Anyone with Trollcast priming experience?

[Madsherman]

I've used an old brush and sprayed a puddle of the spray primer and then painted it into a spot as well and that seems to work to still etch on. Not a way to paint a whole figure as the spray puddle is a waste of the paint and dries quickly but it seems to work for this as well.

Ah, good tip for the nooks and crannies!

[gregory_n_white]

I need some help

I have the Thalassians from this kickstarter (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/67 ... escription).

I washed with dish washing liquid and toothbrush and then I undercoated using "Wattyl Super Etch Industrial Primer".

I left the figures for about 2-3 weeks and was just about to start painting - when I pick up the figures the undercoat is flaking off in my hands with very little pressure/contact and in large patches.

Any ideas?


PS: I am really unhappy with Trollcast figures - have had a couple of limbs snap easily when assembling, they seem a hassle to undercoat - I think ill pay the extra $$ and stick with metals.

[GalakStarscraper]

I washed with dish washing liquid and toothbrush and then I undercoated using "Wattyl Super Etch Industrial Primer".

Never heard anyone recommend that one before so not sure if it actually is a good one to use.

PS: I am really unhappy with Trollcast figures - have had a couple of limbs snap easily when assembling, they seem a hassle to undercoat - I think ill pay the extra $$ and stick with metals.

If something breaks and you think it was faulty ... happy to replace it. The Thallassian limbs should not break with normal handling.

[gregory_n_white]

I dont think they are faulty - just poor design for the materials used - the snaps have all been wrists and ankles which I believe are are too thin for the material used. I dont think a metal would snap - so for me, Ill go back to buying metal only.

The body part joins were also sub-standard. For example - lower body/legs should glue easily to upper body/torso but with these figures I had to do some serious work to make them align and fit - and I still dont have a good solid join. Same for heads. Too much work to assemble the figures and I m sure once I use them or travel, they will break apart.

I was excited by these figures but now I regret buying them - I hated trying to assemble them and now have to find some "magical paint" to undercoat - it seems a bit too ridiculous.


I dont think it should be this hard to buy a figure, undercoat then paint it.

[Madsherman]

I could see my undercoat started to crack, so I quickly gave it an extra helping of army painter undercoat, and then a seraphin sepia wash almost immediately on top to kind of seal it. After that it was a regular paintjob. That mold release is very resilient, though.. I guess that is what's making it so slippery.

[GalakStarscraper]

I dont think they are faulty - just poor design for the materials used - the snaps have all been wrists and ankles which I believe are are too thin for the material used. I dont think a metal would snap - so for me, Ill go back to buying metal only.

The body part joins were also sub-standard. For example - lower body/legs should glue easily to upper body/torso but with these figures I had to do some serious work to make them align and fit - and I still dont have a good solid join. Same for heads. Too much work to assemble the figures and I m sure once I use them or travel, they will break apart.

I was excited by these figures but now I regret buying them - I hated trying to assemble them and now have to find some "magical paint" to undercoat - it seems a bit too ridiculous.


I dont think it should be this hard to buy a figure, undercoat then paint it.

The Thallasians were a metal team designed by another company that we cast up in resin to bring get them more accessible. The joins and limb sizes were all from the original figures. Sorry you were not happy with the team. If you want to contact me ever ... happy to work something out so you do not feel like you wasted your money. I really do believe in trying to take care of my customers if I can.

On a side note ... Reaper just came out with a paint line called MSP Bones. It is specifically formulated to bond to these resins like Trollcast and Bones. So hopefully it will help for those having issues. Like I said ... had no issues with the models after I primed them with Tamiya Fine Primer but I'm hoping the new MSP Bones paint gives a non-spray option now.

[Regash]

Hey Tom,

I've just looked around for primer and remembered you are talking about self etch primer for your resin miniatures.
Since I'm a German, I tried now to find out what that is and it turned out to be some automotive primer.
But what really worried me: On a video talking about automotive primers, the guy said to remember that self etching primer "has acid in it".

Are your resin minis acid resistant or did I have something wrong when translating it?

I don't wanna prime anything and then watch it melt to a puddle of grey plastic, you know?

[Steam Ball]

You can also try with the other automotive primers, the ones for plastic parts.

[Norse]

I wonder if Trollcast have changed their release agent? Tom sent me sample Sarcos WAY back when he was considering the move to plesin, or rastic if you prefer , and I took them out the bag, assembled them and primed them with GW white. I don't recall even having to wash them, although I will admit that as I now buy more and more non-metal figures, I do now give them a quick wash as standard.

Sounds like Trollcast have moved to a much heavier release agent, perhaps as their output has increased, so did the demand for more durable molds?

[GalakStarscraper]

Sounds like Trollcast have moved to a much heavier release agent, perhaps as their output has increased, so did the demand for more durable molds?

It is not the release agent ... it is the new formula used for the Trollcast itself.

And Regash ... yes the material is acid resistant ... the acid in the paint is actually what allows the paint to full bond to the resin really well.

[Norse]

ah... OK, that also makes sense. I was close!

[Regash]

Thanks Tom!

[rolo]

For people living in or near Germany, where I can't find Tamiya, Rust-Oleum, or any product labelled as self-etching:

I bought the "Kalle Ogres & Imps" set at EurOpen. The Ogres are in Trollcast.

I glued some of the cutoff bits together and gave them a test spray with normal GW Chaos Black. It's true what they say, paint just doesn't stick to it. Even wiping my thumb across it rubbed off paint.

Not finding any self-etching primer at my local hardware store (BayWa), I bought "Dupli-Color Plastic Primer". It's in the automotive section, not with other paints.

It sprays on clear, which makes it kind of irritating to spray on the model and easy to miss a spot. But it shrinks down and even after spraying heavily, and didn't obscure any detail. It's intended for plastic exterior automotive parts, like bumper covers and mirror mounts and stuff like that. Those parts are usually very smooth and paint doesn't stick to them, and the Plastic Primer is intended to bond to the plastic and be rough enough to accept paint. Same situation as my models, so I figured I'd give it a try.
Once the primer dried, I sprayed the models black as usual. It worked perfectly. The paint is completely bonded; I can't even scratch any off with my fingernail. It's more secure than most metal models and I might just use the primer for metal as well in the future.

It isn't cheap (15 EUR for a 400 ml can, although BayWa is kind of pricey. I found the same thing at a place called Hitmeister https://www.hitmeister.de/product/303767668/ for a euro less). But 400 ml is a lot, I expect it'll be enough for every Trollcast model that I buy, as well as any that my friends have.

Oh and fair warning, it has a terrible, strong chemical smell which just lingers.

[GalakStarscraper]

Thanks for that! I'll add to the list on the website!!!!

Current list on the website now lists all of these as good spray primers based on customer feedback:
Tamiya Fine Surface Primer, Rust-oleum Self Etching Primer, Dupli-Color Plastic Primer, Duplicolor Sandable Primer, and Krylon Primer

[ravyn]

I bought a can of the rustoleum at work when I got the mini's off the kickstarter and primed them. I then tossed them in a box until about 2 weeks ago when I started painting the vampires. the paint sticks fine and i have had no problems with it flaking. I strongly suggest priming outside though.