Marvel Crisis Protocol – Assembling and Preparing the Core Box Miniatures for Paint

Marvel Crisis Protocol’s core box (CP01) Contains the following characters:

  • Captain Marvel
  • Spider-Man
  • Red Skull
  • Doctor Octopus
  • Black Widow
  • Iron Man
  • Captain America
  • Cross Bones
  • Baron Zemo
  • Ultron
  • Various Terrain Pieces (Cars, Building, Lampposts, Etc)

Step 1: Cleaning the Miniatures

I use the following:

  • Simple Green
  • Water
  • Nylon Brush

I do the following:

  • Soak the parts on the spurs for at least 30 minutes using approximately one-part Simple Green and eight-parts water. Soaking the parts in this manor will remove any mold release on the parts.
  • Scrub the parts using a nylon brush and warm water.
  • Rinse the parts using cold water and allow to dry.

Step 2 – Assembling the Miniatures

The miniatures included with the MCP game have a lot of parts. Plan some time to assemble and paint these miniatures. There are a lot of small parts to assemble, and they require some patience and time to complete. There are also duplicates of some of the parts, so don’t be surprised when you have two Spider-Man heads or two tesseracts.

I use the following:

  • Flush Cutters
  • Hobby Knife
  • Sanding Sticks
  • Super Glue
  • Plastic Cement
  • Needle Files
  • GW Mold Line Tool
  • Tweezers
  • Pliers
  • MCP Rulebook Pages 34 through 45

I use the flush cutter and hobby knife to remove the parts from the spurs. I use the hobby knife, sanding sticks, needle files, and mold line tool to remove any excess plastic from the injection points on the parts. I use the tweezers and pliers to hold onto the smaller parts when assembling.

Note: I have broken the descriptions down to each miniature. When I build these, I will be building three-to-four at a time so I can allow glue to dry between each step.

Step 2-01: Assembling Captain Marvel

I do the following:

  • Refer to the provided instructions on page 34 of the rulebook.
  • Remove the parts from the spur and clean off the injection points.
  • Follow the instructions with the exception of steps two and three. Instead of putting the forearms on in these steps, I assemble the forearms last. This change from the rulebook prevents me from breaking the arms off accidently in later steps.
  • Assemble the miniature using super glue, I wait several minutes between steps for the glue to dry so I don’t accidently break any limbs off the miniature.
  • Select one of the smaller bases and glue Captain Marvel to it using super glue.

Step 2-02: Assembling Spider-Man

I do the following:

  • Refer to and follow the steps provided on page 35 of the rulebook.
  • Remove the parts from the spur and clean off the injection points.
  • Follow the instructions to assemble the miniature using super glue. I wait several minutes between steps for the glue to dry.
  • Select one of the smaller bases and glue Spider-Man to it using super glue.

Step 2-03: Assembling Red Skull

I do the following:

  • Refer to and follow the steps provided on page 35 of the rulebook.
  • Remove the parts from the spur and clean off the injection points.
  • Follow the instructions to assemble the miniature using super glue. I wait several minutes between steps for the glue to dry.
  • Select one of the smaller bases and glue Red Skull to it using super glue.

Step 2-04: Assembling Doctor Octopus

I do the following:

  • Refer to and follow the steps provided on page 36 of the rulebook.
  • Remove the parts from the spur and clean off the injection points.
  • Follow the instructions to assemble the miniature using super glue, waiting several minutes between steps for the glue to dry.
  • Select one of the larger bases and adhere Doctor Octopus to the base by lightly applying plastic cement to the feet and affixing to the base. Applying the cement with a tooth pick works well to keep cement from gooing out the sides when the parts are pressed together.

Step 2-05: Assembling Black Widow

I do the following:

  • Refer to and follow the steps provided on page 37 of the rulebook.
  • Remove the parts from the spur and clean off the injection points.
  • Follow the instructions to assemble the miniature using super glue. I wait several minutes between steps for the glue to dry.
  • Select one of the smaller bases and glue Black Widow to it using super glue.

Step 2-06: Assembling Iron Man

I do the following:

  • Refer to and follow the steps provided on page 37 of the rulebook.
  • Remove the parts from the spur and clean off the injection points.
  • Follow the instructions to assemble the miniature using super glue. I wait several minutes between steps for the glue to dry.
  • Select one of the smaller bases and glue Iron Man to it using super glue.

Step 2-07: Assembling Captain America

I do the following:

  • Refer to and follow the steps provided on page 38 of the rulebook.
  • Remove the parts from the spur and clean off the injection points.
  • Follow the instructions to assemble the miniature using super glue, waiting several minutes between steps for the glue to dry.
  • Select one of the smaller bases and glue Captain America to the base by lightly applying plastic cement to the feet and affixing to the base.

Step 2-08: Assembling Crossbones

I do the following:

  • Refer to and follow the steps provided on page 39 of the rulebook.
  • Remove the parts from the spur and clean off the injection points.
  • Follow the instructions to assemble the miniature using super glue, waiting several minutes between steps for the glue to dry.
  • Select one of the smaller bases and glue Crossbones to the base by lightly applying plastic cement to the feet and affixing to the base.

