Friday 22 February 2019

Brunswick Paint Restoration

As part of the recent collection I received was a unit of Brunswick Line Infantry.  On examination they were in fact Austrians recasts that had been paint converted to Brunswickers.

I had a few options with these figures including stripping and painting as either Austrians or again Brunswickers.

Before doing this I thought I would try a quick paint restoration on a single figure to see if I could produce a reasonable finish.

Firstly I get to remove them from their metal bases. I removed the polyfila first and then holding the metal base with a small pair of pliers I gently heated the base on a gas ring. The heat melted the glue, which looked like araldite, and allowed the figure to be gently prised of the base.  We careful the figure gets hot and you need to make sure you don't over heat as there is a risk the figure could melt.

The photos below show the before and after paint restoration and a coat of gloss.  The result looks good enough so  I will do a paint restoration on the unit and add the 1st Brunswick Line to my allied order of battle.




The previous owner had converted a couple of standard bearers which I will use but there were no other commands figures. It just so happens that in my spares box I had an old Kennington Brunswick command pack and I will use these.


They are a close enough and once painted black will fit in nicely.


8 comments:

Stryker said...

Nice job Mark - how long did it take to spruce up the figure?

Mark Dudley said...

Hi Ian

It took about 20 minutes actual painting time. It should be quicker doing the whole unit.

Rob said...

A world of difference between the before and after - spotting that new life can breathed into these figures is a knack, I would've probably not considered doing it. Very nice.

Mark Dudley said...

Hi Rob

Sometimes its better to strip the old paint and start again and others a paint restoration is a better choice.

There have been times when I thought a paint restoration would work only to end up repainting the whole figure.

Wellington Man said...

That is an extraordinary transformation, Mark. I wouldn't know where to start.

Mark Dudley said...

Hi Matt

It was made easier as the uniform and equipment are black so it was a case of a quick tart up the black and then repainting the musket, face, cockade and water bottle. A coat of gloss brings the figure to life.

Aly Morrison said...

They have scrubbed up rather well...
Looking forward to seeing the whole unit...


All the best. Aly

Mark Dudley said...

Hi Aly

Before I get to the Brunswickers I have a 2nd squadron of British Lifeguards and 2 batteries of RHA to finish.