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The importance of removing mold lines (a poll)  [RSS] Share on facebook Share on Twitter Submit to Reddit
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Poll
How do you deal with mold lines in a rank and file trooper?
I file them all until the model is completely free of mold lines.
I file the mold lines that really stand out and that's it.
I don't file mold lines on rank and file troopers, only on special models.
I hate filing mold lines. I never do it on principal.

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Made in gb
Lord Commander in a Plush Chair





Beijing

I file off everything I can see, but once you primer a load more appear! I can usually life with these as they aren't obvious. Time and effort taken also depends on how much the model cost and how special it is. For one off character and competition entries I make that bit more effort, for hoards of cheap plastic stuff I scrub off the worst. I always drill the gun barrels.

Filing and drilling is a pain with white metal, lead figures and plastic are fairly quick but white metal is much harder going, especially the drilling. Same with cutting and other work needed for modelling and converting . It's one reason I don't like the major change to lead-free models.
   
Made in us
The Last Chancer Who Survived





Norristown, PA

I think I spend more time filing and building than actually painting. I file off every line I can find, sometimes I miss them and don't see it till I'm painting then I'll fix it when I come to it.

It gets really tedious sometimes but in the end the model just looks so much better than if you don't clean it up.

 
   
Made in gb
Ridin' on a Snotling Pump Wagon






I tend to be fairly thorough about removing them, as they bug the hell out of me once I've started painting, thus for the sake of my own sanity, I do my best to keep them to a minimum.

As for weapon of choice, I use the blade of my sculpting tool. I find it ideal for getting them off my preferred plastic models. Never seem to have much trouble with Mould Lines on Metal though. Either I'm jammy, or I'm not looking properly.

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Made in au
Stormin' Stompa






YO DAKKA DAKKA!

I don't file off the flash. In fact, I don't even remove my miniatures from the sprues.

I just put down a cardboard box of ten space marines with the picture facing up. "WYSIWYG".

Does anyone want to sell the box their land raider came in?
   
Made in us
Homicidal Veteran Blood Angel Assault Marine





Los Angeles

How do you split up the contents of black reach then Arctik?

I play

I will magnetize (now doing LED as well) your models for you, send me a DM!

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Made in au
Stormin' Stompa






YO DAKKA DAKKA!

You just cut out the dudes and stick them to bases (smaller boxes). That's a stupid question.
   
Made in us
Yellin' Yoof on a Scooter






I tend to file out the heavily noticed mold lines personally...

A nice coat of primer, and a couple layers of paint and I don't see them afterwards.
   
Made in se
Bounding Assault Marine





In the deepest reaches of Valhalla

I clean the models for all what its worth, nothing bugs me more than to see a mold line when the miniature is painted.
Even if other people don't notice, i know its there... haunting me...


//Edge
   
Made in gb
Junior Officer with Laspistol





Sheffield, England

Well I never used to, but with the terminators I just got (and every model hereafter) I'm trying to get them all.

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Made in us
Dakka Veteran




I've learned that I have a bit of OCD on this matter. I've tried before to say "aw screw it" then I have a much harder time cleaning those mould lines off because I've already assembled the miniature.

on a batch of orks I just plain forgot to do the legs, but since I paint the pants black you couldnt see it. still bothers me when i pick them up.

to me there are a couple of groups of people for warhammer

those that enjoy the miniatures, and don't nessessarily play (but some do)
these are your golden demon winners usually. to them improper assembly won't happen, and even just a basecoat isn't a finished job. blending, highlights, etc are all part of a "finished job"

then you have the average modelers, who do some conversions, take the time to assemble and clean their models, and do an above tabletop quality paintjob because they want to have pride in their work

then you have the people who only do what is required to get the army on the table. this unfortunately is WAY too common in GW stores. mould lines not removed, paint is just a basic 3 colors. people who aren't interested in learning how to even basecoat properly because it takes away from their gaming time.

now there are times when someone has to do a rush job for a GT or ard boyz or whatever. so their work will be compromised because of time constraints.

there are others I've known that will remove flash and sand their models, but never paint them. they just dont see a point to it.

ultimately its what you want to get out of the hobby. if the mould lines don't bother YOU then don't remove them. if you're trying to impress with photos and such you'll pay for that choice though

NaZ
   
Made in us
[MOD]
Madrak Ironhide







How should I respond if I just take a blade and cut away what can be cut? I'm not
one to use files.

DR:70+S+G-MB-I+Pwmhd05#+D++A+++/aWD100R++T(S)DM+++
Get your own Dakka Code!

"...he could never understand the sense of a contest in which the two adversaries agreed upon the rules." Gabriel Garcia Marquez, One Hundred Years of Solitude 
   
Made in us
Longtime Dakkanaut




Long Beach, CA

I think there should have been another option. For me personally I file MOST of them on rank and file guys but ALL of the really obvious ones like on the top of the head or across shoulderpad etc. On characters I completely file/cut every one.

