"horses broken from bases - salvageable?" Topic

I just opened some mail-order 15mm cavalry and found three of the horses had completely broken from their stands. The hoofs don't offer enough surface area to glue, my stands are 1/16 balsa so I can't drill into the base. Any ideas on how to save these? Is there a putty that would be strong enough?

Contact the supplier and get replacements

Not sure I understand – broken from their cast-on bases, or from the balsa bases?

Pin and glue short pieces of wire into the base. Glue hooves to base and wires. Add putty to build up grass tufts around pins and hooves. Seal with glue for more strength. Quite solid fix.

I agree the first thing you should do is contact the manufacturer for replacements.

If that doesn't work then you need to go with something harder than balsa because a pin is the only thing that's going to be strong enough.

Depending on the pose, I use pieces of cork to support the broken part and pose it as though jumping over a boulder, mound, hedge, etc. You can also make them "casaulties" by bending the front legs even more as though the horse is falling.

As a manufacturer, I would have no problem offering free replacements for an order that I had shipped to a customer. Presumably the customer would inform me within a few days of receiving his figures.

I've used "long" grass (putty or filler with working done on the top surface to approximate vegetation) to cover work done at base level before now.

J&B Quick Weld:

link

The stuff has never failed me yet.

Place a roll of hobby tack under the horses' belly and position as you'd like, creating custom support. Take away, and slobber J&B Quick weld on the points of contact. Affix animal. Liberally flock to cover up the repair.

Or, ask for replacments.

Best,
Ed M

I have pinned many a horse that broke or nearly broke off base. Metal pin through the base up into the belly. Glue with epoxy, then dab of glue with stone or wood under to support hoofs. Paint the pin green at base and put a little flock on it. Top part black.

Most games are played looking down on figures, so the pin is not distracting as it is hardly seen, if at all.

I like Conelius' idea of long grass around the pin. Will try that next time.

Unfortunately this was the last shipment for this supplier who is selling the line.

Good ideas here--I especially like the cork--have to empty some red weine bottles first though. Actually the idea of putting the horses in a casualty--falling position and using epoxy sounds like an idea to start with.

Thank you one and all!

Unfortunately this was the last shipment for this supplier who is selling the line.

If the moulds are as dodgy as you suggest I'm not surprised.

In the years I've been wargaming, I've been blunt frankly with items recieved broken or poorly cast. Typically I don't call ahead. I just pack them up and tell them I want replacements. If postage costs me $5 USD or so, I'll give them the model numbers I want to make up the $5. USD

However, twice over the years I've called stating what went wrong, and had satrisfactory remedies.

If I broke the figure, I just replace it. I've no time for glue, pins, etc. The amount of time spent doing a repair just isn't worth it. In some instances, I'll 'modify' the figure to make it a casualty on my table.

After years of wargames I have a standard approach. Unless the horse has 3 or 4 feet on the ground I simply modify ALL of them when I get them. I like the Suren horses very much, they are correctly proportioned and in very animated poses, including some on only two feet. What I do is simply bend hard piano wire to run along the inside of the leg and drill holes in the base and into the body of the horse to support the weight. Remember these are 30-33mm. If that can't be done a strut at the front works just fine. you never even notice it when you're playing.

I do the same with my infnatry figures when they break, simply drill up from the base into the figure and insert a hard piano wire mandrel. Takes a bit of skill but it can be mastered easily enough.