Sunday, May 21, 2023

Damage Limitation

wheres me gun gone?

After buying some badly damaged figures from eBay, I had the idea of doing battlefield repairs on them. For this, I went back to my old trusted friend...the brush bristle.
I had two thickness of bristle, the smaller one is good for flag poles and bayonets. The larger, thicker one can be flattened and turned into blades. It also came in handy for the rifle stocks. I had to look out in hard wear shops until I found the right size and strength of bristle. 

Quick fix and as tough as nails. Never leave a man behind...in the box.
I used the Gel Superglue to add a little detail. This will just make some contrast with the smooth bristle.
As figures are expensive these days, battlefield repairs are a good way to amass a force on the cheap. This wounded soldier must have a design weakness in his rifle, as quite a few had the same damage.



The plastic bristles stick together really well, which means bayonets are easy to make.


A sabre means another officer is saved from the bits bin.


More standards for the Rebs.


While I was messing around with the glue, I tried some plasticard slings for the muskets. These were a nice touch and added some more detail. Hopefully this new addition will take the focus off the crude bristle gun.


UPDATE:
Well I had to rush one of these new musket guys to the front of the que. The results are good I think. I used the fine tip permanent pen to just put some extra detail in, like the ramrod. I first put the gunmetal colour down then black lined around it.
 This figure has just had his Dip brushed on so is very shiny.
 


I think it will be impossible to tell the brush bristles from a distance now, especially with my eye sight. I do hate seeing figures go to waste so I'm glad I made the effort.

5 comments:

Tiberian general said...

Very cool ideas, you gotta love the bristle brush.



Willz.

Neil Patterson said...

Inventive work!
Once painted, I suspect it will only be you who notices any different.
I do wonder when making these types of repair if the figure suffers when they come alive to fight their miniature battles "Sam why aren't you firing?" "There's something wrong with my gun Captain, like it's made outta wood!" ☺
Neil

Secundus said...

Good point, I'll have to give them all bayonets now...

Furt said...

Very clever and nicely executed.
Frank

Aly Morrison said...

Very nice bristle work…

All the best. Aly