Model Stripping, Part 2

Ok, my friends, prepare yourselves. This one is going to be long. But I've had so many great suggetions and questions about Model Stripping, that I went to work and did some serious research. And boy, have I got the pictures to prove it.

Simple Green seems to be the go-to favorite for removing paint in the tabletop world. So after striking out several times, I finally was able to snag some at my local Ace Hardware. My first thought is, ounce for ounce, this stuff is way more expensive than nail polish remover. But, maybe it is awesome and worth it. So I gathered my tools.

I had questions about what type of wire brush I use. I have to admit, this is just one that was lying around in a tool kit. No exciting hunt for the perfect tool. I found that my old electric toothbrush, which has been recommissioned for cleaning, just wasn't doing the job scraping off the soft paint. So I dug out this brush.

The first test I did was to comletely submerge a figure in each liquid for 2 minutes. ***Note: All tests were done using plastic models with acrylic paint.***

The white figure was soaked in Simple Green, the yellow in nail polish remover.

After 2 minutes, each was removed.

 

 

 

 Here are the results, after a little work with the wire brush, with no additional soaking.

 

 

 

And after adding some more polish remover and Simple Green, respectively, using Q-tips.

 

 

Now I could have removed more paint, but they are going to be repainted, and I was just plain getting tired, and didn't want to use anymore elbow grease. Details are a bit more difficult to get into. This is when I use the fine-point tweezers. They are great at digging out paint from small creases. Notice, the model soaked in the Simple Green had a bit of an issue with glue coming off.

 

Next test: longer soaking in a sealed container. Now, I had only planned on doing this test with the Simple Green. I know that there is a point that polish remover will melt the plastic, and I don't suggest soaking plastic models in it for more than a few minutes. But Nate encouraged me to try it, and even picked out a model to sacrifice, errr, test.

 

 

 

 

I sealed this guy up for 2 hours.

 

 

And this is how he looked, after a little work with the wire brush. He went back in the bath for another 2 hours.

 

 

 

Next, I sealed up this guy in nail polish remover for 2 hours.

 

 

And here he is, after a little time with the wire brush. While he had no issues with melting, I still don't suggest soaking plastic guys in polish remover. It is all great and dandy, until you find your rare model has turned into a pile of goo.

 

 

Finally, here is our Simple Green guy, after soaking for 4 hours. Now keep in mind, at this point it was 11 P.M. and I was tired. I could have gotten more paint off, but again, I didn't feel like killing my hands, scraping paint with a pair of tweezers. The paint that is left is mostly in creases that are hard to reach with anything bigger than a toothpick.

 

 

So my conclusion? Both the Simple Green and the nail polish remover pretty much did the same job. Neither melted or softened the plastic. I used the wire brush on every single figure tested, and had no issues with scratching. The paint came off just as easily with both. I did have 2 guys lose some glued parts with the Simple Green. This didn't happen with the nail polish remover with this test, but it has happened to me before. My only complaint was the Simple Green was harder to find and waaaay more expensive. But which ever way you decide to go, you will be able to fix those horrible painted figures you bought from that guy who was selling his old Eldar army...

 

I hope I answered some of your questions! I love comments, so let me know what you think.



 

 



My Love/Hate Relationship with Black Library...

...and, by extension, Games Workshop. Now, I had planned to write Model Stripping, Part 2 today, but I had more difficulty finding Simple Green than I had planned on. Don't worry, I have models in my kitchen melting, I mean soaking, as we speak. That post will be up in the next day or two.

Anyway, back to Black Library. I have said before that I am an avid reader. Now that The Sundering is under my belt, I have easily read 50 or more Black Library books, both 40k and fantasy. And while I won't stop reading their books anytime soon, they do a few things that irk me.

Fluff Changes
Now Games Workshop has been known to cause an uproar by changing fluff. Sometimes this is a good thing. Look at the Necrons. Sometimes it creates an all out uprising. All I need to say is Tau. (Just google "Tau fluff change." You don't even need to click on a link, just read the results.) Well, these fluff changes affect the books as well. Suddenly, the Dark Eldar are helping the Tau defeat Tyranids. Wait, what? It isn't like Black Library can go back and change all the books they published before the fluff change. So things get confusing.

