Repairing Broken Weapons on Metal Minis

[RedRowan]

Bought some very nice Cavalry figures from the Iron Dukes GAPS range recently. When I received the figures one of the swords was bent out of shape. I tried to correct it with my fingers like I have done in the past but it just snapped off.

Been a while since I worked with metal minis so what is the best way of fixing this? Is it worth trying to superglue it back on or am I better off replacing the hand itself with a suitable replacement for a stronger bond?

Cheers

Steve

[2010sunburst]

Superglue will be too brittle to give a satisfactory bond on a butt joint like this.  I would use five minute epoxy, holding the part in place with blue tack while it dries. 

[Citizen Sade]

Some diligent types make their own replacement sword blades using rod or pins. That’s probably the best solution, but it requires some kit plus time and effort.

http://carmensminiaturepainting.blogspot.com/2009/12/dropping-hammer-making-your-own-swords.html

[has.been]

Replace with pin! Doesn't need a lot of 'kit'
1)Choose a suitable size pin.
   If needed, eg for sabre, bend it. I use two pliers. I have even made
   Rhomphia/Kopis/Scythes, just bend into a '?' shape.
1a) (Optional) Flatten pin a bit. This I do by taping the pin to a lump
      of metal, then 'Whack it wiv a 'ammer!'
2) Drill into hand (Simple & cheap Pin Vice)
3) Glue pin in.

Job done.

[beefcake]

Yep, as above. A bit of filing down afterwards to get the right shape helps too. Just a little file that you might have for tidying up minis would work.

[Silent Invader]

Personally I’d just buy a single plastic command sprue from the Perrys’; see their Accessories page for various options, of which the £1 Zouave sprue is a good example:

https://www.perry-miniatures.com/product/b22-acw-zouave-command-sprue-single-sprue/

Snip off the metal hand, drill the plastic hand and the arm, use a piece of metal paper clip as a pin, then superglue together.

You’ll also have what’s left on the sprue for the parts box.

[Hammers]

Some diligent types make their own replacement sword blades using rod or pins. That’s probably the best solution, but it requires some kit plus time and effort.

http://carmensminiaturepainting.blogspot.com/2009/12/dropping-hammer-making-your-own-swords.html

This is what I do. The results holds up so much better for the rough and tumble of the gaming board. I have a few techniques which I deploy in my MiniForge (TM). I should do a tutorial...

[Hammers]

Replace with pin! Doesn't need a lot of 'kit'
1)Choose a suitable size pin.
   If needed, eg for sabre, bend it. I use two pliers. I have even made
   Rhomphia/Kopis/Scythes, just bend into a '?' shape.
1a) (Optional) Flatten pin a bit. This I do by taping the pin to a lump
      of metal, then 'Whack it wiv a 'ammer!'
2) Drill into hand (Simple & cheap Pin Vice)
3) Glue pin in.

Job done.

Oh, there's your tutorial.

I do basically the same thing, but heat the metal with a torch (the kind chefs use) before I flatten it on a little anvil (thus why I call it a miniforge). If the metal is soft enough you don't need it.

One thing to look out for is that if your newly forged weapon is of stiffer than the metal you drill out to hold it, you may transfer the weak point to that very place.

[2010sunburst]

Fine Brass section is a lot easier to work with than steel pins, but if you must use pins look at lacemaker pins.  They are made of brass and available in a great variety of sizes. 

[RedRowan]

Thanks for the replies guys.

Looking through my bits box I actually have the Perry's British Afghan/Sudan command frame which has an arm with a sword at pretty much the right size so I might try that.

Don't think I really have the tools or patience for working with pins or wire but may have to look into that if the first idea doesn't hold up.

Steve

[armchairgeneral]

What Silent Invader says is good practice but I find plastic superglues to metal with a really strong bond so I would just cut off the metal hand file it smooth and glue the plastic sword hand directly to it. Should be good enough.

[Mindenbrush]

I find bobby pins/hair grips the best.
Cut the straight section to the required length plus extra to go into the hand.
Clean off the brown finish and shape using a needle file. File down the extra piece to fit in the hand.
Drill a suitable hole in the hand for the extra to fit in and superglue in place.

The above steps are easier if you have a Dremel type drill but not 100% necessary.

I have just replaced 12 swords on 18mm BlueMoon ACW cavalry as they are too flimsy, used flattened pins and made sure the point was cut at an angle to reduce the possibility of drawing blood from clumsy fingers....

[Daeothar]

Until now, I've always done the sensible thing, and looked for a replacement hand with weapon (be it metal of plastic), and pinned it into place.

But recently, when taking my daughter to an outdoor archeology museum (Archeon in NL, for those who wonder), she joined an activity to make her own fibula from copper wire.

It was very doable for my eight year old; she  managed perfectly, and what I found is that the copper is very easy to hammer flat!

So should I ever find myself in the position the OP described, I think I'd try and use copper wire to create my own replacement. Just because. The flattening would be a piece of cake, but the shaping would probably be quite interesting. But after all, I believe it was Kennedy who said something along the lines of: 'we don't do it because it's easy, we do it because it's hard'...

[Major_Gilbear]

I see a few people here have suggested flattening wire of various types with a hammer and then shaping the blade... I have tried that in the past, but found that the resulting blade can be rather fragile and even snap whilst I'm shaping it. 

I've have much more success by just filing down suitable brass rod or strip.

If the sword is quite thin like the one in the original post, just use a suitably thick piece of  brass rod, bend it gently to get the curve of the sword, and then file both sides with a model file to flatten it. Finally, again with the file, shape the cutting edge to a "V". If the wire is left a little long at the bottom (and still unshaped and round), you can just glue it into a hole drilled into the hand like a pin.

If the sward is larger, I start with a piece of brass strip, and then shape the profile of the sword, leaving it a bit longer than I need. Once complete, I file the base of the sword into a tang, which is then glued into a hole drilled into the hand like a pin.

As brass is relatively soft, if you use a decent jewellery/riffling file, shaping the swords doesn't take very long. The end result is also much stronger and less prone to snapping again in future, since it retains the structural qualities of the original wire/strip.

[RedRowan]

Cheers guys, there have been some interesting solutions posted here.

Steve