Thursday 28 September 2017

Lead Rot rears its ugly head.......again....


Today's project (day off, woke up early, got up early) was to be finishing off a bunch of old Citadel Medieval archers from back in the day....1982 to be precise. Good old Citadel lead. I based and undercoated these about 8 years ago...possibly longer and have recently been following a painter (George Hatzopoulos) doing incredible work with some Claymore Castings French Medievals.....(pics borrowed off his Facebook page).....I was enthused!



Whilst I am not in George's league, I do enjoy my painting and was looking forward to some production line technique in order to get a bunch completed........imagine my surprise when I was faced with this.....



When I tried to clean them up it became obvious they were beyond saving....the undercoat had not protected them from moisture or acid vapour from the wooden drawer? Maybe I'd used PVA adhesive to attach them to the bases - PVA contains vinegar I believe - or even using the DIY filler for groundwork as that contains PVA. Who knows........the jury is out on the cause of the 'rot' and I have read many interesting articles / debates on how to prevent / restore etc. Suffice to say I knew these poor castings were beyond redemption......each scrape of the knife let loose a plume of lead (carbonate?) dust......not something to be taken lightly. 

The offending drawer.............it has featured in a previous post on the same subject so I will be losing these drawers forthwith.....



and grouped ready for the ultimate dismissal.....


Fortunately Wargames Foundry have them all re-released in fine new metal here (sample pic borrowed off their site for illustrative purposes only!)


I shall now go and make a cup of tea and then return to the mess that is my painting table......



4 comments:

russkymc said...

It probably is that drawer. The adhesive used in the plywood is probably the culprit. Perhaps a good coat of wood sealer could fix it? I feel your loss..

Gareth said...

A sad loss. I try and keep my lead in plastic tubs until painted and sealed, when they go into foam trays. I still worry though - there are plenty of horror stories such as yours on the 'net!

Andyroo said...

Sorry to see the mess you've been left with.

Over the years, I've stored bits in all makes and type of cases, drawers, tins, filing boxes etc and never been bitten to date (throwing ones self into a pile of wood). I only use superglue for fixing figures to bases but use PVA and wood glue for flock and stones but even the old old figure 10+ years that have been under coated and forgotten survived.

I wonder if it's the original mix of materials rather than just the storage method? Problem is everyone I've talked to keeps similar models in the same place (why would you not) so I've never been able to prove or disprove this pet theory of mine... we need one of the forums to create a database of where they are stored and what they where... I'll stick a survey up on Lead Adventure later this week as a starter for ten.

David Wood said...

I am slowly moving everything into plastic boxes. Look forward to the survey on LAF ADB.