I recently purchased an "old" metal Cheshire Volunteer Falklands figure on Ebay and found it to be covered with very tiny holes which I assume to be pitting in the metal due to its age and possibly being stored in a place that was not climate controlled. Will these holes cause a problem or will a coat of primer fill these in? Would it be wise to cover metal subjects with primer before putting them in the "stash" pile if you may not get to it for some time to prevent this from happening? I have many "old" metal figures from Chota Sahib,Stadden and Cheshire that are still unpainted but have always been kept inside and even in an old ammo can with dessicant in it (they are very valuable to me being of rare subjects--the Falklands and Northern Ireland) that still appear as they did 25+ years ago when new. Incidentally, this figure looks to be the work of Sid Horton of Chota Sahib fame; can anybody verify this? The details of the Falklands figures in the Chota Sahib range sure do match the details in this figure--buckles,web gear,and even facial expression. Any suggestions on how to prepare this figure for painting would be appreciated.

I don't think I've ever come across this sort of 'pitting' on a metal figure before. That being said I don't do a lot of metal figures but what you are describing sounds a bit like the problem of air bubbles in resin figures. It is unlikely primer will sort it out as it rarely sorts out air bubbles in my experience. I use Mr. Surfacer 500 or 1000 to fill these tiny holes- paint it over them and it usually does the trick with air bubbles in resin, it might be worth a shot with the metal figures.