minitures... custom made?

[SladeThirteen]

oi! here i am again... the noob. anyhoo, wasn't sure where this quesiton should go, but i'll stick it here for now...

does anyone know how you make your own custom minis for rpgs? i got some ideas, but i really would like some better direction then my hunches... which, i might add, don't pan out that often.

any help would be appreciated.

[Curufea]

Normally you start with a green - it's a type of clay or miliput used for fine sculpting. Make a basic figure out of wire to help support the miniature, then build it up with your putty.
There are special rubbers you can get too, that are specially used to create complicated detailed molds.
I recommend talking to the folk over at http://www.coolminiornot.com many of whom are already in the industry.

On the other hand, if you want units or armies of custom figures, Eureka Miniatures will design figures for you if you have a minimum order of 100.
http://www.eurekamin.com.au/ (choose the 100 and 300 clubs)

There are quite a few other online companies willing to make custom figs.

Useful sites-
http://www.mhorann.demon.co.uk/greens.htm
http://www.lyonstudio.biz/Sculpting/Lippman1.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miniature_figure_(gaming)#Sculpting

[SladeThirteen]

dude cur, you are straight awesome! ... one more question... any good tutorials for how to paint the little suckers?

[BlackSword]

I've always liked the Citadel paiting guides. They have one out currently that is aimed at beginners and includes all the suggested tools needed to start working with minitures as well as paiting techniques and how to modify minitures. I picked up a copy at the Games Workshop store in the mall.

[teh bunneh]

http://www.herogames.com/digitalHero/Samples/dh12miniatures.htm (http://www.herogames.com/digitalHero/Samples/dh12miniatures.htm)
http://www.herogames.com/digitalHero/Samples/dh14miniatures.htm (http://www.herogames.com/digitalHero/Samples/dh14miniatures.htm)
http://www.herogames.com/digitalHero/Samples/dh27minis.jsp (http://www.herogames.com/digitalHero/Samples/dh27minis.jsp)
http://www.herogames.com/digitalHero/Samples/dh28mini.jsp (http://www.herogames.com/digitalHero/Samples/dh28mini.jsp)
http://www.herogames.com/digitalHero/Samples/dh29mini.jsp (http://www.herogames.com/digitalHero/Samples/dh29mini.jsp)
http://www.herogames.com/digitalHero/Samples/dh32mini.jsp (http://www.herogames.com/digitalHero/Samples/dh32mini.jsp)

The first couple (from Digital Hero 12 and 14) are probably your best bet -- they're a beginner's guide to painting, including how to find the perfect miniature and where to find the materials you need for cheap. :D

Bill.
(Too bad the guy who wrote them is such a jerk -- don't trust him!) ;)

[SladeThirteen]

thanx bill and black... thank you all. this is a great place to start. now i got my shoping list started... probibly take a few paychecks to get everything in order, but once i get something finished, i'll post a pic.

[teh bunneh]

You're welcome! I look forward to seeing your pics! :thumbup:

BTW, if you find those articles I posted useful, you might consider picking up the Digital Hero issues they came from -- those contain full-color pictures, including step-by-step guides of everything in the articles. And at only $5 an issue (or $3 an issue if you buy ten!) they're a real steal!

[Dr. Confoundo]

One suggestion I might make is instead of sculpting your own fig from scratch, find something similar and mod it. Heroclix and MageKnight figs come in a huge range of shapes, and are a snap to work with - a little carving of soft plastic here, a few additional details sculpted from Green Stuff, and a repaint, and you've got your character.

[Curufea]

I would point out though - HeroClix and MageKnight are a larger scale than 25mm. So if you mix them with lead minis, they will look odd.

[Sir Ofeelya]

When I used to run Judge Dredd games way back in the 80s using Champions, I made tons of cardboard flat figures. Could crank out scenarios worth of figures in a few hours. I even made some 25mm ancient armies (Vikings, Romans and Normans). They were quite cool.

