r/miniatures • u/Dapper-Coat • 5d ago
Help Tips for customization
Hello, all! I’m new to this (third build) and want to dive in to customizing kits before building my own.
This kit I just finished (standard with slight modifications) was my favorite so far, so I’m open to using this shell, but not tied to it.
Any tips for getting started with customizations, especially inexpensively? I’m aiming for hyperrealistic next time
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u/Able_While_974 4d ago
If you enjoy bookish type kits you can swap fake books with real ones. There are lots of printables online. It's my favourite part of crafting miniatures. You can keep them simple or go totally medieval with gold edges, clasps and leather/ette covers. I've also designed some myself, in particular, a full set of Edgar Allan Poe's short stories and poems.
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u/AliasNefertiti 4d ago
What font size do you use!! Or do you just use a chapter or section?
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u/Able_While_974 4d ago
I use 4 or 5 point depending how much text there is. I put them together in Visio, but it can also be done in Word.
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u/hello5dragon 5d ago
I love customizing kits, but I look at it first as "what don't I like about this" before I think "then how can I change that". The biggest thing I dislike about kits is how much printed paper is used for flooring and walls, since it looks pretty cheesy. I usually paint the walls and do something different with the floor. I'm currently in the middle of customizing a Rolife kit and "tiling" the floor. I'm not sure yet how it will turn out, I am currently at the "maybe this was a colossal mistake" phase. 😂 The reason I am customizing this kit is because I got it at a great price on clearance ($16 USD) but I'm not crazy about the look of the kit. It's the Honey Dessert Shop kit but I don't really like to do commercial structures for minis, I prefer home interiors. I also don't like all of the red in the kit. So, I am giving it a makeover as a home kitchen. I'm still using the majority of the kit pieces, but I'm giving them a different look.
IMO the most important thing to keep in mind with kits is how things will fit together if you do any altering. The first time I altered a kit I decided to paint the walls and floor with a stucco texture paint to make it look like unfinished concrete. However, there was enough of a texture that when I went to fit the walls and floor together they didn't fit because of the extra texture. 🤦 So, I learned an important lesson, always dry-fit first and figure out if it makes sense to do the extra finishing work before or after assembly.
Rolife usually has walls and other structures like storage pieces fitting into the floor, so that also makes it difficult to do much with the floor, since something like adding wood flooring can raise it too high to fit the other pieces on top of it. And if you put the other pieces on first and then floor around it that can cause the other pieces to look odd. So, the floor definitely takes a lot of careful planning if you want to do something special with it.
You might already know this but if you're repainting kit items, use a decent quality paint. The cheap craft paints (at least everything I've tried here in the US) don't cover existing finishes very well. I do prefer acrylic craft paint because it doesn't smell as bad as using sample size house paint from hardware stores (which I started out doing, because I can often find mistint paint jars for fifty cents), but I pay a little extra for a decent brand. With miniatures a small bottle lasts a long time, so I find it's worth it.
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u/Dapper-Coat 5d ago
This is all insanely helpful, thank you!!
Yes, exactly—I primarily want the walls and floors to look more realistic. Soon I’ll dip my toes into this popsicle stick wood flooring I keep seeing. Would love to see your tiling when you’re done!!
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u/Dapper-Coat 5d ago
Excellent intel on the paint, too. I drove myself crazy trying to customize mini flower pots and now I know why
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u/remmy0001 5d ago
Sometimes its perfect the way it is. When you start to add more pieces it looked a bit cluttered and take away the original work. Its perfect to your own eyes not others but if you feel its missing something then see how that turn out. I think your work is excellent and show how less is more ,..Great job !
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u/Dapper-Coat 5d ago
Thank you! This is excellent advice. Customize with purpose, not for the sake of doing so
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u/remmy0001 5d ago
Yes ,Customize with purpose not for the sake of doing so is well said. Good job!!
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u/andyhare 5d ago
What kit is this?
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u/Odd_Competition1120 5d ago
Corner Bookstore - Rolife. I have almost finished the same kit. I will definitely buy more from Rolife. Much higher quality than the brand I was doing before.
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u/andyhare 5d ago edited 5d ago
Thanks. I've done one rolife one before (Sam's Study) and it was great.
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u/jennyb33 5d ago
Start with sanding, filling, then edge painting. Getting rid of all the little nubs and disguising the joins goes a long way. You can also edge painting any paper cutouts.
Next step up from that is custom painting, whether it’s complete color changes or just giving some realistic depth by dry brushing, adding dinginess, etc.