Painting and Priming
- Thread starter CrookedWookie
- Start date
CrookedWookie said:
Welcome to the world of acta minies. You'll find that you will have to drill the hole for the base more often than not. A pin vice, and a set of small drill bits is your best friend with these models. Not just for drilling out the base hole, many of these minies have parts that need pinning.
I wouldn't use a dremel for drilling, it has far too high rpms, even on the adjustable speed and low speed ones. They tend to catch and jump out of the hole too easily and you risk damaging the mini.
A cordless hand drill works much better. I have a Black and Decker 12 Volt drill I used to drill out the bottoms of all my Minbari fleet for the Ninja Magic magnetic base adaptors. It has multiple torque settings to use it for a power driver and also a single setting for drilling. It's good because it is a low speed drill and works perfectly for drilling out the minis. I started with a 1/8" bit to drill out the main part of the hole for the larger portion of the base adapter's pin and a 1/16" bit to do the "countersink" hole for the smaller portion of the adapter's pin. I did this on all the ships except the Tarotha as they are so thin I couldn't do both holes without drilling through the top of the mini. On them I only did the 1/16" holes as they are small enough to not break the pin on the base adapter.
I agree on the pin vise, for the type of work you are doing here it's not a good investment. It's really only good for working on other types of minis like humanoids and monsters where you need extra control over where you are drilling. Using the pin vise to drill out all those ships will make your hand very sore after about the fourth or fifth ship, or maybe my knuckles are just worn out from working on far to many minis in my lifetime.
A cordless hand drill works much better. I have a Black and Decker 12 Volt drill I used to drill out the bottoms of all my Minbari fleet for the Ninja Magic magnetic base adaptors. It has multiple torque settings to use it for a power driver and also a single setting for drilling. It's good because it is a low speed drill and works perfectly for drilling out the minis. I started with a 1/8" bit to drill out the main part of the hole for the larger portion of the base adapter's pin and a 1/16" bit to do the "countersink" hole for the smaller portion of the adapter's pin. I did this on all the ships except the Tarotha as they are so thin I couldn't do both holes without drilling through the top of the mini. On them I only did the 1/16" holes as they are small enough to not break the pin on the base adapter.
I agree on the pin vise, for the type of work you are doing here it's not a good investment. It's really only good for working on other types of minis like humanoids and monsters where you need extra control over where you are drilling. Using the pin vise to drill out all those ships will make your hand very sore after about the fourth or fifth ship, or maybe my knuckles are just worn out from working on far to many minis in my lifetime.
Shadow Queen
Mongoose
as we type im pinning StarFuries to flying stems on the ACTA fighter base
CrookedWookie
Mongoose
What glue do people recommend?
Shadow Queen
Mongoose
I use Bosun super glue
About the Mimbari ships. I put the wings on them against the body, so they stick out more at an angle than down and they look pretty good. Can't see the joint form above and its stronger because there is more surface area for the glue to adhere.
As for the holes. Just use your power drill with a 1/16th bit. Just be careful, I drilled through one of my Tinashis with it (small hole, can't really see it).
I would also suggest that you buy some 1/16th brass tubing and some hex or square tubing where the round one can fit into it. Use that instead of the plastic stands. They break really easily. I toppled one of my ships on the table and the stand broke at the ship, another one broke in the box. You can also easily remove the bases for smaller storage.
Frank V.
As for the holes. Just use your power drill with a 1/16th bit. Just be careful, I drilled through one of my Tinashis with it (small hole, can't really see it).
I would also suggest that you buy some 1/16th brass tubing and some hex or square tubing where the round one can fit into it. Use that instead of the plastic stands. They break really easily. I toppled one of my ships on the table and the stand broke at the ship, another one broke in the box. You can also easily remove the bases for smaller storage.
Frank V.
I put mine on just as the groves in the bottom suggest. The grooves are tent shaped. The wings wind up pointing out at approximately a 30 degree angle from vertical. It's the same for the Leshath (it's just a Tigara with a sensor pod added on the top fin) and the Sharlin. As I suspect the molds are getting pretty old, you may have to cut or dremel out the slots some to make them fit better. They do look a little bit odd when viewed from the bottom. If you have some superglue accelerator it really helps to get them to stay in place.
The Tinashi are a little bit different as their slots actually are inset into the ship. There is only one way for them to go.
The Ninja Magic magnetic base adapters are the best I've found to keep the ships from breaking the plastic base stems at the joint.
The Tinashi are a little bit different as their slots actually are inset into the ship. There is only one way for them to go.
The Ninja Magic magnetic base adapters are the best I've found to keep the ships from breaking the plastic base stems at the joint.
Shadow Queen
Mongoose
and i use zip kicker
Actually, I prefer a pin vise over the others. A power drill is often too unwieldy and I've lost a few bits from a Dremel tool when used on minis metal. A pin vise takes time as one has to swap out bits and work from smaller to larger. The only time I lost a bit in a pin vise, however, was when I accidentally stabbed myself with one and snapped the bit partially in my hand and partially in the vise.
If it is only partially filled with flash though, try to cut it out with a hobby knife. Any bit will likely hang on the flash and jam/break.
If it is only partially filled with flash though, try to cut it out with a hobby knife. Any bit will likely hang on the flash and jam/break.
Everyone is different, my hands get sore to easily using the pin vise, so I prefer the cordless power drill. It's really not all that unwieldy for me, but I've been using power tools my entire life so I'm very comfortable around them. I tried using drill bits in my dremel before and even at low speeds they rotate at too high rpms and its too easy to snap bits with a little wiggle because of it. I gave up on using the dremel for drilling quickly. Unless I'm doing some precise drilling for a conversion, I don't use my pin vise anymore.
Shadow Queen
Mongoose
http://www.mongoosepublishing.com/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=77
try this link there may be some help in here
try this link there may be some help in here
