Arrgh! Mould line frustrations!

[Plynkes]

Jesus, what gives? I'm really struggling with some figures here. They aren't very nice figures to begin with (they just fit with what I need), but they have me in MOULD LINE HELL!

Whatever metal they are made from seems to be impervious to all my tools. File, cut, chip away with a chisel, gnaw at them with my teeth...  Whatever I do, it looks like the line has gone, but then I look at it from another angle and BINGO! There it is, still there, making rude faces at me.

I'm beginning to think that if I took to them with a blow-torch (something that at this point I am quite eager to do), that once the resulting puddle had solidified into an amorphous solid blob, the mould lines would still be there!

Not to mention that the latest Copplestone figures I have seem to have come from a clapped out mould or something, as some of them not only have a raised line, but a bloody ditch the other side of it, like some kind of  damn fortification. Others seem slightly misaligned, the two halves of the figure not quite lined up by a tiny, tiny margin.

Honestly, right now I'd happily pay someone else to do all my prep work for me. Roll on the bloody painting stage.

Right. That's better. Rant over. Thank you for your time. I feel ready to go back over the top and face the foe again. Fix Bayonets, men! Let's give those mould lines hell!

[Bako]

I hear you, my latest order of BoB stuff from Copplestone, featured one figure with both halves misaligned, another was missing her thumb, and another had a fissure across his back. A little filler and green stuff more or less fixed these but there's definitely something happening . Admittedly, I'd still buy from Copplestone, so long as I can fix it I'm fine.

[Mancha]

When Bronze Age first started they literally made their minis out of bronze.  Man, that was some difficult mold-line cleanup. 

Disappointing to hear that Copplestone's standards may be slipping.

[Grimm]

Hey Guys I never hat such problems with my BOB stuff .
I think you have make the god of painting angry and that is your retribution !!
don´t forget ``paint one figure a day or buy one figure `` !!

Grimm

[Plynkes]

I never had any problems with Copplestone before, but these ones don't seem as well-cast as previous orders. They may not be a reflection of his current output, though, as I did buy them some months ago, maybe even longer than that (they are the British Infantry in tropical uniforms, by the way).

They are certainly not bad enough to warrant sending back, it's just that cleaning them up involves more work than it used to, and I am a very lazy boy.

[Bako]

...and I am a very lazy boy.

Tssk, tssk .

[Captain Blood]

Come along, Plynkes old boy, buck up... 

Do you have a Dremel or minidrill of any kind?

These days I have a very fast and effective way of removing mould lines (and anything else I don't like the look of).

I give the figure a jolly good hard scrape over with a Stanley knife to remove the worst of it, then I take a wee carbon steel brush (part no. 428, if you're interested) attached to my Dremel minidrill and I buzz away any remaining traces... It's very effective and quite therapeutic. It also allows one to painlessly tinker by reshaping soft hats, swords, anything that takes your fancy really. You just buzz and polish away the metal you don't want...

You do have to wear goggles and a mask though, 'cos one steel brush (they're only a quid or so each off eBay) only does for about 20 figures, then it starts to fray and fall apart. You can spend the next few hours picking needle sharp splinters of steel wire out of your chin / nose / eyeballs. I learned the hard way 

I daresay, Plynkes, a man of your proven calibre already has one of these little beauties, but just in case you don't, it would make a lovely present. For you.
 
I love my Dremel the way other people love their iPods. It is the single most indispensible thing in my whole universe of wargaming, painting and modelling. LAFers of the world - buy one. You won't be sorry.

[Hammers]

My dear Plynkes, I may have, if not a silver bullet or a magic wand, at least a suggestion which may make your life simpler.

I have a dental tool (among several others) called a dental scraper. It is a metal rod with a small drop shaped head with a flat, sharp edge side set at an angle. It is small and pointed enough to reag into recesses and hard enough to deal with quite rough flash lines. Check your hobby stores/sites.

If you use a Dremel, I recommend that you use it for large areas only and use a silicon disc with metal granules.

[Plynkes]

I appreciate your kind efforts to provide aid and comfort. Normally I wouldn't need any help. My rudimentary cave-man tools are usually adequate.

It's just these particular figures (Tiger Miniatures, actually, curse them). Whatever they are made from seems proof against my usual methods, which is dashed odd (the Copplestone business is a mere annoyance, which on top of the other thing tipped me over the edge of fury).

But perchance I shall look into these suggestions. Though I must admit I am not a very practical fellow at the best of times. I don't get attached to tools, you will almost never find me wandering the aisles of a DIY superstore of a weekend, I don't ever have conversations with other manly men about cars, and I don't watch Top Gear. I'm more like a day-dreaming absent-minded poet from the Romantic era, or an inept impressionist painter. All flights of fancy and Sturm und Drang.

Still, it would be rude to ignore the advice of one's friends and colleagues. So at the very least I shall make a pretence of investigating these ideas, and in all likelihood actually do so. Thank you.



Oh, and Hammers, for reasons that will become apparent by and by, this is all your fault. 

[Hammers]

Oh, and Hammers, for reasons that will become apparent by and by, this is all your fault. 

Yes, yes, it most likely is, but what can one do but screw with peoples lives.

[Mancha]

I love my Dremel the way other people love their iPods. It is the single most indispensible thing in my whole universe of wargaming, painting and modelling. LAFers of the world - buy one. You won't be sorry.

A Dremel tool was the only thing I managed to get on our wedding gift registry.  Although the marriage is now over (and she got most of the gifts), I still have that Dremel tool!   

[Captain Blood]

Though I must admit I am not a very practical fellow at the best of times. I don't get attached to tools, you will almost never find me wandering the aisles of a DIY superstore of a weekend, I don't ever have conversations with other manly men about cars, and I don't watch Top Gear.

Me neither. I don't even know how cars work - I merely drive one for convenience.
My household toolbox consists of one saw, a few screwdrivers, a pair of pliers and a monkey wrench. In fact, the average chimp is a more accomplished tool user than me.

But the Dremel... Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaah. The Dremel is an endlessly flexible modelling aid for artistes, not a tool for tool-using blokes. 

A Dremel tool was the only thing I managed to get on our wedding gift registry.  Although the marriage is now over (and she got most of the gifts), I still have that Dremel tool!  

Ah - you did well out of the deal then...

[Helen]

I've an easier solution for you Dylan:

1. Place cooking pot on stove.
2. Apply heat.
3. Place figure in pot.
4. Crack a stubbie or pop a wine or champas.
5. Watch figure melt to your satisfaction!
6. Enjoy drinking!
7. Don't forget to turn off stove!

PS: Please note that only folks of drinking age may perform notes 4 through to 6!

[Bungle]

I bought a pack of foundry Home guard heroes for ECW

Private Jones has been in the wars already.







Now if it was a zombie it comes with half his face chewed off

[meninobesta]

I've an easier solution for you Dylan:

1. Place cooking pot on stove.
2. Apply heat.
3. Place figure in pot.
4. Crack a stubbie or pop a wine or champas.
5. Watch figure melt to your satisfaction!
6. Enjoy drinking!
7. Don't forget to turn of stove!

When everything else doesn't work! you'll always have alcohol!