Black Hat Crossbowmen

[Victoria Dickson]

I got some Renaissance figures from Black Hat Miniatures.  I love the pikemen but I have  a problem with the crossbowmen.

They cast them with the crossbows sideways, looking sort of like a normal bow.  I assume there has to be an easy way to turn them so they look like a damn crossbow, but so far I have four ruined figures (end of crossbow snapped off) and only two useable ones.  Anyone else used their crossbowmen and have a foolproof way of doing it?

These are the figures:

 

http://crazywargames.blogspot.co.uk/

[Mike]

hmmm, are you twisting them or cutting them off and then sticking them back on the correct way round?

[Angel Barracks]

Maybe they are gangster?

[kyoteblue]

You have to gently bend them…and sometimes they will still snap off. One of those sucky things that happen.

[Victoria Dickson]

Twisting them, which lost an arm of the crossbow on one of them, took the whole thing off on another and gave me two that seemed ok till I went to undercoat them, where the touch of the brush was enough to see them fall off.

 

 

http://crazywargames.blogspot.co.uk/

[Victoria Dickson]

kyoteblue wrote:

You have to gently bend them…and sometimes they will still snap off. One of those sucky things that happen.

Thanks, I’ll do the best I can with them and recruit the rest of the crossbowmen I need from other suppliers. 🙂

http://crazywargames.blogspot.co.uk/

[kyoteblue]

I like Essex figures for crossbowmen.

[OB]

Sadly a common experience, the snapping, not Essex which are nice.

I suppose you could slice off the bow arc and stick it back on using a minute ball of green stuff.  I’ve done that but it’s a fiddle and you need to use more of the harder medium in the mix so the sodding thing doesn’t fall off again.  It does work though.

Or just make a new bow arc from green stuff, much easier than it sounds and it saves wasting figures.  If you want to add the stirrup in the centre just stick a ball of green stuff in place and pierce it with a point. flatten it a bit in about 20 minutes.

OB
http://withob.blogspot.co.uk/

[General Slade]

Minifigs do their crossbowmen the same way.  You might have some luck if you warm the figures gently before you twist them.  I find holding them up to an old-fashioned light bulb  is quite a good way to do it but putting them in hot water would probably work as well.

[Victoria Dickson]

Thanks for the tips. 🙂

http://crazywargames.blogspot.co.uk/

[Cerdic]

I think using heat before you twist could be the answer (ooo, er, missus, etc!). Maybe try getting a hairdryer on them?

http://28mmreview.blogspot.co.uk

[Not Connard Sage]

It think it depends on the casting metal.

I didn’t have any problem with the Minifigs** Hussite crossbowmen I bought in the early 199os as the metal was quite malleable. I twisted 48 of the little bugger’s weapons through 90 degrees and didn’t lose one.

That’s not much help I know 🙂

 

 

 

 

Obvious contrarian and passive aggressive old prat, who is taken far too seriously by some and not seriously enough by others.

[Autodidact-O-Saurus]

Well, that’s an unfortunate design decision. Earlier figures (as in during the 1990s) would have been somewhere around 60% lead and much more malleable. Contemporary figures tend to have little or no lead and can be quite brittle.

For these particular figures I’d cut off the bow arms, file a groove across the top of the stock and glue a short piece of curved wire into the groove. I can’t tell for certain, but it looks to me as if the stock is positioned appropriately and that the bow arms emerge from the top/bottom of the stock. That’s just wrong.

BTW, that’s ‘gangsta,’ not ‘gangster.’ 😉

Self taught, persistently behind the times, never up to date. AKA ~ jeff
More verbosity: http://petiteguerre.blogspot.com/

[kyoteblue]

What rules are you going to use with your 15 mm crossbowmen Victoria?

[Victoria Dickson]

kyoteblue wrote:

What rules are you going to use with your 15 mm crossbowmen Victoria?

I’m planning on trying Furiosa from Alternative Armies.  I bought the rule book and the supplement after I saw them advertised on here, actually.  I was tempted by the thought of scratchbuilding Leonardo’s ‘wondrous inventions’ and having renaissance battles with air support and tanks…

Plus fighting more historical ones too, obviously. 

I’ve given the rules a quick scan, it’ll be ages before I get enough figures painted up for even a tiny battle so I’ve plenty of time to familiarise myself with them.  They look a bit complex but I’m not letting that scare me off. 🙂

If Furiosa doesn’t work out I have other options, the figures won’t go to waste and it’s a fun period to paint.  (Meanwhile I’m considering another side project in a completely different period, very small number of figures but in a larger scale to let me see if I can paint them to a decent standard, I’m in full butterfly mode now  )

http://crazywargames.blogspot.co.uk/

[Etranger]

Autodidact-O-Saurus wrote:

Well, that’s an unfortunate design decision. Earlier figures (as in during the 1990s) would have been somewhere around 60% lead and much more malleable. Contemporary figures tend to have little or no lead and can be quite brittle.

For these particular figures I’d cut off the bow arms, file a groove across the top of the stock and glue a short piece of curved wire into the groove. I can’t tell for certain, but it looks to me as if the stock is positioned appropriately and that the bow arms emerge from the top/bottom of the stock. That’s just wrong.

…>

Probably a decision based on ease of casting. That is a good fix though.

[kyoteblue]

I know about butterfly periods I just bought Rebel Miniatures 15 mm Grey Aliens and Cthulhu Pulp.No idea how I’m going to use either!!

 

[Victoria Dickson]

Don’t get me started, I was looking at the Rebel Minis pulp and steampunk adventurers yesterday, soooooooooooo tempted lol

http://crazywargames.blogspot.co.uk/

[Rob Vega]

Angel Barracks wrote:

Maybe they are gangster?

LOL Goofball!

[Author]

Posts