Wish I still had them in fact. Feeling quite nostalgic about the MacDonald's Marauders and Burger King Commandos.

[Curufea]

If you still have the paper miniatures - www.paperworlds.com would be eager to host them for you :)

[BlackSword]

I've always liked the Citadel paiting guides. They have one out currently that is aimed at beginners and includes all the suggested tools needed to start working with minitures as well as paiting techniques and how to modify minitures. I picked up a copy at the Games Workshop store in the mall.
Asked for a link, here is the review of the book at rpg.net, you can also find it in the US Games Workshop on-line store, but I feel odd posting a link to another game company store on this game company's message boards. :)

http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/9/9964.phtml

[Dr. Confoundo]

I would point out though - HeroClix and MageKnight are a larger scale than 25mm. So if you mix them with lead minis, they will look odd.
Eh. Ain't superheroes supposed to be bigger than life? (Assuming, of course, that the original poster wanted superhero figs).

Many figs these days have crept up into the 28mm+ category. Depending on what metal figs you set them next to, they usually look fine. For example:http://img205.imageshack.us/img205/2971/ww2abj1.jpg
Here's Fenris (a repainted Heroclix Sabretooth), his giant wolf form (a D&D Winter Wolf), and three german soldiers for my WW2 game. Yes, he's big, but not by much.

And to explain my original point, here's three more: http://img150.imageshack.us/img150/5794/ww2bvx1.jpg That's Kommandant Nebel (Heroclix Scourge with a head swap), OSI agent Rowan (Heroclix T.O. Morrow with hand swaps and a sculpted fedora), and Schallwelle (a repainted Heroclix Captain Britain). All pretty easy changes, and much easier than sculpting figs from scratch.

[teh bunneh]

I would point out though - HeroClix and MageKnight are a larger scale than 25mm. So if you mix them with lead minis, they will look odd.

Most of the big minis manufactures are doing "Heroic 25mm" (AKA 28-30mm) scale these days. Reaper figs are 28mm (and their Warlord line is creeping up to 30+mm). GW is at least 30mm these days. Most Heroclix are 28mm, though some of the older ones are closer to 25.

And I second Dr. Confoundo -- It's easier to modify and paint existing figs than it is to make your own. :)

[input.jack]

My roomate Jacob and I did a ton of paper minatures for "Stand-Ins". We did a modern/Supers line, as well as Fantasy and Sci-Fi figs. The sets come in PDF format, and are able to be colored and modified in Photoshop. You can get them at www.idadventures.com for about $12 for around 300 figs in each set. We have another set coming out soon, too :)

[SladeThirteen]

this all has been a big help. i think i'll try a little mod-ing first before i jump straight into making my own... but i eventually want to do just that. not only would it be that much more personal and fun, but if i can build up some skills, i would have another field of art that i could fall back on/go into aside from comics. (still gotta work on my damn bg for that arena... it's a bit of topic, but here is an example of my some of my 2d skills (http://entervoid.com/arena.php?bid=1893), i'm of course 'slade13' and my comic is the second set of ten. the site is a 'comic battles' site... very fun. maybe i should advertise it or something were ever it's appropriate on this site... maybe later)

though i might just try out that whole cardboard cut out idea too... just for fun.

i must say, the folks on this site are quite helpful. thanks again!

[garou]

Random thought on the Eureka Miniatures bit:

Some time ago, I was trying to convince Reaper that they needed to do a superhero miniatures game (using the same mechanics as Warlord and CAV). For miniatures, I had this concept:

Torsos - 4 generic male and female torsos, ie, 1 armored, 1 muscled, 2 in tights
Legs - again, 4 of each, 1 armored, 1 muscled, etc
Arms - 4 ea of left & right, 1 armored, 1 w gun, 1 w/flame or energy, 1 fist
1 ea of cape, angel wings, bat wings, rocket pack
Head - full helmet, long & short hair, maybe 1 non-human head

The idea being, of course, that you could, with one pack (which would contain all the parts above), create 4 male and 4 female superheroes/villains, with differing poses and obvious powers. With a little creative mixing and matching, you could probably have several dozen unique characters, from the same basic pieces. Later series could add additional torsos, heads, legs and so forth.

