After losing almost 20% due to fees from both eBay and PayPal when I sold my Space Wolves army, I told myself I was done with selling stuff on eBay. I get almost all of my stuff at my FLGS, Grand Adventures. But when I'm looking for those old, rare, out of productions figures that I can't find locally, I go to eBay.
Recently I needed one more backpack for my Ultramarine army that I am currently building. I was looking for the old Space Marine Commander backpack with the cape attached to it. No one around here had one, so it was off to eBay to get it. I came across two of them, and both came with older Space Marine Commanders. One of them was this one, and the other looked like the old Blood Angel Captain. So I took a chance and decided to grab them both. Once I got them in, I was surprised how bad of shape the Blood Angel Captain was actually in.
And there he is after a bath in Simple Green. A huge difference! Sorry for the slightly out of focus picture, but you can still see how clean this guy came out. I cleaned him up by placing him in an ultrasonic cleaner with Simple Green automotive cleaner. I like using Simple Green because it is 100% biodegradable and always seems to work the best. I used it before on this blog when I stripped my Ultrawing. The model had a little more damage than I thought. His shoulder pads have been filed down and there is also some detail that has been removed on his upper legs. Hopefully when I get around to doing my Blood Angels I will be able to use some of the new plastic parts to make this guy look like new again.
So, remember if you come across a poorly painted figure on eBay, don't be afraid to pick it up and give it a new home. It may take a little work, but in the end you'll wind up with unique character with a unique story behind it.