eathotlead
Junior Strategist
PP forumite since 2004
Posts: 259 
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Post by eathotlead on Apr 13, 2018 0:45:03 GMT
Anyone have experience getting borax crystals to form on a model? I'm thinking about trying it on some bases - namely enemy bits hit by Demo Corps' Crit Freeze and Shatter.  |
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Post by NephMakes on Apr 13, 2018 2:43:15 GMT
Your ideas are intriguing to me and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter.
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Post by tesoe on Apr 13, 2018 5:31:24 GMT
Yeah, I'm with the spider face.
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Post by nyarlathotep333 on Apr 13, 2018 17:40:33 GMT
I'm not 100% sure, but I think that Borax crystals degrade over time. I may be thinking of some other type of mineral thoug...it's been a while since I attended any science classes.
Perhaps those crystal growing kits they sell in some toy stores? Those might work as well, though I am not real sure what kind of minerals they use in those kits to be honest.
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eathotlead
Junior Strategist
PP forumite since 2004
Posts: 259
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Post by eathotlead on Apr 13, 2018 18:44:27 GMT
www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlMwc1c0HRQ lol Yep, I'm concerned about durability once they form, but they look fairly hard and apparently only dissolve in very hot water - as far as I can tell. Just bought some borax powder on Amazon (it's not hard to find locally, either). I'll experiment on some old Cygnar bits and report back.
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eathotlead
Junior Strategist
PP forumite since 2004
Posts: 259
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Post by eathotlead on Apr 13, 2018 18:49:38 GMT
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Post by fallenexile on Apr 13, 2018 23:22:20 GMT
Seems like they would be durable enough. Paint the model beforehand, drop it in, and BAM: instant frost. Then coat with gloss.
My concern is if there's no way to control where the crystals form... They're just all over. Also, can you do this multiple times for layers of crystals on crystals?
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Post by NephMakes on Apr 13, 2018 23:34:14 GMT
can you do this multiple times for layers of crystals on crystals? It's crystals all the way down. |
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mattmcd
Junior Strategist
Posts: 521
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Post by mattmcd on Apr 15, 2018 0:53:08 GMT
I tried it! Go with the borax method that has you boil in tons of it. If I remember correctly I used 1:1 water to borax ratio and it took about a week and a half before mine formed to what you see in the pic (the two models to the right of the king). If you go 2:1 borax to water it should form much faster. It is quite frail and chipping in some places. I wanted something temporary until the Basher and ice troll models were released and these fit the bill. :-)  |
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mattmcd
Junior Strategist
Posts: 521
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Post by mattmcd on Apr 15, 2018 0:55:55 GMT
Also, what you see here:
1) based with blue
2) dry brushed white
3) borax added
4) dry brushed white
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eathotlead
Junior Strategist
PP forumite since 2004
Posts: 259
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Post by eathotlead on Apr 15, 2018 2:06:06 GMT
Also, what you see here: 1) based with blue 2) dry brushed white 3) borax added 4) dry brushed white Thanks, man! I have a Protectorate light 'jack shield submerged even now. Hopefully I'll get something similar. |
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Post by Soul Samurai on Apr 15, 2018 7:14:28 GMT
Have you tried crackle paint? Maybe lay out a thick layer of crackle paint (eg. "Distress crackle paint: clear rock candy") on a flat surface, let it dry and crack, pick out the big pieces and glue them onto the surfaces as desired, then apply more crackle medium to fill in the gaps?
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eathotlead
Junior Strategist
PP forumite since 2004
Posts: 259
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Post by eathotlead on Apr 15, 2018 19:45:51 GMT
I haven't tried that. I've seen something similar on bases themselves (as opposed to a model bit). Sounds worth a look! Here's what I did this weekend. I'll post the final result in my Khador Armored Corps thread.  |
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Post by tapecrawler on Apr 17, 2018 20:25:35 GMT
I played a lot with the Distress crackle paint and it gives a fantastic effect but if it gets too thick the adhesion of paint to model becomes fragile and pieces kind of randomly turn loose when barely brushed. You maybe superglue the pieces back on if you can find them. Mine came off before I realized how delicate they were and I lost them.
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eathotlead
Junior Strategist
PP forumite since 2004
Posts: 259
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Post by eathotlead on May 20, 2018 15:15:33 GMT
I played a lot with the Distress crackle paint and it gives a fantastic effect but if it gets too thick the adhesion of paint to model becomes fragile and pieces kind of randomly turn loose when barely brushed. You maybe superglue the pieces back on if you can find them. Mine came off before I realized how delicate they were and I lost them. Ok, I just bought some Distress crackle paint on Amazon for some testing on old bits. It does indeed look like a fantastic effect! The demo vids I saw of it were encouraging; exactly what I'm going for. I'll try diluting it with a mix of PVA and water to increase adhesion... and/or really sealing it heavily. PS You guys here are full of good ideas. It's the hobby community I was hoping for, especially after watching the tumble weeds roll through the greatly dried-up PP painting forum (compared to the old days). |
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