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BeAfraid,

Did you try talking to the person who you re-aquired your model from on eBay? That person may have a lead on who they bought, and may be a place to start tracking back depending on how many people remember where they got the model from.

 troa wrote:
BeAfraid,

Did you try talking to the person who you re-aquired your model from on eBay? That person may have a lead on who they bought, and may be a place to start tracking back depending on how many people remember where they got the model from.

He got it from a guy at a convention. Have not been able to track backward further than that.

MB

My name is Eric. I go by MagickalMemories pretty much everywhere.
I'm an Admin on Bartertown. You should join there and check our discussion forums. We have a few people who are pretty big into collecting old models (esp. GW.40K). There's a thread there titled "That Mini" (or something). You can ask there. The collectors spend a lot of time in that thread. Someone might be able to offer help or leads.

Eric

 MagickalMemories wrote:
My name is Eric. I go by MagickalMemories pretty much everywhere.
I'm an Admin on Bartertown. You should join there and check our discussion forums. We have a few people who are pretty big into collecting old models (esp. GW.40K). There's a thread there titled "That Mini" (or something). You can ask there. The collectors spend a lot of time in that thread. Someone might be able to offer help or leads.

Eric

Thanks.

This and the Oldhammer forums should help to maybe locate one or two of the most distinctive miniatures ( such as the metal Warlord Titans - the ORIGINAL metal Warlord Titans that were never offered for sale - I had many of them, but only two painted), assuming that the miniatures did not wind up being sold as metal scrap... Which would make me terrifically sad.

MB

I hope you find them as well. I hope the person that bought the locker didn't mistake them for a collection of army men or something along those lines and just dispose of them.

Well, the fact that he backtracked at least one model and found it physically, tells us that they were distributed and broken up as a collection.

Apart from that, maybe hiring a private detective could help? Some of them are not that expencive to hire either.

 triplegrim wrote:
Well, the fact that he backtracked at least one model and found it physically, tells us that they were distributed and broken up as a collection.

Exactly. If they were sold for scrap they would have all just been disposed of at once. While it is often a logical error to extrapolate from one instance and make generalizations about it, the existence of one piece of the collection should probably be seen as evidence that at least part of it exists and that it is no longer together. If the search is ever abandoned, I think it would be reasonable to assume that a great many different people are now enjoying the miniatures, perhaps across the country or even the whole world.

SECOND MINIATURE JUST RECOVERED



http://www.ebay.com/itm/281578039639?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2650&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Caveats

1) The miniature has been re-based.
2) The miniature has been re-sealed using what looks to be semi-gloss or gloss sealer (I would have NEVER used anything but a matte sealer)
3) The Miniature was among the first I ever painted (in my first couple of dozen, dating to around 1979/80). So the paint job is very sloppy, and not what I would later be capable of, but it does reflect a style that I would carry through to later, better executed examples.

Other Information

1) I will be re-basing him as the original miniatures were based, so that he might serve as an example of what my earlier work looked like
2) There is a SMALL possibility that he came from a small number of miniatures that were left with a friend in a plastic case, but I cannot recall. Wherever he came from, I am pleased to see his return.



MB

BeAfraid wrote:


SECOND MINIATURE JUST RECOVERED



http://www.ebay.com/itm/281578039639?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2650&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Caveats

1) The miniature has been re-based.
2) The miniature has been re-sealed using what looks to be semi-gloss or gloss sealer (I would have NEVER used anything but a matte sealer)
3) The Miniature was among the first I ever painted (in my first couple of dozen, dating to around 1979/80). So the paint job is very sloppy, and not what I would later be capable of, but it does reflect a style that I would carry through to later, better executed examples.

Other Information

1) I will be re-basing him as the original miniatures were based, so that he might serve as an example of what my earlier work looked like
2) There is a SMALL possibility that he came from a small number of miniatures that were left with a friend in a plastic case, but I cannot recall. Wherever he came from, I am pleased to see his return.



MB

Fantastic news! Hopefully you'll catch a few of yours in one place, but a model at a time ain't bad considering the length of time.

Good news that you found one of them. Looking at the listing, I am amazed you could recognize it as your own paintjob (especially after so many years). I think it is also worth noting that the seller is in California, so it didn't travel very far from home. Maybe the seller can provide you with some more information about where they got it.

Congratulations! I hope the seller can shed some light on where he got it from.

BeAfraid wrote:


SECOND MINIATURE JUST RECOVERED
...
2) There is a SMALL possibility that he came from a small number of miniatures that were left with a friend in a plastic case, but I cannot recall. Wherever he came from, I am pleased to see his return.

Awesome stuff. Hopefully you'll come across another one that you know was in the storage unit so you can at least be sure they weren't melted down and turned into shotgun pellets or something.

thechosen1 wrote:
OP, why didn't you press charges? If you had acquired all those minis before your marriage, then they are not marital property and thus she had no right to take them.

actually depending on state law, and in most states, it all falls under marital property. He pretty much has zero legal recourse short of the devorce judge telling her to return them. Kind of like you had a house before you got married, then you get divorced and now SHE has the house. It sucks, but that's how it is.