Author Changes
Black Library is famous for handing well-loved characters over to new authors. It doesn't make sense. If William King is too busy writing some new book, so you have to hand Gotrek and Felix over to Nathan Long, why couldn't Nathan Long just write the new book? Leave our favorite characters with their creators! Dan Abnett, William King, and Graham McNeill aren't going to rise up against you, Black Library. You aren't giving them too much power if you let them keep their babies. No matter how great the new writer is, the books just aren't the same. Every time a series changes writers, a High Elf mage dies. Stop killing the mages, Black Library!

New Readers, Beware
These books are not friendly to people new to Warhammer. Eisenhorn was the first Black Library book I ever read. I think I stopped to ask Nate what a word meant at least every page. I had NO CLUE what happened in the first 50 pages. If I hadn't had him pushing me on to keep reading, I would have never read beyond that first page. And that is a shame. Because I know people who would LOVE these stories, if they could get past the jargon. But they will never read a Black Library book, because they just can't understand it.

Authors, Please Read
So many times I have read a book, only to be confused, because the timeline totally contradicts that of a previous book. This is related to both fluff changes and author changes. But if Black Library comes to me, and asks me to write the next book in the Horus Heresy series on the Dark Angels, I'm going to read those that came previously. Luther may be awesome, and even given some pretty awesome power by Chaos, but he can't be in two places at once. So please, authors, do your homework first.

These are my main gripes with Black Library. But, on the pro-side, they have a huge selection of books with incredibly engrossing storylines. So the next time a Grey Knight starts fighting in the name of Khorne, I'll just turn a blind eye and keep reading.

Let me know if you have a bone to pick with Black Library! Or share your favorite books. I just finished The Sundering, so I need something new to read!

The Sundering is Killing My Hands

I have been reading The Sundering, by Gav Thorpe, for over a month and a half. It groups the books Malekith, Shadow King, and Caledor into one book, along with 2 short stories. It is a monster at over 1000 pages.

I've been wanting to write a post on it. And even though I'm not finished yet, I'm 900 pages in. I feel like I've got a handle on the story and writing style.

First, it never takes me this long to read a book. I am a quick reader. In middle school, when the other kids were complaining about reading 3 books over the summer, I was reading 150. I can plow through a Gotrek & Felix Omnibus in a little over a week. This book has taken FOREVER to get through. And I haven't been putting it aside to read anything else either.

Yea, this book is large at 1000 pages. But I've read other books about that long. The Sundering is enormous! It makes regular books look like cardboard readers for infants. And it's size alone has made it difficult for me to read. I have rheumatoid arthritis, which makes my hands a bit weak and sore. I actually have to wear compression gloves just to hold this book up. It looks like I picked up a dictionary and decided to start reading. So, I go days without reading, because it just simply hurts too much.

This book dwarfs "normal" books

Just in case you weren't aware, Black Library has created the Time of Legends series. It mirrors the Horus Heresy 40k series, in that it deals with world changing events that happened centuries before "current" time in the fantasy world. The Sundering tells how the Dark Elves came to be from mainly 3 points of view; Malekith, Alith Anar - a Naggarothi who fights with the other kingdoms of Ulthuan, and Imrik, who takes the name Caledor when he becomes Phoenix King of the High Elves. The problem is, each book repeats the events from the previous book, just from a new point of view. It bogs the story down. Just as I get excited and can't wait to turn the page, a scene from the previous book appears, and I'm forced to read pages of THE EXACT SAME WORDS again.

This book confirmed for me that I am not a fan of Gav Thorpe. The only previous work of his I had read was Deliverance Lost, from the Horus Heresy series. It, too, was a slow read. He gets so concerned with setting up events, that once something finally happens, you just don't care anymore. Even his intro to The Sundering was boring. He basically tells us that he wrote a totally different book as the first in the triology, then had to quickly changed it when Black Library told him they wanted to name it Malekith. Yea, the first book was originally all about this elf named Carathril. Call me crazy, but if I was told I was going to write a book about how the Dark Elves came to be, the first guy I would think to write about would be Malekith. He is kind of a big deal.

