29 December 2022
Airfix figures
Nearly another year gone, doesn't time speed up as you age? I went on a trip down memory lane, mostly because I found the Airfix figures in the bottom of a box. I am sure that most people who wargame of my generation started out with Airfix figures. They were cheap, adaptable and could hold Humbrol enamels to a certain degree. In fact the soft plastic was awful but I digress. I gave myself a challenge to paint what I had found with Vallejo Acrylics and see how I went. I have to be extra careful handling the figures even with a coat of 'Dullcote' lacquer as the paint easily comes off.
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| British Royal horse artillery in movement |
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| Royal Horse Artillery in position |
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| French line infantry |
I still have hundreds of boxes downstairs and still kid myself that one day I'll return to them and try painting them with acrylics. Those that I did paint with enamels were, looking back on it, quite an unpleasant experience. Spending hours waiting for a coat to dry and having to clean brushes in turps to achieve an average result which, as you said, would invariably start to flake after a couple of uses. Your work on them here in acrylics looks terrific, and is almost enough to make me want to give it a go.
ReplyDeleteComing from you Lawrence, that is high praise indeed, thank you.
DeleteWhen there was little choice, Humbrol enamels and turps was the go but as you say using them indoors is/was unpleasant. I feel it is such a shame to have unpainted/mounted figures languishing, ignored. I have sold a few items on Ebay and I have some plastics (Atlantic and Airfix) that I will never paint (ancients) and freebees from Wargames Illustrated (various).
Nice looking French army, lovely Airfix and nice job...Greetings from France!
ReplyDeleteBonjour Phil, merci bien 🤓 Salutations de l'Australie
DeleteNice job on them, but the potential for the paint to flake off is a heartbreaker. I only painted a few artillery crew and a unit of Highlanders back in the day, then abandoned plastic forever! :-)
ReplyDeleteThank you Gonsalvo, modern hard plastic figures are a huge improvement on the airfix ones but there is just something with metal figures that makes them (for me) easier to handle and paint.
DeleteLovely work on these old school soft plastic figures! I'm especially fond of the French line infantry, I tried painting them largely unsuccessfully in enamel paint and moved onto 25mm metal Fantasy figures with slightly better results, if I had to paint them now I think I would prime with something like zinser bin, a shellac based paint that sticks to everything!
ReplyDeleteBest Iain caveadsum1471
Thanks Iain, in the 1970's I used Humbrol enamels (there wasn't much choice) to paint Airfix figures. Now I used Vallejo and finished them with a spray of Dullcote.
DeleteCan never have too many Airfix figs for mine. An evergreen. You have done them proud.
ReplyDeleteThe paint flaking is an old problem that is rectified by proper prep., undercoating, painting and varnishing. It is far less of an issue than silver showing through on metals that have suffered paint chips on/off the tabletop but it's amazing how it persists in people's minds!
Regards, James
Thank you so much for your comment James, I just wanted to go down memory lane and see what I could do 40 odd years on from when I bought them.
ReplyDelete