Removing Paint from old figures - before and after

Many old classic Napoleonic figures that I have collected often came heavily layered with old paint and varnish. I have tried various paint stripping methods but have settled on using cheap full strength bleach from my local supermarket.

When using Bleach please make sure you wear protective gloves. I use a glass with good lid.  I allow between 8 and 12 hours depending on how much paint needs stripping and during the bleaching period I shake the jar and check how the stripping is going.

To remove the paint I use a good old stiff tooth brush, washing up liquid and plenty of water. Once the figure is dry I remove any stubborn paint with a fine file.

So how effective is it and is it worth it. I will leave you to judge.

The pictures below show the before and after dipping on this original Hinton Hunt Brunswick Hussar which  is covered in old chipped paint. If a figure is not to bad I would consider a paint rennovation. In this case this figure is beyond paint rennovation.

Having left the figure in bleach and after clean up the figure detail emerges in all its original glory. The detail is impressive and will be delight to paint.

French Voltigeurs

I have had a some Douglas Miniatures French Voltigeurs for a while now. I kept looking them and thinking 'I am not sure about these' as the figure pose looks like a bass guitarist.

Anyway as I don't have any other Douglas figures in my collection, and I as my aim of the collection is a homage to these  classic figures, I decided to see how they would look with some paint slapped on.

The officer is Hinton Hunt figure and he looks at home.  As I use half scale Charge units these 12 figures represent a Light unit of 2 companies. They can be used as a single unit or 2 independent 6 figure companies.

Closer view shows the detail.

And how they would have looked back in the day of black an white photos.

And how they did look back in the day

On Manoeuvre

I have a few items on the painting table but they are not yet finished. Instead I share some views of my classic Napoleonic collection so far.

In all the collection consists of 10 infantry battalions each of 24 figures, 4 cavalry regiments of 12 figures, 6 batteries of artillery with 4 crew. There are also 4 companies of skirmishes each of 6 figures. Finally there are 7 generals and a few odd single figures. 

In all there are 347 figures mostly Hinton Hunt, both original and recasts, Alberken, Les Higgins and Garrison and the odd Rose and Douglas figure.

Wellington and Picton

Over the last few months I have been painting my British and Allies.  As I only had an old Alberken Daddy Hill painted I decided I needed some extra commanders.

I have had original Hinton Hunt Wellington and Picton figures and horses in my to do pile for a while and decided it was about time they got a lick of paint.

I have painted Picton in scarlet rather than black using Hinton Hunts original painting guide, which is available on Clives excellent blog, as a reference.

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Men in Black

The Brunswick Ducal Corps were commonly known as the Black Brunswickers but were also known as the Schwarze Schar (Black Troop, Black Horde, or Black Host) or Schwarze Legion (Black Legion).

Most units in the Corps were dressed in Black and I have completed a paint rennovation unit on a unit of Austrians as the 1st Line Infantry.

The Black Brunswickers earned a fearsome reputation during the Napoleonic wars and took part in several significant battles including the Waterloo campaign and Quartre Bras on 16 June 1815, where the Duke of Brunswick was a fatality wounded.

The flag is hand painted on a old metal coke can.  I found the yellow hard to do using Acyrlic paint as it took multiple coats and has not covered evenly. Perhaps I need to invest in some Humbrol enamel paint for my flags for the main colours.

The Brunswickers will be brigaded with my Nassau Battalion.

I have a unit, of what looks like original, Hinton Hunt Brunswick Hussars in a bleach bath at the moment so you can expect to see some more Men in Black soon.

Currently on the painting table are the Duke of Wellington and General Picton as well a paint renovation of 12 old Douglas French Voltigeurs

Royal Horse Artillery

Finished some British Royal Horse Artillery this morning.  These are recast Hinton Hunts figures and the artillery pieces are 6 Pounders from SHQ.  The SHQ pieces are nice models and work well with HH figures.

I used Vallejo Dark Prussian Blue for the jackets as I like the shade.  In fact 90% of my paints are Vallejo. There are a few exceptions however I the quality and consistency of their paint much better than other options. They are also readily available in my local Boyes.

British Lifeguards - finished

I have now finished the remaining 6 figures to finish my British Life Guards.

The command figures are Newline mounted on Hinton Hunt Horses. They fit very well indeed.  I might have to buy a few more command figures. Extra trumpeters can have the hand and trumpet cut off and used to convert one piece castings into trumpeters.

I have also started painting 8 RHA recasts. I will be using SHQ 6pdrs with these figures.

I did have a original RHA crew but these are now part of  Strykers collection.