Ok, so I've been bashing this book. But it isn't all bad. I love the character of Alith Anar. And being new to the Warhammer fantasy world, I've learned a ton about the elves in general. There are parts that are real page turners, and I've found myself up past 1 in the morning, because I have to find out what happens. It is definitely a must read if you are a fan of either the Dark Elves or the High Elves. There is a lot of history explained here. But I know that if I ever happen across a book written by Gav Thorpe, I won't pick it up to see how it is. (I do this with Dan Abnett. He could write about paint drying and I would read it.)

Have you read The Sundering, or other Time of Legends books? Let me know what you thought! I'm really looking forward to picking up both the Sigmar and the Rise of Nagash collections.



Seriously, it is like a phone book

Model Stripping

Girlfriend here. And while the title might sound naughty, I'll just be talking about stripping paint. Sorry.

So what I am about to say may be a little controversial. When I have talked about using nail polish remover WITH Acetone to remove paint before, I got all kinds of negative feedback. It melts plastic!! But trust me. I'm a girl. I've been painting my nails, including the fake, plastic kind, since I was capable of holding the brush. (I also painted my first vanity with nail polish - my parents weren't thrilled.) And my nails have never fallen off, the plastic ones have never melted. I have removed color from the carpet before. Again, my parents weren't thrilled.

That being said, there are some high-content Acetone nail polish removers out there. I do recommend using nail polish remover with it, but do a test first. Just throw a little paint on some sprue and see how it reacts.



I like the cheap kind

Supplies you will need:

• nail polish remover
• a cup you will never use again
• q-tips
• wire brush

I have also used pointed-tip tweezers to get the paint in tight areas. Please ask your girl before using hers. She may be upset if her skin burns the next time she goes to pluck her eyebrows.

If you are trying to remove paint from a metal model, great! Just soak that bad boy in a cup full of remover. It doesn't take more than a few minutes for the paint to soften, but if you forget about it, nothing will be hurt. It will likely remove the glue, however! I've found this is much more common with metal models than plastic.

Just a few minutes in the polish remover

If you are trying to remove the paint from a plastic model, I do recommend doing a test (see above). I have not had an issue with the remover softening the plastic to the point that it was an issue using a wire brush. I HAVE had a piece melt some after SOMEONE put it in the polish remover without letting me know first. I won't mention any names.... but it only affected the shoulderpads a little. It is a good idea to do this near a sink, so you can rinse the polish off quickly if needed. While I have soaked plastic models, I don't suggest it. Q-tips come in very handy here. You can also dip the model, use the wire brush, then rinse, and repeat. This way the model isn't affected by the remover for long.

I have not tested a resin model with the remover. I don't know if it is affected by the remover any differently than the plastic. Feel free to comment below if you have tried it! I will update you when I get a chance to try it myself.

I do reuse the remover I soak the models in. Just pour it back in the bottle, and save it for next time!

OTHER USES FOR NAIL POLISH REMOVER:

It is great for cleaning synthetic brushes! Just make sure to rinse them after and let them dry flat, so the bristles can return to their normal position and don't fray.

It is wonderful for cleaning airbrushes! I have unclogged Nate's airbrush more times than I can count. Just don't spray it through - remover is flammable, and not great to breathe in. Just like the metal models, take it apart, soak in the polish remover, and use q-tips or pipe cleaners as needed.


***I always forget to take "before" pictures of the models I strip. Next time I do it, I will add some before and after pictures!***




Girlfriend of a Gamer

So this idea came to me many months ago, and I'm finally sitting down to put it in action. I am letting you know what life is like as the girlfriend of a gamer. I read the Warhammer books, make molds and cast resin figures, clip bits, prime models, strip paint, and generally participate in my boyfriend's hobby. I have all kinds of tips and tricks. But this is an intro, and the answer to the question I get asked the most; "How do I get my girlfriend/wife into games?"

