Journey to a land of fantasy- in 1/72 Scale

[skink]

I've always been a kind of erratic Gamer in terms of theme as well as scale- going seamlessly between 28mm post apocalyptic in one week to 6mm World War 2 in the next. So, after dabbling in 32mm Malifaux the past months, it was only natural that I would now find something completely different to obsess about. As you can see from the topic, this something was the much neglected 1/72 scale, or 20mm if you prefer that term. First I was looking for some Modern War miniatures, but then I stumbled across the fantasy range from Red Box and was immediateky intrigued. I only know one other 1/72 Fantasy miniatures producer-Caesar/Miniknight, which make a nice range of the traditional races(Orks, Goblins, Elves, Dwarfs and Undead) but whose Greenskins always struck me as a tad cartoonish. Plus, I already have about 200 figs from them.
The Orks from Redbox look suitable more gritty and are more LotR oriented. My original idea was to get a set of Orks and ppit them against my Caesar Dwarfs. It was then I discovered that my entire collection had become sticky and shine, which, as I have learned, happens to the soft plastic if you don't prepare it well before painting. So I had to get a box of dwarfs as well.
So, after carefully prepping and painting, here are my first pictures of them. I had to take them with my phone, so the resolution isn't that great.
First, a gang of Orks.

And of course, their natural enemy. I've only painted 3 so far because, in my opinion Good should always be outnumbeted. It's far more heroic this way.

[von Lucky]

Very nice, suitably gritty.

As someone who's just got some bendy 20mm infantry for the first time (like you I jump around in scales), what do I need to prep them? They're Italeri modern infantry.

[skink]

After my first batch of Caesar become sticky, I searched around the web to find out how to prevent this.
Here´s what I do:
First, soak the minis for 24 hours in soap water to remove mould lubricants. Simply scrubbing them won't suffice because the lubricants  get embedded in the plastic and need time and soap to get flushed out. I have heard of people, who put their minis in a dishwasher, but I haven't been desperate enough to try this yet.
Then, let them dry for another 24 hours so any chemicals have a chance to evaporate.
You said your models were bendy. Paint a basecoat of white PVA Glue on them. This will make paint stick better on them plus the glue will give them a bit of support. After painting, give the miniatures a finish of transparent PVA glue and everything should be fine.
Caveat: I am using this techniques for about 3 weeks, so I can't say much about long term effects. But up until now, everything is allright.

[von Lucky]

Cool - I'll try that (definitely the washing). Found this TMP thread that gives some more pointers:
http://theminiaturespage.com/boards/msg.mv?id=13174