"Dainty, delicate, plastic 25mm pikes" Topic

I'm not new to plastics, just plastic pikes

Short of drilling out and replacing with wire, does anyone have any tricks for making these things more robust?

I've tried giving a coat of superglue to some flimsy swords. Not sure if it actually helped but worth a try. It if it's not too fiddle replacing them with metal pikes might save some frustration in the long run. Good luck!

It's an inherently weak point, from the injection molding perspective.
I doubt there's a real solution.

Thanks!
I'll drill out and replace with wire

Drill out and replace with wire! (that's what I do)

You could wait until they break then do it or do it prior to painting.

Would these be the Warlord Macedonians? (If so, they are very nice figures! If not, I'd be curious as to what ones they are.)

I have a Burgundian army made from Perry plastics. I don't think I have used it in a game, but the pikes and lances are in a sorry state. As a result, after buying the French Agincourt box I replaced the plastic spears with North Star piano wire spears. Also, in the future if I ever do plastic cavalry again, I will reinforce the leg attachment to the base. Many horses are only attached at two points, and the attachment is very weak.

BTW, replacing spears on plastic figures is usually quit easy – compared to the same process with metals.

Plastic broom bristles might be a good alternative to metal spears; their bendiness might prevent damage to the minis, if snagged,

Plastic pikes will fail- if used in games. It is just a matter of time. I'm going to try multi-basing for them since that may help them survive. I live in a desert climate and humidity and then drying conditions make plastic break.

The Victrix and Warlord pikemen are very nice figures. If needed for transport and heavy use I would be drilling out and adding metal pikes. For now I'm going to use them as is. The nicest thing about plastic is the weight but pike are always a @bleep@ when trying to keep safe in the toolbox or on the table.

If you do use wire then clip those points and dull them a bit-- I've seen some porcupine accidents with pikes and copper wire spears.

Hans, good point about the horses! I find the same problem can be had with metal, sadly.

JJartist, I've caught myself with my wire pikes (they are easier to see than the spears) but I learned my lesson to pay attention.

It's the 'F' word: Focus.

Good to know about cav!
These are Warlord but mostly Victrix