Ogre Mini Assembly and Stacking

[GranitePenguin]

We can recruit the old chits to act as fill-ins, too. so if you have 3 GEVs and 2 HVYs, that would turn into:

1 GEV mini + 2 GEV chits
1 HVY mini + 1 HVY chit

That combination might look odd, but it should fit.

[Deimos]

Originally Posted by Mack_JB

An X-Acto with #11 blade should be sufficient ...snip...

I think that I'll give this method a try to start.

Originally Posted by Misplaced Buckeye

Why not put ODE counters under the top mini? Replace with minis as they break from the stack or are destroyed.

I really like this idea! You still have the feeling of a board full of mini's, but seeing what else is in the stack is easy.

Thanks for all the suggestions!

[pdp8]

On the assembly side, what sort of glue are people using?

[ColBosch]

Originally Posted by pdp8

On the assembly side, what sort of glue are people using?

Superglue. In this case, I'm using Army Painter brand, but only because it's what I happen to have. Any regular cyanoacrylate ("CA") glue will work fine. Plastic cement also works, but I'm concerned about it deforming some of the finer details.

[Mack_JB]

I've been using MEK and a fine tip (00 or 000) sable brush. Just a tiny dot before or after placing the part.

[Tom H.]

Originally Posted by Deimos

. . .
I was wondering what tools would be helpful in assembling the new minis?
. . .
fine grit emery board or sandpaper.
. . .

I am by no means an expert modeler so take my advice as such.

However, I was recently introduced to some Games Workshop metal filing tools.

Being a bit expensive, I bought a substitute from Lowe's hardware store.

The Kobalt, 5-1/2 inch, 6 piece Hobby File Set.

As advertised:

• For intricate craft work
• Can be used on wood, metal or plastic

I like using them. However, as mentioned earlier, they will scratch the finish of your plastic. Therefore they seem more appropriate for the following uses:

• To be followed with a coat of paint.
• To file parts to be glued; for example, I used them to file the alignment nubs on top of the tread assemblies.

[ColBosch]

Whatever tools Games Workshop sells can be found under different brand names for much cheaper. I lucked out on a set of Army Painter files, but honestly when you're working with nice hard plastic like these minis, you can save a ton by just buying real tools from a hardware store.

[TheAmishStig]

So far I've been using a pair of sprue nips I'd gotten from a model railroading shop...that keeps the resulting nub to a minimum, doing cleanup work with an x-acto knife [whatever the ubiquitous triangle blade is], and gluing with Zap-A-Gap.

So far, so good! Almost have one full set assembled and ready for primer, though I need to figure out storage before I go too crazy. I found real Plano boxes in town...of all places, Wal-Mart had them in the fishing section...but nothing I really liked. Have my heart set on something like a toolbox to carry them in, but they didn't have any of the '3-4 cases plus carry box' things.

Home Depot does have these, however: https://www.homedepot.com/s/husky+ca...ganizer?NCNI-5

The upper bins are about perfect for holding even Mk.Vs; the smaller one has more bins down below [double height, no idea what to use them for], the larger one is empty. The only annoyance is that they don't cleanly hold the knock-off Plano boxes by the same brand...the 9" ones fit perfectly one way, but no matter what size I used there was plenty of room for them to slide back and forth in transit.

[Cat]

Originally Posted by Desert Scribe

I solved the stacking problem by getting a map with four-inch hexes.

Ditto. Having been inspired by that ^^^

If you're not adding 3-D cities and woods, you could even go with 3" hexes.

[Mack_JB]

So what are the commercially available options for larger hexes? There is that British firm (I think those were used by Desert Scribe), and I made my Heroscape map.

I've looked at having my old employer laser cut thin MDF hexes -- or gearing up and making my own vacuformed ones, one hex at a time (I have a very small dental style vacuformer).

Steve Jackson's latest blog entry on the play mat scenery parts is also good. If SJG made and sold a large roll-up neoprene style play mat of the orange map, with artwork and hex grid, I'd buy that in a heartbeat. I got the two playmats "Fleet Commander: Genesis" offered, and those change the joy of gameplay considerably.