Metal Miniature Preparation Before a miniature can be painted is must be assembled along with some prep work for best results. This tutorial will take you through the steps necessary to prepare metal miniatures.   The first thing to do is gather the equipment that will be needed. Below is a list of items I commonly use for miniature preparation. All of these can be found at your local hobby shop or Games Workshop retail store.   Pin Vice Drill Drill Bits Wire Nipper/Side Cutter Modeling Files (small files of different shapes and sizes; aka Jewelers Files) Green Stuff Vaseline (lubricant for Green Stuff) Sculpting tool (for the Green Stuff) Modeling Knife (X-acto knife) Super Glue (Cyanoacrylate Ester – aka CA Glue) Miniatures   I know I don’t have to say this, but I will anyway: Safety First! Cut away from you and use a sharp knife. Dull knives require extra force to use that can result in a nasty wound. When finished with modeling, ensure all sharp objects are put away, especially if small children dwell in the house. And when using Plastic Cement, use in an area with proper ventilation! The fumes are nasty smelling and toxic. Once the supplies have been gathered it’s a good idea to lay the figure out to ensure all parts are on hand. Notice there are different bases depending on the manufacturer. With many metal miniatures there is a tab at the bottom of the figure with the copyright date as well as info about the figure. This tab fits into a base supplied with the figure, also known as a slotta-base due to the slot that runs through the base. Some bases, like old GW or new Rackham bases, need the slot cut out prior to assembly. Turn the base over and use the slotta-base edges as guides and cut the space out with an X-acto knife.   Before gluing your figure into the slotta-base take your wire nippers and bend the ends of the tab slightly. This will assist the tab in gripping the sides of the slotta-base and provide more coverage for the glue to hold. Once both ends are slightly kinked, add Super Glue to the tab and place inside the slot. It could be a tight fit depending on how much the tab is kinked, so some adjustment may be necessary.   Once the mini is on its base I’ll pull out my Green Stuff and cut a small sliver off of the edge. Notice the different types of 2-part epoxy putty available. Green Stuff is commonly used for miniature sculpting as well as miniature assembly, while Blue Stuff is similar to Green Stuff and differs only in color. (This is the type carried by Games Workshop as well.) The brown and gray epoxy putty is known as Brown Stuff, and is used when hard-edged modeling is needed. This putty can be filed once hardened, making it an excellent choice for Mechs or other mechanical creatures. There is also Milliput and Magic Sculpt available for the modeler, and I’ll touch on those in a sculpting tutorial.   Take the sliver of Green Stuff and roll it in your fingertips until it turns green. Make a small sausage and lay it over the openings in the slotta-base. Notice how sticky Green Stuff is when freshly mixed. Vaseline is used to prevent the putty from sticking to your sculpting utensils. I apply a small dab onto a foam square that comes with the miniatures and rub my sculpting tool on the pad. This prevents excess Vaseline from covering the miniature, which equates to less clean up later!   Using your sculpting tool and a small amount of Vaseline as lubricant, push the Green Stuff into the base. I smooth the edges a little so the putty makes a small mound, not a lump of putty that looks awkward when it is finally based. Since I prepare more than one mini at a time this small amount of Green Stuff is used on all the bases, and any left over can make additional base detail as well. When all the minis have been based and the putty is hard, I’ll wash them with soap under running water to remove the Vaseline.   Once based, I turn to preparing the mini. Notice the mold line that runs over the side of the mini, as well as the extra bits of metal that are still attached. These bits of ‘flash’ are left over from the casting process and must be removed if the miniature is going to look good. I examine the mini to find all of these left over flaws before I begin. Then I start with my X-acto knife and cut off the flash that is left from the venting; little bits attached to the front and back of the mini where small holes were in the casting mold. I cut away from myself when removing these bits!      I can also use a file to smooth out any rough cuts or flatten detail like the top of bolts and flat plates. Once finished I look to the mold line itself. I start with an X-acto knife on small detailed areas that a file might not fit, holding at an angle and scraping away from me. Most minis are made of non-lead based pewter, so the metal is soft enough to do this. I go around the model and also look inside the figure’s legs as well, since mold lines are found in any open space on the model. On larger areas I’ll use the Jewelers files, ensuring the mold line is smoothed out completely. I recommend purchasing a variety of different shapes, which will fit into different crevices and detail. Many hobby and art shops sell a set of Jewelers files at an inexpensive price, which may cost less than buying one at a time. There are times where I find I missed a spot after priming. I’ll go back and remove this area then touch up with some brush-on primer.    After removing all mold lines and flash, I’ll assemble the miniature. For this I’ll need my pin vice drill, small drill bits, and brass wire. I recommend brass wire for its hardness, whereas paper clips are made of zinc, which is a soft metal that bends easily. I also have three different pin vice drills with different sizes of bits. I’ve purchased these over the years to maximize assembly time, so I’m not changing drill bits out every time I need a different size of brass rod. I also pin everything. I’ve had many miniatures in my years fall during gaming and lose an arm that could have been pinned on, but in my haste I skipped that part of assembly. I recommend pinning even the smallest item on, and use a small gauge bit for such purposes. Drill a small hole into the piece being attached, approximately 1-2mm in depth. Then take the brass rod and glue it into this new hole. Cut it off about 2mm from the mini, and use this as a guide for the piece being attached. A little bit of pressure will leave a mark where you will need to drill, so I’ll line up the pieces and push a small dent into the limb. I’ll drill where this mark is and check for fit. When I’m happy I’ll file where the piece is going to be glued, giving the Super Glue a place for extra grab. A small drop of Super Glue onto the limb and then assemble the two parts. Super Glue dries relatively quickly, so I’ll hold pressure for a second or two and then wick up any excess glue with a corner of sponge. (More uses for that foam square that comes with minis!) After I’ve pinned and glued my figures it’s time to putty any gaps and sculpt detail that was removed during preparation. Another sliver of Green Stuff will fulfill this need! After combining the putty and hardener I roll it into a sausage and lay it over the gap. For small areas I use the tip of my sculpting tool to push it inside as well as blend it with the edge. If I’m feeling adventurous I’ll sculpt additional detail like cloth folds or chainmail where appropriate. For larger models like horses and vehicles I’ll blend the edges with the flat edge of the sculpting tool. I wait until the putty hardens before I prime the minis, so I can go over the minis one more time or add more detail if I wish.   The final touch is priming the minis! Always prime in a well ventilated area, and don’t prime indoor or a coat of priming dust will cover everything. I use spray primer for a fast, even coat over the whole mini. If I can’t get under the crevices and bottom portions of the model, I’ll wait until the first coat is dry before I place them on their side and spray underneath. When the minis are dry it’s time to paint! I hope these pics and tips will add to your Miniature Art repertoire. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me at rg@raginggaijin.com.