FROSTGRAVE PLASTIC WIZARDS FROSTGRAVE PLASTIC WIZARDS
© North Star Military Figures Click here to order Click here to order Home Latest North Star Stargrave Frostgrave Oathmark Crusader Artizan Great War Shieldwolf A 1690’s English pikeman, a Greek Hoplite and Thureophoroi and a Dark Ages Irish Warrior. A 1690’s English pikeman, a Greek Hoplite and Thureophoroi and a Dark Ages Irish Warrior. North Star Spears. North Star Magazine home page PLASTIC SPEARS
SPEARS Because they are so simple to cut to any desired size, the  plastic spears may be used for a wide variety of models,  from Matabele warriors to late eighteenth-century  pikemen. CLEAN I carefully removed the spears from the sprue using the  side-cutters I use for everything; this is much safer than  using a knife (you are far more likely to break the spear or  even cut yourself with even a sharp knife), though the  specialised frame side-cutters may be an even better  option. There are few moulding lines on the spears, but a  quick scrape along the length with a scalpel will quickly  remove them.  
Above. A 1690’s English pikeman, a Greek Hoplite and Thureophoroi and a Dark Ages Irish Warrior.
LENGTH The plastic spears come in one size of 80mm and must be  cut down for most occasions, with the exception of  Pikemen. I trimmed them with the same side cutters,  finishing with a scalpel. As previously indicated, I left the  pikemen's spears at 80mm, the Hoplite and Thureophoroi  spears are cut to 50mm, the Irish javelin 35mm, and  25mm for the Matabele warriors' Iklwa stabbing spear. 
DRILLING After I finished cleaning up the rest of the figure, I focused  on his hand. The hand here is quite wide open, and  attaching the spear without any attention would have been  unconvincing. So I carefully closed his hand by pressing  the fingers and closing the opening for the spear. Once  this was completed, I drilled the hand with the 1.4mm drill  bit. I then removed the swarf with a scalpel. The drill was  then run back through to ensure that the hole was clear.  
ALTERNATIVELY Some models, like this pikeman are cast with more open  hands that are roughly the correct size, so you won't  necessarily need to follow the preceding steps. To check  the fit, I offered up the pike, and after cleaning the hand  with my scalpel and making sure it fitted properly, I used  superglue to secure the spear in place. I frequently use a  long pin to apply superglue rather than squeezing it  directly from the bottle; this decreases the possibility of  sticky accidents. And the pike is securely set in place.
FITTING The spear was a bit too loose when I tried it in the hand.  So, with the spear in position, I used an old blunt bladed  sculpting tool to carefully close the hand around the spear,  pinching it in place but not damaging the fingers  themselves. Tidy up with a file to ensure everything is  smooth and neat. Next, use capillary action to pull the  medium-viscosity superglue into the hole and around the  spear to secure it in place. I also attached it to the base  because I like to attach spears to multiple locations if  possible.
Crusader Miniatures Dark Ages Irish Warrior 35mm spear. Crusader Miniatures Dark Ages Irish Warrior 35mm spear. Crusader Miniatures Dark Ages Irish Warrior 35mm spear. Crusader Miniatures Dark Ages Irish Warrior 35mm spear. The plastic spears may be used for a wide variety of models, from Matabele warriors to late eighteenth-century pikemen. Carefully remove the spears from the sprue using side-cutters, this is much safer than using a knife. The few moulding lines on the spears can be quickly removed by scraping along the length with a scalpel.
Below. Carefully remove the spears from the sprue using side-cutters, this is much safer than using a knife. Below right. The few moulding lines on the spears can be quickly removed by scraping along the length with a scalpel.
GIRTH The spears have a diameter of 1.3mm; my nearest drill bit  is 1.4mm, so I used that for the majority of the drilling out  to take the spears, and it allowed for some play and to  accept glue. I used both a hand drill and a powered drill.    
