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Other Stuff => Workbench => Topic started by: Bezzo on August 07, 2014, 10:33:48 PM
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I am refurbishing a lot of my old figs, mainly 25mm ECW, and ancients. I am sick of straightening pikes and spears that are so bent they look like pretzels, and have all the tensile strength of cooked spaghetti.
Who makes and sells a decent spear which does not begin to droop as soon as you stand it upright. Something with a shaped head as I also do not want sharpened pins and wire.
Can you please supply suggestions?
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Old Glory? http://www.oldgloryminiatures.com/products.asp?cat=407
Edit: Some sources (may be dupes) follow -
Edit: Xyston - http://www.scotiagrendel.com/Xyston/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=2_3_16_56 spears (uncut)?
Edit: http://www.northstarfigures.com/list.php?man=62&page=1
<snip probable dupes>
I bought mine off Ebay but I can't find the source right now...
Gracias,
Glenn
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with a shaped head as I also do not want sharpened pins and wire.
Go brass. It's worth it.
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Perry sell some decent brass spears
https://www.perry-miniatures.com/index.php?cPath=27
They are pretty tough and remain straight.
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<snip>
Who makes and sells a decent spear which does not begin to droop as soon as you stand it upright. Something with a shaped head as I also do not want sharpened pins and wire.
Can you please supply suggestions?
If steel constitutes "... sharpened pins and wire..." then go with brass although metal tips still penetrate tennis shoes...
Gracias,
Glenn
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No what I meant was I do not want a simple length of wire which has been given a pointy tip. What I am after is something with a definite spearhead at the business end.
(http://img1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120823041742/olympians/images/a/a5/3-Greek-Spear.jpg)
edit - illustration added
Ah, got it.
Gracias,
Glenn
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I get mine from Gripping Beast and Perry's.
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1st Corps and Front Rank
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I would guess that means sharpened wire without a shaped spearhead.
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I believe the Front Rank 'spears' are the same items that they supply for axles on gun carriages and wagons - it is a really hard steel with blunt ends.
I have smashed and ground the Foundry supplied steel spears in the past to the shape you have in the picture but now use those supplied by Northstar under the Crusader miniatures range
http://www.crusaderminiatures.com/prod.php?prod=350&cat=12&sub=31&page=1
Also sold by Wayland Games, CPModels to name a few.
Xystron also do some and I have just put some on Rus Cavalry I am painting for a commission
http://www.scotiagrendel.com/Xyston/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=2_3_16_56&products_id=162
I grind the 'waist' into the spears (15mm & 25/28mm) by clamping a chain saw sharpening stone in a vice, putting the spear in the Dremel chuck, switch on the Dremel and then lightly touch the spear to the stone. As the stone is round it will cut it's shape into the spear.
http://www.dremel.com/en-ca/Accessories/Pages/SubCategories.aspx?catid=2049
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I sand a taper on the end off the rod (technically I twirl the end in the groove of a pocket diamond grit knife sharpener, but a bit of folded sandpaper would do the same), then sculpt the spearhead from epoxy.
I use a stiff epoxy like Aves or steel-impregnated plumber's putty, not Green Stuff, 'cause I like to use files to give it a thin, crisp shape after it's hardened.
I also use carbon fiber rod, as with thin rod even brass or steel can bend if the figure gets dropped or something. This way I don't have to compromise on looks by "rounding up" the shaft thickness from true scale for the sake of durability. It also takes paint better. Carbon fiber rod sounds exotic, but it's actually a common staple at hobby shops that deal in RC cars and planes, and the price is comparable to brass, if not cheaper.
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Here's the Gripping Beast spears - http://www.grippingbeast.com/product.php?ItemID=1640
(http://www.grippingbeast.com/sizeimage.php?size=320&image=photos/pointybits.jpg)
40 of them for £5.60, so what's that, about 14p each? They call them spears, but in fact at 10cm they're long enough for use as 20ft pikes as well.
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I like wire spears meself, but is there much difference between the ones you can get from UK shops? Most of the spears, pikes and yari I've looked at seem to be the same, as in from-the-same-source.
