"Three Feet on the Ground" Topic

Writing in Slingshot magazine, Tim Thompson reviews Victrix's Iberian Cavalry and remarks:

Two of the horses have two feet on the ground and the third has three. They seem stable and firm enough once constructed but I would prefer to see three legs attached to the base, either by being on the ground or by the time-honoured fortuitous piece of long grass that the hoof just happens to be brushing.

Do you agree?

I have a group of mounted figures, I won't say whose. that I am literally afraid to paint because the horses lack 3 contact points and the cannon bones (ankles roughly) are so realistically thin they are in danger of breaking from normal handling. I've been advised to pin the figure with a rod from the base to stabilize it. I think I'd rather have 3 legs attached to the base.

Yes

Definitely needs three. I have a number of horses with both front legs raised. The amount of torque that is applied when the head of the horse is touched keeps the back legs bent until the front legs touch the ground. I stopped cutting away the metal supports, even though they were very plain, and just painted them green.

3 is a must, I hate having to be careful handling my figures!

Especially in metals, you want three. In plastics I wouldn't mind the odd mounted commander on a rearing horse, but I'd still hate to see them in regular use.

Yes 3 is what I like.

Some of my 50 year old cavalry figures have broken,
mostly due to the thin/fragile nature of the figure
design and the brittle nature of the old figures.

I had to resort years ago to putting a pin through the
center of the base into the underside of the horses
to keep the figures from bein damaged through normal
handling.

Have had to do the same thing with some modern plastics.

I've had to pin "two-legged" Miniature Figurines horses (primarily Napoleonic) when the back legs were not sturdy enough to support the figure.

I also opt for three or even all four legs on the ground or on a solid support.

Jim

The same can be true for "one-legged infantry" in 15/18mm. I was dealing with this very issue last week and it ended with two two bases with a casualty figure on each comprising of figures I just couldn't save.

Tantalus miniatures – wonderful sculpts by RJ Eastman. (Now available from Nick at North Star)

You could take the two-foot-attached Horse poses, hold them up to your mouth, and blow them over.

In contrast, I've got a rearing horse from a Gripping Beast diorama which is solid as a rock, thanks to sturdy fetlocks, and the tail brushing the ground to form a third support.

The more attachment points the better, but I don't worry about it. If a horse isn't stable on its base, I add a pin or brass rod to make it stable.

NO! With a good plastic cement it's not going to go anywhere. I'm beginning to question just how some gamers handle their troops!

Whenever possible I try to have my 1:72 plastic horses with at least three legs fixed to the base. If they have only two, then I look to see if there is a leg which I can bend, then weld to the base.

I do the same with men on one leg (normally running poses), to bend the leg down and weld it to the base.

Rod

4 legs good
3 legs ok
2 legs…difficult