A quick dip! Washing off any possible mould releasant using detergent or washing up liquid, then ready to dry for priming and painting.
Previous post on these figures:
These are copies of familiar Matchbox poses. Thin, semi-flat, distorted, shrunk 40mm but not too bad and at just over thruppence each …
First paint of 2026:
After a primer coat in Revell Acrylic Aquacolour Olive Drab or Afrika Braun, here are the first blocking out of colours:
Keeping the paint scheme simple and toy soldier like / style , but I might try a couple with an ink wash.
Paint references – Matt – Revell Acrylic Aquacolour
Boots and wooden rifle – Leather Brown
Khaki webbing, socks, some US trousers, beret – NATO Olive Drab
Gunmetal – Steel / Tar black
Afrika Korps black webbing – Tar black
Flesh – matt Flesh
Uniform colouring guide thanks to good old Airfix’s back of box
(Numbers shown on boxes are Humbrol paints?)
In the days before the Internet, the back of an Airfix box or a catalogue was a very useful uniform colour reference guide.
These first 2026 figures are intended to be or are painted up as sample figures, so I shall use a variety of Olive shades over time.
Likewise uniforms for the Eighth Army and Afrika Korps varied greatly in colour, bleached by the desert sun.
American Troops colouring guide thanks to Airfix ‘back of box’
First paint of 2026, and I hope first of many this year
Blog post by Mark Man of TIN, 3 January 2026
Pound Store Plastic Warriors 