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1st Edition AD&D	-	Dragon magazine	-	Dragon #143

This months column picks up the process
of cleaning, tooling, and painting miniatures
started in DRAGON® issue #138.  <Painting Skeletons>
After selecting the area in which you wish <Getting Started>
to work on miniatures and preparing it for
use (see issue #140), you are ready to go to
the next steps: gathering tools and preparing
the model or figure for painting.

Tools come in a variety of different
shapes and types, each having its own
unique use. This seems like a basic statement,
but its true import isn?t apparent
until you find that you don?t have the tool
you need and you attempt to improvise.
Depending on your wisdom and dexterity,
you may get away with doing things
wrong, but all too often you end up ruining
your miniature.

Let?s go through a list of tools and discuss
prices so you can budget your purchases.
The following list is arranged in
order of the importance of the tools needed
for miniatures work.

Wood or other thick working surface:
This is by far the most important of any of
the tools you will need for doing miniatures.
Wherever you work, there are
bound to be occasional accidents. A separate
workspace saves you from ruining a
valuable piece of furniture (such as a desk
or table) and incurring the wrath of a
parent or spouse.

A good recommendation is to use a piece
of wood about ½?-1? thick by 12? wide
by 18? long. Find wood with one smoothly
sanded side, or you may wind up getting
splinters every time you work. On the
rough side of the wood, apply a layer of
felt or some other thick cloth, using white
glue to hold the piece securely. Don?t saturate
the cloth with the glue, as it will make
the cloth surface hard. Let the wood piece
dry for 48 hours before using it. The felt
will prevent the work board from scratching
tables. If you have access to a router,
you can put several small indentations
about ½? wide by 7? long on the far right
or left edge of the board (depending on
whether you are right or left handed) and
at the boards top for holding tools while
you work.

This board should cost well under $10 to
make and will save hours of trouble. Scrap
wood can be purchased cheaply from
lumber yards, and felt or heavy cloth is
available from most fabric shops.

Knives or knife set: Knives are the most
versatile tool in the miniatures inventory,
especially for the enthusiast working on a
tight budget. Proper care and handling of
a knife allows you to remove a miniature
from its molding sprue (the metal extruding
from the miniature which is invariably
left by the molding process) and trim light
flash (mold overflow) from the small holes
and angles on a figure. Having a variety of
shaped blades allows you to modify fig
ures by making cuts in crucial places.
These modifications might include taking a
small notch from the inside of an elbow or
knee, to allow you to bend a miniature?s
limb. Knives are also used to widen the
slots in plastic bases so that figures using
them may stand more firmly. You can even
use the tip of a #11 blade to make very
small holes in a figure.

When working with knives, it is important
to remember several things. First,
always use a knife that feels comfortable
in your hand. In most cases, a trip to the
hobby shop will enable you to find a knife
that fits well. You should never, for any
reason, cut toward a part of your body
(either your trunk, your hand, or whatever);
knives can slip. Always cover your
knives when they are not in use, and put
them away when you are through using
them. Pets, brothers, sisters, parents, or
spouses can cut themselves easily on
uncovered knives. Even those of us who
should know better sometimes need to
remind ourselves of this. Make cuts or
remove metal in small, even strokes; don?t
slash. If an action with a knife is difficult
to perform, then don?t do it! If such an
action is that difficult, it?s probably the
wrong thing to do in the first place.

As a shopper and a store owner, I can
tell you that knives are often cheaper in
sets. Individual handles run from $4 to
$12 each, and sets usually run from $7 to
$50, but sets usually include more than
one handle and blade. At least try to get a
#2 handle and #11 blades.

File sets: Although file sets rate high in
degree of importance, they are also some
of the most expensive tools on any list.
When you purchase a file set, make sure it
is a set of ?needle? or small hobby files.
Some hardware stores will try to sell you
full-sized files; these only hinder rather
than help you. Swiss needle files usually
come in sets of three or more, and they
include a flat file (flat on both sides), a
half-round file, and either a round or a
triangular file. These files come with or
without handles, but I recommend that
you purchase the handle, as the file ends
tend to be sharp and rough on the hands.
Always tell the clerk at the store that you
are purchasing sets to use with metal.
Some hobby files are meant to be used on
wood only; these quickly become useless
when used on lead.

Once again, care should be taken when
using a file. Files usually work on the
outward cut only (check with your hobby
store to see which way specific files work).
Running a file back and forth will dull the
file unless it is designed to be used in both
directions. Files usually have sharp ends,
so all work should be made in motions
away from the body. Rules for covering
and storing knives apply here as well. One
should always have a stiff piece of scrap
cloth or a file cleaner to clean metal filings
off the file after each use.

Files perform many of the functions that
the knife does; most often, a file is the tool
of choice in place of the knife. You can
neatly flatten or remove detail without the
worry-of incorrectly cutting the miniature
or yourself, flash can be removed quickly
but carefully, and expert modelers can use
a file to change facial expressions (and
even hairstyles in some cases). As you can
see, files are very valuable tools to own.

