For a starter blog post, it's probably the most interesting title. It's also probably one of the most accurate titles I can come up with.
So, I've been given a commission by one of my friends to rescue his Skitarii Kataphron Battle Servitors. He put a spray coat on it years ago, but now wants them to be painted up to tabletop level. Sure!
Let me introduce them:
It's kind of safe to say that we are very definitely in need of some TLC here. And red isn't necessarily their best side.
Realistically, the best way I can put a nice, shiny new coat of paint on these is to strip them. It's not something I've really done too much of; this is my first proper rescue and in general I just throw paint at nice, shiny new models and hope it sticks.
Deciding how to strip these was a voyage into excitement. I've had meths recommended (FUMES), researched acetone (this melts plastic so is a terrible, terrible idea), Simple Green (I'm British, so that threw that one out) and finally hit upon gold. I hoped. Dettol. Dettol is an antiseptic disinfectant, so it's safe to throw down the sink.
Method decided, I raced out to Asda. Where the Holy Elixir was perchased, along with a couple of toothbrushes and a pot deep enough for one of these big guys. Putting all six into a bucket together wouldn't be the best of plans. There's not enough space for the Dettol to remove the paint, plus that would require a rather unholy amount and this is not cheap. Once back in my kitchen, I began the experimentation. Let's put it this way. I'm very, very glad this is my kitchen so the only person I can get mad with is myself.
First in was the assorted weapons. I didn't break them off! They came separately as he's still not sure what weapons he wants, so I'll paint all of them to give them his choice. Thankfully, my terrible decision making processes that always lead me to the Chinese takeaway in town means I have plenty of little pots to throw Dettol and guns into, a sentence I thought I would never have to write. I put all of the weaponry into a tub, then poured in enough Dettol to cover them. Finally, I put a lid on it and put it somewhere I wouldn't knock it over in the inevitable search for a midnight snack. This stuff starts working almost immediately, the paint started coming off after a couple of minutes.
Next up, a sacrificial Kataphron was chosen and given a thorough wash and dry. Due to their size, no mere takeaway tub would do. So, I have sacrificed a soup tub to the Omnissiah. Besides, Dettol's meant to be a disinfectant, right? My nicely clean mini was then put into the pot and covered with Dettol. After learning that plastic miniatures float and improvising a solution with a penny and a cleanish stone, I put the lid on that too, made sure it was labelled to avoid a disaster (I am not good when I am asleep) and went to bed.
Next morning, I raced into my kitchen to find two things:
My kitchen smelt like a hospital.
Something had actually happened.
The Dettol had actually started to remove the paint. So, off I went to the sink armed with a teeny, tiny flamethrower (I think), a toothbrush and washing up liquid. This is where things started to go slightly sideways.
First up: Never try to wash the Dettol off with straight water. It gunks up immediately and good luck getting it off, like, ever. It also goes all over your hands, clothes, floor, sides, books and the Omnissiah himself. When this is red paint, the impression this can leave is not... good...
Disaster somewhat over and at least removed from anything stainable, I started again. This time, I used washing up liquid to scrub everything with and that caused far less of a scene of devastation. Then, I came upon my other two problems:
My toothbrush is not stiff enough to get into little recesses
It looks horribly like that red spray has stained the plastic.
So, with four out of tenish weapons completed, I've made the decision to try again tomorrow. I'll stop at Asda (again...) for a stiff toothbrush later. For now, I have shown my displeasure to the Omnissiah by putting His Kataphron Battle Servitor back in the Dettol to continue soaking. Upside down this time, because apparently that solves the whole floating problem - he still floats, but at least the whole mini is submerged.
