Reaper Bones

From reaper mini.com. Google is actually your friend.....



Traditional metal or resin miniatures need to be primed before any paint is applied. Paint applied over bare metal does not adhere well, and rubs off with even light handling. Primer etches into the metal on a microscopic level. Paint adheres well to primer, so using it forms a stronger bond. Bones figures do not suffer from this issue! Acrylic paint painted directly onto the Bones surface is as durable, if not more durable, than if you use paint over primer on Bones.

If you still prefer to use primer, Reaper’s Brush-On Primer works well on Bones, and is available in black and white.

Another product people sometimes ask about is gesso. Fine arts painters use gesso to prepare canvases for painting. Some people have experimented with liquid gesso as a primer for miniatures, Bones and otherwise. People have reported it working in terms of creating a surface that you can paint thinned paint over. Reports vary as to how durable the material is, so it may not be the best choice for miniatures that are going to be handled.

For those who prefer to use spray primer, the best option is to use an airbrush to apply a coat of acrylic paint to the Bones figure. Reaper Master Series paint thins well with Golden or Liquitex Airbrush Medium, and maintains its strong adhesion, though I have found that adding airbrush medium does noticeably increase the drying time of the paint.

Aerosol spray primers and some spray paints can have some issues with Bones (and with other plastics). The chemicals in some of these primers and paints do not react well with Bones. The main effect seems to be that the primer never completely cures, remaining tacky to the touch. Some will also fail to form a bond with the Bones material.


The following is a list of aerosol paints and primers that people on the Reaper forums have reported testing on Bones. Please consider the list just a guide. The best idea is to test your chosen spray by using it on a small Bones figure you don’t care about a lot. After you give the spray time to cure, carefully look over the figure to make sure the chemicals in the spray haven’t reacted with the Bones material to melt or otherwise damage it. If not, test the primer surface by touching it to see if it stays too tacky to paint over. Also, flex parts of the figure to make sure the primer doesn’t crack.


Note: Some people have successfully used Krylon primer, and possibly other spray primers that some people have reported as problematic. And other people have reported problems with primers that some felt worked well. One difference seems to be that a light spray rather than a heavy coating is more likely to minimize tackiness. Environmental factors such as temperature and humidity are also always a big variable with any spray product.


Recommended aerosol spray primers and paints:

Army Painter white and coloured primers

Krylon Dual Paint + Primer

Duplicolor Sandable – slight tackiness possible

Rust-oleam Painter’s Touch Ultra Cover 2x – slight tackiness possible


Problem aerosol spray primers and paints:

Krylon white primer – doesn’t bond, stays tacky

Testors Enamel flat black – stays tacky

Walmart Valu flat white – stays tacky

Krylon Primer red-brown – stays tacky

Citadel spray

Rust-oleam Painter’s Touch Ultra Cover 2x – slight tackiness possible

THAT'S THE ONE. That's the shit that got sticky as a motherfucker.

Thanks for the heads-up Andy.

I plan on using the FolkArt glass and tile medium. That got good reviews on the Reaper site as a primer and paint thinner.

Seriously...don't prime. Just do a quick basecoat of black if you need to, but the paint really does stick really well.

/slight necro

Awesome! Mine arrived last week put I couldn't pick it up until today. It was awesome digging through the pile of figures!

The only negative is that I wish I had picked up more (greedy bastard!) - course since I am the slowest painter it's probably just as well.

Also Holy Shit! The retail on a Vampire box according to the Reaper website is $400!

I got:
Demons x1
Deep Dwellers x1
Nethyrmaul x1
Mythos Monsters x1
Clockwork Dragon x1
Spider Centaurs x1
Jabberwock x1
Frost Wyrm x1
Hydra x1
C'thulhu x1
Vampire x1
Figure Case x1

What is your opinion of the Clockwork Dragon?

It's a decent size, some nice details, wings are huge but I don't love the stiff straight up and down position (I may try to make some bends along the wing "finger bones" - but the wing plastic is slightly stiffer than the regular bones plastic). I would have preferred a rougher/cobbled together/futuristic look rather than the smoother symmetrical riveted armor and for the pose to be a bit less stiff, but overall I like it well enough. Worth the $10 or $15 they were charging during the kickstarter, probably still worth it (to me) at the $25 retail. Are there any other steampunk/robotic dragon figures out there to compare it to?

If anyone wants to trade BONES or anything, maybe we can convert this thread into a WANTS/HAVES type list?

No other clockwork dragons on the market, and I can't say with certainty that there ever was. Use very hot water to warm the parts you want to change, then hold them in position and dunk in a bucket of cool water to lock them in place. I've modded quite a few Bones this way.

The wings are made of traditional styrene. The hot water method does not work as well for that kind of material. You would be better off scratch building new wings from styrene strip and vacuform wing membranes.

I was thinking of making wings out of metal and the membrane out of something transparent.

I also want to remove the exhaust pipes from the back of the dragon and make something a bit more sculptural.

I form styrene all the time for kitbashing - just use a hair dryer instead. If you are REALLY slick you can lay a sheet of .020 styrene over something and use the hair dryer method to make crappy copies...like poor man's vacuum forming. I've used it over balls to make campaign tents and over toy cars to make wrecks. Detail sucks but I don't have an acrylic box to hook a vaccum cleaner to to form.