"Holding 28mm miniatures" Topic

I'm wondering if anyone could suggest a good option for holding a mini securely while painting. Something that could be manipulated easier than a vice. Or point me in the direction of a message board thread that has already discussed this.

Currently, I paint with a magnifier on a flexible stalk, placing the mini on a small can. Inevitably, I need to move the mini to reach an angle, so pick up the mini by the base. And that usually leads to hand cramps after some time. It'd be nice to find something that allows me to control the height and angle, and prevent any hand-strain.

Blue-tack it to the top of a paint bottle you're not using.

I always mount my miniatures to craft sticks before I paint them.

I use large-head nails. It allows me to twist and twirl the figure to get the best angle. Plus you can always secure it into an alligator clip or other mechanical holder if you need both hands to work on it.

I glue the figure on with white glue which makes it easy to remove when the painting is completed.

Jim

1 .oz bottle + blu-tak.

i use two methods:
1. mount 2 foot or 1 horse figure to a block of 2x4 lumber that has been ripped to 1/2 its normal width. the finished painting blocks are about 1.5" x 1.5" and roughly 3" long. they are remarkably stable and provide a nice handle.
2. mount 1 foot figure on the head of a roofing nail. this involves fabricating a board with many, many holes to hold figures not being painted. my board has a grid of holes 1" apart.

to mount the figures to options 1 and 2, i did use small squares of double-sided foam tape. pricey, a minor pain to remove when completed, but very secure.

i have recently switched to hot glue. much cheaper, less time once the gun warms up but a lot less secure and occasionally a figure pops loose and needs to be reattached.

ymmv,

-clark182

All good options. One more to the list is a bottle cap from soda or water plastic bottles. Blue tack or white glue for easy removal

Matthew

White glue on a prescription bottle works for me.

I use white glue on a craft stick; but the wide tongue-depressor kind, not the narrow popsicle-stick kind. Also, I cover the surface with a strip of masking tape and glue to that; that way when the glue builds up I can just peel off the tape and start over rather than tossing the stick.

White glue and a 2"x2" cardboard (like cereal box) square.

Like 45thdiv, I use the cap from a water bottle or an OJ container and a little white glue to affix it. It also helps in priming the figure as I can screw the cap with figure to the bottle and spray prime without getting all messy.

White glue on a tongue depressor or craft stick.

I use a 1 and 1/4 inch dowel cut into 2 and 1/4 inch pieces. Essentially a 1 oz paint bottle with the "blue tack" on top but, I didn't have time to wait on empty bottles!

Arthritis in my fingers and hand was the reason I switched from a Popsicle stick. And it is quite nice to have a large base to hold onto while painting.

I like sticking miniatures to the top of a wooden craft egg. The size and shape of the eggs makes them easy to hold. And, you can store in-progress miniatures in an egg tray.

If I'm painting individual models then I use plastic soft drink bottle caps. I glue the figures to the caps with rubber cement. When you're done, you can just pull the figure off the cap and rub the leftover cement on the bottom of the off with my finger.

Riders get a hole drilled in their butts and a hole drilled in the bottle cap of a size to accept a round toothpick. Toothpicks are tapered on both ends, so making the hole slightly small means that a press fit works just fine.

Among the advantages of being free, reusable and plentiful is that they come in colors which makes organizing your painting into groups by similar uniforms, poses, or units is very easy.

I always use craft sticks glued to a block for a handle, and then attach the figures with super glue.

Thanks for all of the responses!

I use plastic soda bottle caps with blu-tac on them.

Plastic bottle top. Very cheap super glue. When finished squeeze the bottle top and figure pops off.

I use my fingers.

Bottle cap and Rubber cement.
Rubber cement removes easier than white glue and super glue but holds just as well.

I attach each batch that I am painting to a 1 x 1 metal with white glue.