Your top assembly tips.

[steve_holmes_11]

Having received a new order of 10mm goodies, I'd appreciate assembly tips from you barve ones who went there before me.

I've three specific areas of interest.


1. (A biggie) Attaching wire pikes to the Pikemen from the Renaissance / Elizabethan range.

It looks like a superglue job, but any tips would help here.
Attach pikes before painting, or afterwards, and any tips to ensure the joint is strong.

2. Attaching Horse Archer Torsos to the Legs/Horse casting.

Here there are some casting attachments in what looks like the join area, so clearly requires a careful clean-up.
Top tips would really help here. Superglue, or something else? Is it worth drilling and inserting a small locating wire?

3. Assembling the Mutiny Elephant canopies.

There's a canopy and 2 x 3-sided frames.
Does the crossbar go up top or down below?



Thank you all.

[Steve J]

I can only comment on the pikes, and:

- make sure you use NEW superglue, it really does make a difference. The glue can degrade quite quickly if just left in its bottle once opened.
- If you can, drill holes in the mdf, plastic bases of whatever material you are using so that the wire can sit in the hole. This will help strengthen the bond no end.
- Once you've initially glued the pikes to the hands, when dry apply another thin layer of glue to help fill any little gaps etc.

Hope this helps?

[steve_holmes_11]

I can only comment on the pikes, and:

- make sure you use NEW superglue, it really does make a difference. The glue can degrade quite quickly if just left in its bottle once opened.
- If you can, drill holes in the mdf, plastic bases of whatever material you are using so that the wire can sit in the hole. This will help strengthen the bond no end.
- Once you've initially glued the pikes to the hands, when dry apply another thin layer of glue to help fill any little gaps etc.

Hope this helps?

Good advice Steve, and makes a lot of sense.

Do you have any advice about painting before or after attaching the pike.
My gut feeling is to paint first and then attach, because I'm quite clumsy and would likely splodge my pikestaff colour all over the figure.
But I then wonder whether I'll end up with unsightly superglue blobs at all the connection points.

[Steve J]

Glue and then paint, as the bond will be stronger. If you paint and then glue, you are effectively sticking paint together and not metal. Also the superglue can leave white stains (blooming) at the glue point as it evaporates.

[fred.]

Yep, glue before painting. Super glue is best for metal to metal joins.

Are the horse archers the TB Line ones? I don't recall any great problem gluing these together, there is a decent surface area to bond them. You get the chance to vary the position of them a bit to add to the variety of the unit.

I think with the Elizabethan pikemen I was able to glue the bottom to the edge of the base, as well as to the hand, as Steve says getting the bottom glued really strengthens the bond.

[steve_holmes_11]

Yep, glue before painting. Super glue is best for metal to metal joins.

Are the horse archers the TB Line ones? I don't recall any great problem gluing these together, there is a decent surface area to bond them. You get the chance to vary the position of them a bit to add to the variety of the unit.

I think with the Elizabethan pikemen I was able to glue the bottom to the edge of the base, as well as to the hand, as Steve says getting the bottom glued really strengthens the bond.

Yes the TB line Horse Archers.
I've yet to examine them under a big magnifying glass.
I got the impression that the joining area had lead channels on it, which would call for some careful clipping or filing.

I've a fair horde of infantry and elephants to paint before the Horse Archars swing into focus.

All advice greatly appreciated - thank you.

[mmcv]

I haven't done the TB horse archers but the knights are similar and mostly stuck okay. You might find it useful to add a little putty to help if the fit isn't tight. I've also occasionally used resin to make a firmer connection, though it can blob and takes a while to dry so if you can get super glue to work great. I didn't know that about old super glue, may explain why it often ends up brittle when I try it.

I'd go with painting after attaching. Painting separate would be fiddly and if you're worried about getting paint on the figure while doing the pike just paint the pike first. I find painting pikes and spears fairly easy as they tend to be held away from the body and just need a straight run of paint.

[John Cook]

I can only comment on pikes.  I use K&S .5mm brass rod for all pikes and flag staffs.  I remove any cast-on pikes and remove part, about half, of the model's hands to receive the pike.  I then use super glue and an accelerant if necessary.  Finally I replace the removed part of the hand with putty, which strengthens the join, particularly if the heel of the pike is not grounded.