"Repaint or Move On?" Topic

Do you repaint old miniatures or keep moving on to paint new ones? I've heard it both ways.

Repaint or Move On? – The Over the Hill Gaming Blog

I keep my miniatures playable.

I've been rebasing all my old integral base miniatures with newer bases (consistent with modern slot bases) and flocking. This alone improves their look even if the paint job is mediocre.

I also repair old miniatures: replace broken weapons, re-attach broken limbs, etc. If they are chipped or the repair needs touch up, I may improve an old block painting job with shading, blacklining, or highlighting.

Sometimes I repaint and fix bayonets, etc.

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Also a repaint and fix mostly – some I have moved on to friends but I have some minis that have been with me for 40 years

Repaint some of my very first minis, mostly rpg minis. Now if I see a unit I'm really not happy with the paint job I'll sell them off, too many bare minis to start on.

I seldom repaint and only for a few minis. Actually, I don't have any of the figs I painted when I first started gaming. I was in my 30's and now I am in my 70's.

Sculpts not up to standard--sometimes clunky, sometimes not really up to scale--got replaced and passed on. Beyond that, usually the worst looking unit or two is placed aside for work after a game. I can top Frederick, by the way: some of my 30's have been with me over 50 years. I suppose they're 28's now.

Completely depends on the mini. If it is something old, rare, & cool, strip & repaint. If it is something that is simply old (but still available), refurbish. If it is something not unique or OOP, buy another.

FREX. I sometimes buy "Classic" eea (i.e. '80s) GW minis, for nostalgia & because this was my favorite era of GW. Those get stripped & repainted as they are OOP. Sometimes I pick up classic Ral Partha minis. They are still in production, so I buy new & paint. Sometimes I get classic Grenaider minis, it depends on the source (a while ago Julie Guthrie's range was still in production; I don't know the status now).

Damon.

I've done repaints and even strip an paint again. It all comes down to the figure. A lot of my figures are from the 1970/80's. I've added to the collection over the years and sometimes I just match my old style.

I don't think that I've ever repainted aything.

+1 79th PA

I never repaint anything,the occasional touch up notwithstanding. I have some of Duke Seifried's old 25mm Hoplites that I painted in 1976 still in service. I&R paints, lead rot or glosscoat, nothing keeps these veterans from answering the call to arms. Having the Old Gang around reminds of when I was first starting out; I have more empathy for people just beginning to paint and collect an army when I look at where I was all those years ago when I entered the hobby. Besides I have something on the order of 20K more minis to paint before I can start repainting anything!

I sometimes repaint old stuff. If it is very old (40+ years) then it definitely gets a repaint, or at least a touch up/highlight, if I'm rebasing or whatever.

I don't bother stripping. Just slap the paint on, they are wargaming pieces, not Rembrandt.

As noted above, a consistent basing job hide. S even the worst paint jobs on the table.

I do not repaint old miniatures. Tools and techniques evolve so
I move on.

I do strip current projects if I am not happy with a color selection etc. This is usually the test model.

I do repairs and touch up the inevitable battle damage but I don't repaint with one exception: a couple of years ago I started to strip and repaint my old 1970's vintage fantasy figures, originally painted in garish enamels but cool old minis nonetheless. I'm about half way through the pile…

Restore & repaint. Too expensive to replace old minis, and it is just wastage to throw them out when they could be refurbished…

I sometimes strip and repaint.

I am currently repainting my old Airfix Romans, which I originally painted in the wrong colours. Much cheaper than buying 120 new 28mm figures, which gives my wife less to complain about.

And I am putting them on thicker bases so the head height becomes similar, reducing the visual difference with my other armies in 25mm.

I repainted a 25mm figure about one or two years after initial painting for a friend to use in a roleplaying game. This was within the first 5 years or so of me being into the hobby.

I regret it to this day.

When I started my 10mm ACW project last year, I experimented with three different techniques on three different Old Glory infantry strips. One came out really dark; I didn't repaint because it is perfectly serviceable as a game piece, and I didn't want to waste the time (this was like strip number 2 of what would become 487 strips!!).

I also like being able to see the progress of painting techniques and styles: sometimes you want to see how you used to do things as time goes by.

So, I'm strongly in the "do not repaint" camp.

Touch-up/restore, ok. Repaint? No. (except for what Dagwood mentions above).

Edit: I won't hesitate to strip the paint off a mini I didn't paint (like an eBay purchase just for the sculpt, etc.).