[Curufea]

Run it by Eureka and see what they say. If they say no - there are many other small time miniature manufactures out there that would be worth contacting.

The unfortunate thing is that superheroes would be one of the least popular genres for miniatures and they'd be iffy about sales (historical being the most popular, shortly followed by fantasy and scifi).

[garou]

I think I will run it by them. As it stands, if you want superhero miniatures, your easiest choice is Wizkids stuff. . . followed by aftermarket Wizkids stuff, then Wizkids stuff you find at garage sales, and then miniatures from other companies. It's tough to find superhero miniatures sometimes.

[teh bunneh]

I think I will run it by them. As it stands, if you want superhero miniatures, your easiest choice is Wizkids stuff. . . followed by aftermarket Wizkids stuff, then Wizkids stuff you find at garage sales, and then miniatures from other companies. It's tough to find superhero miniatures sometimes.

Digital Hero #12 has an article about how to find superhero minis, and lists a wide variety of manufacturers who either make supers, or make figures that look like supers, or make figures that can easily be modded into supers. Suffice it to say, Wizkids isn't the only option available. :D

Bill.
(Pimpin' ain't easy). ;)

[garou]

Oh, I am aware that there are others. Most, however, either require some modification, are smaller companies (and harder to find at the local FLGS, and sometimes harder for them to order), or imports.

I'd love to see one of the big miniatures companies (GW, Reaper, etc) do a line of figs - but it's not going to happen. Unless you jump through some hoops, do some converting, or look to the internet (instead of the FLGS), Wizkids is the main (and sometimes only viable) option.

Edit - I am speaking for the spandex crowd. I agree that, if you have a themed hero, then Clan War/AEG, Wargods of Aegyptus, Privateer Press, etc are all fine, vaible choices. But the cape & spandex choices, I think, are lacking - and we deserve better than random packs of flubber.

[Curufea]

On a side note - Battlestations (http://www.battlestations.info) has miniatures. They produced their own. Possibly DOJ could do the same? I think Champions has more of a market than Battlestations does.

[teh bunneh]

I'd love to see one of the big miniatures companies (GW, Reaper, etc) do a line of figs - but it's not going to happen. Unless you jump through some hoops, do some converting, or look to the internet (instead of the FLGS), Wizkids is the main (and sometimes only viable) option.


Reaper put out a Silver Age Sentinals line, but it died pretty quick due to lack of interest.

As to your main point, I agree completely, but unfortunately at some point miniatures makers decided that there was no money in the capes-and-spandex line. Then Wizkids came along and proved 'em wrong -- but Clix are so big most manufacturers figure there's no point in competing with them.

That said, Superfigs and Urban Mammoth (formerly known as VOID) are your best bets for superhero figs that aren't made of plastic.

[Curufea]

The only big market for superheroes is with kids, not adults, unfortunately. So if you want to make money - market for kids. Hence cheap plastic, rather than expensive lead.

[garou]

Well, I did hear back from Eureka. It could be done, and they think the idea is intersting. I think it's also well out of my price range - if it were something that could be put into the 100 or 300 club, I'd sign on in a heartbeart.

Unless I win the lotto (or come into some other sum of money), I doubt that I would be funding such a venture. I'd love to see DoJ consider something along those lines, however.

[Curufea]

In the meantime, you may be able to find parts in the Games Worshop collection - you can order legs, arms and torsos from their various collections that may suit. Mostly plastic.

