The beauty about unloved but painted wargames figures is that they are usually cheap to buy, unless its some clown who puts them on E Bay and describes them as professionally painted masterpieces.
I always keep an eye out at shows and on the internet, to see if there is something I can buy and re use. I was lucky last year to buy a large amount of Austrian cavalry, which 'were of their time' that is painted but needing a bit of a makeover. There is always a risk that due to age and use, the figures are missing the odd bit off them, usually a tail, musket, or horse's leg.
Anyway, if they are cheap, what have you to lose. As they are pre painted, one can save quite a bit of time, with no undercoating and fixing them to their mounts, and occasionally the original painting just needs a little bit of work. As can be seen in the before and after photographs, the original painted figures weren't too bad, and with a bit of effort look pretty good to me. But then beauty is in the eye of the beholder. All are Hinchliffe figures, which is still one of the best SYW ranges.
I unfortunately missed the AMG game at Partizan, where I had hoped to meet up with various members of the group. In anticipation of the game I eventually missed, I had painted a few commanders for my Irish and French contingent. Maybe they will make an appearance next year, now that a venue and date has been sorted for a weekend of social chatter,drinking and wargaming.
There's always something satisfying about giving old soldiers a new home.
ReplyDeleteSorry about the tardy reply, retirement took over. Youre right Conrad, re cycling old figures does have certain satisfaction.
DeleteThey are not so bad as it seemed on the first view. Maybe you can re-polish them a little bit and take away the glossy effect - well, then they are usable. Good luck!
ReplyDeletePeter
Sorry for the late reply Peter,
DeleteOriginally I was going to matt varnish all my figures, but couldnt find a safe and useable matt varnish. So I returned to a very shiny gloss effect. Some wargamers like it some dont, it does however lift the colours, and cheers me up for some strange reason.
I got quite a lot of these same figures (Cuirassiers and Dragoons) at a bring and buy about 5 years ago for £1 each painted, so I know what you mean. They have a certain charm and their bulkiness means they fit in at a distance with more modern ranges.
ReplyDeleteSorry for the delay Chris,
DeleteHinchliffe sold some good ranges. I know not everyone is enamoured of them nowadays, but the SYW range although small was a very good range.
I like them, they´ve got bags of character.
ReplyDeletePS...tip. Add a Picture Gadget here for your other blog. You can make the Picture linkable, ie; if clicked on it takes you straight to the other blog. You can give the Gadget the same titel "Dont forget to check out my other blog" and it saves copying and pasting the Url ;-D
Makes the blog more noticable as well..up until now I´ve missed it.
Sorry for the delay Paul,
DeleteI will attempt to do as you have kindly suggested, I have never worked out the intricacies of the blogger but it could explain the small [ but perfect ] following.
Thanks again, Robbie.
Well, I really like those figures, as well as the bases and flags...
ReplyDelete