The plastic spears come in one size of 80mm to be cut down for most occasions, with the exception of Pikemen. The spears have a diameter of 1.3mm; my nearest drill bit is 1.4mm, close enough to allow some play.
Above. The plastic spears come in one size of 80mm to be cut down for most occasions, with the exception of Pikemen.
Above. The spears have a diameter of 1.3mm; my nearest drill bit is 1.4mm, close enough to allow some play.
I drilled the hand with the 1.4mm drill bit. I drilled the hand with the 1.4mm drill bit. I carefully closed his hand by pressing the fingers and closing the opening for the spear.
Right. I carefully closed his hand by pressing the fingers and closing the opening for the spear. Below. I drilled the hand with the 1.4mm drill bit.
I then removed the swarf from the drilling with a scalpel. The drill was then run back through to ensure that the hole was clear.
Above.  I then removed the swarf from the drilling with a scalpel.
Above. The drill was then run back through to ensure that the hole was clear.
The spear was a bit too loose when I tried it in the hand. I used an old blunt bladed sculpting tool to carefully close the hand around the spear The spear was a bit too loose when I tried it in the hole. Use capillary action to pull the medium-viscosity superglue into the hole and around the spear to secure it in place. I also attached it to the base because I like to attach spears to multiple locations if possible.
Right and below. The spear was a bit too loose when I tried it in the hand. Below Right. I used an old blunt bladed sculpting tool to carefully close the hand around the spear
Above. Capillary action to pulls the medium-viscosity superglue around the spear to secure it in place.
Above. I also attached it to the base because I like to attach spears to multiple locations if possible.
To check the fit, I offered up the pike. Cleaning the hand with my scalpel. The pikeman has more open hands that are roughly the correct size for the spear. I frequently use a long pin to apply superglue rather than squeezing it directly from the bottle; this decreases the possibility of sticky accidents. The pike is securely set in place, with two points of contact.
Right. The pikeman has more open hands that are roughly the correct size for the spear. Below. To check the fit, I offered up the pike. Below right. Cleaning the hand with my scalpel.
Above. I use a pin to apply superglue rather than squeezing it directly from the bottle; this decreases sticky accidents.
A Dark Ages Irish Warrior, 1690’s pikeman, a Greek Hoplite and a Greek Thureophoroi with various sizes of spears.
Above. The pike is securely set in place, with two points of contact.
Above. A Dark Ages Irish Warrior, 1690’s pikeman, a Greek Hoplite and a Greek Thureophoroi with various sizes of spears.
Crusader Miniatures Greek Thureophoroi with 50mm spear. Crusader Miniatures Greek Thureophoroi with 50mm spear. Crusader Miniatures Greek Thureophoroi with 50mm spear. Crusader Miniatures Greek Thureophoroi with 50mm spear. Crusader Miniatures Greek Hoplite. 50mm spear. Crusader Miniatures Greek Hoplite. 50mm spear. Crusader Miniatures Greek Hoplite. 50mm spear. Crusader Miniatures Greek Hoplite. 50mm spear. Crusader Miniatures Greek Hoplite. 50mm spear. Crusader Miniatures Greek Hoplite. 50mm spear. Crusader Miniatures Greek Hoplite. 50mm spear. Crusader Miniatures Greek Hoplite. 50mm spear. North Star 17th Century Swiss Pikemen with the full 80mm spear. North Star 17th Century Swiss Pikemen with the full 80mm spear. North Star 17th Century Swiss Pikemen with the full 80mm spear. North Star 17th Century Swiss Pikemen with the full 80mm spear. North Star 17th Century Unarmoured English Pikemen with the full 80mm spear. North Star 17th Century Unarmoured English Pikemen with the full 80mm spear. North Star 17th Century Unarmoured English Pikemen with the full 80mm spear. North Star 17th Century Unarmoured English Pikemen with the full 80mm spear. PLASTIC SPEARS
Above. A 1690’s English pikeman, a Greek Hoplite and Thureophoroi and a Dark Ages Irish Warrior.