 Editor in Chief Bill   | 16 Mar 2017 11:06 p.m. PST |
I'm flocking a batch of 15mm spearmen tonight. One of them has a terminal spear. As in, could snap off at any moment. The figure carries the spear lunging forward, and the spear is cracked just beyond the hand holds it. Unfortunately, the spear extends beyond the front edge of the base, and it keeps knocking into things. So I keep bending it back into place. It's surprisingly sturdy for a half-broke spear… I don't think this can be repaired. I put superglue on it, but that didn't help. So I tried again after it bent again. Even if players always handle the figures by the bases, I know it is only a matter of time before this spear breaks. And if it breaks? I know it will play just as well with a broken spear as an intact spear… Once it breaks, should I replace it? That's a lot of work, and it's hard to match the other spears. Probably not. |
| Old Contemptibles | 16 Mar 2017 11:26 p.m. PST |
Gap filler glue? If it breaks, drill and use wire. |
| John Treadaway | 17 Mar 2017 3:08 a.m. PST |
Who says all spears have to match? Depends on the period, obviously, but 'spearman' says 'dark ages' to me and – if that's the case – they could vary a lot. Drill and replace with wire ir similar. John T |
 Yellow Admiral  | 17 Mar 2017 9:34 a.m. PST |
Drill and replace with plastic (flexible) or piano wire (ultra stiff). A $7 USD broom from Home Depot with plastic bristles will provide all the flexible spears and pikes you will ever need. - Ix |
| Yellow Admiral | 17 Mar 2017 9:35 a.m. PST |
PS: I have a lot of figures with unrepaired broken spears. It's too much work to fix them. :-) |
| Bashytubits | 17 Mar 2017 11:14 a.m. PST |
A toothpick and epoxy are your friend. |
| goragrad | 17 Mar 2017 1:30 p.m. PST |
I use JB Weld epoxy. Of course I do those repairs when i have a number of them as mixing epoxy for just one repair entails a fair bit of waste. And it will still be vulnerable. But then I just superglued (with baking soda) a couple of cataphract kontoi that were pins that had been epoxied into drilled out hands. OG15 Palmyrans that were designed to have that done. |
| Oberlindes Sol LIC | 17 Mar 2017 1:33 p.m. PST |
Don't worry about matching the spears. At any time when spears have been battlefield weapons, there were no spear factories manufacturing spears to military specifications. Soldiers often made their own spears and took spears off defeated enemies. They also did their own repairs and modifications. I would try to reinforce the spear using either a toothpick or a bit of stiff wire and appropriate glue. No one is likely to notice that the spear has two shafts -- or, in the alternative, paint it up brightly and glue some threads to it so that the reinforcing shaft becomes a decoration, totem, or whatever. |
| Zephyr1 | 17 Mar 2017 2:33 p.m. PST |
Cut it off level with the top of the hand, drill a hole equal to or slightly bigger in diameter than the spear, then glue the top half back in. It will be a tad shorter, but you'll be the only one to notice… ;-) |
| Oberlindes Sol LIC | 17 Mar 2017 4:39 p.m. PST |
And different spear lengths are authentic to just about any period. |
| zoneofcontrol | 17 Mar 2017 5:15 p.m. PST |
Try a little chewing gum. Preferably SPEARmint. |
| Editor in Chief Bill | 18 Mar 2017 1:21 p.m. PST |
You inspired me to make a repair… and now I can't find the one with the cracked spear!  |
| Zephyr1 | 18 Mar 2017 2:30 p.m. PST |
"Try a little chewing gum. Preferably SPEARmint." ^^ Threadwinner!  |
