And now for something completely different...Reaper's Bones figures

I, like many others, backed the Reaper Bones Kickstarter campaign, and received my box of vinyl miniatures a little over a month ago. For the price, I thought it was a decent purchase, especially with a 12-year-old son who is just getting into painting. The figures themselves are nicely detailed for being made of plastic, though as one may expect, lack some of the definition of Reaper's metal figures.

The main place where I have been disappointed in the figures is in Reaper's lack of upfrontness about the impossibility of spray priming the figures with a standard paint (I generally prime with Krylon white primer and swear by its quality). This results in sticky figures that will never dry, as the vinyl which the figures are made from is not porous enough to allow for drying. I know that they say that you can paint them without priming, and this is true, if you don't mind a crappy paint job that uses super thick layers of paint and you don't intend on painting with washes.

So long story short the problem can be remedied by spraying figures with a paint engineered for hard plastics (I have used Krylon's Fusion line of paints). Or, if you have some that have already been sprayed with standard primer and remain sticky, hit them with a spray of cheap matte varnish. Alternatively, you can prime by hand; not for me as it is too time consuming.

So, what are some of my results from the figures I have painted so far? Let's have a look.

Here is a group of sci-fi hero types that I have painted to go together as a 'squad' of sorts. The group includes a female sniper with a giant gun and Reaper's typical gratuitously over-sized female bust, along with a big mechanical dude with an 'electro-sword.' I have never painted sci-fi miniatures before and thought I would give these a go. I have no use for them at all, so I have added them to my sale/swap page. If you are interested, make me an offer.

I have also painted up a unit of kobolds for my 28mm fantasy bad guys. Basing is not complete, but you'll get over it, I am sure.

For the price, these figures deliver decent quality. Just know how to prime them.

S. V. B. E.
-The Fox