As anyone who collects and wargames with plastic figures knows, the dread of painting them is always present. All the books tell you to wash the figures in detergent [in order to remove the "release agent" residues from the moulding process]. I have done this with mixed success. I seem to have problems drying them & always seem to end up touching them [thereby re-applying "grease" from my fingers]. Perhaps wearing gloves would help. A friend of mine [who uses a lot of plastics, circa 65-75% of his collection], who is an optician by trade, recommends washing them in a Sodium Bicarbonate solution [this is used in the "trade" to remove grease from contact lenses] and claims he has a good success rate. I find my main problem though, is that they are just too bendy, and end up shedding paint due to flexing. I use the following method: 1) Wash the figs in detergent [more out of habit......? ritual behaviour] just to be on the safe side re release agents. 2) Dry thoroughly [DON'T use any kind of heat source, even the Sun can be a problem.....] usually overnight [somewhere warm but not hot], trying not to touch them. 3) Apply a coat of Gloss polyurethane varnish [the household variety]. This stiffens the figs, & applies a layer which acts like a "key". You do lose some detail, but it helps to toughen up those weak points like bayonets/ankles. Allow to dry. 4) Undercoat with spray paint [car body type] check it's OK + plastics [most are acrylic formula nowadays]. I use black, but strangely have found that white primers seem to adhere to plastic better [even without varnish stage].... 5) Paint figure. Supposedly acrylic's are better, as they were designed for plastics, & are generally more "flexible". In my experience they still flake/rub off......but maybe not so badly as enamels. 6) Varnish. I use gloss polyurethane, but even if you want a matt or semi-gloss finish, it's best to apply a coat of gloss first. It is supposed to produce a more matt finish anyway, using a gloss varnish first [this does work....believe me]. 7) Basing. Try & mount on the biggest bases the rules allow, & keep the figs away from the edge of the base if possible. Even then, your opponents invariably pick up your wonderfully painted figures by their heads or bayonets......[Oh dear! The paint appears to have come off.....] All I can say is this works for me, and I've had less "shedding" since using this method. I recently had a particularly horrendous episode with some of the old Spencer Smith figures. The chap that now owns the moulds uses a particularly "glossy" kind of plastic [they used to come in a matt "rubbery" brown kind which took any kind of paint!]. I washed them thoroughly & then sprayed them black [impatient trying to save time!] and then watched in horror as most peeled off almost immediately it was dry! After scrubbing [& swearing!] I used the varnish method & it worked! They are still a little more susceptible to "shedding" than "normal" plastics, but if it works with them..... I have read of people using dilute PVA glue as a "skin" instead of varnish, but have no practical experience of this method. Whatever you use, the crucial thing is to remember to try & cut down on the amount of handling they get [big bases/hitting people who pick them up by the head....], that said, I've dropped plastics painted using my method & they 'aint shed.... Back to Frontline Vol. 1 Iss. 2 Table of Contents Back to Frontline List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1999 by Rolfe Hedges This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com