Several questions regarding figurines

This topic has 12 replies, 7 voices, and was last updated 5 years, 6 months ago by TaxD2.

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April 16, 2019 at 8:19 am #942
TaxD2
Participant
Hello everyone !

As you may know, i am new with mithril miniatures and i have several questions regarding primed minifigures.
This is the first time i see a company selling primed minifigures, and i obviously saw that some minifigures are sold primed and other not, which i wish i know why (i am not talking about the collector’s one with black shadows).

Also, i don’t understand why mithril would impose a grey undercoating which i think is quite thick, while i choose my undercoating (black, white or grey) according to how i want to paint my minifigures.

Thus, i have a huge preference for unprimed minifigs, however there are a lot of primed figs i would like to buy, and this undercoating seems very hard to remove. Do you have any tips ?

Thank you !
April 16, 2019 at 8:19 am #37749
TaxD2
Participant
Hello everyone !

As you may know, i am new with mithril miniatures and i have several questions regarding primed minifigures.
This is the first time i see a company selling primed minifigures, and i obviously saw that some minifigures are sold primed and other not, which i wish i know why (i am not talking about the collector’s one with black shadows).

Also, i don’t understand why mithril would impose a grey undercoating which i think is quite thick, while i choose my undercoating (black, white or grey) according to how i want to paint my minifigures.

Thus, i have a huge preference for unprimed minifigs, however there are a lot of primed figs i would like to buy, and this undercoating seems very hard to remove. Do you have any tips ?

Thank you !
April 16, 2019 at 3:43 pm #37750
hsf62
Participant
Grey undercoat was the trademark of Mithril. The details are a lot more visible. I love it. I also undercoat my conversions grey!

The best results removing the undercoat I had with placing the minis in a glass with lid filled with thinner. Let them sit in it for a few hours then use a old toothbrush to clean of the undercoat. Repeat if need be.
If you got very hard to remove undercoating, you can use a paintstripper fo metal also.
April 16, 2019 at 7:08 pm #37751
ddaines
Participant
Personally I think it was a very good marketing ploy as the grey-primed figures were what caught my eye all those years ago. I’m not a small figure collector in general, but have a passion for Tolkien’s works, and had the grey primer not caught my eye then years of pleasure and empty wallet would not have happened .

There have been various posts elsewhere regarding the grey primer that Mithril use/used, but that is another story
April 16, 2019 at 9:13 pm #37752
TaxD2
Participant
Maybe mithril should give the choice producing unprimed and primed version of minifigures
April 17, 2019 at 10:36 am #37753
Maenas
Participant
Hi TaxD,

I was a fan of the grey primer too, it gave a special and specific look to the brand.

Personally, as years passed and I started to paint a little better, the first thing I do nowadays is to remove that thick undercoat, because it covers a lot of detail.

I also think that Mithril as a brand is moving towards the nonprimed version, and on the newest miniatures (MZXXX) I think, the web offers you the choice of buying them without primer. But since my last purchase was quite long ago, I cannot assure you that.

PS: Mithril should do a lot of things… but they simply not do them. I consider a take it or leave it company… But they are deeply rooted on my heart so I cannot leave them. xD
April 17, 2019 at 7:31 pm #37754
TaxD2
Participant
Hello Maenas,

I agree, i have an orc on warg minifigure in my hands, and the details on the face are not great because of the undercoat being too thick in some places.
Most likely, it depends on the minifig, but i will systematically remove the undercoat if the minifig has one.

“PS: Mithril should do a lot of things… but they simply not do them. I consider a take it or leave it company… But they are deeply rooted on my heart so I cannot leave them. xD”

Indeed, i plan to take what i think is the best of mithril, i noticed a lot of disparities, even if the most recent minifigures are just really great (the boats, elves and dwarves especially) and most of them don’t have the undercoat, i think mithril giving up this practice is for the best

Regarding the option of buying primed or unprimed minifigures, it is not available as an option but i was planning to ask if it is possible to order unprimed minifigures when they are not to sell as such, even if i expect a no. Besides, it might not be relevent since they stop littlt by little but it might be worth the try
April 17, 2019 at 10:21 pm #37755
Theobald
Participant
For quite a while Mithril does not sell any primed figures since the MZ-series was started. Primed figures you find and get are all from older stocks. As far as I know.
April 24, 2019 at 12:29 pm #37772
Milo
Participant
You are right master Ent. On my side, I tend to put grey primer by myself for I love the eye effect. Still I agree my primer is not a thick one as per mithril old minis.
April 24, 2019 at 4:52 pm #37773
TaxD2
Participant
Yes my main issue isn’t particularly the color of the primer, i can deal with it, but the thikness of the undercoat is annoying, fortunately (imo) this practice tends to disappear
April 25, 2019 at 6:39 am #37774
Milo
Participant
To remove old primer, acetone is working very well. Just let the mini few minutes in acetone and use old tooth brush to get a clean miniature ready for painting.
June 14, 2019 at 6:58 pm #37900
cameosis
Participant
dettol seems to be even better. there are a number of youtube videos detailing which product is best to help remove old paintjobs and primers almost completely with no or hardly any damage to the miniatures.
June 15, 2019 at 8:52 am #37904
TaxD2
Participant
Thank you, i did try acetone but it barely scorched the paint
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