OP, I know its not much, but the fact that you have gotten two back is a small glimmer of hope. I am cheering for you, and hope you get back as much as you can!

Now it will be interesting to hear what the seller can tell you about where it is from.

My tip would be to not tell him the whole sad story, but just tell him you painted these professionally back then, and would love to track down the entire set.

 Tannhauser42 wrote:
Good news that you found one of them. Looking at the listing, I am amazed you could recognize it as your own paintjob (especially after so many years). I think it is also worth noting that the seller is in California, so it didn't travel very far from home. Maybe the seller can provide you with some more information about where they got it.

We are contacting eBay together.

The seller bought it off eBay about six years ago.

So eBay (Google) will still have the listing on file somewhere.

But from the sounds of things, the previous owner had re-based all of my miniatures on GW plastic bases (which makes me insane, considering how well I had based them).

Of course, since Grendel was one of my earlier miniatures, I may not have completed basing him as I has my later miniatures (those painted after 1985).

As for recognizing it....

The hair and spikes are something that I recall being especially unhappy with, and I kept forever planning to re-paint those parts.

But otherwise.... My painting style is very distinctive, and easily recognized (by me, and a few others who are intimately familiar with it).

If you look at the miniature, you will notice that I do not use a dark primer, and that I do not use hugely contrasting black-lined detail, which is typical of the GW standard painting tutorials.

If I had painted this guy again after 1985, I would have spent more time on a wet-to-dry-brush blending on the flesh, which currently only has a wash and one color drybrush (from when I was young and lazy). It is that single-wash and drybrush that sets off my miniatures, as well as a color pallet that deviates from available paints (I always mixed my own paints at Heritage and Genesis, who were the Industry Standard in paints through the 1980's).

MB


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 triplegrim wrote:
Now it will be interesting to hear what the seller can tell you about where it is from.

My tip would be to not tell him the whole sad story, but just tell him you painted these professionally back then, and would love to track down the entire set.

As I mentioned... I have contacted the seller, and told him most of what happened.

He is willing to help track down the original seller on eBay.

MB


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 frozenwastes wrote:

BeAfraid wrote:


SECOND MINIATURE JUST RECOVERED
...
2) There is a SMALL possibility that he came from a small number of miniatures that were left with a friend in a plastic case, but I cannot recall. Wherever he came from, I am pleased to see his return.

Awesome stuff. Hopefully you'll come across another one that you know was in the storage unit so you can at least be sure they weren't melted down and turned into shotgun pellets or something.

There are many that I would instantly know where from the storage (40K miniatures, Epic40K, Historicals, Ral Partha Fantasy Armies, Citadel 1st Edition WHFB Ogres - including THE Ogre, WWII miniatures, as well as the stuff I sculpted myself).

I am hoping that the 2008 reseller will be the person who wound up with the storage unit.

MB

When you talk with them you should never mention the items being stolen or describe their sale as theft. No one who honestly sells things wants to be involved willingly with any talk of stolen goods. If someone approached me about some auction I ran years ago and started talking about stolen goods, I wouldn't reply at all and would forward everything to my lawyer (who would then tell me not to worry because it's been to long and then I'd just not reply at all).

 frozenwastes wrote:
When you talk with them you should never mention the items being stolen or describe their sale as theft. No one who honestly sells things wants to be involved willingly with any talk of stolen goods. If someone approached me about some auction I ran years ago and started talking about stolen goods, I wouldn't reply at all and would forward everything to my lawyer (who would then tell me not to worry because it's been to long and then I'd just not reply at all).

Yep. I would tell them you either sold them or traded them. Telling someone they were stolen usually shuts down people, as they don't want to get involved.

Glad to hear you found a couple of them. That's pretty amazing, honestly. I wish you luck in finding more!

 frozenwastes wrote:
When you talk with them you should never mention the items being stolen or describe their sale as theft. No one who honestly sells things wants to be involved willingly with any talk of stolen goods. If someone approached me about some auction I ran years ago and started talking about stolen goods, I wouldn't reply at all and would forward everything to my lawyer (who would then tell me not to worry because it's been to long and then I'd just not reply at all).

I know how to go about the discussion.

And eventually, they are going to need to know why this issue is important.

If someone is so paranoid as to think they could be charged for possessing a stolen item, 15 years after it's theft, which has obviously been through at least one other set of hands, then there is nothing that can be done about it.

Not replying (according to eBay's policy on dealing with Stolen Items, regardless of involvement in the theft), though, could result in the shutting down of the eBay account until the person responds to the questions, depending upon the severity of the crime.

MB


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Also, no one involved with the miniatures past my wife has anything to fear regarding legal prosecution.

I know who stole the miniatures, and she is long dead.

Anyone after the fact would simply be an unwitting participant in the chain of ownership, and technically (unless they were all in one place), I would have to buy back everything that was lost (laws regarding theft in the USA suck if the thief sells your property - you have to buy it back, usually).

MB

Wow, that girl was a real Adepta Sororita.