Full disclosure, I am a nerd. I love video games, books, anime, manga, comics, and crazy Game of Thrones memes. I enjoy going to conventions, and with the right incentive, could probably be convinced to cosplay. But I have drawn the line in the sand. I will not play tabletop or card games. My boyfriend has tried everything he can come up with to get me to try. I refuse. But he has gradually gotten me interested the idea. He did it by telling me the stories, and showing me the artwork. These are the two things that will likely attract your girl to playing a game. We don't want to sit around a table with sweaty, unwashed men, who make awkward jokes about things that we know nothing about, trying to not look like a newb. It will take a miracle for us to do anything that will make us look "uncool." So if you want us to play, you have to make it so that WE want to play. (Now, these ideas won't work on all women, and if your girl already plays, she may have started for different reasons.)

First, she wants to spend time with you. This is your trump card. She will do a lot of things just to be with you. Kinda the same way that you go to those sappy chick flicks with her. But, in order to play this card, you must pay attention to her while you are out gaming! If you leave her to wade through the new experience while you go catch up with your friends, it is over. She will never go again. So make sure that you focus on her the first few games. She is in a new world and feels uncomfortable. Stay with her.

Second, make sure she is as prepared as possible before going out to game. Teach her the rules. Tell her some of the storylines (women are always hooked by a good story). Have a practice game with her. We hate looking stupid, probably more than anything else out there. So make sure she has an idea what she is doing before she actually does it.

Finally, get her interested in some aspect of the game. Maybe your girl loves Blood Elves from World of Warcraft. Tell her about the Dark Elves in Warhammer. If she is a DIY-er, show her how she can customize models. If she likes to read fantasy books, you are in luck! So many of the background stories of these games are amazing! Start her off with the stories in a Codex or a book of short stories. Be prepared to answer questions - a lot of them. Many of the books are not friendly if you don't already know the lingo. Basically, find something she already likes, and show her aspects of it in the game. It will get her interested and wanting to learn more.

With a little patience, maybe you can get your girl in on the next D&D night at your local gaming store!

Yea, I'm a nerd. It was also 5 am. Excuse the glasses and lack of makeup.

Grey Knights in 6th Edition

6th Edition is here and the rumors and changes are in place! Ive had 2 games so far and both have been against another Grey Knight player.  It was obvious I was still in a 5th ed mode of play trying to deal with a new 6th ed mentality we all have to embrace change and the changes to the GK's have been fast and furious.  In my opinion one of the biggest chance has been the addition of AP values to weapons and then the change to our force weapons.

Everyone knows that back in the day GK's where modeled with nemesis force halberds and nemesis force hammers... well the times have changed.  I run a Crowe list because my favorite troops are Purifiers and in MY opinion the best configuration for a ten man squad is this:

3 - Psycannons - These are some of my favorite weapons, they can be fired on the move but are better from the hip.
1 - Incinerator this is when im assaulting so I can roast a few enemies before the fists start flying.
2 - Force Hammers I like to put one of these on the Knight of the Flame (Sargent) and I put another on a squad member.  This way if just in case someone with a hammer goes down I still have another for for Anti-Tank or to deal some damage to monstrous creatures.
4 - Nemesis force halberds, these are the guys i depend on to start "the kicking of the butt" and make the initial dent in the enemy force.

That's it for the initial setup of a squad, ill post more later on psychic powers and other aspects of the army that make GK's so dangerous in 6th ed!

So what are you feelings on the Knights? How do you feel they fall in the chain of power armies in 6th Ed, I would love to hear some feed back.... until next time

the JL

Projects in random states of readiness!

Well here are a few things I've been working on in my free time. Nothing is finished but im trying to share the love and get them done in a timely fashion. 
Im going to start paying more attention to my warriors of chaos soon so I can get them painted up a bit. Plus im hoping to become a training partners of a good friend who is the creator of the Orkwasistion Blog! So stay tuned for that!

Dread Knight Rising!

Well I picked up my first Dread Knight and am pretty happy with how he turned out! I magnetized his Psycanon/Psilencer Sword and Nemesis Hammer. Here are some pics!

Well my Grey Knights keep looking better and better! I will posts some pictures along with some ideas on them soon!