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tneva82 wrote:
If seller doesn't want you to repaint he can put it as part of terms in sales.

Frankly i doubt seller cares. Unless it's inside same group he won't even see models again

I'm sure there's a few who have been forced to sell their collections through personal situation changes - eg pressure from family or financial pressure.
I'm sure they'd likely not be happy to know that their models were stripped and repainted, but that's more because the sale was forced upon them by a situation. Furthermore unless they sold to someone with the express agreement that they'd buy them back later (ego pawning); I'm sure whilst they'd be saddened, they'd also not begrudge someone stripping and repainting.



Like others I think once a model is sold its sold; it will be repainted, played with, broken, chopped up, burned - whatever happens to the model after its sold is out of my control. Sure I think most of us would like ot think that those who buy our stuff will get enjoyment out of them. That they'll paint/play/convert well and enjoy it.


I can agree that sometimes rare models or outstanding paintwork being destroyed/lost is a sad thing.

 Stevefamine wrote:
I've never thought of this. Does this truly gnaw away at people and bother them?

Yes, when you sell yours for a really good price hoping they got to a good home, then someone buys them from you low, strips the historic paint job, and resells them for more.

You bought it, its yours you can do what you want with it. Wouldnt bother me in the slightest repainting second hand models I bought off someone I didnt know.

Only time is if it was given as a gift and it would if I knew the person who sold it to me, I wouldnt do it then for fear of causing offence unless the person was ok with it.

Juxtimon wrote:
This reminds me of the discussions surrounding Jake and Dinos Chapman in 2001. The two artists bought a complete folio of Goya prints from the 1820s, then painted moustaches and handpuppets onto what some consider the most moving art of the era. The reworked series has been seen variously as an evil and meaningless desecration by vandals, and as the ultimate homage to Goya's masterpiece, a fitting extension of his despair

So, here's our benchmark. Which painted Warhammer miniatures approach the significance of Goya, such that their destruction would lessen human understanding of art?

Believe it or not, I think that number IS higher than zero. Miniatures painting, niche as it is, will one day have a certain historical and cultural significance that will explain to future generations part of how we lived our lives and saw the world. There are undoubtedly a few pieces of true artistry out there that are capable of inspiration on a greater level. Maybe they don't have the political or social critique that Goya had in his work (which could change, btw), but there's enough talent in the hobby for significant expression. I'm just not sure if the audience is there for it at the moment.

Personally, I'd view it as "why are you buying this particular painted mini?" If your answer is because you want the mini, even if it isn't painted great or to your scheme, and you plan on repainting it, then groovy. If it's because you really like the paint job on it, then, also, groovy.

The thing is, the cost of an extremely well painted mini, from the likes of James Wappel, Banshee, or other "top tier, famous" painters is likely going to be high enough that if it's just the model you're after, you could do much better finding some other used/painted/NIB version of it. So, while it'd be financially silly to strip and repaint one of those, for example, you could still do it if you really wanted to burn the cash.

I've sold off some painted minis of my own in the past, some that I was very proud of their paint jobs. I have no idea if they are still in that state, got trashed, got stripped, or eaten by a dog. And frankly, I don't really care, since I sold them off; they are no longer mine to worry about or care about.

(And don't worry, I avoided the issue of lessening my soul by selling that off long ago...)

Well obviously nobody pays over rpp and strip paint. Question is relevant only when buying under rpp.

(well opp models over rpp can happen)

 Valander wrote:


I've sold off some painted minis of my own in the past, some that I was very proud of their paint jobs. I have no idea if they are still in that state, got trashed, got stripped, or eaten by a dog. And frankly, I don't really care, since I sold them off; they are no longer mine to worry about or care about.

This.

I have brought loads of minis from Ebay - all of varying degrees of painting and assembly ability....Straight into paint stripper they went. I treat these the same as NiB product. I'll do what I want with them.

As I type I also have some old metal termies of mine going through what must be their tenth strip and paint. The previous scheme just has to go when I think I can do better.

Most job lots are hellish and get stripped before hitting my desk. I am a basic painter at best and the gak on ebay makes me look like I'm ready for a GD competition.

That said, the few treasures that I have come across over the years, where it's clear someone put in the time and effort to paint and paint it properly, I have kept as is. Saves me the time repainting and I enjoy that that mini has a history with someone, even if I don't know who it was. Sort of like the gangly feth and bearded man that took over the history channel a while back: "We like the story behind the pieces, so anything that's been restored or touched up is actually less valuable by a mile."

Saving the occasional well painted miniature is especially great if you play flexible miniatures agnostic skirmish games. About a third of my random sci Fi, fantasy and Post Apocalypse figs are the work of someone else, and almost all are painted better than I could and acquired for a fraction of their original retail price

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:
I’ll take the counterpoint. This is nothing less than erasure. Ancient Mesopotamian kings would destroy or deface their rivals’ inscriptions in order to obliterate the memory of their existence; by stripping these miniatures you are condemning the souls of these hobbyists to oblivion.

On the other hand the Mesopotamians were raiding their rivals, I don't think anyone out there is raiding people's bags at the hobby store and stripping their models before their very eyes.

That is hilarious Bob

One thing I did while buying a mostly 2nd hand Ork Epic army, was that any miniatures I bought that were painted I just made very minor changes to - it helped to add to the ragtag nature of an Ork warband. It helped that some of those paintjobs were very good though, and I realise this won't work for a lot of miniature ranges.

I have a set of minis painted by a friend of mine who has since passed away. I would not sell them and I will not strip them, but I still use them. They bring me joy.