BeAfraid wrote:
Also, no one involved with the miniatures past my wife has anything to fear regarding legal prosecution.

I'm talking entirely pragmatically in terms of what will work for you. And going in with something like "I'm contacting you because I'm trying to recover stolen property" isn't going to work. And marching out any threat of "eBay might shut down your account if you don't cooperate" is also going to be counter productive.

You are looking for people's help. For something that happened a decade an a half ago.

All people are saying is that when you finally do find someone who has some of the miniatures you believe to have once been yours, going in with talk of stolen property might not be the best way to go. And when someone mentions they probably wouldn't reply you trot out the idea of shutting down ebay accounts.

I'm sorry, but don't be adversarial when you're trying to get people's help.

That's all that's being said here.

 frozenwastes wrote:

BeAfraid wrote:
Also, no one involved with the miniatures past my wife has anything to fear regarding legal prosecution.

I'm talking entirely pragmatically in terms of what will work for you. And going in with something like "I'm contacting you because I'm trying to recover stolen property" isn't going to work. And marching out any threat of "eBay might shut down your account if you don't cooperate" is also going to be counter productive.

You are looking for people's help. For something that happened a decade an a half ago.

All people are saying is that when you finally do find someone who has some of the miniatures you believe to have once been yours, going in with talk of stolen property might not be the best way to go. And when someone mentions they probably wouldn't reply you trot out the idea of shutting down ebay accounts.

I'm sorry, but don't be adversarial when you're trying to get people's help.

That's all that's being said here.

I don't do that.

I simply ask them to give me the history of their ownership of the miniature:

• Did you paint that, or did you buy it like that?

• What did it looks like when you bought it?

• Where did you get it? Does the seller have more of them?

Etc....

And, then.... When it comes down to their getting curious, I let them know that depending upon the answer, it could mean an extra $25 - $500, depending upon the outcome.

That usually gets them talking.

And so far, I have not had any problems once they find out what happened.

Most people aren't that paranoid unless they have a guilty conscience of some sort.

MB

It looks rebased to me as well. Is it a coin it stands on? And the white basing doesnt really match the rest of the pain job I'd say.

If it was resealed less profesionally, it could be that it is a collector that ended up with them. Someone who paints, but doesnt do it profesionally, and loves the collecting part of it. I dont think this model travelled through many hands. The 2008 seller could be the original person who ended up the the loot.


Personally I think I would stick with the story that i was the original artist and wanted to track down the rest of them, for a few photos, since the all documentation of your previous work has been lost.
It is all true, as well.

People would perhaps be happy to supply photos of any models they got in the same batch.

Only a little later would I tell that they were part of a large unit that was stolen.



Automatically Appended Next Post:
Another tip, though it sounds banal, might be to google the names of your rarest models that got lost.

I just googled Grendel Ral Partha, and up popped a picture of the model that you painted in the 20 first pictures on google.

I know my friend managed to find back to a runequest Duck model that he was looking for just by googling an image search.

 triplegrim wrote:
It looks rebased to me as well. Is it a coin it stands on? And the white basing doesnt really match the rest of the pain job I'd say.

If it was resealed less profesionally, it could be that it is a collector that ended up with them. Someone who paints, but doesnt do it profesionally, and loves the collecting part of it. I dont think this model travelled through many hands. The 2008 seller could be the original person who ended up the the loot.


Personally I think I would stick with the story that i was the original artist and wanted to track down the rest of them, for a few photos, since the all documentation of your previous work has been lost.
It is all true, as well.

People would perhaps be happy to supply photos of any models they got in the same batch.

Only a little later would I tell that they were part of a large unit that was stolen.



Automatically Appended Next Post:
Another tip, though it sounds banal, might be to google the names of your rarest models that got lost.

I just googled Grendel Ral Partha, and up popped a picture of the model that you painted in the 20 first pictures on google.

I know my friend managed to find back to a runequest Duck model that he was looking for just by googling an image search.

I regularly try either Googling or searching on eBay for the rarest of the minis.... Little to no luck.

This one turned up simply because I was looking for another troll for my Hithaeglir Goblins, and there it was.

But I typically use the "This is a part of a prior collection I had that was lost in an accident, and I am trying to recover the locations of where they might be for the purposes of recording images" as a precursor to a complete explanation.

So far, though, I have only had 4 total people whom have had any knowledge of the miniatures (or possession of one - and only two of those, this one included).

MB

Congratulations! I've seen you have already recovered 2 minis.
Keep up the work!!!

Man, as someone who had a whole Ultramarine army and a massive Epic army stolen in 1995, I really hope you get your stuff back. I often wonder what became of my gear, if it's sitting in someone's collection, has been repainted. I'd be stoked to get one or two of them back (hideously painted as they were). Hope you find more.

Got my second miniature from my collection in the mail on Saturday.

Having it back is something that is hard to describe,

MB

Well the bright side of all of this is that now you know it wasn't likely sold off for scrap metal

BeAfraid wrote:
Got my second miniature from my collection in the mail on Saturday.

Having it back is something that is hard to describe,

MB

Congratulations!