The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Django wrote: Sun Feb 21, 2021 2:29 pm This giant economy sized Nipper came to me with two broken feet and one missing, (along with a good portion of his left ear, pictures above were as received). My goal was to do as little as possible and not to over-restore him by making him perfectly smooth, (they were far from perfect when new). These three foot tall Nippers are pretty fragile and loaded with defects. The eyes, part of the nose, the mouth and collar are still factory. He retains a crackled finish and the original factory voids and splotchy, patchy paper mache, but he has four good feet, two good ears and I think an overall decent appearance. I still have to do a little touch-up and add the nails to his rear paws. Other than that, he is done. If someone in the future decides that he should look perfect and new, they can have a go. I prefer old, sound and presentable.

Not to be too discouraging, but if anyone ever wants to do a quick and fun project, don’t look to a three foot tall Nipper. They are very fragile and I hate to say, poorly made. He seems to be made mostly from compressed paper, coated internally with plaster and covered externally by paper mache. The smaller Nippers are much easier and nicer to work on. If you have lots of room and want to test your creativity and patience, then this is the project for you.