Craft Section

Elise and the Phase Cat: Mounting an Unmounted Figure
Lanse Tryon
Sometimes, your miniature just has to ride! Lucky thing Lanse is around to show you how.
From Fantasy to Sci-Fi, Part 2
Lanse Tryon
Having created Adonese soldiers in Fantasy to Sci-Fi Part 1, Lanse needed someone for them to fight. Once again, he scanned through the Warlord grunt models, and came across the Overlord Crossbowmen. From the picture at least, it looked like all he'd have to do is add a gun barrel to the end of the crossbows and he'd be set. Things are never as simple as they appear, which became clear as soon as Lanse actually had the parts in front of him.
Stratoviper
Lanse Tryon
Lanse Tryon, our resident master of conversions brings us something a little different today: a ReaperCon!
From Fantasy to Sci-Fi
Lanse Tryon
Reaper makes many quality Fantasy figures, but our sci-fi selection of humanoids is a bit lacking, or is it? Lanse makes a compelling argument for the existence of a hidden sci-fi line lurking on Reaper's shelves right now.
Of Dire Rats and Slithy Toves
Lanse Tryon
With apologies to Lewis Carroll.
Making the Dragon-Fly
Lanse Tryon
Lanse shows us that the simple fact we may not make a certain figure shouldn't be a deterrent from getting the figure you want. Here he shows us how to make a Dragon-Fly. Must be seen to be believed.
Making Space Stations from CAV Bases
Lanse Tryon
"The moment I saw the new CAV flight bases in the Reaper store, I knew I had to have them. The shape immediately suggests the rotating toroid sections used in many sci-fi space stations. I was able to procure four of these bases, and used them with a variety of parts to make two space stations of my own. Here's how I did it."
So, You Want to Remove Your Bases?
Todd Hanson
It's asked a lot around here: How do I remove a base? Todd Hanson posted a nice thread about this very subject in our forums, which Todd has kindly allowed us to reproduce here. Read on.
Acorn Pumpkins
Michael Pageau
Dargrin from the forums shares a quick and easy way to create pumpkins out of acorns. Perfect for all your harvest season needs.
Replacing Those Huge Bendy Swords
Lanse Tryon
It's happened to all of us: We race breathlessly to the gamestore for that new release, snatch it off the shelf, and realize, to our despair, that the sword got mangled in shipping and no appears to be more a banana than a weapon. We've also had the problem where there's this swashbuckler mini we really want, but due to molding and casting limitations, the sword is large enough to be a scottish claymore.
The Ritual of Mashaf, Performed With File and Rotary Tool
Lanse Tryon
The Darkspawn Ritual of Mahsaf is described as being unpredictable in its results, and it creates no two spawn exactly the same. We dragged some prisoners up from the dun- that is to say, we selected some joyous volunteers and went to work.
Differentiating Non-Unique Sergeants by Way of Conversion
Lanse Tryon
With "Differentiating Non-Unique Sergeants by Way of Conversion" Lanse shows us some practical examples to add some variety to your units on the Warlord field. Featuring Reven and Overlord Sergeants, this article ought to get your creative juices flowing.
Making the Cicada
Lanse Tryon
So many things can be done with spare parts, and with the Journal of Recognition, you can actually give them stats! Here's the construction of the Borsig-Spline Cicada.
When the Quartermaster Just Doesn't Understand You
Lanse Tryon
Lanse walks us through Quick and Fairly Easy Weapon-Swaps, depriving Li'l Death of his glaive, giving him a nice swishy sword instead.
The Winged Serpent Lady
Lanse Tryon
You don't want to see a lonely snakeman, trust us on this. In this article, Lanse demonstrates how to remedy this problem and gives the poor couatl a lady friend.
The Feathered Serpent
Lanse Tryon
Lanse returns, walking us through the construction of a creature from Aztec legend.
Dynamic CAV Posing
Mike Hardy
A Black Lightning member from way back, Mike has picked up some good tips on fielding a CAV army. This article discusses getting a little more flair into your CAV as it runs out to meet the foe.
