The recent arrival of a box of broken lead figures has provided a major campaign of repair and restoration. First job was to remove the old paint. Second job was to clean up the castings. The third move was a light prime (to provide a better view of required repairs, and nicer than handling bare metal). The fourth move was drilling, removing casting lines, fixing metal rods, and milliput work.
Here is the original delivery, I seem to have mislaid the farm lady milking cattle, might crop up later. Luckily, I do have one already in the collection.
Here are some paint stripped, cleaned, and initial priming.
Will have to construct wire feet for the two roosters, tricky.
Lots of legwork for the sheep.
That foal can be saved.
Horns and hooves.
Rifle barrels.
MILLIPUT WORK COMPLETED
PAINTED, AND READY FOR BASING
Rather pleased with these, some Friesian cattle.
A pair of draught horses.
Some legs of mutton.
The W.Britains shire horse was a gift from Graham Apperley.
The Ardennes breed looked appropriate.....they come in a variety of colours.
Typical donkeys.
Rather pleased with this, a miliput and wire leg and tail. Basil now has a friend.
The repaired W.Britains greyhound might win a race. I chose Fawn (light distortion).
Might as well fix some lead pigs to the Johillco pigsties.
A spare Gurkha head, who would have thought that!
My British WW1 army has gained three recruits.
Well, not quite a complete W.Britains farm rake, but close enough to be a fun addition. Wire and milliput was used to make the replacement shafts. Just as well I had kept a broken metal Lone Star vehicle seat.... perfect!
Finally, the eight lead chickens have been repaired and painted to represent Welsummers (brown) and Leghorns (white). Suitable nineteenth century breeds, I'm wearing an anorak while typing this, lol.
A follow-on post should complete this project, when time allows.
MGB
Brilliant restorations Michael, you really are a wizard with the Miliput! and the new repaint really brings them back to life, hope that fox gets away safely.
ReplyDeleteMost kind Brian, thank you. When working on a budget you have to adapt and improvise. I also feel strongly these old toys deserve a fair restoration, and they might just provide some fun to young minds in the future. I confess, the fox is actually my favourite, but the greyhound is a bit special too.
DeleteMichael
Great post Michael. I always love seeing how people restore old figures and give them a new lease of life, brilliantly done and kudos to you! All very handy additions to your collection, the little farm rake is especially a love;y little piece.
ReplyDeleteCheers Donnie. When Chris picked up that box at a very fair price I knew we would get some useful additions, but the farm rake was a real bonus. I had the spares, and a suitable seated figure too.
DeleteMichael
Great work bringing these figures back to full use again.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Tony. I just can't pass by a bargain, and these castings will add greatly to my rural 'lead' scenery. Rather pleased with the railway signalman, have been wanting to acquire this figure for some time. It's almost ready. Going to see if I can put together a 'man and plough' model.
DeleteMichael
Wow, Michael! You have really worked quite a few miracles here! I agree with Brian, your Miliput work is truly amazing! The fox and hound are wonderful, and the rake looks perfect! The milkmaid and soldiers will make great additions to your table too! Really excellent work indeed!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Brad. Most of my wargaming stuff is packed into boxes. But I wanted to continue to restore projects, and when I spotted this auction, it would have been daft to let it pass without an offer. Would love to 'field' these new items onto the gaming table, but it must wait. There is another twenty items nearing completion, these include the milkman and some more rural folk, all for a later post.
DeleteMichael
Excellent repair work, thanks you for sharing the process pictures.
ReplyDeleteCheers Mark. Even if I'm not planning to raise new armies, or even battalions, I do still get a fair amount of satisfaction restoring an old lead figure. Regards.
DeleteMichael
Wonderful work MGB - great to see these figures repaired and ready for play.
ReplyDeleteThanks MJT. It always gives me a morale boost to see something broken made useful again. But as I mentioned to Brad, I want to see them on the gaming table!
DeleteMichael