Any tips on how to assemble these minis?

[Sauce Devil]

The first is \"Imogen - Demonette With Wings\" from Hasslefree (LOL!) Miniatures.

One wing slots into a shallow groove on the body and the other slots into an even shallower grove on the side of the other wing; superglue alone would be useless because the wings would fall off at the slightest touch so it will have to be epoxy resin. Has anyone done this mini?

Really I need to pin the wings in place but they are quite thin (about 1.5 mm thickness) so drilling a hole is looking difficult.

Second is a Dark Elf Sorceress from Avatars Of War. That outstretched arm is needle thin! Can it really be pinned at all?

They are both beautifully detailed miniatures, more delicate than anything I\'ve seen from Games Workshop, but they certainly weren\'t made for the usual 12-16 year olds market because they demand some real patience and skill to put together.

I\'ve been wondering about soldering; is it possible to solder minis? I\'ve never heard of anyone doing it but perhaps there are methods of assembly I haven\'t considered.

 

[green stuff]

Have a look in your local hardware store. Some have 0.6mm drill bits for Dremels. That should do the trick, but be careful while handling them, they\'re needle sharp and break easily.

PS : was it foggy when you took those pics ?

 

[Sauce Devil]

Thanks Green Stuff, I have a set of micro drill-bits and one of them is small enough (I think) but it\'s going to take a steady hand to make a deep enough hole. I\'ll have to find some very thin strong wire - maybe something like a bristle from a wire brush.

Edit* The pics were taken on my webcam, I\'ll have to buy myself a proper camera soon.

 

[green stuff]

Mark the point where you want to drill with an exacto blade first. If you drill 2mm both sides it should be deep enough for such scales.

Concerning wire strength, any wire should do the trick. Your aim here should be creating more contact planes for the glue to hold; not creating an internal armature. Should the mini fall, the pinning will hold stronger than the paint . Thin gardening wire can do the trick.

Happy camera shopping .

 

[miniDrake]

I find 1mm paper clips work a treat can use them to pin most things.100 or so to a box will last you a long time.

 

[Sauce Devil]

Thanks MiniDrake and GreenStuff, chances are I won\'t get around to assembling these minis for a month but I\'ll report back when they\'re done and say how they turned out.

 

[Einion]

Yeah, paperclip wire is a good material for pinning as it\'s stiff and strong in short lengths. Most are very shiny these days (chrome plated or similar) so I would advise scuffing up the surface or notching it to help give the glue something to hold on to.

Einion

 

[airhead]

for something that fine, I\'d get a staple.

Find your red swingline stapler (have you seen my stapler? It\'s a red swingline), put your finger under the bar, but not where the staples come out. Press down on the top and eject one staple. This should make about 3 pins here.

210 staples per 4\" strip. This results in each staple being approximately 0.019\". An 0.02\" bit or 0.5 mm or #76 should do the trick.

Be warry of carbide micro bits. They are extreemly brittle, but I\'ve found if you can get a box cheap, you can drill in one side, drill the other side. If you luck holds, it will break off in the mini with enough sticking out to glue the other bit to.

 

[Bastetcat]

sewing pins make very nice mini pins; even the very thin ones (like silk pins) are very stiff when cut that small. They are also very easy to come by - most grocery stores will have a small sewing section with pins.

It\'s WELL worth the effort to pin!