Buying discounted second hand models and stripping them is Heresy, and you should be burned at the stake for doing so..

How Dare you save money and not pay full outlandish prices to god emperor GW for the five minutes that the high price was actually worth it!



On a real note though- Second hand is the way to go. You'll be well served in patience and getting what you want at discounted prices...

One thing that has always been a constant has been New Edition blues, where little Johnny and his mom buy up the GW store, then figure out too late that the game actually is a effort for little Johnny to put together and play...

I'll buy those sets second hand, and either Help the kid put it together, paint and play, or I'll take it off whoever's hands at discount.

The road to 40K is taken by that first Squad/ Mob.

You'll figure out soon if the kid/ new player will stick with it or not, otherwise, you just give them an offer to paint it up for them, and get some beer money. (I'm always down for beer money. )

 Grot 6 wrote:
Buying discounted second hand models and stripping th

You'll figure out soon if the kid/ new player will stick with it or not, otherwise, you just give them an offer to paint it up for them, and get some beer money. (I'm always down for beer money. )

I paint so slowly that if I relied on painting for beer $ I'd never get a drink.....

Maybe using the word "ethics" was a mistake, as some people seem to feel judged.

Good, because I am judging you. If you strip and repaint minis, you are the lowest form of chaos spawn.

But seriously . . .

Of course once you've bought a mini it's yours to do with as you please. I did say there were no right answers, and that I strip and repaint minis myself.

Right now my primary interest is painting and getting better at it, so buying well-painted minis by other people isn't my thing. I do generally avoid buying a mini that's better painted than I could do myself for the purposes of stripping it, which you can put down to sentiment, if you dislike "ethics." As others have mentioned, well-painted minis are often more expensive anyway, so that's a financially practical inclination. Regardless, it's not "wrong." Just a personal quirk. To each their own.

A couple of people mentioned stripping pre-painted miniatures like Mage Knight, and they're absolutely correct: although there are lots of mediocre models, there are also some excellent ones underneath those bad paint jobs. There are even a number of re-used, classic Ral Partha sculpts in there by well-known sculptors like Julie Guthrie - I even found a Mage Knight model that still had the Ral Partha copyright etched underneath the figure (only visible once you took it off its Mage Knight base.)

I do think it's cool that metal and some forms of pvc miniature are durable enough that they can be stripped and re-used, rather than just junked. I like the fact that metal minis can be restarted from scratch particularly, as it means you can't really ruin them with a bad mistake, since you can always start over. (Stripping PVC minis requires more care and carries more risk of damaging the mini itself every time you strip it. Metal comes through immaculate every time.)

Someone also jokingly brought up the ethics of stripping your own old minis and repainting them, destroying your own history. That actually came up for me recently. I have some old GW beastmen I painted as a teenager that aren't bad, but I could paint them better now, and I'm thinking about re-doing them. My (teenage) niece urged me not to. I'll probably end up doing it at some point anyway (no hurry since my pile of unpainted minis is large,) but I found her response interesting. She'd never even seen the minis in question.

 Talking Banana wrote:
Someone also jokingly brought up the ethics of stripping your own old minis and repainting them, destroying your own history. That actually came up for me recently. I have some old GW beastmen I painted as a teenager that aren't bad, but I could paint them better now, and I'm thinking about re-doing them. My (teenage) niece urged me not to. I'll probably end up doing it at some point anyway (no hurry since my pile of unpainted minis is large,) but I found her response interesting. She'd never even seen the minis in question.

Twenty years ago I started a novel about vampires. Ran out of steam, set it aside.

Long about 2019, I dig out the MS, decide to finish it. In the process, I deleted half of it, and dramatically shifted its focus. That became The Vampires of Michigan, link in sig.

Anyway, I saved it as a new file, so if people want, they can see how awful the first draft was, just as you can photograph miniatures before you do the refurb.

Personally, I never actually finish repainting my armies, I just pause from time to time. I generally only buy used, and don't even bother to strip these days. As for what I've sold, not longer my concern.

That applies to my books, too. If you want to buy 100 copies of my books and use them as fire-starters, I'm fine with that. I'd recommend getting more than that, though. At least 1,000 copies would be better.

I mean, it's no different to buying a house that had a previous occupant or a car that had previous driver. What, these things can never be changed or altered? Ridiculous!

You make it your own at the end of the day.

There are a couple of old miniatures I will never strip, because of nostalgia.

Back when I first started getting into miniatures wargames, I used to be able to buy already painted miniatures from a case in my local hobby store. Back in those days, they were Ral partha stuff, or old Citadel minis from Rogue Trader, or things like first edition Mutant Chronicles stuff. Some of them were painted extremely well some only medium-grade like I can paint myself.

But I only keep them in their painted state because they are mementos of that era of my childhood, rather than something precious from another artist. Any other miniatures from my collection or which are bought second hand nowadays, I have absolutely no attachment about stripping and repainting.

I am buying them for the express purpose of making my mark on them, so all I care about is the status of the base miniature being near-original status.

For me, I don't strip my old models. I've still got models from when I was 14 (so 26 years ago?). I like to keep my models that way because I like to see where I came from. Have I stripped my models? Yes. Would I do it again? Sure but only if I'm still playing the faction and need the models to be cohesive. I don't if I'm not playing the faction any more or if I've put the faction down for some time I won't touch them. A lot of them I'd need to be able to find new arms for them so I'd need a 3D printer for bits if I stripped stuff apart.

I rarely re-paint. If it is painted, it is good enough for the table.

I have made an exception to this when I have been really bored and needing something to paint, but with no money for new stuff.