Sword arm replacement

Following my post of the converted one armed ACW Cavalry officer figure on 19th Jan, and the recent posts on sword replacement, I found some sprues (can you have metal sprues? or are they just plastic?) from Tumbling Dice with alternative weapon arms for Crimean cavalrymen. A bit of superglue and a lick of paint later and my officer is now ready to lead his troops in battle.

I don't know if I can obtain these sprues from Tumbling Dice without the figures they come with, and they are perhaps a little short and thick to be a perfect match on Hinton Hunt figures, but this looks to be a good solution for those figures which need new arms, not just swords. I'm certainly pleased with the way it has turned out for this figure.

Sword replacement #1 - what it's supposed to look like

Peter Gilder's Hinton Hunt Cuirassiers with replacement pin swords. Not only could he do these perfectly, he could also do long straight heavy cavalry swords or shorter light cavalry swords. And paint. And design figures....

Sword replacement #2 - the traditional way....

The traditional tools for the job (plus pins) - I have never managed any acceptable replacements with this method. When you get really frustrated of course, you can put the figure you are trying to repair on the anvial and smash it to bits with the hammer....

Sword replacement #3 - my new method

As mentioned below I received a parcel of goodies from Musket Miniatures (ex-Stone Mountain) in the States today. The main reason for ordering these was to find some suitable artillery pieces to match up with the Hinton Hunt ACW crews I completed earlier as the first step in the ACW project. I also took the opportunity to order some caissons, limbers and horse crews, some resin tents, and a number of small arms packs - one of Springfield and Enfield rifles, and three containing cavalry weapons - carbines, pistols and sabres. Each of these contains 6 pistols 8 carbines and ten swords, five drawn and five in scabbards. This may be an expensive way to obtain these items, as although you could do something with the swords in scabbards as well, you get a lot of other things you may not need with your swords, then you have to wait for them to come from the States and battle with the exchange rate. Another option (also Stateside) would be the RSM 20mm sabres and 25mm cavalry swords which can be obtained from the Dayton Painting Consortium. Although I have used some of their other accessories I have not seen their swords but will be interested to get some and try them out.

I cut away the handle of one of the sabres with a pair of side cutters, leaving the guard attached to the blade. I then removed any traces of the guard from the figure (unfortunately for this blog I was using an S Range officer). The sword hilt and guard were then sufficient to form a strong joint when bonded with superglue. I am very pleased with the result, which is the best sword replacement I have ever managed, after some very unconvincing pin ones. The method will work where the sword hand remains relatively intact

The two pictures show the repaired figure, alongside one in a similar original state, with some of the Musket Miniature swords.