"How to salvage horses with broken legs?" Topic

In the course of 25 years and several move halfway across a contintent, a number of 25mm SYW calvary on stands have had their legs broken and are now in two parts. How can I reconstruct them? I'm thinking of soldering the parts together- any help and advice?

Another set of some of my first 25mm's had galloping rearing horses with the front legs off the ground but connected with a metal stringer to the ground. They look better with the metals support clipped off, but now are bent down and obviously going to flex and eventually metal fatigue the rear legs and break completely. Any suggestions?

Is it a practice to drill holes in piece and base and add a metal rod as support (filled with solder or glue)?

Shoot them and dispatch them to the knackers yard. It's the kindest way.

Per your post, you could also drill the belly of the horse, shove a length of brass (or any metal of your choice) wire into the resulting hole and fix the other end of the wire into the horse's base. Not as obtrusive as it sounds. That make sense? I'm on my third brandy…

I would go with the drill, metal rod and epoxy. A very small length of brass wire should do the trick. A piece large enough in diameter to hold without bending. If it is too noticable you could add some tall scenery grass to hide it.

I've had some success reinforcing bendy ankles and legs by dabbing on epoxy. Of course this thickens up the limb and loses some detail. In this case, you might consider adding back some support to the figure, maybe a length of pin or other metal rod under the horse's body, supporting it from the base. Just paint it black.

When a limb is completely broken, I'll drill out both parts with a pin vice and insert a bit of pin or other metal rod to connect them, only if there's room to drill. There usually isn't room on something like a horse's leg, or a rifle.

I do all repair work with 2-part epoxy. I haven't found anything that bonds better to metal. If I can't pin a break, I'll usually put a cast on it. That is, I soak a small scrap of cigarette paper in epoxy and wrap it around the break. Other kinds of very thin tissue paper would probably also work. Of course this thickens up the limb further and loses surface detail, and its not as strong as pinning would be.

I use strategically placed pieces of cork to provide support hidden by lichen to make it seem like the horse is jumping or running through low hedges or bushes. Sometimes bodies can substitute depending on the pose.

I've used brass wire for years for problem horses. Just drill out holes between the horse's legs, corresponding holes in the base, and mount the horse on the wires like a carousel horse. Paint black.

Rick

Damn!

Connard beat me to it.

While I do like the rearing pose – I have taken to cutting, replacing and resculpting the legs of horses posed in that manner with a steel wire.

If the horse is designed in a less realistic manner – you can often drill and pin – though you want the pin to extend well into the thigh area of the horse in order to gain adequate support.

In cases where that isn't practical – the carousel post works well enough. Black does tend to fade away, and if you use a hard steel pin – the diameter is so small that you will barely notice it.

I just knocked a full regiment of dragoons on the floor, I now have several hours of critical surgery ahead to get them back on the field. Lots of broken swords and arms.

This works best with Medium Cavalry or Heavy Cavalry in WRG Ancients rules. Move the "repaired" horse the the middle of a 3-horse "element"…
That way the ugly horse is hidden from view.

I have often complained about the fragility of "accurately sculpted" horses, particularly the RSM ones. They are as fragile as anything. I prefer stocky sturdy horse's legs, like Foundry.

I thought that soldering would be the primary or at least mentioned as an alternate method. Can I do this or is the stuff two runny and inferior to an epoxy?

I need some grenadier SYW standard bearers and drummers and find that some such extra tricorn figures will do except for the headgear (with a little liberties with paint). I started by clipping off the corners of the tricorn with an anvil toenail clipper to approximately the right shape. Would people suggest proceeding with some build-up solder (followed by filing and cold working) or some sort of plastic that could be cured and worked or sulpted while curing? Or is there a suggested method at precise decapatiation and reattachment?

How good are you at soldering? Have you got low melt solder, phosphoric acid based flux and a low watt (under ~25w) iron?

I'm surprised you need grenadier standard bearers for SYW. Most manufacturers don't make them because most nationalities (I can't think of any) didn't carry them. Grenadier command packs uually include drummers in caps and officers in hats.

I never mastered soldering. I'd think that 25mm figures or smaller would be awfully fiddly to solder.

In your situation, I'd swap heads on the figures rather than remodel headgear. Cutting the heads off is no big deal. Reattaching tends to lengthen the neck, so trim head and body down fairly close. For a good reattachment, I drill matching holes in the head and body and glue in a bit of pin with my trusty two-part epoxy. Simplicissimus.

Um, nemmine about why you need the grenadiers, I forgot about the Prussian Guard.

1968billsfan wrote:
I thought that soldering would be the primary or at least mentioned as an alternate method. Can I do this or is the stuff two runny and inferior to an epoxy?

No, it's too hard to do. Pinning is much easier. IF it's possible. If the legs are too small then one of the other methods mentioned is the best least worse alternative.

If you want to sculpt a new leg then I suggest you insert a fine piece of copper wire to act as the armature and use Milliput or any other two part expoxy putty rather than using working with pewter

Not when it and rider are Cossacks, fully painted and have have almost magical abilities to come up to a unit of dragoons for a touch-and-run harrassment and instead send those proto-nazies careening in abject fear through guard infantry and sending them, as well, into rout!!!

Have some respect for tradition and effectiveness to other-worldly die throws!!!!! Their lances are stained with blood.

I am certainly happy to mention soldering as a viable alternative and, if you know what you are doing, the quickest and strongest way of dealing with broken legs. Several posters have moaned about it and it is true that if you don't already have the kit and use it, then learning can be painful. I have also used a soldering iron to modify figures and I understand that, before Miliput and green stuff, figures were sculpted this way.

If you want to find out about it as a technique, there's loads of stuff on railway modelling sites and forums as this is the prime method of rolling stock construction. You would also be able to easily find suppliers of low-melt solder, non-toxic fluxes and a variable temperature iron which is the most useful one to have as you would be able to use it for other purposes too.