So I've bought a collection and there is this tabacco smell on them.
How can I clean the miniatures without damaging them?

I was thinking about letting them rinse in hot (not boiling) water with dish soap, repeat the process and midly scrub with a toothbrush, but I don't know how well the miniatures are water proof (they're not solid, so I doubt it) so I fear that it'll be impossible to dry them on the inside

they are plastic so they won't melt. I would rinse them as you stated.

they are plastic so they won't melt. I would rinse them as you stated.

melting is not what I'm worried about, but rather that they fill themselves with water and it'll be a pain to get all of the water out

they are plastic so they won't melt. I would rinse them as you stated.

melting is not what I'm worried about, but rather that they fill themselves with water and it'll be a pain to get all of the water out

As it is clean disc water, it will dry out eventually without leaving stains, if you store them at a dry and clean place.

And take a soft toothbrush for those little guns and stuff.

I think there are products car shops sell for removing the smell of tobacco, never tried any myself but it might be a good place to try if the washing method is a no go.

Lemon or lime can remove tobacco residue. Detergents won't do anything.

Dunno got any fabreze?

try simple green

Acetone works.

Acetone works.

Yeah, but it can take off the paint and possibly melt the plastic.

Some of those will strip the paint off btw. I would not use simple green or acetone as they will pretty much take the paint right off.

I would also recommend getting the car cleaning products as they are made to be applied on surfaces without adverse reactions.

try simple green

If you want to remove all the paint

Lemon or lime can remove tobacco residue. Detergents won't do anything.

This works well but can loosen up glue. Safe for paint though.

Acetone works.

Yeah, but it can take off the paint and possibly melt the plastic.

That was kinda his point. He's being a jerk, trying to get OP to melt his ships.

It's the equivalent of someone playing a video game, and asking "how do I 'x'" and everyone responding with alt+F4

You could try putting them in a closeable container with either activated charcoal or fabric softener sheets. Charcoal is supposed to remove odors, but that may only work if something is filtered through it (like water), so it may not work. The drier sheets are recommended frequently to people who complain about tobacco smell on things like Magic cards. You may need to leave them in there for a couple weeks though.

simple green removes paint?? really that's news to me I use all the time to clean my model aircraft. granted they are painted with oil based paints. Its actually safer than many detergents. but if somebody on here actually has first hand knowledge of it stripping paint off a ship heed that advice.

Put acetone in cup. Use old toothbrush. Rinse immediately after in running water.

Don't scrub for a long time. A couple seconds.

I repainted some Khiraxz the other day and bodged them so stripped them of acrylic paint with a 50/50 mix of dettol and water.

I was expecting *all* the paint to come off but only the acrylic i'd put on came off, the factory paint was untouhced... they also smell of pine now!

I left them in a bit longer and scrubbed the agaain with a tooth brush and the black 'grime' wash FFG put on came away but the base colours remained.

Safe to say i think you could scrub them with a mild dettol solution, start off very weak say 30 per cent, then rinse it off with clean water.

That should shift the smell/stain.

Acetone works.

Yeah, but it can take off the paint and possibly melt the plastic.

That was kinda his point. He's being a jerk, trying to get OP to melt his ships.

It's the equivalent of someone playing a video game, and asking "how do I 'x'" and everyone responding with alt+F4

Yeah. I figured that out. But what if the OP didn't know that? Why be a jerk about it when someone asks a legit question? I used to use acetone to remove paint off my metal minis back in the day!

I repainted some Khiraxz the other day and bodged them so stripped them of acrylic paint with a 50/50 mix of dettol and water.

I was expecting *all* the paint to come off but only the acrylic i'd put on came off, the factory paint was untouhced... they also smell of pine now!

I left them in a bit longer and scrubbed the agaain with a tooth brush and the black 'grime' wash FFG put on came away but the base colours remained.

Safe to say i think you could scrub them with a mild dettol solution, start off very weak say 30 per cent, then rinse it off with clean water.

That should shift the smell/stain.

Better pine than tobacco

simple green removes paint?? really that's news to me I use all the time to clean my model aircraft. granted they are painted with oil based paints. Its actually safer than many detergents. but if somebody on here actually has first hand knowledge of it stripping paint off a ship heed that advice.

I haven't tried it yet on X-Wing minis, but I can definitely vouch for it stripping (acrylic) paint off metal minis. Granted, you need to soak it for a day or so first.

If simple green is like nitromors in the uk it will shred plastics.

I do a lot of buying and selling of old metal GW minis and you get a better deal if they are 'stripped' and used to use paintstrippers on metals. It was fine but plastic components would dissolve.

Then a friend found out dettol dissolves most paints but not the metal or plastic, oddly dettol works better i've found if diluted a little, it might allow it to flow into the gaps easier ?

Fairy power spray also takes paint off minis without harming the plastics

For the purposes of *cleaning* thought i'd have thought a very mild detergent would be more than adequate, test it on the least fave model first.

Has anyone tried an ammonia based cleaner or perhaps a vinegar based cleaner?

If simple green is like nitromors in the uk it will shred plastics.

I've used Simple Green on GW plastics and on Privateer resin/plastics and it doesn't damage them; it's just not as effective at taking all the paint off as it is on metals. I've left them sitting in Simple Green for a month plus, and no damage.