Hello everyone, Everything is in the title. How am I supposed to deal with this great looking but awfully designed mini? How did you manage to glue, paint, transport and play this thing without it falling apart? Do I have to resign myself about the "whips"? Cheers,
I can tell you for the whips. I didn't put them to the head. I put them coming out of his back. Drilled holes a bit and put them right in. Much better hold! The two spots on each side of his back. Bright blue-green in the picture.
I pinned them to the head because they were hard to get to stay. Mine's been about half painted for quite a few years now because I'm bad at finishing projects.
I pinned mine, and never had a problem in 6 years of playing and transporting it. I put magnets on the bases of all my CA models and transported them in a lunchbox. Literally no problems.
Okay. Firstly, the assembly. You must sacrifice several things in specific ways when the moon is in the 8th housing as per instructions in the necronomicon… It pretty much feels that way anyhow. Same for the storage and transport of it. Those antennas will break if you look at them wrong. Advice given by @colbrook is what I’d suggest too. Magnetise the base and carry it that way. Putting it in foam is just rolling the dice on it breaking in box. @jake richmond and @toadchild and @Space Ranger have gone the bold way of pinning it together, my hat off to you for that sirs, especially for you pinning those antennas… they’re a pain if you haven’t the right drill bit. Other than that, good luck! It is a fun mini to paint up and does look great in cabinet!
There are loads of Infinity miniatures who benefit from being magnetised. Although over time I’m unsure if there is a big difference between magnets or foam. Foam risks hurting the minis little by little over time. Magnets aren’t foolproof and if something gets lose it can end in a bad day. Also many figures have weak shins or contact points to the base and magnets strong enough to hold them in place can create their own problems. I have magnetised my entire collection including tokens. Including Ana. Never had an issue with that particular model. Paint it with Terradon Turquoise Contrast paint. Paint the antennas in a bright neon green. Paint the eyes and lights in a contrasting colour. Add a 40mm camo marker. BANG! Ready to rock n roll. Try the CA Double Trouble list with a Charontid HMG Lieutenant and Anathematic Hacker and chaff.
Thanks everyone for the advices! That's an idea, I have to give it a try. Would you have pics of your own mini, by any chance? You drilled a hole inside each antenna? I thought about that but even my small hobby drill bit is too large to do so... Yup, that's what I already do with all my minis :) Still afraid of what could happen to such a fragile mini but I guess there is no miracle solution. How did you pin the antennas? As said before, even my hobby drill is to big... Thanks! Thanks for the tips. Was already planning to try that, looks fun indeed! And with CA, you can play these two beasts together and still pack a lot of orders and cool other minis on the side.
Another lunch box user! Awesome! I do magnetic too obviously. No matter how soft foam can be it will grab parts and rub paint off.
I found that it wasn't so hard after all. I bent the braid/whip/proboscis ever so slightly so that it touches the arm or the leg on either side ever so little. This is enough to give an extra point of contact, and with a drop of glue it gives the whole construct more stability, while maintaining the flowy whippy look.
Yes, although it was many years ago and I don’t recall what size drill bit I used. My model (half painted, as mentioned) has been bouncing around in foam for many years now with no problems.
I never had any problem with the assembly. Just glued it all in place, no pinning or anything. I also store my models in a magnetic case. As for painting it, I'd recommend trying to mix it up with a little freehanding. Annie is an older model, so as pretty as she is, she just doesn't carry as much detail as some more modern releases. Adding a bit of extra depth helps to keep things looking fresh.
That's a good idea, I might try that also! Thanks, I'll look into that! I was more asking about how to paint it without it falling apart but thanks for the tips, yours looks great! I guess that I'm worrying to much and that with pinning + making the braid touch the body/base, it'll be robust enough :)
One additional trick that might help hold things in place is to give any attaching surfaces a bit of filing before you apply glue. The grooves in the sanded surfaces increases the surface area for the glue to attach to, and makes for a much stronger attachment.
Superglues love surface area. The more surface area in contact and the CLOSER the contact, the better as far as it's concerned, and roughening up the surfaces increases surface area.
Glue it with bicarbonate. What I mean is, put a thin layer or sprinkle of bicarbonate on one of the contact surfaces before you superglue. Bicarbonate has the wondrous property that it will form a super-mega-hard concrete-like substance when interacting with superglue, and it will make your models come together in seconds.
I too drilled some little holes for the antennae, to give them something to sit in. After that it was plain sailing. I also added a bunch more using modelling metal wire, and an elevated base to make their post feel a bit more momentum-forward. Here they are...
