"Prepping shapeways ironclads?" Topic

All,
Do I need to wash and prime Brown Water Navy models before I paint them?

I have a pile to paint up as well and I was planning to do at least that much to prep the models. Thinking though they are not cast like a resin model so really should not have the mold release agent present that a washing is supposed to take care of. By the way what kind of material did you have your model(s) made from? Are you happy with the model(s)? Detailed enough for your tastes? I purchased the 1/300th scale ships.

I haven't gotten them yet, but I ordered the standard material.

I did a simple soapy water wash and primed my Brown Water Navy 1/600 ACW miniatures in a grey automotive primer. Not sure it needed both, but I figured better safe than sorry.

I consider primer a requirement for nearly any surface, with very few exceptions.

How you prep the surface for primer depends which material you got. Some research in the Shapeways forums could save a lot of grief later.

I've only ordered miniatures in the old FUD material, which needed to be cleaned of the layer of wax leftover from the printing process. I used Bestine for this until I had a few bad experiences with breakages on very small parts, then switched to a very short acetone bath (just a few minutes) after reading an article on recommending this on shapeways.com. (FWIW, I suspect a short Bestine bath might work just as well, but in the end acetone is easier to acquire and store.) Chemicals that attack the wax also attack the material in various ways, so many people recommend only warm water and dish soap.

The white flexible plastic used as the base material for most Shapeways prints has a grainy texture. Many people don't mind, but a lot of picky and exacting aesthetes like us miniatures gamers do, so there is a whole industry of techniques and even materials to fix or mitigate this. I don't know if this material needs to be cleaned.

Now that Shapeways has changed the names of all the materials and introduced more, I'd have to do the research over again. It's hard to tell what changed names and what is actually new.

- Ix

The models I ordered are in the "White Natural Versatile Plastic".

I ordered in the same material. I have looked through the Shapeways site and read many many ideas on prepping the models. Thanks for the advice Yellow Admiral.
Overall I am pleased with the models. I think for ACW they will paint up well and join my fleet of metal and resin ships just fine. They do not have the "Pancake Layered" look so I am happy about that. A bit of a "Grainy" feel but I think that will be just fine for a wooden ship. Using my dry brushing technique it should actually enhance the weathered wood look of a well worn ship. As new models come out from Brown Water Navies I will probably buy more.