A few years ago, I bought 1 pack of NPF1 (napoleonic French infantry) just to try out.
I painted and based 24 of them and they look fine, but the 6 that I did not paint have languished in a box, but now that I want to paint some more, I have found that the 6 figures are quite tarnished, sort of blackened or blue'ing.
I have an Austrian and French army (still in their army packaging) and they are fine.
Does anyone know what has happened to these 6 figures? can they be painted up used without any treatments?
They have been stored in a normally centrally heated home.
Thanks in advance.
Sounds like a very slightly different ratio mix in the alloy, Norm.
I've seen 'blue/black' figures only a few days after they've been cast.
It's simply shown up over time......One of the 'metal's' has tarnished (?)
Should be absolutely fine.....Just treat them as normal.
Doesn't sound like 'lead rot', where it's possible to see a fine white powder over the model.
I'd just undercoat one....and just see 'if it looks normal' to start with.
I'm sure it will.
Cheers - Phil
Norm, as Techno says it doesn't sound bad at all. Before you prime any of the figures I would advise that you give them a gentle wash with warm water and washing up liquid, and of course rinse them off afterwards. Then it will just be a case of priming them as per normal. (Depending on the the actual figures I would give a very gentle brush with a soft toothbrush whilst washing them, just to make sure to get into any crevices on the figure - but obviously if you decide to do this be gentle, thesee are only 10mm and not 32mm figures! ;) )
The actual colour change by the way is likely to be a slight oxidation of some of the tin in the metal alloy compound, this is not disasterous at all for wargaming figures generally.
I will be worried if you find white powder on the surface and details.
I had some pendraken samuria apes with dark tone and always and they are OK
Is the white on minis really "rot" (lead oxide possibly :-\), can you remove it and does it affect the mini?
Getagrip - Yes, when white appears it is invariably lead oxide, which is a chemical change in the lead where it binds with oxygen, it is akin to rusting of iron (iron oxide).
Generally when the lead oxidises it will only occur initially at the surface, but on very poor castings of course which may be porous then 'air' can be trapped inside the figure even after painting (which can seal the figure from contact with the air and therefore oxygen), in such cases oxidation can continue, but this generally will only occur in poor quality modern figures or of course in older figures where quality control was far less stringent.
If you should have a figure that shows signs of oxidation wash the figure thoroughly with some detergent, rinse well, and when thoroughly dry seal the figure with primer, this should prevent any further 'noticably' oxidation occurring subsequently. Washing the figure removes the dust and gives a solid surface for the primer to attach to, which as I say will seal the figure, and also of course provide the surface for the paint to attach to. If the oxide is more than just a surface covering, like a light layer of dust, then it is best just to bin the figure as unfortunately most of the surface detail will have been severely affected and in essence you would be painting a blob of lead.
With the blue/black tarnishing this rarely will occur deeply and will nearly always only be on the very surface of the figure, but also it will feel solid and not appear as a dust as occurs with lead.
Hope this helps and reassures at the same time.
Quote from: Fig.ht on 27 March 2015, 09:09:28 PM
Getagrip - Yes, when white appears it is invariably lead oxide, which is a chemical change in the lead where it binds with oxygen, it is akin to rusting of iron (iron oxide).
Generally when the lead oxidises it will only occur initially at the surface, but on very poor castings of course which may be porous then 'air' can be trapped inside the figure even after painting (which can seal the figure from contact with the air and therefore oxygen), in such cases oxidation can continue, but this generally will only occur in poor quality modern figures or of course in older figures where quality control was far less stringent.
If you should have a figure that shows signs of oxidation wash the figure thoroughly with some detergent, rinse well, and when thoroughly dry seal the figure with primer, this should prevent any further 'noticably' oxidation occurring subsequently. Washing the figure removes the dust and gives a solid surface for the primer to attach to, which as I say will seal the figure, and also of course provide the surface for the paint to attach to. If the oxide is more than just a surface covering, like a light layer of dust, then it is best just to bin the figure as unfortunately most of the surface detail will have been severely affected and in essence you would be painting a blob of lead.
With the blue/black tarnishing this rarely will occur deeply and will nearly always only be on the very surface of the figure, but also it will feel solid and not appear as a dust as occurs with lead.
Hope this helps and reassures at the same time.
Don't think that could be any more comprehensive!
Thanks Fight ;)
We did get an odd batch of mould rubbers a couple of years ago that made the figures go a slightly darker colour than normal. We spoke to the rubber suppliers who said it shouldn't cause any problems, but we only used a few of them before switching suppliers. I think a couple of the Nap French, the Samurai Apes and some of the SCW codes were moulded in that rubber.
Fnarr fnarr; he said: "rubber suppliers."
Sorry, I work in a school :-[
Thanks all - I will wash, prime and paint as suggested. The ones already painted seem fine.
Having had figures ranging from bright silver in colour to nearly a blue-black oiled gunmetal colour, I haven't noticed any difference once painted even after several years...
Unless as others have said there's an actual "residue" I doubt there'd be any probs just making sure your primer coat is decently applied?