Model Repair
Sometimes a model build just didn’t go very well. Sometimes one acquired models someone else has built incorrectly. Sometimes models get dropped and broken. Sometimes they get damaged. In all these cases, Rail Tales can help.
We do model restoration and repair, whether it’s damaged or just badly made. We even fabricate custom parts and fittings if we have to. Come in for a free estimate.
Paint Restoration
Rail Tales performs custom repainting and paint restoration services. If a model has been damaged we can usually custom paint match after repairing the damage and restore the service to match the rest of the model. We can also repaint models if necessary.
If a paint job has been botched, we can usually restore the surface and paint the model correctly.
Prices for paint restoration services vary widely. Come in for a free estimate.
Typically, paint restoration work is about the same cost as an original paint job (50$ plus 25$ per color plus materials) but if we have to do extensive removal of rust or corrosion or filling of damaged areas, then the price can increase significantly.
Note on Restoring Collectible Items
Rail Tales works on items that are valuable because they are old. Generally these items show age in characteristic ways that indicate to other collectors that 1) they are authentic and 2) they are in original condition.
Rail Tales generally recommends that collectible items not be repainted in any way unless the finish is damaged badly enough that the item has already lost most of its value. Rail Tales can clean antiques so as not to harm their collectible nature but once we start repainting, we are altering the value, sometimes significantly.
Often repairs can be made in such a way that the item is still ‘original’. If this cannot be done, the customer has to decide whether the item is more valuable damaged and in original condition or restored but no longer original.
Rail Tales will not perform services intended to fool an observer as to the age or condition of an item. If we do a restoration, we will always deliberately leave a means of telling that the restoration was done. We do this somewhere inconspicuous so as not to detract from the enjoyment of the model.