"Life Expectancy for scenic materials etc." Topic

6 Posts

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Yesthatphil	16 May 2012 7:58 a.m. PST
A while back I started re rebasing and refurbishing project on some Zulu Wars stuff. It is ongoing. Inevitably, the figures, paint and such are fine (if not up to the standard I will apply) but the flock and scenic scatter etc. is 'shot to pieces' … faded to a dull brown, dried out and perished. I suspect when it was originally done it might have been thought of as 'permanent'. What do you think? … scenic stuff should be permanent? Should manufacturers give some indication of a 'life expectancy'? Should last 10 years? Should last 25 years? This product might fade? Toy soldiers are for life, not just for Christmas?
Saber6	16 May 2012 8:09 a.m. PST
I have Lichen from the 80's that is still good. As long as no direct sunlight most will last for years
Keraunos	16 May 2012 9:09 a.m. PST
oh cripes, first lead-rot, now static grass rot too. where will it end?
Yesthatphil	16 May 2012 9:35 a.m. PST
Not a sham panic, Keraunos … Just I know the figures and paint are near indestructible … but some of the scenic materials seem to be quite variable. Back in the 70s or whenever, lasting 20 years or so would have looked like forever (longer than the life of wargaming itself, then) … Nowadays, I genuinely don't know … Does army painter/shade glaze/whatever go dark after a decade or so? Meaning our beautiful artwork will actually disappear because we gunked it? Will some flocks perish whilst other last forever? In my previous life generating products for the Construction Industry we put a lot of work into identifying life expectancy (and tuning it to suit the job and the budget), and I'm fully aware that UV, variation in temperature and humidity etc. can be killers. I wonder what wargamers expect from the products they use and I wonder if any manufacturers have thought about what the life expectancy/degradation effects might be? (thinking aloud as I clean away the perished crap from yesteryear) Phil
The Tin Dictator	17 May 2012 9:08 a.m. PST
I seal the base at the same time I seal the figure. I have had very little trouble with faded flock once its sealed. Lichen will dry out but can be revived with humidity most times.
GarrisonMiniatures	17 May 2012 10:09 a.m. PST
Most of the flock on my early 70s/80s figures has faded badly.

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