A solution to disappearing noses.
One thing that most annoys me about home casting is the case of the disappearing nose. No matter how well a figure is cleaned up and painted if it does not have a nose it just looks stupid! Fellows who have poor eye sight or just look at figures from a distance might think it not important but for me the 'soul' of a toy soldier is in his face. (Apologies to Lego and Play Mobile soldier collectors whose figures are not meant to have noses and have their own noseless 'look').
Why does this terrible mutation happen? Often the original figure is lacking in the first place. Another reason is the material used. Too much lead in the mix is less kind to detail. Pewter is better. (I have collected and melted down hundreds of pewter cups.)
Recently I congratulated myself in acquiring, at a very reasonable price, some hollow cast Britains hussars and gun out riders. It was only later that I realized that some of the heads were homecast; they did not have noses! My pet hate! Well at least I would not feel any hesitation about repainting the figures.
Then I discovered the solution to noselessness. Games Workshop have long sold two part Green Stuff but now they make a liquid Green Stuff. You can use it to fill gaps around collars when new heads are glued. Best of all make new noses with them! Use an old brush or toothpick and carefully apply a minute spot to the nose area. Slowly withdraw it and your figure will have a nice pointed nose! Don't touch it until it is fully dry and then you can paint it so the poor chap doesn't look like he has gangrene. He certainly won't look like he has had leprosy of the face either!
There are two other less satisfactory solutions I have used previously - disguise and distraction. The disguise option involves using a lighter shade of flesh colour to 'highlight' where the nose should be. In addition subtle 'shading' by adding some red-brown to the mix is used on either side of the non existent nose'. Distraction involves painting a moustache under the nose.
Why does this terrible mutation happen? Often the original figure is lacking in the first place. Another reason is the material used. Too much lead in the mix is less kind to detail. Pewter is better. (I have collected and melted down hundreds of pewter cups.)
Recently I congratulated myself in acquiring, at a very reasonable price, some hollow cast Britains hussars and gun out riders. It was only later that I realized that some of the heads were homecast; they did not have noses! My pet hate! Well at least I would not feel any hesitation about repainting the figures.
Then I discovered the solution to noselessness. Games Workshop have long sold two part Green Stuff but now they make a liquid Green Stuff. You can use it to fill gaps around collars when new heads are glued. Best of all make new noses with them! Use an old brush or toothpick and carefully apply a minute spot to the nose area. Slowly withdraw it and your figure will have a nice pointed nose! Don't touch it until it is fully dry and then you can paint it so the poor chap doesn't look like he has gangrene. He certainly won't look like he has had leprosy of the face either!
There are two other less satisfactory solutions I have used previously - disguise and distraction. The disguise option involves using a lighter shade of flesh colour to 'highlight' where the nose should be. In addition subtle 'shading' by adding some red-brown to the mix is used on either side of the non existent nose'. Distraction involves painting a moustache under the nose.
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