Step 2-09: Assembling Baron Zemo

I do the following:

  • Refer to and follow the steps provided on page 40 of the rulebook.
  • Remove the parts from the spur and clean off the injection points.
  • Follow the instructions to assemble the miniature using super glue, waiting several minutes between steps for the glue to dry.
  • Select one of the smaller bases and glue Baron Zemo to the base by lightly applying plastic cement to the feet and affixing to the base.

Step 2-10: Assembling Ultron

I do the following:

  • Refer to and follow the steps provided on pages 41 and 42 of the rulebook.
  • Remove the parts from the spur and clean off the injection points one at a time, following the provided steps.
  • Assemble the miniature using super glue, waiting several minutes between steps for the glue to dry.
  • Select one of the larger bases and glue Ultron to it using plastic cement to the base by lightly applying plastic cement to the rock mound and affixing to the base.

I found Ultron difficult to assemble. I spent a lot of time hunting for small parts that I dropped on the floor. Here is what I would do differently when assembling future Ultorns:

  • Step Five – Leave the smaller pieces on his thighs off until the end.
  • Steps Six and Seven – Do step seven first, allow to dry, then do step six.
  • Steps Eight and Nine – Do step nine first, allow to dry, then do step eight.
  • Steps Ten and Eleven – Attached the right leg first and allow to dry Then attached the left leg, rock mound, and right foot to the mound at the same time. Allow to dry, and then attach the two small parts from Step 5.

Step 2-11: Assembling the Cars

I do the following:

  • Refer to and follow the steps provided on page 43 of the rulebook.
  • Remove the parts from the spur and clean off the injection points one part at a time, following the provided steps.
  • Assemble the car using super glue, waiting several minutes between steps for the glue to dry.

Step 2-12: Assembling the Daily Bugle

I do the following:

  • Refer to and follow the steps provided on page 44 of the rulebook.
  • Remove the parts from the spur and clean off the injection points one part at a time, following the provided steps from the rulebook.
  • Assemble the Daily Bugle using super glue, waiting several minutes between steps for the glue to dry. On the final step, I attach the sign to the building using plastic cement.

Step 2-13: Assembling the Lamp Posts, Traffic Lights, and Dumpsters.

I do the following:

  • Refer to and follow the steps provided on page 45 of the rulebook.
  • Remove the parts from the spur and clean off the injection points one part at a time, following the provided steps.
  • Assemble the lamp posts, traffic lights, and dumpsters using super glue, waiting several minutes between steps for the glue to dry.

Step 3: Painting the undersides of the Terrain, Movement, and Range Tools

I use the following:

  • Hand Holds (I use wooden sewing bobbins)
  • Sticky Tacky
  • Holding Stick (See Picture Below)
  • Krylon Color Master Paint + Primer – Flat Black

Note: The undersides of these pieces can just be black. I don’t plan to do anything else with the bottoms of these pieces. I opt to go with the Krylon paint + primer for durability. I do all my spraying outside.

I do the following:

  • Mount the movement and range tools to the hand holds using sticky tacky. I attach them with the bottoms facing up.
  • I attach the hand holds to a holding stick. The hand holds I use have a ¼-20 wood insert in the bottom, and the stick I use has a bunch of ¼-20 bolts sticking through it.
  • I apply two coats of flat back paint to the bottoms and sides of the movement and range tools. I wait an hour between coat and allow to dry overnight.
  • I remove the parts from the handholds and the handholds from the sticks.
  • I flip the parts over and re-attach to the hand holds using sticky tacky.

Step 4: Priming

I like to prime using three colors of primer. Black on the under sides, grey in the middle, and a white on top. Priming in this manner helps me see the details of the miniatures and provides guidance on where I need to apply my shadows. Priming this way also helps if I miss a section on a miniature that is in shadow, as the section will just appear as a black shadow. I am not zenithal priming, just priming mostly grey and helping my eye better see the areas I need to shadow and highlight.

The only exceptions will be the movement/range tools, trash can, and dumpsters. I will prime these parts in all black. The movement/range tools will be mostly black when I am done, and I plan to do some weathering on the dumpsters. Priming black is my preferred undercoat when doing weathering effects.

I use the following:

  • Hand Holds
  • Sticky Tacky
  • Air Brush
  • Vallejo Black Primer
  • Vallejo Grey Primer
  • Vallejo White Primer
  • Vallejo Air Brush Flow Improver
  • Vallejo Air Brush Thinner

I use the following ratios for my primer mixtures:

  • Two-parts primer (black, grey, or white)
  • One-part flow improver
  • One-part thinner

When I apply primer with an air brush, I hold the air brush approximately 12 inches away from the parts when I spray. I apply thin coats. I use a respirator and use a ventilated paint booth when I spray.

I do the following:

  • Make one last check for flashing or debris stuck on the miniatures. I remove anything I find using a hobby knife and sanding stick.
  • Prime all the parts black.
  • Clean out my air brush.
  • Set aside the movement/range tools, trash can, and dumpsters. I am finished with them.
  • Holding my air brush at a 45-degree angle and about 12 inches away from each part, I apply grey primer.
  • I add white primer to my air brush. I don’t clean the grey out.
  • Holding my air brush at a 60-degree angle and about 12 inches away from each part, I apply a thin coat of white primer. Since I am doing super heroes, I use more white primer than I normally do to help make the miniatures brighter when I paint them.
  • I thoroughly clean my air brush and put away.

The Miniatures are now ready to paint.