Plastic 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 plastic 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. Wire Nipper/Side Cutters 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 Cutting Board Plastic Cement (Polystyrene) 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 to boot.   Once the supplies have been gathered it’s a good idea to lay the sprues out to ensure all parts are on hand. I’ll also make sure I have enough bases to make the minis on the sprue. I start from the legs and assemble up to the head, so I begin with the bases and legs.   Cut the models from the sprue with your wire nippers, keeping the flat edge toward the miniature to ensure a flat cut. There will be a bit of plastic scar but don’t worry yet. Once you have all of your legs removed we can clean up the minis. I like to remove all of the pieces and put the pieces in separate piles so I’m not wasting time going back and forth from the sprue to assembly. There are many ways to assemble minis and my way isn’t the only way, so do what is comfortable. Once the pieces are removed I’ll go through and remove the mold lines with an X-acto knife. I will keep the blade perpendicular to the model itself, and scrape away from myself with the sharp blade. This removes the line where the two halves of the mold met. I’ll also cut the sprue scar off the feet by holding the legs down on a cutting board and cutting down with an X-acto knife. Deflash the legs and bases in assembly line fashion, and then move onto assembling them. When gluing plastic to plastic I use polystyrene cement because it melts plastic and creates a weld between the pieces that are joined. For this reason I’ll use dropper with an accurate tip or a worn out paintbrush for application. And I won’t put a lot on either. In this case a little goes a long way! If I apply too much it will spill over onto the model and possibly cover and melt detail. If this does occur, I’ll wait until the glue has dried after a couple of hours and scrape it off. This helps prevent marring further detail as well.   I apply the polystyrene cement to the feet and place them onto the base. I will place them with an eye toward dynamic action when possible. This is achieved by placing feet that are running toward the back of the mini, or with an idea of how I’ll place the torsos later.  While this is drying I’ll move onto assembling any pieces that are divided in half. In this instance the chest and back need assembly. I apply the glue sparingly and place them together as close to even as possible and let them dry as well. While these pieces are drying I’ll go through the rest of the body parts and deflash as well. This will maximize construction efficiency and keep you from getting bored.   After the pieces are dry I’ll scrape the edges on the torso so the sides are even. For smaller models the join won’t be visible, but some larger models will need this gap filled.   For larger models cut a small sliver off of the Green Stuff and roll it in your fingertips until it turns green. Make a small sausage and lay it over the join. Vaseline is used to prevent the putty from sticking to your sculpting utensils, but be careful not to get it where you want the Green Stuff to stick. Apply a small dab onto a foam square that comes with the miniatures and rub the sculpting tool on the pad. This prevents excess Vaseline from covering the miniature and also equates to less clean up later!   Using your sculpting tool and a small amount of Vaseline as lubricant, push the Green Stuff into the join. Smooth the edges so the putty makes an even fill along the join. Since I prepare more than one mini at a time this small amount of Green Stuff is used on all the minis, and any left over can make additional base detail as well. When all the minis have been filled and the putty is hard, I’ll wash the bits with soap under running water to remove the Vaseline.   When I’ve filled all the models I continue with assembly. I add a spot of plastic cement to the torso and place them on the spine. Some models will have a flat spot where the waist meets the torso while others will have a spine. Remember to not overfill the area where they will join or the plastic cement will overflow! This is where I’ll twist the torso for an action packed pose. When the upper body is twisted at an angle from the feet it appears the figure is ready for action. Since Necrons are pretty static this will help in making them look animated. I assemble them in a line so I can ensure they line up if necessary. This is necessary for ranked minis in Fantasy or Historic games. It doesn’t take much to adjust a pose at this point, and save tearing a mini apart to make it fit later.   I like to add the bits with a weapon after the torso so I can forecast where the head will be turned. I will apply any additional limbs now, especially if they are helping to support the weapon. I work in assembly line fashion, ensuring the models aren’t in the same pose by varying the angle of the arms. When the mini is holding the weapon in line with the legs it looks as though the mini is bringing the weapon to bear. When the weapon is in line with the torso it appears ready to fire or attack. And when it is holding the weapon upright it appears either as a challenge or at rest.   The last part is the head! I glue it on, varying where the figure is looking. This ensures the models aren’t all looking in the same direction, especially if one is looking to the side as if something was seen. I would add accessories now as well, like additional gear or iconography.   Once I’ve gone down the line I’ll kick back and enjoy the fruits of my labor! (Plus I’ll give the models at least 8 hours for the glue to thoroughly dry.) I’ll prime the minis on the following day. 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.