Call for a medic! - repairing old WW2 minis.
I've had my old World War Two plastic British for nine years now, since we started 'Project Platoon' back in WS&S 60. Back then, the idea was to collect armies for the late war, and I opted for British.
The original Warlord plastics were good and versatile but brittle, suffering from realistic but thin barrels. So over the years, I have had a mounting casualty rate with several broken rifle and Bren gun barrels. The metals I painted have remained virtually intact...
Recently, Warlord has released a new range of British and Canadian infantry, and so I thought I could use a few of the spare arms from the new set to get my old broken miniatures back onto the field. Time for a medic! For some reason, whenever I take medics in Bolt Action, they just don't work!
Thankfully, the new arms did work... mostly. They are bigger, more robust, particularly at the shoulders. I decided to replace the entire arms instead of attempting to patch the weapons, which would have resulted in a weak bond.
The fit with the double arms wasn't perfect; a little trimming was required to get a more snug fit. However, I was mostly happy with the results. The easiest fit were the separate arms, which require no work, beyond a little flash removal. Now to painting...
I had forgotten what colours I'd used, but I was pretty sure I'd used English Uniform and guessed the rest. I painted the arms and weapons separate off the sprue, then fitted them in place. Once I was satisfied that I had a smooth fit, I glued them.
The final pictures aren't that great, I had to take them on my camera phone, so they aren't up to my usual standard. Nevertheless, the repairs look clean and these Tommys are now fit enough to rejoin their sections again.
The final results are satisfactory. Now we'll see how long these last... I also have some German plastics in need of some medical attention...
The original Warlord plastics were good and versatile but brittle, suffering from realistic but thin barrels. So over the years, I have had a mounting casualty rate with several broken rifle and Bren gun barrels. The metals I painted have remained virtually intact...
Recently, Warlord has released a new range of British and Canadian infantry, and so I thought I could use a few of the spare arms from the new set to get my old broken miniatures back onto the field. Time for a medic! For some reason, whenever I take medics in Bolt Action, they just don't work!
Thankfully, the new arms did work... mostly. They are bigger, more robust, particularly at the shoulders. I decided to replace the entire arms instead of attempting to patch the weapons, which would have resulted in a weak bond.
The fit with the double arms wasn't perfect; a little trimming was required to get a more snug fit. However, I was mostly happy with the results. The easiest fit were the separate arms, which require no work, beyond a little flash removal. Now to painting...
I had forgotten what colours I'd used, but I was pretty sure I'd used English Uniform and guessed the rest. I painted the arms and weapons separate off the sprue, then fitted them in place. Once I was satisfied that I had a smooth fit, I glued them.
The final pictures aren't that great, I had to take them on my camera phone, so they aren't up to my usual standard. Nevertheless, the repairs look clean and these Tommys are now fit enough to rejoin their sections again.
The final results are satisfactory. Now we'll see how long these last... I also have some German plastics in need of some medical attention...
