During the weekend I set about repairing a load of plastic figures recently picked up for £9. With lead spares, was able to repair twenty missing firearms, and revamped their paint work (two Deetails were left as they were). I enjoyed this project, it was rewarding. Still got another twelve to paint, the unwanted others in this interesting, largely French-made, delivery will be passed on to likely collectors.
MGB
The following will be drafted into two units of irregulars.
The following will furnish a small unit of French paras, another of French infantry, and a Browning heavy machine-gun crew. Their uniforms appear to be 1970s, as used in Into-China.
Three of the following will represent civilians.
I now have a firing unit (3) of French Navy (Marin Fusiliers), and hope to raise a second out of Starlux which are slightly smaller.
You had a very busy weekend Michael, with outstanding results! They all look great! The naval figures are so full of life and the civilian figures will certainly come in handy in many different scenarios. I have to ask you what kind of varnish you use? I buy gloss at the local craft store, but my figures do not glow with the shine that your figures possess! Another great job, well done!
ReplyDeleteHi Brad, I have a supplier of cheap tins of yacht varnish, that is very runny. They only cost £1 a tin. I don't know whether it will work in the very long term but, the stuff does not seem to yellow, and yacht varnish is normally protective against sunlight. Being runny, it doesn't clog up the casting detail but dries quick (6 hours) with a strong, non-chipping finish. It can also be painted and re-varnished if I missed some detail. Some of my figures have been on a window sill and received heavy sunlight, for a week or two, no decay whatsoever. I find gloss hobby varnishes are too thick and go yellow within six months.
DeleteMichael
I use yacht varnish as well , has any of these figures plastic gone brittle ? , I have some old Spencer Smith 30mm ones that snap off at the ankles .
ReplyDeleteHi Tony, I guess it was luck, or the type of plastic used by the French manufacturers. Despite most of these figures dating back to c.1970, none of them have poor plastic. Perhaps its all to do with their storage, or a combination of factors. If the yacht varnish causes problems at a later date, so be it, but all the decayed plastic figures I have found were just bare or painted. And I'm tempted to suggest some glues or particular paints have reacted with some figures. Interestingly, only two Deetail figures were rotten and I suspect they had been dipped into a paint remover? I don't paint strip plastic unless covered in a thick paint or pva.
DeleteMichael
That is a problem that I've had with old EKO and GIANT 20mm figures. They snap right off at the base when just simply picking them up off the table! And these were unpainted figures for the most part. Thus aging plastic seems to be the culprit. There is some wonderful information about these two makers at PLASTIC SOLDIER REVIEW's website. Just click on their FEATURES tab and you can view all of their production, enjoy!
ReplyDeleteBrad, I'm going to work on the premise that figures properly primed, painted in acrylics, given a coat of yacht varnish must have superior protection from external problems, and the same protection must also reduce plastic oils drying out, leading to fragility. If its only the tough varnish keeping the figure together in later years, I can go with that, lol. (Will view the site.)
DeleteMichael