Something bad happened...

[Calimero]

Okay… About seven month ago something bad happened. I was on my way to the neighbour’s house to show him my latest paint work when the box, full of newly painted War of Spanish Succession figures, slipped from my hand and fall onto the street… 

Now I live in Canada and this happened in mars… The figures landed in a mix of snow, mud, sand and small rocks (about the sizes of a figure’s head but apparently much harder…) and they sustain quite a few damages… 

I could show you pictures of the result but, believe me, it’s quite depressing (so much so in fact that I didn’t decide to repair the damages up until now). 

My question is this. How should I do to repair the damages? How do you repair chipped paint on a figure without starting from the beginning again? I wonder how I could make the retouch hold when the bare metal is exposed? I was thinking of painting a black acrylic layer as a primer then paint over with acrylics colors. Would this be enough? Anyone have any tips or comments on what I should do? 

[Geudens]

I'm sorry to hear that...  However, it would perhaps not be a bad idea to post some closeups of the damage.  It would help people here to give the right advice.

Rudi

[Mancha]

I suggest that you put down a basecoat of the color you intend to replace, mixed with a with a little bit of Glass and Tile Medium (or its equivalent).

I love this stuff, and use it as my standard basecoat.  I mix it about equally with any paint color and water.  It clings to smooth surfaces very well, and because it's thick (but thins as it dries), tends to fill chips better than alternatives.  The trick to its use, however, is to allow it to dry for quite a while, about a full day, before you then attempt to paint over it.

Unfortunately, I can't find any links online.  I get it at Michael's craft store, where it's part of those extensive lines of craft paints.  If you're interested, I can take a pic later.

[Cory]

With 28mm figs I usually paint purposeful patches over the damaged spots and give the unit a very impoverished look.

[Calimero]

Hey Rudi! Here are some of the examples of the damages  ;

This is the command stand. Both the flags went off, the officer’s pike bent and three of the four figures unglued from the base…



Quite a few musket were bent and loss paint. The tricorns, bayonet and sword scabbard lost paint too at their tips...



Horses tails and ears suffer too as well as some sword arms and the flagpole (that bent) also lost their paint…



Those two cavalrymen’s horses bent at the legs and one of the riders get off…



This is the kind of chipped paint I got on figures. Not always big area but there’s a lot of them throughout…



Oh, and I forget to mention that I’ve found some paint transfers on the figures too… that make me think of that CSI show! 

[Ramshackle_Curtis]

THe theme and style of the army really reminds me of antique gaming pieces, and I think the chips are quite interesting from an artistic point of view. The chips really "age" the figures nicely.

If I was you I would varnish the models as they are, and be proud that your models show the signs of actual use! Perhaps even artificially "dirty up" the paint schemes instead of retouching them? Tell people the army was owned by Duke Ormand of Gascoiny and dates back 150 years...

[Calimero]

THe theme and style of the army really reminds me of antique gaming pieces, and I think the chips are quite interesting from an artistic point of view. The chips really "age" the figures nicely.

If I was you I would varnish the models as they are, and be proud that your models show the signs of actual use! Perhaps even artificially "dirty up" the paint schemes instead of retouching them? Tell people the army was owned by Duke Ormand of Gascoiny and dates back 150 years...

 

[Geudens]

The tiny bits of paint missing (horse tails etc) I would "patch up", but musket, pikes etc I would scratch the remaining paint of with a sharp X-acto knife & repaint.  I've been there too and that's how I cured it.

Rudi

[Ray Rivers]

Deary me...

That is tragic indeed...

 

[warrenpeace]

That's not so bad, Caliermo. We had a box of WSS figures slide off of a car into gravel when we were packing up after a game one time. Several figures broke or came off the bases.  All that is reparable damage.  Absolutely no need to repaint whole figures at all.

First, I would recommend finding some paint-on accrylic primer in white.  I use this stuff for whole figures sometimes, but also use it when my spray primer doesn't reach some areas.  I've also used it when I had to scape some area of a mini and then repaint part of it.  The paint-on accrylic primer that I use comes in a little glass bottle the size of a Testor's paint bottle, and the stuff might actually be a Testor's product.  You can just paint on a bit of that onto the bare metal bits and then repaint.  I've found that this paint-on accrylic primer is a bit rubbery, and one has to be carefull not to leave bubbles.  I have found that blowing on the areas where the primer has bubbled as it was being painted on removes the bubbles best, but the downside for this application is that the primer will spread beyond where you want it.  I would use a small brush and paint on only as much as is needed to cover the bare spots.

Don't see any unusual or difficult to mix colors on those figures.  Can't even tell if you had them varnished already.  But after repainting and then redoing the varnish those figures should look just fine.

Those Front Rank figures are pretty thick, and I think the metal quality is pretty good.  You should be able to bend back those horses and other bits slowly and carefully and not get any cracks.  The Front Rank figures may not be as bendable as Old Glories, but that might just be because the sculpts are so thick.

For the flagpoles and riders and arms that came loose, I would recommend greenstuff.  Whenever I've popped these kind of things loose (and I have on Front Rank WSS figures), I resort to mixing up some greenstuff.  I scrape the old paint or glue out as best I can from the flagpole and inside of the hand, from the arm and shoulder, or from under the saddle and the top of the horse (other people put paint there originally, not me).  Then I put in a wad of greenstuff of appropriate size and squeeze the parts back together, scraping off any excess greenstuff that comes out around the edges.  Then I use the paint-on accrylic primer described above and then repaint over the contact spots.  If you really want a great bond, you can drill holes in the arm and shoulder and glue in a pin, and do the same with horse and rider.  Brass is not recommended for the pin, as it does not bond with glues, even with the two part epoxy glues and two part epoxy greenstuff.  With the greenstuff you can even sculpt a bit if you need to.  I had a flagpole break off with a part of the ensign's hand.  I used the greenstuff and sculpted (crudely) a new hand around the flagpole. It held and looks good enough to get by on the game table.

Dropping figures is almost inevitable if you game with them.  You can save the paint with a heavy hard gloss coat (what I do), but even multiple dull coats over the top of the gloss coat may not entirely remove all the shine.  That's  OK if you like the old toy shiny toy soldier look, but that's not to many people's taste.

[Bako]

I'm not really familiar with either of the lines mentioned here, however some companies leave the mold releasing agent on the metal. The really large areas of bare metal might have been caused by that if you hadn't washed the metal before using it. It might have also been from a weak bond from the primer you used. I personally don't use varnish beyond gloss(which is used for visors, simulated glass, and making certain parts of tyranids and other monsters appear slick) and I've never had paint chip when dropped. Actually most I've had happen is glued parts break off and the occasional scuff on outer paint layers. Tis a pain paint stripping a mini when I feel it's necessary, because the damn paint won't come off after being soaked in paint thinner for a few days before I take the scrubber to them...

I'm more experienced with dealing with damaged terrain than miniatures though. One of the bad aspects of pets I'm afraid . And yes, I do store my terrain on giant shelves that exist for no other purpose.

[Calimero]

Thanks you all for your advice. warrenbruhn your post is particularly useful. And, Bako Ikaporamee,  that may sound strange but I paint and collect lead figures for quite a few times now and I must admit that I didn’t know, up until recently, that I need to wash metal figures before priming them.   

[Bako]

Not all, but it's a good idea anyways . You're welcome, though, because "knowing is half the battle..." and all that.