Orcpocalyse Orctober Spa Treatment

October is half over and I'm way behind on this project. I get the feeling that I'll still be painting Orcs around Xmas time. On the other hand, I'm way ahead of where I was when these miniatures were still in their packaging. I'll take some progress over no progress.

The Problem

Early Reaper Bones miniatures are made of a white, vinyl-like plastic that's infamously finicky to work with. It repels water, including acrylic paints. It reacts badly to rattlecan primers and paints, even those specifically formulated for use on plastics. It stubbornly resists attempts to straighten out bends. And it almost always arrives bent or bends in storage. Fortunately, Reaper Miniatures has moved away from this particular material over time.

Unfortunately, these orcs are all from the Reaper Miniatures Bones: An Evolution of Gaming Miniatures Kickstarter. That's Reaper Miniatures' very first Kickstarters and the one that launched the Bones line. All of these orcs are made of early Bones plastic by default.

Straightening out bent parts and preparing the surfaces to accept paint requires planning and work. And it took longer than I was planning due to personal stuff delaying things. That's the nature of a hobby - it's on the bottom of any reasonable priority list.

Orc spears before heat treatment.

Orc Steam Bath and Cold Plunge

The tried and true method of unbending Bones plastic requires the application of heat. Some plunge their Bones miniatures into a jacuzzi of boiling water. I improvised a steamer with a pot and a basket, avoiding the issue of fishing out miniatures from scalding water. I don't recommend either approach due to the mess and hazards involved. A heat gun is going on my wish list for the next time I tackle a project like this.

Regardless of the heat source, the idea is to use heat to soften the plastic and make it malleable. In some cases, the plastic will "spring back" to its original shape just from being heated. Otherwise, the softened plastic is easy to reform into its correct shape.

Getting the plastic to stay in its unbent form calls for rapid cooling. The easiest method is a cold plunge. Dunking the plastic in cold water hardens it in its unbent state. Quick cooling seems to be the key. A container of ice water is my preferred choice.

Even after all that, the process is not perfect. "Good enough for tabletop" is the goal here. A slightly bent sword or spear is better than one that's twisted into a pretzel shape.

Finally, Reaper Bones miniatures are glued together. The hot/cold treatment could weaken those bonds. There might be an audible cracking sound when the miniatures go into the cold plunge. That's the glue letting go. Check the water for any parts that may have fallen off.

Orc spears after heating, reforming, and cooling.

Orcs Like the High Proof Stuff

With the orcs as unbent as they're going to be, the cleaning process could begin. I sprayed down all the orc miniatures with isopropyl alcohol. Full immersion would've been better, but I didn't have that much of the stuff around at the time. The purpose of using isopropyl alcohol is to begin breaking down any residue from the manufacturing process still on the surface of the miniatures.


Bath Time for the Warband

Cleaning finishes up with an old fashioned scrubbing with warm soap and water. A sturdy toothbrush with firm bristles works well to get into all those orc nooks and crannies. A soak and a rinse in cold water should get rid of anything left on the surfaces. Check the wash and rinse waters for any loose parts.


Next: It's all about those bases.