My Latest Nipper Project

[Jerry B.]

Here's an example of the midsized plastic Nipper. Typical of this type of Nipper, the painted features are in poor condition. The original features flake because the plastic was not properly prepped. The ears. nose, and collar were poorly touched up. The circle around the eye makes it look like Our Gang's Petey and should not be there.

This style of plastic Nipper was offered in three sizes, 11", 18", and 36". The most common is the small example but they are a bit small to display with a machine in my opinion. The 36" was really intended as a commercial Nipper for RCA stores and is too big. But the 18" is an excellent Nipper when collectors wish to recreate the famous Trademark scene.

I have plans for this Nipper. I will strip off the features and clean the plastic thoroughly. I'll then spray it with a plastic prep followed by a creamy tan or off white on the entire dog. I'll then repaint the features and give it a final spray of satin sealer.

Some may not agree with my plan because it's not a restoration. But save your final opinion until you see the finished Nipper.

Jerry B.

[Django]

I like your plan. It is not as if this is a rare piece and what you are doing will make it into a nice display piece. If someone wanted to, they could always reverse your contribution. No judgement form me anyway. As always, I look forward to the pictures of the transformed Nipper. Best of luck with the project.

[swamprad]

Sounds like a great plan! I’d like to do something similar and look forward to hearing more details and seeing the finished product.

[AZ*]

Great plan, Jerry. I look forward to seeing the final result.

[Jerry B.]

Yesterday the features on Nipper were stripped. A few stains remain but that should not be an issue. After stripping Nipper was given some tub time in the utility sink. He was cleaned with Simple Green and rinsed off. Once dried he was sprayed with plastic prep. Tomorrow should be warm enough outside for a little painting.

Jerry B.

[Jerry B.]

Nipper is painted. Now the fun part. I get to paint the features.

Jerry

[Jerry B.]

A work in progress. I use acrylic paint for the features. It's easy to work with and the results are good.

Jerry

[dzavracky]

looks great!!

David

[Jerry B.]

Nipper is almost finished. All that's needed is a coat of satin clear sealer. The clear coat will give the various paints the same patina.

The photo with three Nippers shows a Stensgaard Nipper from the 1960s. He shown on page 3-48 in Joan & Robin Rolfs' excellent book Nipper Collectibles. The Stensgaard Nipper, identified by a small label, is slightly smaller than the two plastic Nippers on the right. You can certainly see the family resemblance between the Stensgaard and the later plastic Nippers.

The photo with two Nippers shows two plastic Nippers. The green eared one is original and too nice to paint. The other is the subject of this thread. I really like the painted Nipper. The painted body and painted features give a warmth that is not present on the original one. (My opinion ).

An interesting side note are the green ears on the original Nipper. The seller said it's a rare green eared Nipper. I believe this Nipper left the factory with brown ears. Brown is created by combining the three primary colors which are red, yellow, and blue. Red is the most susceptible color to UV light. So if a Nipper sits in UV light and the red degrades you are left with green. Green is created by combining yellow and blue.

Jerry Blais

[Django]

He looks great. Worthy of his place in front of the horn.