The Crimson Fists

I've recently developed quite a desire to get back into miniature gaming again. Even scarier, I've developed a desire to actually paint again.

A friend of mine is an avid mini gamer, but hates painting. His Warhammer 40,000 army of choice is Space Marines, in particular the Crimson Fists chapter. He has a reasonably large army with a crappy half-assed paint job (no offense, Todd. I'm know for a fact you're categorically full-assed at other aspects of your life).

It seemed like a perfect project for me. I have a near fully painted Eldar army, but painting Space Marines seems a lot simpler, given the fact that the vast majority of them are covered in monochrome body armor. Plus, I like working with blues.

So I made the deal: one can of beer per mini. If I get that far, he'll have a nice painted army for the cost of a couple of cases. My friend accepted.

He brought his army over to the house last week. I started by laying out all the minis to see what we have. I decided to start with the classic 2 troop units and a headquarters unit. I picked the first tactical squad out, going for a nice mixture of poses, and started to work.

First step was to strip away the old paint. I was planning on dark colors (Crimson Fists have a dark blue scheme) so the old paint wasn't in danger of showing through, but painting over old paint can blur some of the detail.

Classically, mini painters have used Pine Sol or brake fluid to strip paint. I've used Pine Sol and it worked okay. I still had to do a lot of scrubbing with an old toothbrush, but it did leave a fresh scent. I've heard rumors of plastic minis melting if soaked too long, though.

I've never used brake fluid (yes the brake fluid used in cars), and I don't really intend to. It's toxic stuff, and I'm not sure how a plastic miniature would react. Even if I were stripping metals, the disposal and protective aspects of using it seems too much effort.

I had read recently about a new solvent used by some hobbyists called Simple Green. Non-toxic, and the paint is supposed to just fall off the minis.

48 hours later, I'm scrubbing furiously with the toothbrush and still no paint coming off (or very little). I email the owner and am informed that he had coated them with a clear protective spray.

My first thought was: "What were you protecting?"

Anyway, I've let them soak one more night. This afternoon, I'll pull them and start the washing process.

Pics at the link below.

The Crimson Fists Project