painting - Miniature figure gaming
Photograph by MagicToDooron Flickr.
painting Automatic painting />Fimo is the most popular of these clays though only specific colours are used since each has its own properties. Masters for plastic miniatures are often made in a larger scale (often 3 times the required size). A contributing factor is the different methods for calculating scale.
Both Mage Knight and the Dungeons & Dragons Miniatures Game use prepainted, collectible plastic figures. Originally, D&D was simply a miniatures game, with the distinction that each player controlled a single figure and a wider variety of moves or plays were possible. In addition to reducing ambiguity about the size and position of characters, this allows the game rules to define rules such as reach, threatened areas, and movement rates intended to simulate a particular reality.
Therefore a 6-foot (1.83m) figure in 28 mm scale would be 30 mm tall. Many are still made of pewter or other alloys, but plastic miniatures have grown in popularity.
The production moulds are then used to cast the actual figures you find in the stores. Polyethylene and polystyrene figures are made through injection moulding. Some commonly used ones are Polymerics Kneadatite blue\yellow (AKA green stuff and Duro in Europe), Milliput, A&B and Magic sculp.
Skillful mini painting is a difficult, exacting, time-consuming process, but the results can be quite amazing. Fantasy, role-playing, miniatures and wargaming conventions will sometimes feature miniature painting competitions, such as Games Workshop s Golden Demon contest, and there are many painting competitions on the internet. Professional painting services exist for hobbyist and corporate customers. Painting tutorials and help can be found in books, and on the internet at sites like http://www.paintminiatures.co.uk/. There are two basic methods to manufacture figures: centrifugal/gravity casting and plastic injection casting. Most metal and resin figures are made through spin casting. A machine heats plastic and injects it under high pressure into a steel mould.
Art work representing a view of each side of the subject is printed on the outside. With the metrication in the United Kingdom, United States manufacturers began to describe miniature scale in the metric system rather than fractions of inches in order to match military models with miniatures for table-top wargaming. As a result, 15 mm figures are interpreted as 1:100 real-life height by some and 1:120 by others.
Miniature figures are commonly manufactured from metal, plastic or paper and are used to augment the visual aspects of the game, and track position, facing, and line of sight of actors within the game. This distinction has blurred with the recent introduction of painted plastic figures, such as those used in Clix games. Traditionally, miniatures were cast in white metal, an alloy of lead and tin.
A manufacturer might advertise its figures as 28mm, but their products may be over 30 mm tall. Some of these began as concessions to the limitations of primitive mold-making, but they have evolved to artistic and stylistic choices over the years. Many role-playing gamers and wargamers will paint their miniature figures to be able to differentiate characters or units on a gaming surface (terrain, battle mat, or unadorned table top). Although many gamers are indifferent to the quality of the paint job, for some the skillful painting of minis is a hobby in itself, on a par with the more serious modelling of historical and military figures.
These models can be used to create a physical model for mouldmaking using rapid prototyping techniques or they can be used directly to drive a CNC machine which cuts the steel mould. The original Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game bore the subtitle, Rules for Fantastic Miniature Wargames Campaigns Playable with Paper and Pencil and Miniature Figures. Initially, fantasy wargamers used figures designed for historical wargaming, but eventually, new lines of fantasy figures appeared. TSR, Inc. A side benefit, from the standpoint of Hasbro, is driving miniature sales, which are potentially an evergreen market compared to the easily saturated market for more books among customers who already own the core rulebooks. .
A further complication is differential interpretations of body proportions. That project was abandoned, and the Dungeons & Dragons Miniatures Game now serves as the game s official line of miniatures, in addition to being played as a standalone game. Traditionally, figures were made of lead or pewter and cast from silicone rubber vulcanised moulds.
Smaller scales of 10 mm, 15 mm, and 20 mm are used in wargames representing massed warfare. There is also ProCreate from the Kraftmark company.
For example, a 30 mm figure from Privateer Press and compare it to the accurate scaled proportions of a real person, one sees that the figure has exaggerated proportions making it look much wider, with bigger features like the head, hands and weapons. The components are mixed together to create a sculpting compound which hardens in a period of 1–3 hours.
Some manufacturers measure figure height from the feet to level of the figure s eyes rather than the top of its head. Other companies have produced a multitude of figures for Dungeons & Dragons and other games in various scales.
The hobby of painting, collecting, and gaming with miniatures originated with the toy soldier hobby with the distinction that toys are sold pre-painted, and miniatures require painting. Hasbro, in the early states of publishing Dungeon & Dragons Third Edition, produced a new game called Chainmail based on simplified D&D rules.
In 1993, the New York legislature nearly passed a bill outlawing lead in miniatures, citing public health concerns. Miniature figure scales are commonly expressed as the height of a six-foot (183 cm) human male.
Larger resin models, like buildings and vehicles, are sometimes gravity cast which is a slower process. For this process a sculptor will deliver a master figure which is then used to create rubber master and production moulds.
Polymer clays have been avoided for a long time as they can not withstand the traditional mouldmaking process. As the game grew and changed, miniatures remained a way of visually representing tactical situations. Dungeons & Dragons did not require miniatures, although it suggested ways of using them, and referred interested players to the official line of AD&D figures.
The use of scale is not uniform and can deviate by as much as 33-percent. Many miniatures manufacturers, anticipating that other states would follow with more bans, immediately began making miniatures with lead-free alloys, which often resulted in price increases. Recently manufacturers offer plastic (polyethylene or hard polystyrene) minis; others offer resin (mostly polyurethane) minis.
In 28 mm scale, children and short characters such as dwarves, hobbits, and goblins will be typically be smaller than 28 mm, whereas large characters like ogres, trolls and dragons will be taller. Scales of 25 mm, 28 mm, 30 mm, 32 mm, and 35 mm are the most common for role-playing and table-top games. Larger figures of 54 mm and more are commonly used for painters and collectors.
produced a line of official Advanced Dungeons & Dragons miniatures. There are many brands of putties and each has its own properties.
The master is measured with a probe linked to a pantograph which reduces the measurements to the correct size and drives the cutter that makes the moulds. A more recent development is the use of digital 3D models made by computer artists. Modern techniques using RTV and softer quality rubbers have made it possible to use weaker materials and polymer clay masters are more common now.
A miniature figure, also known as a miniature, mini, figure, or fig. is a small-scale representation of a historical or mythological entity used in miniature wargames, role-playing games, and dioramas. Sometimes a small amount of antimony was added to improve the alloy s ability to take fine detail.
Miniatures are typically painted, and are often artfully sculpted and are collectible in their own right. AD&D did assume the use of miniatures.
This is a very expensive process which is only cost effective when you manufacture very large amounts of figures since the cost per cast is minimal. Many miniatures companies do not do the actual production themselves but leave this to specialised casting companies or miniatures companies that do have a casting facility. Notable miniatures companies include (in alphabetical order) the following, among others: Most miniatures are hand sculpted in the same size as the final figure using two component epoxy putties. Figures from other manufacturers display similar deviations.
