Huck's Hopefully Helpful Hints: 1996 |
There is no Hint for this month
Let's Talk Tanks! One of the common problems I've heard from folks is the bottoms of their tank treads getting nicked & scratched from play, due to the flocked table-tops. Solution? Cut thin strips of green felt, no wider or longer than the area of the tread that touches the ground. Using Elmers/wood glue (not too much), glue them to the tread bottoms. Instant protection from table-tops, with very little loss of image! I thought of it (like no one else has, right) for the Genestealer Predator tank I painted for Games Day, and it survived the weekend with no damage to the treads despite heavy use. I've also used it on my massive Nurgle Predator conversion (which weighs around 2 pounds), and it has survived Gencon battles too!
This also works for large war machines for both Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000, too (though I favor large flat scratch-built bases for my Warhammer war machines, as they fit into the "movement-tray" motif).
This month we turn it over to letters from other players, who sent in tips of their own!
From: krazeeelmo@aol.com (Mike in Indianapolis, IN) I've been painting Plaguemarines for my Nurgle army and thought I would share a neat craft item I came across to use on the bases. The stuff is called 'Snow-tex' and I got it at Michael's craft store. It is used in Christmas stuff to look like real snow. I put this stuff on the bases and let some slide over the edge of the base as well. After it dried, I painted it green and put in some reds and yellows to make a real neat snot look. It looks like my marine is just standing in filth....Nurgle loves it! Also, I got some colored glue sticks for a glue gun. I plan to drip some of the greens and yellows from my Nurgle figs hands to give a real gross look. I will try on a some other figs first to make sure it will work but I don't see why it wouldn't as long as I am careful. If anyone has any other tips post them!
And from: tsheldon@nortel.ca (Todd Sheldon) Now, for
something interesting... In your 'Tim's Tips' I'd recommend something on Mini Storage. You
see the question pop up from time to time. These are the solutions I've heard about and
seen...
A) Gun Case/Prepacked Mini Case: Pretty much hard plastic cases with lots of foam inside.
Get a utility knife or exacto blade and cut out for your mini's form.
B) Tackle Box/Tool Box: In the tackle box version, people place mini's one to compartment.
Sometimes they varnish the mini so that no padding is required in the compartment. Others
use the little foam squares that come with the mini to pad the compartment. In the tool
box version, some are handled the same as tackle box. Other get steel toolboxs and glue
magnetic strips to the bottom of their mini's. The mini's then stick to the bottom of the
box, and are easy to transport. A variation is to have metal bases for miniatures, and
glue magnets to the bottom of the tool box.
C) Add-Hoc Boxes & Foam: Usually large Rubbermaid/Tupperware plastic boxes with
egg-crate style foam. Miniatures rest in the foam 'pockets'. Other variations....
Regards, Todd
Thanks to Mike & Todd for the great tips! If you have any good tips you'd like to pass on to your fellow gamers, send them to me for inclusion here!
With all the great new 40K Nurgle marines, plus all the Nurgle demons as well, coming to the forefront recently, it's time to discuss Slime & Drool - two essential items for any Nurgle Army!
Slime is easy - once you've completed your final sealing coats (dullcoats, see last month's newsletter), simply paint on some liquid glosscoat onto the areas you want slimy. It might be minor areas, like the festering exposed guts of a Plague Marine, or larger areas like the entire skin of a demon! I like to use several coats, to build up the effect. For extra thick slime (like Beast of Nurgle tentacles), I use plastic modeling cement from the tube - just squirt it all over! Some minor shaping with a toothpick gets it all over the right places, but don't fret if it gets messy - this is Nurgle, after all! Once the glue is dry, "break off" any strands where the glue threaded out in application, and coat it with liquid glosscoat. For really neat effects, mix in a little yellow or green glaze into it!
Drool is a little trickier, but makes for a great effect. You'll need a bit of clear fishing line. Simply take it, and glue one end (using superglue) to the corner of a mouth, or any likely spot for drool to appear. The line should project downwards to the ground. Once dry, cut the line short, about 1/4" or so. Now comes the fun part - slowly drip plastic cement (or any clear, semi-thick glue) down from the upper end of the line, so it runs down the line and gathers in globs at the end. Ideally, it should form beads running down the line, with the biggest bead at the bottom. You can also mix in a little glue at the top, to show where it's gathering (pre-drool!). Once it's all dry, you can leave it clear, or paint a thin glaze over it for coloring. I would finish it with a liquid glosscoat for that shiny look we all know and love from drooling monsters!
