The first thing I did was give them different poses. The models come with separate arms, heads and torsos, and their legs are attached to the integral bases. I built the central one in its usual pose and then used my side cutters to remove bits and cut arms in half so I could reposition the others. It was a very easy job and thanks to the slightly soft Bones plastic I was able to cut them up and glue them together with no issue.
When it came to painting, I wanted a look that would suggest they're made from thousands of small particles that swarm around and catch the light at different angles. I thought about a basic silver colour but didn't think it would sparkle enough, so I binned that idea. On a trip to Walmart I made my usual pilgrimage to the craft aisle and spotted some cheap colour-shifting acrylic craft paint with a blue-green-gold shift. As it was only $2 I decided to give it a go.
After being washed with warm soapy water, rinsed and left to dry, the drones were primed with a mix of matte Mod Podge and black craft paint. I know this sounds odd but I had a ton left over from making more scenery, and it seemed a shame to waste it. It covered the plastic really well and once dry I squeezed some of the colour-shift paint into a dish. It's basically a glaze of acrylic medium with a lot of glittery bits in it; the medium dries transparent, leaving the glitter behind. To my surprise it went on easily. I pretty much slapped it on with a size 5 brush and in no time all three droids were sparkling under the kitchen lights.
After leaving them overnight to thoroughly dry, they looked great. "Sparkle" doesn't quite cover how glittery they were, but one issue was the glossiness of the paint. A thinned coat of matte varnish cut down the shine but left the sparkle pretty much intact. Result!
The only thing bugging me about the models is the bases. As usual, they're integral and molded to look like flagstones. I did think about cutting the bases off but I'd then have to slice the extra plastic off the bottom of their feet. That seemed like a recipe for disaster so I just left the bases on.
I painted them with Leadbelcher in a desperate attempt to make them look like metal tiles and washed them with Nuln Oil to dull the shine a bit. They came out looking OK, and they'll work for the game.
Stay tuned for the mission report, which is coming soon!
I reckon the Disco Droids look great; the effort you took to get the look was undoubtedly well worth it - result!
ReplyDeleteDisco Droids LOL! Nice one, Joe!
DeleteGreat find in the craft isle Matt, and achieves a very unusual myriad of colours that works perfectly for what you wanted, look forward to reading your battle report.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Dave, I wasn't too sure about the craft paint but it worked a treat! The battle report should be up tomorrow :-)
DeleteWell those have come out very nicely, the glittery paint conveys what you described ( the myriad swarming particles) perfectly, looking forward to their big moment in the spotlight!
ReplyDeleteCheers Roger.
Thanks, Roger, the sparkly effect was exactly what I was after and for $2 you can't go wrong!
DeleteWell, at first I thought you had picked up the wrong toy from the Dollar store and had a glitter explosion! Tiny particle Robots it is though! They turned out nicely and will be awesome minions in you game, I'm sure. I've run into similar thing with bases. Usually I just glue them as is onto another wider base and use texture paste to try and blend the whole thing in. Most of my Frostgrave minis are like that. They started leaving the base plates off with the more recent Stargrave minis (thank DOG!).
ReplyDeleteCheers, Brian! They worked well in the game, and you can read how the Muppets did against them very soon :-)
DeleteI know what you mean about integral bases, they drive me up the wall. So many minis are moulded with bases that are either crap or don't suit the purpose for which you got the figure in the first place. I really wish that if Reaper and other companies are going to mold their minis like this, they would leave the bases flat so you can decorate the base the way you want.
I think the glitter and paint-job capture your swarm look very nicely, Matt. One for me to remember should I go down the Space Station Zero route - which you're increasingly making likely may I say, LOL!!! Not a fan of integral bases myself, especially after having to chip away at the old East Riding Minis sculpts Crooked Dice recently released for their Corporate Wars range. They're excellent minis, but their integral bases makes them hard to fit in with any other ranges, imho - at least not without considerable effort.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Simon! The sparkly paint really did the job I was hoping for, and was a doddle to apply given it's so cheap. Walmart has a few more of these colour-shifting craft paints so I'll no doubt be picking them up at some point.
DeleteI'm totally with you on integral bases, and to give Citadel some credit, their plain bases are one thing they've got right down the years.
Oh, they do look menacing! Precisely the kind of impersonal monster they are supposed to be!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Suber, and yes they are menacing. They're also huge minis, twice the height of a usual 28mm figure, so they really loom over whoever they're attacking :-)
DeleteI like the creativity with these models! I haven't tried any color shifting or sparkly paint before but based on the results you got here, I think it is worth a shot :)
ReplyDeleteCheers Jeff! The cheap colour-shift craft paint worked a treat, so if you see some around pick it up :-)
DeleteVery cool effect with that sparkly craft paint. I have a gold version and it worked really nice on a recent Halloween theme'd craft project I made for my wife.
ReplyDeleteI'm late to the party (again)! These look great, Matt, love the finish on them! :-)
ReplyDelete