Orc Spears from Brushes

The new orcs from Ragnarok Miniatures come with separate spears and shields. The shields are great but I found the lead spears a little bendy.

So I set to work with my trusty brush head and clippers to make some new ones.

This was a lot of fun as I've never made Orc spears before, just ECW pikes. Once you flatten the ends you can cut them to any shape with a pair of scissors. I tried some long bladed ones as well as a pole arm I can put in with my assualt Column.

I filed and angled the edges of the blades and also squeezed and shaped the spear shafts too. I was quite pleased with the results. They are as tough as nails!

I'm afraid one of the reasons for these new plastic spears is that they are  war game bomb proof. The super glue sticks them to the lead hands really well too. It's definitely the way to go with these new figures. 

UPDATE:

I jumped out of bed this morning and rushed down stairs after having an idea to improve the Orc spears.

I had thought of using green stuff to create binding, but this is messy and time consuming. However, cotton is perfect and easy to do.

The first couple of attempts were quite crude, but the idea was sound.

The third spear was better and I was getting the hang of doing it.

The spear shaft can be made gnarly by pitching it with a smaller set of pliers.

Thinner brush bristles can be used for variety, this figure did not work with the larger bristles.

Once I was in full swing, crude swords were easy to do. A big break through was learning the plastic could be cut and carved easily with a blade.

 

A band of new Ragnarok Orcs jump the painting queue and get the dip.

The cotton dry brushes very nicely and looks quite realistic. These have been dipped in Dark tone and should be dry by tomorrow.