is a risk over time of the magnet being pulled off.
The second option, and the one we choose, was to drill out 1/8″ holes for the 1/8″ magnets to be inserted into these bits, much like the scatter lasers above. This gives you extra durability, however, we did find that the wraithcannon barrel (being so long) could use a slightly larger magnet (the 3/16″) to support it. The 1/8″ will work fine, don’t get us wrong, but when you move the model there is a little ‘wiggle’ to it. The solution is a stronger or larger magnet. Or in our case, just being okay with a bit of give when the model moves. Now you know why we suggested having a few extra 3/16″ magnets on hand for this tutorial. Those larger magnets will create a stronger pull, but they’ll just be glued into space. They’ll paint up fine, but they may (over time) come lose.
When attaching or detaching magnets, always break the yoke to the side rather than pulling away directly. Think of it like if the Great Unlean One fell down. With the GUO being so fat, wouldn’t it be easier for the GUO to roll onto it’s side and stand up that way, rather than just trying stand straight up. See force (in this case gravity, in the case of the magnets, magnetic force) is being exerted on the subject (the magnets). That force is always exerting pull on those magnets. When you pull the magnetized bit away, it’s a bit like the GUO trying to stand up. It’s easier to roll to the side (breaking the yoke). It also exerts less force on the magnet, and thus your magnets will last longer (at least stay attached)
The limbs and the torso were the trickiest parts. This par required 1/4″ magnets, which are very large for magnets used on miniatures. For the arms we simply glued these into the sockets, being sure to check polarity as we went. We didn’t green stuff them down or anything, since you’d never see them and if they came out a little glue will solve all our problems.
For the torso, however, the problem was three fold. Firstly, those shoulders are hollow. So drilling is fine, but there’s nothing for the magnet to be supported on.
Secondly, those shoulders are in 2 parts. So while drilling the halves might come apart, and make it harder to get a smooth hole. Like trying to drill a hole between two coffee tables that match up end to end perfectly.
Finally, the magnet had to be big enough to support the weight of the arms, BUT the magnets we used are almost flush with the shoulder itself. So we couldn’t drill out too fast, or too hard. For all the above reasons. Mostly, we were trying to avoid a blow out. That’s when you drill the hole too quicklly and you shred the bit you’re working on. In this case, the shoulder halves.
So, starting with a 1/16″ bit, we drilled out the center of each shoulder. Then working up a bit at a time (5/64, 3/16, etc) we eventaully got up to 1/4″ Even then we had to use an exacto knife to help whittle out the inside of the shoulder socket until it was a clean fit.
Once we had our hole, we glued the magnet into place, between the two halves. It still wasn’t perfectly flush, SO we simply twisting it so that the seam was facing the top of the model (facing the shoulder pad lining). This way it would never be seen and thus never become an eyesore.
Finally, we mixed up a little grey stuff and applied it to the inside of the socket, using it like a ballast to support the magnet. By pressing it firmly up against the magnet and filling the inside of the shoulder socket, we created an artificial back for the magnet, so that it would have added support. Once glued down you’d never notice it anyway!
All told this project took about 2 hours, so don’t rush things. Take your time, be patience, and pretty soon you’ll have every option for your Wraithknight there is!
My name is Caleb and I am the Owner of White Metal Games! Be sure to check us out for any painting, assembly or magnetization project you have! Until next time, PUT YOUR MINIS WHERE YOUR MOUTH IS!
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. By using this website you agree to accepting cookies. For more information on the cookies we use, see our Privacy Policy. Close
Privacy & Cookies Policy
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