I grind the 'waist' into the spears (15mm & 25/28mm) by clamping a chain saw sharpening stone in a vice, putting the spear in the Dremel chuck, switch on the Dremel and then lightly touch the spear to the stone. As the stone is round it will cut it's shape into the spear.
http://www.dremel.com/en-ca/Accessories/Pages/SubCategories.aspx?catid=2049
Need to get a decent dremel sometime, for that and other things. I've tried using a cheapo JML hand drill in the same way, and it kinda worked, but it was also a bit rubbish.
I sand a taper on the end off the rod (technically I twirl the end in the groove of a pocket diamond grit knife sharpener, but a bit of folded sandpaper would do the same) sculpt the spearhead from epoxy.
I use a stiff epoxy like Aves or steel-impregnated plumber's putty, not Green Stuff, 'cause I like to use files to give it a thin, crisp shape after it's hardened
The apoxie sculpt isn't too brittle, in those small, thin shapes, for regular gaming use?
Still, might give it a try meself sometime. I've already got a bagful of north star spears to work through, but I need something new to do with putty scraps too. I wonder if some kind of press mould or stamp would work?
I also use carbon fiber rod, as with thin rod even brass or steel can bend if the figure gets dropped or something. This way I don't have to compromise on looks by "rounding up" the shaft thickness from true scale for the sake of durability. It also takes paint better. Carbon fiber rod sounds exotic, but it's actually a common staple at hobby shops that deal in RC cars and planes, and the price is comparable to brass, if not cheaper.
Aah. Gonna have to look out for that too.
Considering the number of spears I want to replace - maybe around 200 - I really want something "off the peg" to save a bit of time. The thought of making 200 spearheads makes me break out in a cold sweat.
There is that. lol
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The apoxie sculpt isn't too brittle, in those small, thin shapes, for regular gaming use? Still, might give it a try meself sometime. I've already got a bagful of north star spears to work through, but I need something new to do with putty scraps too. I wonder if some kind of press mould or stamp would work?
The way I do it is to actually use the sharpened/tapered end of the rod as the core and point of the head, so the epoxy is basically like "wings" on either side of the rod's point forming the delta or blade shape of the spearhead. Once I've used the files to refine the shape, the whole thing blends together seamlessly. I wouldn't want to sculpt the entire head out of epoxy like the head of a real spear, for basically the reasons you were asking after.
A two-part press mold would probably work. Might require compromising on the scale thickness of the spearhead, and that small an amount of putty might need very delicate handling to keep it from being distorted during demolding, but I imagine it's doable. Still be a long afternoon doing 200 of them though, regardless of how you do it. I mostly build character/adventure party type stuff, rather than large armies, so my apologies if my methods don't scale up well (they often don't, it seems).
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The way I do it is to actually use the sharpened/tapered end of the rod as the core and point of the head, so the epoxy is basically like "wings" on either side of the rod's point forming the delta or blade shape of the spearhead... I wouldn't want to sculpt the entire head out of epoxy like the head of a real spear, for basically the reasons you were asking after.
Aye, but apoxie sculpt is still relatively brittle stuff. Though I guess if you had problems with it popping off, you'd've said so! :D
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There's not really much opportunity for it to get stressed as such. It's only maybe 4mm at most of the end of the rod that the epoxy is on. If the rod gets twanged, it tends to flex most near where the figure is gripping it. The tiny length at the end doesn't really flex at all. And as far as the tip itself getting knocked, it's not really any worse than the same putty would be if applied to on the surface of the figure. In terms of proportional volume vs. bond surface it's more like, say, a coat lapel than an extended arm.
But this also brings up some of the additional benefits of carbon fiber: it doesn't flex nearly as much or as readily as metal*, and the surface has a natural grain (the rod is actually a compressed bundle of hair-thin fibers), so adhesion is better than it would be with metal. Especially on a sanded area, where you're dealing with a slope of roughly exposed fiber ends.
*Though this can work against you if the figure is holding a long rod in one hand with the arm extended away from the body: the rod becomes a lever if it gets pranged. With brass, the "spring" of the metal can act as a shock absorber, whereas with carbon fiber most of that force just gets transmitted directly to the figure, so a figure with such a pose can be at an increased risk of a bent wrist/arm or broken glue joint.