[Remjin]

Many miniature lines already mentioned, here are some others that might be of some help. I'm not some Golden Daemon winner, but I'm okay. I have a few miniatures I took pictures of, but not much, all my best work went goodbye a while back. http://home.comcast.net/~remjin if you want to look at them. For those who've gone there before, I have actually updated it a little. =)

http://www.hasslefreeminiatures.co.uk/
http://www.bronzeagemin.com/
http://oldglory25s.com/store/index.php?cat_id=548&catname='Figures'
http://www.fourcolorfigs.com/index.html (I actually have a miniature in the customer corner)
http://www.shadowforge.com.au/
http://urbanmammoth.co.uk/um/html/home.htm
http://www.magnificentegos.com/
http://www.infinitythegame.com/eng/default.asp
http://www.heresyminiatures.com/

..plus check out www.coolminiornot.com, www.basementminis.com, www.fantization.com as a few stores to start with that will have various miniature lines and supplies.

If you're really going to get into customizing miniatures, I definately recommend against sculpting from scratch to start. But if you want to start there, Reaper miniatures (www.reapermini.com) has 3 different sets of cast armatures from stick figures to full muscled but otherwise without detail figures. Good thing to start with and not mess as much with wire frames and fillers and such.

Otherwise, customizing is good from a base model that's at least somewhat close. Tools you will need (mostly just the first 3 and the files, the rest are more for later):

1. Clippers, especially those that cut flush (flat on one side)
2. Blades (x-acto and the like), and I mean the plural part, and a sharpener.
3. Pin-vise or power-drill with variable speed, or even a dremel possibly.
4. Kneadatite putty. Cheaper to buy from plumbing supplies than hobby supplies, btw. =)
5. Files of varying shapes. Good to have at least one flat, one round, and one triangular file.
6. Small saw, you can get these at miniature/modelling places. I believe X-acto even makes one that comes with some of their kits.
7. a few sculpting tools, either buy a store set or just use/make what you want. The sets give you a good starting point from which to develop your own depending on how you want to do things.
8. Superglue =) Get the mildly gap filling kind, as it is a sort of gel that won't drip everywhere. Don't try to use it to fill in gaps, it'll look like poo.
9. Salvaged wire, paperclips and other small metal rods for pinning with the pin-vise. =)

Any and all of this stuff I can explain if you wish, but the various books recommended to you are good that way.

As for painting, a few big recommendations:

1) be aware of the thickness of your paint, use water with acrylics to get appropriate consistency. Work on just covering the model well and smoothly before you do anything else. Pick the brand that suits you, I've had good luck with a mix of citadel, Vallejo, and select reaper paints but there are many other brands.

2) USE PRIMER. Nothing makes the paint go on better than a GOOD primer. Cheap primer is just that... the less refined the primer, the more details you will lose. Furniture lacquer/varnish is not primer (bad story).

3) get some decent brushes, stay away from synthetics. Sable is the easiest, and in my personal opinion, the best value, brush material but even that can vary quite a bit. If you buy a brush in the $5-10 range, you should be all right, get fancier with brushes later.

4) First two "tricks" you should learn is dry-brushing and washing/glazing. Be conservative, less is more, and you can always add more. This comes after you can base-coat well. If you can't base-coat well, everything else is going to just make it look worse.

For your conversions... start with cutting and pasting first, taking parts you like from various miniatures and putting them together into a final piece. Try something simple like a weapon/hand swap before you go nuts. See how it works. Don't feel bad about bending a miniature a little to get it into the proper pose. Be very aware of how the miniature comes, it will affect what you can do with it.

There are a lot of resources out there for converting and painting, just look through the various search engines and you'll get tons of pointers on painting and converting. Games Workshop's site has a few articles on it, or at least it used to back when I used to visit that site. www.games-workshop.com I believe.

Hope that helps! Feel free to email me or pm me if you want further details.

[garou]

In the meantime, you may be able to find parts in the Games Worshop collection - you can order legs, arms and torsos from their various collections that may suit. Mostly plastic.

