Painting on sprues is a no-no no more ... Bandai Millennium Falcon's Han & Chewie at 1/144 scale

All those years ago when I first started out in the hobby, had you had told me I would be painting miniatures that were still attached to sprues I would've raised an eyebrow and gave you that look. You know, the one that implied you were crazy and stupid in equal measures. Well, look who's the mentally-challenged insane one now. So what's changed? Why did I do now what I wouldn't consider doing before? Simply put, it's due to the 1/144 scale of the miniature figures in question.  

Han Solo and Chewbacca at 1/144 scale (front view)

Han Solo and Chewbacca at 1/144 scale (back view)

At this extremely tiny size, the 1/144 scale figures are better left at the sprue during the painting process. There are multiple reasons for this; with mine chiefly being:

1. Being so small, the miniature must be securely anchored and immobile when its painted on. Why? Any slight vibrations at this scale will cause errors to increase exponentially e.g. a slight unintended slip of the brush could cause a paint smear that wipes out an entire paint job on the face.

2. Unpainted parts still connected to the sprue are so small that they can be touched up easily once majority of the paint job is done. Here, the reasoning is concern No.1 overrides No.2.

3. In certain poses, parts still connected to the sprue would eventually be covered up by other parts so they actually can be left unpainted. For example, in this case Chewie and Han are in seated positions whose sides will be covered by the Millennium Falcon seats. Again, the main concern is in point No.1, that of keeping the tiny piece stable while painting.  

One Piece characters in miniature from a Bandai model kit

Ironically, what actually made me delve into miniature painting in the first place was the intention to paint the tiny miniatures comprising characters from the One Piece anime (see above) that came in a ship model kit. One thing led to another and in the end I started painting miniatures from 2 8mm to 90 mm. Yet I never actually started painting the anime mini-figures. But looking at them now in comparison to Han and Chewie, those Bandai One Piece miniatures don't seem so daunting after all.

1/144 scale miniatures in comparison to a standard 31mm paperclip

Han and Chewie next to Game Workshop's 28-mm heroic scale Chaos Chosen

Capturing Han Solo's iconic grin is arguably my greatest achievement at this scale with Chewie's ammo belt and fur details coming a close second (click on photo immediately below this paragraph). Now at this scale, everything you see is hinted at. As such it requires a combination of very thin paints, dilute washes and light dry brushing to achieve the desired effects. Sculpted details on the tiny standing figures were much better than the seated ones hence a better paint job could be had with the former over the latter (see first two photos at the start of this blog for a comparison).    

Zoomed in front views of Han Solo (left) and Chewbacca (right)

Zoomed in back views of Chewbacca (left) and Han Solo (right)

This feels like a huge milestone in my journey as a miniature painter. Never before had I dared paint at such a small scale before. At the standing position Han is 12 mm tall while Chewie is 16 mm while seated both are only 9 mm and 11 mm in height respectively. Having completed Han and Chewie, I now feel I can tackle (almost) anything that comes my way. Watch out world, here I come!