aka Multifarious Miniatures Muster, or whatever to call these themeless “random roundup”-posts.

So I painted some more Bones. These are done with regular paints, not contrast. And here they are. Woot.

From left to right

Ah thunk yoo gotta purty mouf. Skweel fore mee, boi!

From the Bones 3 Mythos Expansion
80071 Hillbilly
Sculpted by Bob Ridolfi
Bones Classic (the more recent, less rubbery kind.)
25mm base.

hhhhh..hsssuhhh..hrrrrkk!

From the Bones 4 Dreadmere expansion

44022 Dreadmere Wight
Sculpted by Bobby Jackson
Bones Black
30mm base

Oh, look a cavern full of valuable crystals. Hm, a tight fit. I am going to take off all my armour so I can crawl in there…

From the Bones 4 Darkreach expansion

44049 Stone Lurker
Sculpted by Jason Wiebe
Bones Black
60mm base

I think tentacles are all the more horrid when they are fleshy.

This would be a Roper for D&D, in case that was not obvious. A stalagmite-lookalike ambush predator that waits for the unwary to pass by, coiled tentacles at the ready to spring out and drag the victium into its hungry maw. Dungeon delvers beware.

The sword only gives half damage to skeletons!

This is actually a Bones USA model.

Bones USA is a new material that Reaper is experimenting with casting at their plant in Texas.

I was lucky and won a prize draw on one of Reapers twitch streams back in November, and was sent a set of minis made in this new material. It arrived Christmas eve. Since Reaper had asked for feedback, I posted some impressions of the material on their forum, as follows:

“First impressions – generally positive.

 the look and feel:

Spuncast. They “feel” spuncast.

These have a very similar feel, apparent hardness, weight and heft to them as the minis from other companies known to be made in “spuncast resin plastic”.

They have a similar smell too, which probably is mould release grease/silikon. However, the odour is less apparent than with other spuncast minis I have handled. My fingers do feel slightly greasy after touching them in the same way as well, even thought the models themselves do not feel greasy as such.

They will definitely need a bath before painting, just like the other bones.

Very good definition of detail. I would go as far as to say “metal quality”, at least on par with Bones Black.

They have a slight flex to them, which is good. They do not seem brittle, but st the same time not rubbery at all. They could be described as a more flexible Bones Black maybe?

They have withstood the drop test, falling 1,5m or so to the floor without damage. (Bones black did not pass the same test)

There are some mould lines, more pronounced on the skeleton and orc than on the pirate and halfling. Generally the mould lines are not very apparent on the models, just here and there.

The mould lines seem to be on the same level as on any given metal model.  If they can be scraped  like on metal or bones black, they will pose no problem at all. If they need to be carved off like on classic white bones, they will be similar work to classic white bones. I suspect the former will be the case.

There is also evidence of vent-flash (slivers of extra material, like on metal models) at extreme points such as the end of a sword and the end of a staff. This also makes me think these are spun cast like metal and not injection moulded like Bones or HIPS plastic.

Also, what seems to be evidence of slight shrinkage when compared to classic Bones. The Bones USA chaos warrior seems to be about 1 mm shorter than the Bones classic one. The sword is shorter by 2,5 mm. That might be a redesign or something, as the rest of the model does not seem that much smaller.

Several weapons were slightly bent when they arrived, much like Bones black.”

Update 1: “Mould lines: behave more or less the same as on Bones Black. Specifically, some of them can be scraped off, but they do not want to, so it will be necessary to carve as well.
Verdict: The material is easier to clean mould lines off than Bones Classic, but not as easy as metal.

Hot Water trick to straighten bent bits: Does NOT work. That means that the material either is not a similar thermoplastic to PVC or even a resin such as polyurethane, or if it included such thermoplastics, the compound also includes materials that need a much higher temperature than near-to-boiling water. Luckily the slight bending present in a couple of the models is not very pronounced. Maybe I can use brute force to straighten like with metal, but I doubt it as the material seems too flexible for that.

Shrinkage: I got out the calipers and have compared both whole minis and parts of minis. The Bones USA models are measurably smaller than Bones Classic models, and have shorter weapons, shorter shields etc by a half a millimetre or more. 

Exception:  the wizard seems to be exactly the same height in both materials.

The bases are not the same thickness, wich makes measuring a bit of a pain, though.

The size differences might have other reasons than pure shrinkage in this material. Several details here and there lead me to believe that maybe these are not quite identical to the classic bones models. One could speculate that master models in metal or resin have been used, and one was digitally scanned and details changed in the computer before the mould was milled from the digital files, and the other maybe physically cast in moulds directly from the metal masters. Or some similar process. 

For example, the rivets in the chest that the pirate carries are more ring-like in Bones Classic, and the rivets are filled out in Bones USA. The sword of the chaos warrior is a lot shorter (2.5 mm or so) in the Bones USA version, the shape of the head of the Bones Classic pirate is longer/more oval than the Bones USA one. There are several such small details here and there that are just slightly different.

Maybe the material shrinkage is different in the masters used as well, if one was resin and the other metal they would probably not be the same exact dimensions. 

However, the size differences are not really noticable when the minis are standing on the table next to each other. It is only when in close up comparison this is any sort of an issue.”

Update 2: “Super glue works fine, especially when combined with acrylic resin (vallejo plastic putty) which is a combo I use alot as it sets faster then just superglue and is rock hard. The resin acts also as a filler / gasket which makes the bonding surface greater.

Vallejo black primer applied by airbrush works fine. It is now 16 hours since application, the primer seems to have cured well and resists scraping with a finger nail, (unlike the 3D printed PLA bases I put them on where the primer comes off when scraped)

Verdict for glue and primer: very good.”

—-

To be clear, it seems to be an improvement over the older Bones materials.

Here the same model is in the older, rubbery classic bones

77018 Skeletal Archer

Sculpted by David Pugh
25mm base.

These minis were finished on Jan 16th, 2021.

–

Painted so far this year:   (Miniatures:  13 / 365 goal // scenery and terrain: 0)

January: 13

Bones 4 Dreadmere Expansion:  3/ 43   Just 40 to go!

Bones 4 Darkreach Expansion:  3 / 46  Just 43 to go! 

Bones 3 Mythos Expansion: 8 / 32  Just 24 to go!