"Perishable figures" Topic

The point is, of course, that metal (& even plastic figures) in my experience are virtually imperishable.

I recently bought about 100 unpainted Newline Napoleonic Prussians from a pal who'd bought them years earlier for an aborted project.

I like Newline but it struck me my purchase in no way helps the company financially. I do know making wargames figures is usually a difficult way to make money & apart from figures thrown away or retired (& like many, I still use "old" figures including my treasured Hinton Hunt vintage figures) whatever is produced stays in the market essentially forever.

I'm sure our various figure suppliers would be far happier if there was a 'use by' date on them.

For some made in the '70s, there was- I lost dozens of 15mm Minifigs to the dreaded " lead-rot"

Perhaps the effective 'use-by' date is determined by the arrival of new, better sculpted and more historically accurate figures…

I suppose that's one way of the lead mountain disappearing :)

I remember a cartoon made during the GREAT LEAD SCARE of the 70's and 80's where the hobby was convinced that figures with lead in them would soon be banned for health reasons. In the cartoon the person boasted of his new line of figures which were totally lead free and completely safe. In the last panel of the cartoon he admits that they are made of cheese. Definitely perishable!

Soft plastics become brittle with age and fall apart. A friend has a collection of Esci Zulus that are gradually disintegrating.

Is 30 years old aged for soft plastics?

Some of mine are this age & doing very well. I expect there's specific factors involved in whether the figures "gradually disintegrate".

I do have one bag of disintegrating plastic figures as a scientific curiosity. They were stored unpainted in an unheated outbuilding for decades and some of the chemical components in the plastic have separated.

My soft plastics, both painted and unpainted, are as good as the day I bought them which in some cases is well over 40 years ago. I couple of tanks have track rot, I should have painted them better. My 'lead' figures from the early 70s are all fine too.

Keep them indoors, in boxes.

I've never lost any figures due to any of these issues (knocks on wood). The few old lead minis I have show no sign of lead rot, and the newer metals seem to be holding up just fine. I don't really game with plastics, so can't speak on them.

The only decay issues I have had are with the painted white jibbas on two hundred Mahdists slowly yellowing over the years. It was an annoyance until I decided it might be due to new fashion directives from Omdurman.

Never had a problem with any of these maladies. Have old Airfix figures almost 50 years old and no problem.

Only one or two figures lost to lead rot but they were unpainted and made of an inferior alloy.

I paint in oils and so the colors remain fast and true for now nigh on 40 years as well. The oil paint (Grumbacher) seems also to be a good proof against lead rot.

I also use Rustoleum white primer as a primer, very lightly applied.

Otto

The most damage I get is due to use.

I have old plastic figs 40-50+ years old. A few are brittle but most are not. Just depends I guess.

Thanks,

John

Well, me and some mates favour "experiencing a true sense of loss' in games by taking your casualty figures and placing them in a burlap bag and beating them with a hammer. This practice has not caught on.

Old Swoppet figures can be very brittle.

Modern paints are benefitting from advances in the chemistry field, so will probably have nearly no problems for at least our lifetimes

I wish I was so optimistic about the Humbrol enamels that were being made in China. I suspect there may be problems with these somewhere down the line as the quality was so variable who knows what was being put into them.