Digital Mockups
Janelle Schulzetenberg
Ever have a difficult time deciding what colors to paint your mini? Afraid the colors you're thinking of using won't look right together? Can't quite make up your mind as to what shade of red would look best on your dwarf's beard? Here's a quick and simple way to experiment with colors without the risk of needing to repaint your mini.
A Beginning Mini Painter's Shopping List, Part 2
Ron Vutpakdi
You have a few painted minis under your belt, and now you want to try something that requires assembly. What do you need to get? Where can you get it? If you want to get started painting minis that require assembly, this guide lists the additional items that you should purchase and where to get them.
A Beginning Mini Painter's Shopping List
Ron Vutpakdi
So, you've finally decided to take the plunge and start painting miniatures. You've purchased a few minis, but what else besides some paint and a brush do you need? What would be helpful? And, where can you buy this stuff? This guide lists the items that I consider essential, important, and helpful for beginning mini painters and has details about where you can buy these items.
Camo on a CAV
Barry Bordner
"How do you paint camo on a CAV?" We get that a lot. Luckily, Barry, Sgt. Crunch from the forums, has written up an excellent piece describing the whys and wherefores of camo and CAVs. Enjoy!
DHL 3000 Kyra & Lavarath WIP
Eric Polovich
Eric documented his adventure with his DHL 3000 in the Reaper Forum and was gracious enough to let us post it here. This is a very image heavy article, so, please be patient.
Let It Flow
Darin Hlavaz
Darin presents a thorough article discussing techniques for thinning your way to painting success.
Bette Davis Eyes
Darin Hlavaz
Darin shares his methods and insight for painting outstanding eyes on a mini.
2003 Holiday Sophie
Anne Foerster
Follow along as Anne brings our 2003 Holiday Sophie to vibrant life!
Brand the Barbarian
Derek Schubert
A guide on painting Brand, Barbarian. DHL 2529
Elladan Swiftbrook
Derek Schubert
A guide on painting Elladan Swiftbrook, Elven Ranger. DHL 2543
Dire Wolf
Derek Schubert
A guide on painting a Dire Wolf. DHL 2415
Onastaa the Sorceress
Derek Schubert
A guide on painting Onastaa, Sorceress. DHL 2060
Brigette of the Blade
Derek Schubert
A guide on painting Brigette of the Blade. DHL 2026
Giant Spider
Derek Schubert
A guide on painting a realisticly gruesome giant spider. DHL 2417
How to Assemble 03465: Shaerileth, Spider Demon
Patrick Keith
Patrick Keith takes us on a step-by-step journey to assemble his beautiful Spider Demoness, in case you were having trouble putting her together.
How I Made the Water for 03353: Pirate King and Queen
Jennifer kaufman
If you've seen the base for Jen Kaufman's rendition of our 03353: Pirate King and Queen, you're sure to be impressed with the detail and quality of that water. Jen has kindly taken the time to document her process for the benefit of the hobby community at large. Here it is.
Making Sand-Cast Foam Terrain
Andrew Pieper
Have you ever used that expanding foam stuff to fill a crack in the house? Maybe between two boards that are expanding or something like that? Turns out that you can make some incredible-looking terrain using it. Andrew Pieper takes us through the process.
Sci-Fi Terrain, Part 2: Small Plastic Garage
David Ewen
David's Sci-Fi terrain Part two article is up. He demonstrates how to use an electrical box to make a nifty garage building. Of course, you don't have to make a garage. How about a town hall? Which your stompy robots will ultimately smash into little bits.
Sci-Fi Terrain, Part 1
David Ewen
Painting is half the game here. You also want your figure to look like they have a place where they belong. A lot of text has been written about presentation of fantasy figures, but Daivid Ewen has given us an excellent first part to using found objects to create evocative Sci-Fi terrain.
