Pikes

[Ben Waterhouse]

Gents,

Whose pikes do you recommend for Warfare figures?

Best
Ben

[barr7430]

North Star's but I'll be stocking them soon Ben

[Guest]

Did WSS troops chop their pikes down to make them more manageable, as some soldiers did in the ECW?
Please say yes, vertical pikes are blank to store.

Thanks in advance,
Dave.

[barr7430]

Actually so are horizonatal pikes! Try packing them in a box file without scraping the rest of the figures they are preventing you from getting into the box!
My storage solution was, in my opinion, my finest hour in wargaming and that includes, painting, writing activities etc... I was as smug as a Cheshire cat when I thought of it!

I came up with a 'double box file' - cut the lids off two box files and hinge the two boxes together with gaffer tape. You have a double sized box file in which pikes and standards can all be stored without a problem. Durable too. Mine have survived 18 years on the show circuit and I still have most of the originals. Pound shop or a cheap stationers... your problems will be over!

[CoffinDodger]

Barry,

You are a f***ing genius! I have been thinking about that problem for over a year and hadn't as yet come up with a solution for my guys carrying 100mm pikes. By "gaffer" tape, I presume it's what I would call ducting tape; you know, the sort that would look really good across the good lady's mouth when she sees the latest purchase of wee sodjers?



Many thanks!

Jim

[Ben Waterhouse]

Barry: Ta.

Jim: You do like living dangerously...

best
Ben

[barr7430]

Gaffer tape - plumber's tape, masking tape, parcel tape any of it will do.

It would all be quite sore if ripped off someone's skin quickly though

[Greystreak]

It would all be quite sore if ripped off someone's skin quickly though.

Sounds like the voice of experience speaking!

[barr7430]

caught!

[john_de_courcy]

Just a simple question, out of interest.

How do people paint the pikes. On the figures or separately and add them later?

[EvilGinger]

I tend to glue them to the figure before priming it & paint them with the rest of the figure. I find that they tend to stick better that way & stay that way in use.

of course I could have said with a paint brush an Acrylic paint but I trying to be "good".

Ginger

[john_de_courcy]

I tend to glue them to the figure before priming it & paint them with the rest of the figure. I find that they tend to stick better that way & stay that way in use.

of course I could have said with a paint brush an Acrylic paint but I trying to be "good".

Ginger

Thanks for controlling yourself

Haven't done any pikemen yet. Have visions of putting an eye out when painting them

[barr7430]

Having had the dubious experience of painting over 1,000 of the little bastards in the last 20 years I have, if you'll forgive the indelicacy, done it all ways

Current method for quickness:

1. Snip wire lengths from piano wire in batches of 20
2. Use dremel tool to shape pike head
3. Undercoat in dark brown (holding the business end)
4. Use large and old brush to slap on lighter colour - usually a deep flesh tone these days). Don't be too precise, the small uncovered areas will look like wood grain.
5.Finish pike head
6. Fix figures onto base first and let milliput set
7. Whilst doing so, use unpainted pike or piece of scrap wire to make an indent in the - milliput thus making a little socket for the pike in the base material. Let that set.
8. Glue pike in place with super/crazy glue BEFORE finishing the base painting of the stand of models and before adding the static grass etc.

Of course metal to metal gets a better bond than metal to paint so if you are really clever - use a scalpel to scrape out the inside surface of the pikeman's hand after painting AND scrape a little - patch on the pike where it will contact the hand... voila!

[j1mwallace]

I read somewhere that when they were filming reservoir dogs in the scene where the policeman got his ear chopped off he was gagged with gaffer tape.
When it was ripped off his mouth his front 2 teeth came with it!

I bought a chest of metal drawers from IKEA. They are 110mm deep. Magnabase the figures. no problems with pikes. I think that they cost about £40 for a 6 drawer chest.
Watch out though as they also have a slightly smaller one at 100mm height per drawer.
I also superglue the pikes first then paint them. if not the weak point is the paint

[john_de_courcy]

6. Fix figures onto base first and let milliput set
7. Whilst doing so, use unpainted pike or piece of scrap wire to make an indent in the - milliput thus making a little socket for the pike in the base material. Let that set.

Thanks for the info and advice.. I'll be having my first experience with these things tonight I think.

I hadn't even thought about putting an indent in the basing material.