Blue Box/Elite Command Rommel repaint? (2 Viewers)

[Rediarmor]

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I found a cheap set of German Soldiers today, complete with Field Marshal Rommel. The Soldiers were not that impressive, but the figure of Rommel has potential. See the pic below then I will say what I want to do, and await your opinions.

My intention was to add some paint, mainly on all flesh areas, them perhaps a touch-up to weapons & webbing. The hands of these figures seem far too big, and in the case of Herr Rommel, I was thinking of "painting" leather gloves. The Soldiers however, would need their hands filing down. When finished, I would varnish these as I prefer gloss. I just want opinions as to whether it is worth the trouble, as this set looks very "toy-like". I was quite impressed with the Rommel figure, here is a close-up:-

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[theBaron]

Blue Box figures were decent enough. They were made in the PRC, don't know if they were cast by King-White before they went under or by another factory, but they are classic examples of "the Chinese Style", along with King-White/Reeves. Blue Box made the set you have, along with a set of GIs, with an Eisenhower figure, I think, and I also recall seeing a British Army set with Monty. They also produced 2 Napoleonic sets, with Napoleon and Wellington in their respective boxes, 2 Civil War sets, with Grant and Lee, and a set of Romans with Julius Caesar and 3 legionaries. The WWII, Civil War and Napoleonic sets were available separately, and also packaged in a folding box, like a book. If I've erred in any of this, or if there's more to add, please feel free to expand, my colleagues!

You wouldn't be ruining anything of any great value, if you stripped the Rommel figure and repainted him. I usually see any of the Blue Box sets for sale around $10 on eBay and at shows, which is a good price.

Prost!
Brad

 

[Rediarmor]

Thanks Brad. I only paid 3.50 GBP so there is not much of a gamble. I just think that in this case, the painting lets them down. I just didn't want to go to a lot of trouble to find that they still looked like something out of a nursery! I have seen some fantastic examples of painting improving figures on here, but even if I am not happy with the result, I would probably make a mould out of the Rommel figure. Thanks again.

 

[theBaron]

Sure thing! I think you'd be able to strip them and get very nice results by repainting them. You can pay attention to details the factory painters couldn't.

I look forward to seeing a painting blog thread here, if you do, prosit!
Brad

 

[Rediarmor]

Thanks Brad. I start a new job tomorrow, so the timing is bad. It has also been a few years since I painted anything requiring reading glasses, I may dig out some old ones & have a practice.

 

[Rediarmor]

Just to finish this thread, here is a finished pic. I am happy with most of the work, and paint worked wonders. The hands were too big, so in all but one case, I applied black gloves. The rifles are good, but the hands are geared up for pistol-grips, not a lot I could do about this.