Making Tracks
Andrew Pieper
You've finally painted up your big stompy robots to look utterly deadly on the battlefield. And they do look utterly deadly, and quite awesome, I might add. But something's missing. Huh. Your 100 ton stompy robot didn't leave a footprint! It didn't even manage to bend down a single blade of grass. That simply won't do. Luckily, Andrew Pieper is here to show you how to make a convincing footprint for your CAV, your frost giant, your ice queen, whatever. Details matter, you know.
Assembling Cinder
Andrew Pieper
Assembling large sets takes a bit of patience and skill. Andrew Pieper has graciously allowed us to take a thread from our forum and show it to you. Here's his step-by-step on assembling on of our big dragons, Cinder, complete with techniques that transfer across the line for any large figure. Caution, 2.4 MB of images inside -- this is a large article.
Realistic Drool
Sean Fulton
Sean posted a really slick tutorial in the forum and said it was all right if we post in the Craft section. Prepare for great gobs of slippery presentation fun as Sean takes you through a very straight-forward method to getting your monster slobber just right.
The 20-Minute Monolith
Lanse Tryon
"On a whim, I threw together a stone circle in 20 minutes, including the time spent looking for supplies and tools. These work well for Significant Locations for your Warlord campaign, deployment areas for your Faerie Armies, portals, or anything else that might meet your terrain needs."
Big ol' Pile of Treasure
Marie Bayer
Marie has kindly allowed us to post a tutorial she worked up for creating a Big ol' Pile of Treasure. Cleverly titled "Big ol' Pile of Treasure", the technique in this article is so simple but so effective that you owe it to yourself to check it out.
How to Add "Glass" to Miniature Windows
Daniel Joyce
Daniel is back with a simple and effective method to add realistic looking glass to the windows of your miniature buildings.
Birch Seed Leaves
Daniel Joyce
"H&A sells 2 kinds of leaf litter. One made from punched out colored paper, the other is from some sort of plant with leaf-shaped parts that are small enough to be used for model leaf litter. I knew I'd seen the plant as a kid growing up in Missouri, but I couldn't recall what it was..."
Making Warlord Body Markers
Ron Vutpakdi
You've just spent many hours painting a Warlord troop: basecoating, shading, highlighting, detailing, and basing. Even though you have properly primed and triple sealed each miniature, do you really want to lay that miniature on its side for possible scratching when the model gets stunned or killed? Rather than tipping the miniature on its side, replace it with an easy to make, custom body marker (aka "corpse" or "killed" marker). Ron shows you how.
How to make a Field Stone Wall
Michael Pageau
Michael shows you how to use your spare packing foam to make a simple and realistic-looking field stone wall.
Pins and Section Markers
Lanse Tryon
CAV armies can often be large, and large armies can lead to battlefield confusion, and battlefield confusion results in lots of smoking, twisted CAV hulks littering up an otherwise nice battlefield. Lanse shares with us a clever way to ease that confusion using a few common household items.
How to Make Your Own Trees
Steve Page
Eye-catching scenery makes a fantasy game come alive. Good scenery does not have to be expensive or complicated. Many good scenery projects involve basic tools, methods and techniques. Let's take trees for example.
While the Wizard's Away...
Lanse Tryon
Lanse takes us on a trip detailing the creation of his latest diorama, a whimsical look into the secret life of magical familiars.
Sculpting Tankards
Andrew Pieper
Ever want a custom tankard for a tavern diorama? Does your dwarf have nothing to drink his ale from? This tutorial will guide you to sculpt your own cups and tankards.
Making Money
Andrew Pieper
Making Money? Certainly! No, you can't spend it, but you can use it to enhance the look of your bases, treasure piles, and every other place you can imagine a need for miniature scale coinage. Andrew shows us how inside.
Create Your Own Sculpting Tools
Daniel Joyce
So you're interested in converting and sculpting your own miniatures? But you don't know where to get tools, or you can't afford them? Read on...
Of Bikers and Butane
Lanse Tryon
Lanse walks us through the construction and sculpting of a motorbike trooper for CAV, using bits of discarded butane lighters.