Hi,
I was wondering about starting WW2 micronauts. Are the models easy to put together?
Do they come with any instructions?
How are they to paint?
Any help would be great.
Joe
Micronauts Question-How to get started?
Moderators: dnichols, GHQ, Mk 1
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cabin4clw
- E5
- Posts: 104
- Joined: Mon Jan 03, 2005 5:45 am
- Location: West Michigan
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battlewagon
- E5
- Posts: 231
- Joined: Wed May 11, 2005 10:57 am
- Location: San Diego, CA
Joe,
They are very easy to build and the detail is fantastic for the size. I use crazy glue to assemble the kits. Micronauts are typically about 12 pieces and the instructions are very basic...but with that few parts it would take some work to mess it up. I use Model Master paints on my ships, a spray can for the primer coat of Camouflage Gray (very light gray) and paint everything else from bottles with an assortment of small brushes.
Take a look at the "show us your stuff" thread to see examples of the finished products, a couple of mine are out there too.
The smaller parts may be bent coming out of the package, but since it is soft metal it can easily be bent back...slowly. I trim and test fit the parts, paint them and then glue them together. Some parts are very tiny, tweezers and a magnifing glass would be good investments.
You may want to start with ships you are familiar with and / or really famous ships that have lots of photos available. For instance: Bismarck, Hood, Missouri, Arizona are all good starters. Destroyers are single piece castings, as are submarines.
If you have more specific questions, feel free to post them as there are several people willing to share what they know. I hope this helps.
Matt
They are very easy to build and the detail is fantastic for the size. I use crazy glue to assemble the kits. Micronauts are typically about 12 pieces and the instructions are very basic...but with that few parts it would take some work to mess it up. I use Model Master paints on my ships, a spray can for the primer coat of Camouflage Gray (very light gray) and paint everything else from bottles with an assortment of small brushes.
Take a look at the "show us your stuff" thread to see examples of the finished products, a couple of mine are out there too.
The smaller parts may be bent coming out of the package, but since it is soft metal it can easily be bent back...slowly. I trim and test fit the parts, paint them and then glue them together. Some parts are very tiny, tweezers and a magnifing glass would be good investments.
You may want to start with ships you are familiar with and / or really famous ships that have lots of photos available. For instance: Bismarck, Hood, Missouri, Arizona are all good starters. Destroyers are single piece castings, as are submarines.
If you have more specific questions, feel free to post them as there are several people willing to share what they know. I hope this helps.
Matt
Always respect the law of gross tonnage (aka "bigger boat wins")
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cbovill
- E5
- Posts: 439
- Joined: Mon Dec 13, 2004 5:20 am
- Location: Las Vegas, NV
Joe,
Welcome aboard! As Matt stated, the ships either come in one piece for the small ones or only a few pieces for the larger ones. Each ship comes with a small insert that includes a small diagram of the ship and its parts and roughly where everything goes. It also includes a brief description of the ship.
How are they to paint? That's the part I enjoy the most, I like to think that I am building the ships and there are few things as satisfying as building these ships and seeing the finished product. I think I enjoy that more than gaming with them. As for painting them, everyone has their own style and technique. The GHQ painting video sold on this site also has a good section on painting the ships. I recommend cleaning the flash, separating the small parts from the sprues and mounting all of the on nails. This makes painting so much easier, and the finished product will turn out better, see picture below:
I spray the major colors on with an airgun, then brush on the details. Some people mount them on bases with id tags, others prefer the natural look, just depends on your personal preference. I've found the bases tend to protect the ships from damage during travel and play, as well as turning them into a mini-diorama of sorts.
There is lots of research material out there to help you paint up specific schemes for specific ships. Much is in books and much is available right on the internet. Feel free to post specific questions out here, they'll get answered.
Chris
Welcome aboard! As Matt stated, the ships either come in one piece for the small ones or only a few pieces for the larger ones. Each ship comes with a small insert that includes a small diagram of the ship and its parts and roughly where everything goes. It also includes a brief description of the ship.
How are they to paint? That's the part I enjoy the most, I like to think that I am building the ships and there are few things as satisfying as building these ships and seeing the finished product. I think I enjoy that more than gaming with them. As for painting them, everyone has their own style and technique. The GHQ painting video sold on this site also has a good section on painting the ships. I recommend cleaning the flash, separating the small parts from the sprues and mounting all of the on nails. This makes painting so much easier, and the finished product will turn out better, see picture below:
I spray the major colors on with an airgun, then brush on the details. Some people mount them on bases with id tags, others prefer the natural look, just depends on your personal preference. I've found the bases tend to protect the ships from damage during travel and play, as well as turning them into a mini-diorama of sorts.
There is lots of research material out there to help you paint up specific schemes for specific ships. Much is in books and much is available right on the internet. Feel free to post specific questions out here, they'll get answered.
Chris
my wife asks me to draw them when I'm getting the paint flowing to the right consistency in my airbrush. She thinks its cute! I do it to keep the peace!