Restoring my reproduction Nipper (finished)

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VV XI
Victor Jr
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Joined: Tue Aug 20, 2013 5:47 pm
Location: West Virginia

Restoring my reproduction Nipper (finished)

Post by VV XI »

Thought you all might enjoy some pics of me restoring a Nipper bank I got a few weeks ago. It was in bad shape. The one side casting had shifted and nothing would line up. Part of his head was not filled in fully. Someone else had done a very poor job working on him. They tried to fill in the gaps with some gritty black stuff, and put so much paint on him there were runs and paint puddles on the bottom of his feet.

This is how it looked when I brought it home.
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Media blasted back down to the casting.
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You can see here how bad the casting is.
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The alignment nubs needed a lot of work to get the two halves to line up. After about an hour of sanding and filing on the casting to get things to line up, blend in the casting lines, and blend in the head this is how he turned out.
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I think he turned out great. Time to get some paint and put the fur back on him!!
Last edited by VV XI on Mon Dec 13, 2021 8:46 pm, edited 1 time in total.

VV XI
Victor Jr
Posts: 48
Joined: Tue Aug 20, 2013 5:47 pm
Location: West Virginia

Re: Restoring my reproduction Nipper

Post by VV XI »

After looking at him for some time, I am unhappy with the holes in the casting. So I took some body filler and am smoothing out the holes.
IMG_20211128_161322891.jpg

VV XI
Victor Jr
Posts: 48
Joined: Tue Aug 20, 2013 5:47 pm
Location: West Virginia

Re: Restoring my reproduction Nipper

Post by VV XI »

Body filler sanded and two coats of primer.
IMG_20211129_081603168.jpg

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AZ*
Victor IV
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Re: Restoring my reproduction Nipper

Post by AZ* »

Nice work so far. I look forward to seeing the final result. For a more "period correct" appearance, I suggest replacing the Philips screws with slot screws, since Philips screws were not introduced until the 1930s. :rose:
Best regards ... AZ*

VV XI
Victor Jr
Posts: 48
Joined: Tue Aug 20, 2013 5:47 pm
Location: West Virginia

Re: Restoring my reproduction Nipper

Post by VV XI »

Thank you!

I have been thinking of changing the screws. I'll have to see if I can find ones that'll work.

VV XI
Victor Jr
Posts: 48
Joined: Tue Aug 20, 2013 5:47 pm
Location: West Virginia

Re: Restoring my reproduction Nipper

Post by VV XI »

Took a bit to find flat tip screws that would work. Still had to reshape the angle on the head to match the old angle and cut the length down.

Three coats of white. I'll let him dry for several days and start hand painting the black.
IMG_20211212_114021881.jpg
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VV XI
Victor Jr
Posts: 48
Joined: Tue Aug 20, 2013 5:47 pm
Location: West Virginia

Re: Restoring my reproduction Nipper

Post by VV XI »

All done!!
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JerryVan
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Re: Restoring my reproduction Nipper (finished)

Post by JerryVan »

Pretty darned nice! Good job! :)

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Roaring20s
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Re: Restoring my reproduction Nipper (finished)

Post by Roaring20s »

Your dog has a nice shiny coat. ;)

James.

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Django
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Re: Restoring my reproduction Nipper (finished)

Post by Django »

Nice job. A labor of love.

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