"Do NOT ask me if you can fire the squad you forgot to shoot once we are in the assault phase, EVER!!!"

 
   
Made in hu
Virulent Space Marine dedicated to Nurgle





im one for remoing as much as i can, then priming them, removing the millions of lines i flippin' missed, re-touching up the primer then painting them, then seeing the rest i missed. followed by lots of angry crying.

i do hate mould lines, but i find listening to some 'spoken word' books on my ipod, or episodes of the goon show makes the time pass in a very pleasant way without having to look up from the model and waste time etc.

phill



"every day, and in every way, i am getting better and better." Pink Panther.

"he's fallen' in the water" The Goons. 
   
Made in us
Tzeentch Aspiring Sorcerer Riding a Disc





Orem, Utah

I think the poll is biased towards what people would like to think that they do, rather than what they actually do.

Sometimes mold lines are put in places where it is better to fix through painting than through filing (lest you lose fine details under your file/hobby knife).

That said, I try to fix all the mold lines before I start up. I sometimes find that I've missed a mold line or two when I get around to painting. Then I have to scrape up an area completely and re-base coat it.

 
   
Made in au
Stormin' Stompa






YO DAKKA DAKKA!

Okay, seriously.

I use a knife.
I used a knife for eight years before I ever tried a file.
I went back to the knife.

Files can be good for some fiddly bits, and finishing metal, but knives are the win.


Example:
"The Emperor's Knives charged into the melee..."
"The Emperor's Flexible Emery Boards slowly removed tiny pieces of material from their foes..."

On plastics, knives are so quick you can just do it as you cut pieces off the sprue. Some folk cut everything first, but I just wash the frames whole and do it as I go.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2008/09/20 01:55:56


 
   
Made in au
Owns Whole Set of Skullz Techpriests






Versteckt in den Schatten deines Geistes.

Didn't used to, but when I got the Cities of Death Terrain it became very clear very quickly that the pieces did not go together unless every single mould line was scraped clean. Now whenever I break out my COD stuff to build, I'm always left with a small mountain of plastic shavings.

And since then I do it on pretty much everything, unless it's small and not important.

BYE

Industrial Insanity - My Terrain Blog
"GW really needs to understand 'Less is more' when it comes to AoS." - Wha-Mu-077

 
   
Made in gb
Highlord with a Blackstone Fortress






Adrift within the vortex of my imagination.

I do the best I can to remove mold lines, I always regret finding the lines more than bothering to check first. Oncwe I notice a big enough flaw in a miniature I notice nothing else if the miniature is my own work.

n'oublie jamais - It appears I now have to highlight this again.

It is by tea alone I set my mind in motion. By the juice of the brew my thoughts aquire speed, my mind becomes strained, the strain becomes a warning. It is by tea alone I set my mind in motion. 
   
Made in ge
Guardsman with Flashlight





I am more of a modeller/painter than a gamer. Mold lines gotta go to get a good looking paint job. The lines stand out too much and create un-natural shading/shadows if you don't take them out.

CE
   
Made in us
Mindless Spore Mine





I file them all but its by far my most disliked part of the hobby. I remove them with a aquas army knife held at 90 deg to the model and scrape. Has to be a firm blade otherwise you get stick-slip behaviour and it ends up looking like there's an intermittent cut. And 90 deg ensures not cutting of the model.


Its so slow though. Any tips?


Must say that the recent computer designed sculpts have much less mold/flash.

 
   
Made in ca
Huge Hierodule






Outflanking

It's a pain in the to do, but improves the look immensly.

Q: What do you call a Dinosaur Handpuppet?

A: A Maniraptor 
   
Made in us
Stubborn Temple Guard






I spend a bit of time doing it. If I miss one tucked into the corner of an elbow or something, I don't really care.

I spend more time with my Grey Knights than I do my 'Nids, simply because getting every mold line from them would take years.

27th Member of D.O.O.M.F.A.R.T.
Resident Battletech Guru. 
   
Made in gb
Trollkin Champion





UK

I scrape 'em or file 'em if they're stubborn! I of course always miss a couple that I don't notice til I've primed them or started the base colours... I totally agree that they ruin the end result of a model altho it is only recently that I started to really remove them

~Burn the land and boil the sea you can't take the sky from me~

Available for commissions contact me for details

 
   
Made in gb
Decrepit Dakkanaut




Swindon, Wiltshire, UK

Oi Boss! I smell a nekromanca!
   
Made in us
Scuttling Genestealer





Baltimore, MD

The mold lines don't really bother me but i must have the worst luck in getting models that the molds weren't properly aligned now that is a real pita to fix.

damn what page did this get dug up from anyway

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2009/07/01 20:02:53


8K >10K WIP
 
   
Made in us
5th God of Chaos! (Yea'rly!)




The Great State of Texas

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