Oh sure - I probably have more than enough GW bits in my bits box to assemble a small superhero team, albeit of the powered armor variety. I have the tools to do conversions, I have the talent to do some fairly decent ones (not Golden Demon by a long shot, but stuff that still looks pretty good on the table), and I even have the time and talent to paint up the stuff I buy or convert.

What's missing is the inclination. It just gets frustrating to see so many quality options for fantasy, modern and science fiction, and then find that my options for superheroes start with Wizkids, or require some modification. Just once, I'd love to have the same variety of choices that I do for fantasy Orcs, or WW II armor, or even 15mm ancients. Oh well - I'm going back to hacking up some clicky figs, to make another character.

[Remjin]

Oh sure - I probably have more than enough GW bits in my bits box to assemble a small superhero team, albeit of the powered armor variety. I have the tools to do conversions, I have the talent to do some fairly decent ones (not Golden Demon by a long shot, but stuff that still looks pretty good on the table), and I even have the time and talent to paint up the stuff I buy or convert.

What's missing is the inclination. It just gets frustrating to see so many quality options for fantasy, modern and science fiction, and then find that my options for superheroes start with Wizkids, or require some modification. Just once, I'd love to have the same variety of choices that I do for fantasy Orcs, or WW II armor, or even 15mm ancients. Oh well - I'm going back to hacking up some clicky figs, to make another character.

Really, you have to love it to really make it. I'm the same way, I'm kind of burned out on it as a whole, but slowly getting back into it via making miniatures for Hero games. I always loved converting a lot, though, as production miniatures have never really suited what I wanted in a particular figure without a lot of modification.

Slowly, I'm learning to sculpt, so who knows.. maybe someday I won't suck at it. =)

[Curufea]

I've found that a good paintjob can cover a multidue of sculpting sins :)

[Remjin]

I'd rather not have to compensate, and actually be good at it. =)

[garou]

Really, you have to love it to really make it. I'm the same way, I'm kind of burned out on it as a whole, but slowly getting back into it via making miniatures for Hero games. I always loved converting a lot, though, as production miniatures have never really suited what I wanted in a particular figure without a lot of modification.

Slowly, I'm learning to sculpt, so who knows.. maybe someday I won't suck at it. =)

Yeah, I'm trying my hand at sculpting as well. I might even show pics of it, though I expect a lot of :idjit: :eek: :ugly: and :sick: reactions. Part of it might simply be that I am trying to work on my FoW Soviet army, my FoW German army, my Warmachine stuff, my Hordes stuff, and random Reaper figs, in addition to slowly working on Wargods of Aegyptus, CAV, etc - I just don't feel like carving out the additional time to, in essence, fabricate a superhero fig.

Maybe I'll just ignore the whole thing and make some powered armor-style heroes for a while. As an added plus, I get to use OIHID or OIF, and save some points! ;)

[Remjin]

Cool, always good to try something new. Who knows, maybe someday we'll both have something we can display publicly without embarrassment. =)

[tkdguy]

Looking at the GURPS forums, I saw a link to Old Glory Miniatures (http://www.oldgloryminiatures.com/categories.asp?cat=13), which includes superhero and historical miniatures.

[Remjin]

Their superhero miniatures are the superfigs linked above. =) They have a separate site for it. But the rest are possibly useful, though I personally find their sculpts overall are pretty bad.

Also, there is another one... Laser or something out there, that I long ago deleted because you can basically order it from them, hardly anyone carries it, and they dont' have enough miniatures worth a fart (to me) for me to bother with the shipping costs and the like.

[garou]

Also, there is another one... Laser or something out there, that I long ago deleted because you can basically order it from them, hardly anyone carries it, and they dont' have enough miniatures worth a fart (to me) for me to bother with the shipping costs and the like.

Lance and Laser? (http://lanceandlaser.com/) Looks like they have some decent stuff. I had forgotten all about the Walktapus miniature.

[Remjin]

Looked at it again.. still not impressed with the models, overall, but the website is 10 times better than it was at least. =)