This month, let's talk a bit about sealers. Sealers are all the things you can do to seal the finished figure to protect it. As most of you will be using you figs in play, the constant wear & tear just from handling will in time wear off the paint. So a sealer will put a clear protective coating over your figs.
There are two types (dull & glossy), and two application methods (spray & liquid). Dullcoats give a more realistic look, but do not offer much protection. Glossy or glosscoats give better protection, but unless you are working on some weird figs they will look pretty funny with that hard shiney look on them! A good way to get the best of both types is to give your figs a glosscoat or two for protection, then a single dullcoat for realism. There are also semi-gloss satin types, for a compromise look. The most popular way to seal your figs is with a spray sealer, but sealers also come in liquid form for brush application. I like to use the brush-on liquids to create specific areas of a fig in gloss or dull, like glossy tentacles for example. They aren't water-based, though, so you'll need a brush cleaner for them. I'd also use only old brushes too, as they seem to do a job on the bristles, at least on mine!
Go to Games Day
Many people call & ask what to use to carry their miniatures. Here's some ideas:
First off, think about what kind of figures you are carrying. Lots of small figs? All the same size, or are some various shapes & sizes? If they are all pretty much identical, then just about any case can work. Most of us, though, have forces that have different sizes. I am usually carrying around my Tyranid army, which runs from spore mines all the way to Hive Tyrants. After much experimenting with cases, I finally settled on large gun cases, used for rifles or shotguns. Any good sports or gun store has them, and they are fairly cheap. The large size ensures I can put my entire army in 1 case (or two for those _really_ big fights!). Since there are no slots pre-cut, it's pretty flexible for placing figs, especially for weird-sized things (like most of my army). And it looks pretty darned impressive, carrying it to the table!
Some other ideas:
Tanks or big War Machines: Imperial Guard players will have several of these, and opinions
vary here as to the "best" transportation method. I am leaning towards small
boxes, with lots of Styrofoam peanuts, with the tanks placed inside. Any other
suggestions? (These are my Genestealer Cult & Chaos tanks, if you were wondering how
my bugs got some!) Blood Bowl or Necromunda Gangs: Anything more than a very small box is
pretty overkill with these. Many folks use the small "suitcase" sized cases like
we make, or simply use the original gang/team box with some foam strips or cloth inside!
This is a new area to the mailing, where we will pass on what passes for wisdom around here! We get lots of calls about gaming tables & while White Dwarf 193 had some great ideas on the subject, I thought I'd pass on my own. As an ex-Outrider and convention gamer, it was important to me to build a gaming table that was: easily transportable, light-weight, sturdy, tough, and cheap!
I finally settled on this approach. Take a 4x8 foot sheet of the blue poly-foam mentioned in WD 193 (it usually comes in thicknesses ranging from 1" to 3"; I settled on the 2"). If possible, have them cut it into sheets of 2' by 4', so you get 4 sheets (if not, you'll have to cut it yourself).
Then comes the easy part: Get 2 sheets of felt, one grass green (this covers 40K/Epic/WFB) and the other your favorite "other game" color - sand brown (Necromunda), sea blue (Man 'O War), whatever. Get enough of both fabric to cover each side of the foam sheets, then cut them to size and glue them to the foam sheets. Elmers (or PVA) thinned a tad can be painted onto the boards, or you can use adhesive spray; either will stick the felt to the foam OK. Once dry, you can paint the edges of the foam boards if desired (I used green & blue felt, so I faded from green to blue on the edges). Total cost is pretty low.
Now you have a fairly small table (4'x2'x8"), which can fit into most cars (well, my Honda at least). It sets up easily at most conventions on top of the generic tables they all seem to have simply by placing them edge to edge on the tables. You can use fewer sheets for smaller games, too (I usually ran Outrider 40K games with 3 sheets, and Man O'War on just 2). They also make a good surface for other games that do not need terrain settings, like Space Hulk (although black felt would be best here!). They take a real pounding and survive well (colored magic markers can touch up any dings in the edges, and spot-glueing takes care of any creeping felt). I've still got my original set of boards, which have survived innumerable conventions and travel (including airlines!).
Hope this was helpful, we'll try to think of something else for next month. If you have any good suggestions for other gamers, email them to me & we'll include them here!