Problems with Bolt Action / Warlord metal figures

[ARKOUDAKI]

So tonight I was going through my boxes of unpainted figs (and there is a load of them!) and I ended up sorting out my 28mm WW2 collection...while inspecting the figs I found a bunch of the Bolt Action / Warlord metal figures were suffering from a sepia type staining on the metal....is this the start of some sort of lead disease or something else nasty? If so, suggestions for how best to treat this so it doesn't adversely effect the figure and also doesn't spread.

I have a load of Bolt Action figs and the problem doesn't appear to be with the earlier ones (when Hicksie and Co were in charge) but rather the Warlord ones (as they have the Warlord stamp on the bottom of the fig. So is anyone else out there experiencing this problem? I know Dragon models used a load of crappy metal for their 1/72 tanks early on and this lead to all sorts of problems, as they actually started falling apart. So it does happen.

Your thoughts and suggestions welcomed. Thanks in advance.

[mrtn]

I don't think Warlord use lead in their metals, and I can't find any mention of it on the boxes. I'm pretty sure they would say since lead is toxic.
I've seen the yellow staining on a few models and I think it's harmless.

[ARKOUDAKI]

I've seen the yellow staining on a few models and I think it's harmless.

Thanks for your input. Any idea what is causing it? I can clean some of it off with a brass brush but I don't want to undercoat and then paint only to seal in some sort of lead disease....but if this is just a natural yellowing due to the type of metal, that would be different...ideas still welcomed..

[Westfalia Chris]

I also suspect it would be a type of surface reaction due to the metal composition. "Lead Rot" is usually a dull greyish, powdery affair, and AFAIK pretty much a thing of the past. A yellowish tinge might be due to a higher copper content in the alloy, if I am not mistaken. Push comes to shove, you might enquire with Warlord Games via e-mail.

As a final note, I recall a similar "golden tinge" from Games Workshop miniatures made in the US during the 1990s, where they had to eliminate the lead content earlier than they did in Europe (and the UK). Never had a problem with those, but it's only been close to twenty years that I had them, so I don't know if the evil side effects come in after that.

Generally, I think that if you clean it off properly and quickly add an airtight seal on the figure (e.g. a full basecoat), the problem should be alleviated, if not eliminated.

[James Morris]

Warlord do use lead in their casting metal, on the factory tour at the Open Day last year the production manager said it was about 25% lead.  I was surprised it was so high but apparently that's fairly standard.  I've painted a number of Warlord models recently with the tinge you're talking about, I think if you undercoat and seal it it shouldn't be a problem.

[westwaller]

I have it on a few of my Warlord U.S Paras.
I reckon it might be something like a release agent used in/on the moulds. They do seem to have trouble getting their figures out without some serious bending in some cases!!

[sotek486]

This is/was very common with figures that contain a goodly portion of pewter mixed into the lead.  Harmless ... other than being a decent indicator that the particular lead in question has been sitting in the pile for too long