Clipper or side-cutting pliers: Although
this tool has limited usage, it can save you
from cuts, bruises, and hours spent using
a file. Clippers are primarily used to separate
figures from the molding sprue. For
example, clippers are particularly handy
in working with Games Workshop?s Space
Marines figures, in which each of the
component parts is held by a molding
sprue. By placing a pair of side-cutting
pliers next to the part to be separated, a
modeler can gently remove it, thereby
leaving a small nub which can be cleared
up by using a file or knife. These small
pliers range in price from $7 to $11 at
hobby stores, but they may be purchased
at many hardware stores for less. Be sure
to test the set at hardware stores; make
sure the clipper works smoothly, and be
sure the cutting edge is made of hard
metal and isn?t just plated.

Pin vise or drill-chuck adaptor and bits:
This handy tool set has one important
purpose in life: It makes holes. Holes play
a part in constructing larger models such
as dragons and giants. In these cases, a
small hole can be drilled in each half of a
divided miniature, and the two halves can
then be connected by a small piece of
heavy wire stock or a very small nail. This
provides added strength to the bond and
frequently makes the difference between
a display model and a figure used only for
gaming. The extra rods so used strengthen
droopy wings and necks, and act as sup
port to allow movement and handling.

Drills can be used with files on character
hands or fists to allow weapon changes to
fit a store-bought character. For example,
to change a figure?s handheld weapon
from a sword to a bow, cut off the weapon
at the top and bottom of the fist, using
side-cutting pliers. Use the twist drill to
carefully drill out the previous weapon?s
remains until you have a small hole drilled
completely through the fist. Use a small
round file to clean out the hole, leaving
enough metal for suitable detail on the
hand. Insert the new weapon, glue it in
place, and let it dry.

If you are starting out, it may be best to
just get the pin vise or the drill-chuck
adaptor. The minidrills are nice, but until
you know more about what you are doing,
you can ruin a model quickly with them.
Pin vises are slower, but they allow more
exactness in handling and don?t break drill
bits frequently. Besides, at between $4 and
$8, pin vises are much cheaper than drills,
which cost from $8 to $20.

Drill bits are sized by number, with the
larger numbers indicating smaller bits.
Generally, bit sets come in groups of 9 to
20 per package, all in different sizes.
Replacement bits are available on a singlesize
basis. My recommendation is to pick
up a drill-stand set, which has a marked
holder and 20 bits in the .61 to .80 range,
then purchase another set in the .45 to .60
range. These two sets will run from $36 to
$40 but give you the range needed to fit
any of your modeling needs.

The major virtue required with these
bits is patience. If you attempt to drill too
quickly or if you flex the bit while drilling,
there is a good chance you will break the
bit. Doing the job slowly not only saves
wear and tear on the bits, but enhances
your chance of doing the job correctly.

Magnifiers: Many modelers argue that
magnifiers are a waste of time and money,
as objects on a normal figure can be seen
easily. Today, however, miniatures companies
are in serious competition to produce
figures with large amounts of
obvious and not-so-obvious detail. The
careful painting of these exquisite details
is what makes the difference between a
good model and a showpiece.

Magnifiers allow you to clearly see even
the smallest detail, thereby allowing you to
paint around that detail or highlight it as
desired. Magnifiers can enlarge an image
by up to four times its normal size and let
you see places that you?ve missed. Most of
all, using a magnifier saves wear and tear
on your eyes and helps prevent headaches
due to squinting or concentrating on very
small objects.

Magnifiers come in many forms, including
those that can be worn on your head
or over your glasses. Magnifying lenses
come with self-standing platforms or small
lights that can be held in-your hand. One
of the most useful magnifiers is a positional
magnifying glass with one or two movable
clamps (alligator clips). These clamps
hold the figure steady, leaving your hands
free to work on the miniature. There are
no safety concerns with magnifiers, except
for an awareness of the possibility ?of
breaking the glass.

Miniatures holders or clamps: Fingers
have a habit of getting in the way when
working with miniatures. When you least
expect it, fingers slip or brush against wet
paint and damage the work you?ve done.
Much of this potential damage can be
avoided by using a clamp or hemostat.
These aids allow you to hold objects with
steady pressure and to control movement
without handling the miniature. These
clamps may be purchased at your local
hobby or surgical supply store.

By far, the best miniature holder is the
Extra-Hands. This holder may be adjusted
while you work but still provides a solid,
steady surface. The holder sits on the
table, allowing you to move about and
thereby eliminating many problems due to
shaky hands. When used with the magnifiers
and a small brush, this tool allows you
to paint the tiniest of details.

As you can see, tools play an important
part in working with miniatures. As each
of us strives to produce the perfect paint
job; it becomes common sense to use all
the resources available. If you have questions
on how to do things or on what tools
to use, talk to your local hobby-store owner.
In most cases, he will take the time to
help you make the right choices.