Hinton Posted December 29, 2006 Report Share Posted December 29, 2006 I've been working on mini as a Christmas present for a friend of mine. Yeah, it's running really late, but I was taking my time since I wanted it to turn out really good. It's Christina the Devout (the one with the lantern) from Reaper and I was painting it up using OSL. It was turning out really nice; the OSL was looking really good. I had hoped to have it done in the next couple of days. But nooooo.... I picked up a rotary tool (Dremel knock-off) a couple days ago on sale. I thought: "This will be great for removing those integral bases!" I'm a fricking idiot. Bear in mind, the mini was over half done: eyes, skin, basecoat, primary OSL layers put on, etc. And I decided to start removing the base. I used cutters to remove most of the base and figured I would grind the rest off. Can you see what's coming? Oh yeah....I'm grinding away (bearing down a bit too much) and I slip. Badly. I didn't hurt myself, but I gouged the living f--- out of the mini and snapped the right leg off just below the knee. I mean it's bad. I would have to basically resculpt the right side from the knee to the torso: the armor (both platemail and chainmail), the right elbow and part of the leather skirt. It's just gone. It took about a second for all of that to happen. I just sat there for five minutes staring at the incredibly stupid crap I had just pulled. What the f--- was I thinking?! :cussing: Now I'm going to have to buy another one and start all over. Of course, I can't get another one until next week, so this mini is going to be so fricking late I might as well wait until next Christmas. Lesson learned: buy a f---ing jeweler's saw, remove the base before painting anything and stay the hell away from power tools. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrEvilmonki Posted December 29, 2006 Report Share Posted December 29, 2006 :laugh: The joys of doing stupid shit! Been there done that I'm afraid (and it still doesn't stop me from doing more stupid shit again!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wren Posted December 30, 2006 Report Share Posted December 30, 2006 Ouch, that is a very unfortunate incident, I'm sorry to hear about you losing all your hard work. :-< Don't give up on the dremel, though. Practice a bit on a mini you don't much care about. Also I recommend wearing gloves, and wearing both eye protectors and a mask when grinding off bases. I just use a paper hospital mask. When I forget and don't use it, I know I've breathed stuff in because of what I can see when I blow my nose. Sorry to be blunt, but it helps make the point. Moving on to less distasteful topics... you might also look in a hardware store for a small hand-held plastic vice. I got one, and it helps because less of the mini is exposed. I'm not sure what strength your drill is, the smaller ones aren't very powerful and they recommend going at full speed for grinding metal. Also move it across the metal in the direction of the thread on the bit. Which with my dremel means towards me and metal shavings everywhere, but it is much less likely for the drill bit to go dancing over to parts where you don't want it. I ruined the first mini I tried a jeweller's saw on, and the first one I tried a dremel on, but after I reread the manual and caught the hang of it a bit, I now find it very useful for helping deal with integral bases. I also use the sun-shaped polisher (metal) for burnishing the mini after doing filing and prep. You should still wear eyegear when using that, I've felt pieces of the polisher ping off and hit me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matty1001 Posted December 30, 2006 Report Share Posted December 30, 2006 Thats a real bummer Hinton. Im not being ignorant or anything....but...whats a Dremel? Some kind of drill? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hinton Posted December 30, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 30, 2006 Well, I'm glad I'm not the first to screw things up so badly mini-wise. @Doc: I know what you mean; I keep doing stupid shit - like showing up at work when my boss is doing everything he can to either get me fired or make me quit. You think I'd learn. @Wren: Oh, yeah; I'm definitely using safety gear. That's a painful lesson I learned a long time ago. Since I've managed to ruin this mini, maybe I can use the tool on it and get some practice. Try out some of the different tips. I think it actually might have been a post you made somewhere that made me think of using a Dremel (or Dremel-type) tool to remove those damned bases. Not sure, though. @matty: A Dremel - and it's knock-off's - is kind of like a hand-held grinder. It certainly seems to be a fairly versatile tool; as long as you know how to use it (unlike me). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duende Posted December 30, 2006 Report Share Posted December 30, 2006 Ouch, well at least you didn't damage yourself as badly as the mini. Just remember for the future, NEVER touch power tools to minis with paint on, unless you really don't like the paint job. Hopefully you learn faster than me, I always seem to make the same mistake twice before the lesson finally hits home. I'm currently lacking any power tools, which hamper the progess of a mini I started recently but have to do something about the base. When my mother asked me what I wanted for Christmas, I told her a Dremel Stylus (pic below) which would be easier for her to "get" rather than any minis or anime stuff which she has no clue about. I'm going in to see her this weekend so I'll find out if I got one of not. @ Wren - You don't like breathing in the pewter shavings??? I think of it as zen thing, I become more one with the mini after ingesting/inhaling a bit of metal Good luck in the future Hinton! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wren Posted December 30, 2006 Report Share Posted December 30, 2006 That's the exact one I have Duende, I hope your mom got one for you, it's pretty cool! (It does heat up some if you're using it for a while, though, the other reason I wear gloves.) I figure that since I live in one of the top 20 worst air quality cities, I should probably do my lungs the favour of not breathing in crap I can avoid, even though I do miss the zen bonding with the mini this way. ;-> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duende Posted January 1, 2007 Report Share Posted January 1, 2007 That's the exact one I have Duende, I hope your mom got one for you, it's pretty cool! She did! :D More mini* zen bonding coming up! (plus my folks also gave me a Lowe's gift card for more accessories!) * umpainted minis only Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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