Welcome to yet more advice and reviews in
"Through the Looking Glass." The reviews in this column
come from miniatures submitted by companies and
individuals. In many cases, these samples (especially those
of smaller companies) come with little information other
than the company name, price, and stock number. These
reviews, depend upon the honesty of a company submitting
miniatures regarding the uniqueness of their product, the
legality of the product's license, and the company's right to
distribute the product for public sale.

During the course of the GEN CON®/ORIGINS? 88 Game
Fair, I heard several accusations about the figures I was
about to review. These comments ranged from charges of
blatant piracy to charges that products were made on
expired licences. In at least one case, the piracy charge was
true, and in four out of five of the remaining instances, the
manufacturers had lost their licenses to produce the
figures. In two of these latter cases, the license had been
revoked after the figures had been submitted.
Nevertheless, there was no attempt to contact me.

Let me take this opportunity to state my position on this
topic once again. I will not knowingly publish false
information in this column. Because of recent events, large
amounts of research may be required to verify facts
regarding submissions to this column. As a result, I would
rather skip a months review or have a short column than
publish incorrect information. I apologize for problems
that may have occurred thus far, and hope they will not
occur again. Now, on with this months column.

Tom Meier's Limited Edition Sorcerer and Wizard: Mages of
different mettle.

Getting started
Winter is a time when the gaming
urge is at its strongest. The snow, ice,
and harsh, miserable weather cause us
to stay in our warm homes and wage
hot battles or campaigns. It also frees
up time we would normally spend
outside, thus removing the last excuse
for not launching a new facet of gaming
interest: miniatures painting.

Painted armies and well-planned
exercises don?t just happen; they take
planning and require the effective use
of some basic tools and aids. This
months column deals with the materials
used, space required, and knowledge
needed to get you started.

The first thing you should do is establish
some goals for yourself. These
goals should include the type of unit
you want to work with (an orc army, a
dragon colony, an adventure party,
British Napoleonics, etc.) and a realistic
schedule of when you wish to complete
the project. The type of figures you
choose will determine the amount of
time, money, and work area needed. If
you?ve never painted miniatures
before, you?ll want to pick up some
figures for practice painting. It?s a good
idea to practice on the same type of
miniature you intend to use as your
first project.

The reason for setting project goals is
to avoid burying yourself in unpainted
miniatures you may never need. Having
fallen prey to this problem in the past, I
can attest to the relative ease of buying
without a goal; I can also attest to how
discouraging it is to look at an evergrowing
pile of miniatures that need
painting. In addition, planning and
doing one group at a time reduces the
cost of miniatures painting. By planning
ahead, you only need to pick up a few
colors at a time instead of buying several
different, expensive colors to paint
a wide variety of figures.

  
Tom Meier's Limited Edition Male and Female Barbarian:
Living by the sword

Money is an important consideration
for effectively painting miniatures.
Often, you may find that you can?t
work any further without a certain
color and don?t have enough money to
get it. Remember that you?ll need tools,
so price and purchase those before
buying the miniatures and paint.

Research what you are going to paint
? if it?s a special unit or character, find
out everything about it before you
start. Make sure you?re familiar with
any bizarre colors that may be needed
(or know how to make them if you
can?t buy them), and be aware of any
insignia or additions that might change
the way you paint the figure. Planning
ahead will keep you from ruining a
figure or having to redo it.

After you?ve finished the research
and are ready to start painting, establish
a work area. This is the most
important step outside of painting your
miniatures. Often, the work area contributes
greatly to the quality of the
paint job. The things you need to look
for in a work area are listed as follows:

Lighting: You need a clear area free
of shadows and colored light. Shadows
prevent you from seeing details, identifying
paint hues, and effectively shading
the miniature. Colored lights cause
the same problems, by starting you off
with the wrong color, thus requiring
adjustments in shades and hues to
make up for the color cast by the light.

Accessibility: The area you pick
should be easy to get to, but difficult or
impossible for other people or pets to
get to while you?re painting. There is
nothing worse than a paw print or
fingerprint on a figure that you?ve just
painted. Likewise, it is virtually impossible
to get black paint off white fur.
Avoid high-use areas such as dining
rooms or kitchen tables. As a rule,
dinnertime falls exactly at the time 
you can't stop painting.

Tom Meier's Limited Edition Antipaladin and Paladin: 
Forces of good and evil. 

Cleanliness: The work area should be
free of dust, hair, lint, and moisture. By
paying attention to these details, you
can avoid many of the little imperfections
which stick to wet paint, or leave
unsightly bumps or blurs.

Spaciousness: The work area should
have sufficient room in which to work,
set up paints, arrange tools, and still
have room for spreading out and
assembling miniatures. Cramped areas
lead to spills, marred paint jobs, and
broken figures.

Ventilation: Last and most important,
the work area should have lots of ventilation
and should be far from stoves or
open flames. Many of the adhesives
used in constructing miniatures have
toxic fumes that can damage your lungs
and sinuses if they are allowed to build
up. Similarly, these fumes might
explode if exposed to flame. Oil-based
and petroleum-based paints (and even
some of the water-based paints) fall into
this dangerous category. Be safe rather
than sorry: Have a window close by
and open it slightly when painting. If
the fumes get strong, stop working and
take a breather. If possible, keep a
chemical-flame fire extinguisher nearby
in case of emergency.

That?s all for this month. Take this
opportunity to work on what I?ve covered
so far. Next month we?ll cover the
tools needed to begin constructing and
painting your miniatures.