| Carillon | 19 Oct 2008 8:10 p.m. PST |
I just found a box of my old Polly S acrylics that have been packed away for years. I fully expected them to be dried out hard as a rock, or at best a leathery goo, but no, most of them were still just like new. Some had never been opened and with the others, I had always been careful to keep the top of the jar clean and the lid properly closed. Looking at them again after so long, I'm reminded of all the great shades they had available straight from the bottle that matched 18th century dye colors really well. Some were from their military line and others were from their fantasy line. Wow, I think I started buying these paints in the late 1980s or early 90s. Could it really be that long ago. This is like finding wine from 450 BCE in an amphora at the bottom of the Med that's still drinkable. |
| John the OFM | 19 Oct 2008 8:22 p.m. PST |
You lucky dog.
Oh, for a brand new bottle of Ogre Dark Brown! There is NO paint out today that is the equal of Polly S. Don't even talk to me about Polly-Scale. |
| Carillon | 19 Oct 2008 9:03 p.m. PST |
Yes, Ogre Dark Brown! Excellent. There's also a light blue shade, with just a hint of green. I think it's a World War One aircraft color. It also happens to be a nearly perfect match for woolen cloth that has been dyed light blue with woad or indigo. Just right for the WSS mounted Bavarian grenadiers I'm working on. Guess I'd better be careful with it. Not a good time for a spill. (Not that there's ever a good time.) |
| Ivan DBA | 19 Oct 2008 9:47 p.m. PST |
I certainly miss Demon Deep Red. Polly S, we hardly knew ya! |
 Der Alte Fritz  | 20 Oct 2008 6:56 a.m. PST |
Demon Deep Red is an awesome crimson color – there is nothing like it on the market. Bugbear Fur Brown was another useful light brown color. I used their figure flat mixed with black paint to make a marvelous wash. |
Lee Brilleaux  | 20 Oct 2008 7:00 a.m. PST |
All my British colonials in khaki were painted in Bugbear Fur Brown (War Office issue 1884) |
| John the OFM | 20 Oct 2008 7:15 a.m. PST |
I won a painting competition at a Philadelphia area con,WAY BACK. Gen-Con East maybe?
I won it with Minifigs Zulus.
After the presentation, I was just standing around, beaming, when a black dude started enthusing over them. I was desperately hoping he would NOT ask me how I got the flesh tones. I used Armoury Nubian, with a wash of Ogre Dark Brown…
Ah, for those old non-PC days! At least I didn't use Mongolhide. |
| nycjadie | 20 Oct 2008 7:52 a.m. PST |
I miss those Polly S paints. The hues were very rich. I'm not as nostalgic as you guys are, though. The coverage, as I remember, was streaky at best. |
 Mserafin | 20 Oct 2008 2:18 p.m. PST |
Streaky, yes, but if you are a stain painter and willing to do multiple coats, there wasn't anything better. I still have a few redoubtable bottles of the stuff going strong, hopefully they'll last to the ends of the projects I've been using them for. |
| Lord Hypnogogue | 20 Oct 2008 3:46 p.m. PST |
Ahhh, my very first miniature paints. |
 Wolfshanza | 20 Oct 2008 7:29 p.m. PST |
"I certainly miss Demon Deep Red." Ah feel yer pain !  A great dramatic color ! |
| Jeigheff | 21 Oct 2008 5:01 a.m. PST |
Polly S made a really good-looking medium blue paint (I forget its name); I liked Bugbear Brown and the others fantasy colors too. Does anyone know what happened? |
| John the OFM | 21 Oct 2008 7:54 a.m. PST |
Does anyone know what happened?
As I recall it, there were "environmental issues" with the Canadian production facility.
But, I could be totally wrong. I found a nearly empty bottle of Hobgoblin Dark Gray, just in time to paint my Finns. Great both as a stain and a base coat for drybrushing. There may be just enough left to finish another Finnish platoon. There was a French aircraft blue that I loved for my FIW French. |
| Carillon | 21 Oct 2008 8:02 p.m. PST |
I remember the first time I heard of these paints or saw someone using them was many years ago at a gaming/hobby shop in Schenectady, New York (USA), called Armadillo Games. (Anybody remember that place?) The guy on duty, maybe the owner, was painting German micro armor with Polly S paints, and, get this, I remember thinking, "Wow, those are kind of thick. Maybe too thick?" Fast forward to now when most paints come out of the bottle as a wash. I guess you don't know what you've got until it's gone, huh. Whenever people speculate about time travel, they always say, "Well, if you go back in time, you can't change anything because you'll wipe out your own and everyone else's future." But in this case, picture me saying to myself to heck with all that, as I carry my CASE of assorted Polly S paints out to my car instead of the small bag of maybe six bottles. |
| Chuckaroobob | 22 Oct 2008 8:18 p.m. PST |
I still have a bunch of them, they've always been my favorites. |
| Bob Faust of Strategic Elite | 14 Nov 2008 6:48 p.m. PST |
The secret ingredient in Polly S paint was latex. That's why it goes to goo in the jar. Gotta be sure to thin them down or they look 'chunky' when dried on the model. |
| DanLewisTN | 22 May 2010 5:18 p.m. PST |
I really need some Bug Bear Fur. I used that color as one of two accent colors for my North Africa terrain. If only I could find a paint swatch to I could match it to something else. |
| Blue in VT | 20 Jul 2010 9:42 a.m. PST |
I still use mostly Polly S paints. I started acquiring there paints in the late 80's and early 90's…when I was playing WFB. When I heard they were closing I quickly found supplier who sold me 6 bottles of flesh, Dragon Blue, Slime Green, Hippogriff Yellow, and a number of others. I promptly quit painting and put them away. Well I'm just getting back into wargamming and opened the box to find they are in perfect condition…not a one has dried out…I'm really enjoying using these vintage paints again! Cheers, Blue |
