Cleaning of vintage lineol animals

Hello Forum (I'm new to this whole thing - read below)

The other day I purchased a box full of old toy animals. I had no idea how old they were, what they were made of, or that they were collectibles. All in all there were 22 animals, wild and domestic of different size, a zoo keeper and a trunk. I bought them just because I thought they were beautyful, some of them in poor condition, but to me that just adds charm. I payed 5 euro for all of them.

When I got home I noticed a mark underneath some of them: LINEOL, on others it just had GERMANY. Curious as I am, I searched the web, which led me to this forum. It then dawned on me that what I had bought might be a REAL treasure to others than myself.

My question is as simple as this: How do I clean them without damaging them?

I tried with a soft toothbrush, but that just rids them of dust. Some of them seem to be to attacked by a kind of moldy layer, as if they had been stored in a fusty basement, which they probably have. Is there a way of removing this, so the color beneath comes out?

I will put up some photos of them later, maybe some of you can tell me how they old are and if there are rarities among them. (Even though I don't think I am interested in selling them, as I am already very fond of them

Hope someone can help me...
Best Regards!

Hello, Moberlebu, one more Danish member
Wellcome here , velkommen

WOW, what a fantastic find you made. Awesome (o)):

I do not know much about these precious oldies, but others here are experts !
I hope Sue and Lesley see this. Lesley retores old lineol, so I am sure she can help

Congratulations!

First question: Hold one against your cheek for a moment ..... does it feel even slightly damp? If so, they will need to be put somewhere in an even temperature to dry out, or change of temperature may make them split.

Looking forward to seeing pictures.

Lesley.

Castlerigg.

Welcome from Dresden and congrats for your catch

It really sounds to me that you found a treasure for a bargain. Many of us love Lineol figures but they are really sometimes expensive and hard to find in a reasonable condition. I hope you find a way to give a good life to your figures and it is nice to know that you're already feeling attached to them.
It would be fantastic to see what you've found and welcome on forum.

Thank You for all the welcomes and congratulations

Quote :

First question: Hold one against your cheek for a moment ..... does it feel even slightly damp? If so, they will need to be put somewhere in an even temperature to dry out, or change of temperature may make them split.

They don't feel damp at all, but many of them already have cracks and splits and scars.
But I figure then they wouldn't like a water&soap cleaning? maybe I will just leave them as they, I kind of like that they are scarred by time...

I will see if I can find time to make some pictures this weekend.

Mette

Welcome to the forum Moberlebu!

I hope you do get a chance to post some pictures. It would be lovely to see these animals.

Ahhh! Your name is Mette ! Good, Danish name

Do you collect other models animals too ?

No. Not water and soap. Water is fatal to composition animals.



Lesley.

Castlerigg.