One of, if not the, most iconic miniature kits released by Games Workshop is the first. RTB01 or Rogue Trader Box 01 was released in late 1987 and contained 30 Space Marines in MK VI Corvus armour. The kit was multi pose, and included a vast array of options with which to arm your soldiers.
While there are earlier Space Marine miniatures, RTB01 really cemented the look of marines, and the aesthetic has continued to this day. with the exception of their size, there isn't really all that much difference between these marines and the ones you can get today. Unfortunately RTB01 has been out of production for a long time, so getting hold of some can be quite expensive. there are always auctions on eBay, but these are mostly for already assembled miniatures in a variety of conditions, and getting miniatures that are new on sprue is more expensive still. I missed my opportunity to get some when they were on sale originally, but they have always held a nostalgic place in my heart as being 'the' iconic marines to get.
I managed to pick up a squad at a bargain price. My intention was to paint strip them, repair them if necessary, and then add them to my collection. On receipt of them in the post, however, i found out that they weren't just covered in multiple layers of paint as I had originally thought, but they were in a dire condition overall. I'm not sure which glues were used, there were multiple types on each miniature, as well as milliput, green stuff, a hot glue gun seems to have been used as well, and they all seem to have been broken and 'repaired' multiple times, repainted multiple times. After disassembling them I was very tempted to consider it a lesson learned, and grant them the emperors mercy.
I decided against that course of action, however, I was not going to waste any minis if I could avoid it, and they may not be quite as bad as they seemed under the thick layers of paint. So a bath of dettol was in order, and to be extra sure the paint would come off, I left them for a week. This didn't quite do the trick, most of the paint I could remove, but some of it had been melted into the miniatures. Out of the squad of 12 or so, I managed to save parts for 5, and I felt that was really pushing it. The rest of the parts will be used for base decorations at some point, it is literally the only thing they are good for.
I decided to use the 32mm bases for them. While they originally came on 25mm bases, I am intending to use them in games and while I don't consider it would be a problem for anyone if they were on the smaller bases, I think the larger ones actually look better. The poses are not ideal, but you work with what you've got. I based them with a mix of different grades of Ballast, and got to painting.
I had originally intended to paint them up as blood angels emulating the force in the battle report in White Dwarf 141. this was the first WD I ever read, and I loved both of the armies that were involved. but given the poor condition of the minis, I instead decided to go for Ultramarines, my reasoning being that the darker colour would hide any slight imperfections.
Paint really does cover a multitude of sins. The lack of detail on the miniatures also speeds up the painting process. there are no annoying pipes, or panels or other details on them, with the exception of the studded shoulders, and even after just a very quick effort on the blue, they actually look rather good.
The whole paintjob only took me a couple of hours, but i could easily have spent many, many hours painting them to a higher standard, but after multiple hours of cleaning and sanding the miniatures after the paint was off, and their generally poor condition, I didn't feel it was justified. They still came out OK though.
I've learned a few valuable lessons. With a lot of attention, even the most hopeless miniatures have the potential for a second chance. It would be easy for me to criticize their former owner, they were in a terrible condition, but they had been repaired multiple times and i'm certain they saw a lot of action on the tabletop, so they obviously got a lot of pleasure out of them. Once the parts had been cleaned up, the miniatures were a pleasure to assemble into their poses, they perhaps seem goofy nowadays, but its very easy to see why so many older gamers have such fond memories. I will definately be looking to get more RTB01's in the future, hopefully in better condition.
Finally, for comparison, here is a newer Tactical marine (also a rescue) alongside the original, and still the best.
I hope you found this interesting, I have a few more miniature rescues in progress, possibly they will warrant their own post in the future.
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