I pondered over which title to give this thread as there are many routs I could go down .

After almost a lifetime in this hobby ; some fifty years more than a lot of people manage to stay on the right side of the grass.

I look back at the changes of casting paints and materials which both have moved in leaps and bounds .

Re paints , I changed to oils when Humbrol started messing with paint formulas and eventually lost their way , but even oils have not escaped the medlars , namely with cadmium and chromium colours
and of course Lead and zinc white ; not all for the bad .

Very recent article here on metallics using all sorts of compounds which was the way 20 odd years ago then came along Humbrol rub and buff ' great stuff till they feked with it , new substitute GW metallic which I cant remember the name of , but again more messing and we end up with Leadbelcher a poor substitute for the latter , and of course we have all the golds to deal with now most of which although much better than the ubiquitous Humbrol gold are still far too grainy .
I have managed to master a technique using PD Models (Dino) gold powder and hope to try his silvers with the same results .

Castings ! we have also come a long way in 50 years but even so there are still a few gems of times gone by that really cant be bettered of which I have a couple , Richard Almond and Ray Lamb mounted Dragoon , wish I still had his Cuirassier standing by his horse .

Resin quality has also improved but there is still a lot of not so good stuff kicking around also , Verlinden resin was very good and an Avant Garde leader at one time , even bases are so different from the wooden pastron switch mounts we used to use .

To conclude I am cleaning oot the man cave that has prompted this little nostalgic rant " I have just to many models for this modest Hoose " to many Keyboards ,guitars and all other types of amalgamated shit .

Nice reading Ron.
If you have a decent Yamaha keyboard out of the PSR range, maybe we can talk

marc

The cuirassier and nis neddy are available from Bonapertes mate.
https://www.bonapartesmilitarymodels.co.uk/mfc-2---dismounted-trooper-cuirassiers-18-p.asp

I suppose most of us with a bit of mileage on the clock have seen a few changes in this hobby - many of them I think
have been for the better. (We'll draw a veil over the few that haven't).

I'm a bit concerned about this need to tidy things, Ron, - I'm told that it's something that comes upon us with age and
an awareness of mortality. Us 'veterans' should resist this insidious impulse and revel in our glorious welter of 'stuff
and clutter'. Personally, I can match you with figures and paint but instead of the keyboards and what have you, with
me it's model trains and radio controlled aeroplanes and all the associated nonsense that goes with them. I am gradually
sinking in stuff and thoroughly enjoying it.

Mike

What I do have which needs to go is a Korg O1WFD Midi with built in 16 track sequencer

Yea but is the quality still there after all these years " lamb was a master of metallurgy re this hobby"

I forgot to mention all the fishing stuff and associated fly tying gear and as for power tools , that mania still goes on as battery power has even made big inroads into the more heavy weight division coupled with interchangeable batteries allowing purchase for what they call here naked bodies ; at a great reduction in price .

Way to go.............. !!!!!!!!

Yup.

Verlinden’s resin got a little less smelly when he moved his operation from Belgium to the USA.
Must have been a big disappointment for some.......

I second that emotion....Enjoy what you got while you can......No matter how old you are "No one is guaranteed tomorrow and today's not over yet".

AAAHHH Where are Rose Miniatures gold, silver, bronze ... powders ....

Well, I have still got, and use, Rose Antique gold powder, plus Campaign Colours gold and silver powders. Many years ago I was given two shades of Printers Gold paste by the late,great Jim Woodley( flats artist). All these metallics work well and mix with oil paint.

Alan

Back in the seventies at one of the shows, I met a chap who introduced me to sintered metal powder. In exchange for a packet of
sandwiches - he'd forgotten to bring any - he gave me some little jars of iron, brass, copper, and zinc. I still have them and use them
regularly Mixed carefully into the appropriate base colour oil paint and then gently burnished with graphite dust to enhance the
specularity, the effect is just right for me.

Mike

Never liked them but they were a good option in a very sparse market .
Pd Models Aka Dino is where its at today : albeit he is a little feker who loves to crush your hand on a handshake but his stuff like his bases are superb .

I never used those, but I am a fan of Gammage's figures. I still collect and paint his Imperial Germans, and his Seven Years War 54mm figures.

Prost!
Brad

A propos of the spirit of this thread...



Prost!
Brad