Artoomis
First Post
I was never able to find a figure of a mounted halfing (on a dog, anyway - I eventually found one on a pony), so I created one. I present the following info on what it took to do so, with the thought that maybe someone will get an idea or two that will help them out with their own creations.
I actually SCANNED these images with a flatbed scanner! - not as good as a good camera, but plenty good enough to get the idea.
Not my best work ever, but my eyes are not as good as the once were, and I don't have the right equipment to make up for that.
Enjoy.
Materials:
Lead (25mm "Ral Partha" Miniature Dire Wolf (?), 1976)
Plastic (25mm "War Hammer" Miniature - Legs Only)
Pewter (25mm (supposedly) Halfling Upper Body – "Reaper" Miniature, Dark Heaven #2366, Dar Dimplefoot)
Wood (Toothpick - Upper and Lower Peices of Lance)
Epoxy Putty (Some of the Legs, Some of the Halfling Armor and the Lance's Guard)
Paper (Banner and Hilt for Sword)
Card Stock (Front and Back of Saddle as well as Stirrups and Lance Rest)
Nylon (Dog's Armor)
Super Glue (To Stiffen Banner, Sword Hilt, Front and Back of Saddle and to prevent the Dog's Armor from unraveling)
Painted with oil-based primer, Acrylic (water-based) colors, oil-based glossy clear polyurethane finish (for durability) and then flat-finish overcoat (for the proper finish).
Customization:
The original halfling figure was armed with a short sword and shield. First, the legs and sword were eliminated. The scabbard was cut off (it interfered with the new legs) and replaced with the cut-off sword, with a new hilt made of rolled-up paper soaked in super glue (the old hilt being obviously unrecoverable as it is still in the halfing's hand). This was then put in place as a new scabbard after the figure had the legs added and was mounted on the dog.
The shield and sword arm were bent in closer to the figure both for appearance and ease of storage (to cut down on the total figure width).
The legs were plastic, but not facing correctly, so they were re-shaped with the gaps filled in with epoxy putty and then glued to the body.
Epoxy putty was then added to the completed figure to add armor where it was missing – the re-design to a mounted figure created places where armor was needed.
The lance was then constructed in three pieces out of a toothpick and some epoxy putty.
The lower piece was partially narrowed-down to a size that would fit in the halfling’s hand, with the remainder left larger as a counter-weight for the lance. It was then glued at both the bottom and at the hand for extra strength.
The lance’s guard was made from epoxy putty shaped into a circle and then the lance was simply poked through it. It was final-shaped (trimmed and sanded) when fully hardened.
The upper part of the lance is simply most of a regular round toothpick. The lance banner was added partly to giver strength to the lance – the top of the lance is merely glued to the hand, with no real strength there to prevent it from breaking off. The lance banner was created out of paper soaked in super glue and attached to both the lance and the helmet. The result is a lance that can withstand normal tabletop play.
The front and back of the saddle was created with a cut-up business card soaked in super glue for stiffness. The stirrups and lance rest were similarly constructed.
The dog’s armor was made from nylon that happened to be pretty thin and have the right pattern on it (it was from a “freebie” bag from some convention). The nylon was “painted” with super glue to prevent it from unraveling when cut. The cloth was then painted and a strip cut out to form the armor. Two small strips were also cut to represent the front and back horizontal straps and glued in place. The back of the armor was cut and glued in place without too much trouble (although it took several tries to get it right); the front was tricky because of cut-outs for the feet and ears and the need to keep a small strip intact on the bottom to connect with the rear of the armor.
I actually SCANNED these images with a flatbed scanner! - not as good as a good camera, but plenty good enough to get the idea.
Not my best work ever, but my eyes are not as good as the once were, and I don't have the right equipment to make up for that.
Enjoy.
Materials:
Lead (25mm "Ral Partha" Miniature Dire Wolf (?), 1976)
Plastic (25mm "War Hammer" Miniature - Legs Only)
Pewter (25mm (supposedly) Halfling Upper Body – "Reaper" Miniature, Dark Heaven #2366, Dar Dimplefoot)
Wood (Toothpick - Upper and Lower Peices of Lance)
Epoxy Putty (Some of the Legs, Some of the Halfling Armor and the Lance's Guard)
Paper (Banner and Hilt for Sword)
Card Stock (Front and Back of Saddle as well as Stirrups and Lance Rest)
Nylon (Dog's Armor)
Super Glue (To Stiffen Banner, Sword Hilt, Front and Back of Saddle and to prevent the Dog's Armor from unraveling)
Painted with oil-based primer, Acrylic (water-based) colors, oil-based glossy clear polyurethane finish (for durability) and then flat-finish overcoat (for the proper finish).
Customization:
The original halfling figure was armed with a short sword and shield. First, the legs and sword were eliminated. The scabbard was cut off (it interfered with the new legs) and replaced with the cut-off sword, with a new hilt made of rolled-up paper soaked in super glue (the old hilt being obviously unrecoverable as it is still in the halfing's hand). This was then put in place as a new scabbard after the figure had the legs added and was mounted on the dog.
The shield and sword arm were bent in closer to the figure both for appearance and ease of storage (to cut down on the total figure width).
The legs were plastic, but not facing correctly, so they were re-shaped with the gaps filled in with epoxy putty and then glued to the body.
Epoxy putty was then added to the completed figure to add armor where it was missing – the re-design to a mounted figure created places where armor was needed.
The lance was then constructed in three pieces out of a toothpick and some epoxy putty.
The lower piece was partially narrowed-down to a size that would fit in the halfling’s hand, with the remainder left larger as a counter-weight for the lance. It was then glued at both the bottom and at the hand for extra strength.
The lance’s guard was made from epoxy putty shaped into a circle and then the lance was simply poked through it. It was final-shaped (trimmed and sanded) when fully hardened.
The upper part of the lance is simply most of a regular round toothpick. The lance banner was added partly to giver strength to the lance – the top of the lance is merely glued to the hand, with no real strength there to prevent it from breaking off. The lance banner was created out of paper soaked in super glue and attached to both the lance and the helmet. The result is a lance that can withstand normal tabletop play.
The front and back of the saddle was created with a cut-up business card soaked in super glue for stiffness. The stirrups and lance rest were similarly constructed.
The dog’s armor was made from nylon that happened to be pretty thin and have the right pattern on it (it was from a “freebie” bag from some convention). The nylon was “painted” with super glue to prevent it from unraveling when cut. The cloth was then painted and a strip cut out to form the armor. Two small strips were also cut to represent the front and back horizontal straps and glued in place. The back of the armor was cut and glued in place without too much trouble (although it took several tries to get it right); the front was tricky because of cut-outs for the feet and ears and the need to keep a small strip intact on the bottom to connect with the rear of the armor.
Last edited:
