Tutorial: how to pin a miniature on a base

You usually don't think that much about  the best way to pin a miniature on a base. Gamers don't do at all because of those fancy cases where each miniature is protected on its own. I started thinking about this after my first serious accident on my way to a painting workshop. I opened my miniature box and found a terrible battle ground. About 4 miniatures were heavily damaged because ONE miniature wasn't pinned correctly to the base. The collateral damage was breathtaking. ^_^

I spoke about this problem with Stephan Rath (derwish) and he smiled my problem away. He shared his way to pin a mini, and I would like to share this way with you today. It is very simple, not even worth the name "tutorial". 

The first step is to file the area that will be pinned. In most cases, this will be the foot. If the miniature is standing on both feet, take the time to pin both of them. Pinning one foot will be sufficient for your showcase at home but not for longer trips by car, train or plane. I usually drill a hole into the heel, as this point can't be seen from the front. Make sure that the hole is a little bit wider than the wire. Very simple so far.....

The wire you choose must be very hard, you should not be able to bend it with your fingers. Now comes the simple, yet very effective idea that Stephan came up with. In order to get a more stable pin, you need a huge, uneven surface that can be covered with glue. Your wire is neither huge, nor is it uneven. Therefore you need a small amount of tissue. If it sonsists of several layer, take only one. More layers will be too thick in the end.

Cover half of the wire with superglue and let it dry about 1 to 2 minutes. After that, surround the wire with one layer of tissue. The paper will make the glue dry instantly. Now you have am absorbent, very rough surface. Repeat this step with all pins you need for the miniature.

The rest should be clear. Put the wire with the prepared ending into your pinholes and let it dry. When you are pinning your miniature on some kind of armature for painting, like I always do, don't put tissue on the other ending of the wire. Instead, just glue it to your armature. When you have finished the mini, remove it and glue tissue to all pins, then glue it to the finished base.

From my experience, this way of pinning makes it almost impossible to remove a mini from the base without really wanting it.

Have fun and please let me know if this works for you.



Chris