Spring Cleaning

We are fortunate to have a permanent wargames room and an adjacent storage area for the model soldiers and scenery. Here in Spain it is called an under build, but anywhere else it would be a cellar. We bought our house here “off plan”. This means it was still being built when we decided to buy. This gave us an option to change the layout of the rooms. The house is built on the side of a hill, so it was easy to enlarge the downstairs to create the wargames room.

That was five years ago, and the time has come to start painting the house. We are always careful to make sure that the wargames room is well ventilated, and we also use a dehumidifier when necessary. Despite this we have a damp patch on the ceiling where the models are stored, which we are having sorted out next week. Fortunately the damp has not affected the model soldiers or the scenery. We have some very old paper buildings which we bought in Germany about 40 years ago, and even they are fine.

But we do have to move everything out of the room, and that included all of the soldiers and buildings. I was surprised how much space they all take up when you take them off the shelves.

The model soldiers have found a temporary new home on our bedroom floor. The main bedroom has also been enlarged as it is on the same level as the wargames room, so there is plenty of space. I sold off half of my model soldier collection before we left UK, just as well when I see how much we still have.

The buildings and scenery has taken residence in our guest bedroom. Not as much space required as the model soldiers, but it still covers the bed.

This is the first time that I have moved them all since we arrived in Spain, and I was relieved to see that they all look in excellent condition. When I started collection metal figures, in the early 1970s, there was a lot of talk about “lead rot” or “metal corrosion”. I was delighted to see that there is no sign of it on my collection.

I hope to finish redecoration in the storage area by the end of next week, and return them to their usual place.