Sooner or later, every miniature breaks. A model falls off the table, a spear snaps in transit or an ankle gives way. The good news is that almost every break can be fixed, and with the right technique the repair is often stronger than the original. Here's a practical guide to the most common kinds of damage.
First: don't panic, find the pieces
Collect every fragment, however small. Check the floor, the case and the carpet with a torch held low to the ground; the light catches small pieces. Keep them together in a small bag or tub until you're ready to repair.
Clean breaks in plastic
A clean snap in plastic is the easiest fix:
- Dry fit the pieces to check they align.
- If both surfaces are bare plastic, plastic glue gives the strongest bond because it melts the surfaces together.
- If the surfaces are painted or varnished, scrape the paint off the contact faces with a knife, or use superglue, which bonds to painted surfaces better than plastic glue.
- Hold the parts together until the glue grabs, or support them with sticky tack while they set.
Pinning weak points
Thin joins such as ankles, wrists, spears and banner poles often break again in the same place. Pinning adds a metal core to reinforce them:
- Choose a pin: a straightened paperclip or brass rod a little thinner than the narrowest part of the join.
- Drill a hole in the centre of one broken face using a pin vice (a small hand drill). Our guide on drilling gun barrels covers the drilling technique.
- Mark the matching spot on the other face. A dab of paint on the pin end, pressed against the other side, leaves a perfect mark.
- Drill the second hole, test-fit the pin, then glue it in with superglue.
Bent parts
- Plastic: gentle bends can sometimes be eased back after softening the plastic in warm (not boiling) water. Hold it in the correct position while it cools in cold water.
- Resin: resin is more brittle but responds well to heat. Dip the bent part in hot water for a short time, gently reshape it, then set it in cold water.
- Metal: soft metal can be bent back slowly, but repeated bending weakens it. For thin parts that have bent several times, replace or reinforce them with a pin.
Always take care with hot water, and never use heat on a painted model you don't want to risk.
Missing pieces
If a part is lost for good, you have options:
- Replace it from your bits box. A spare weapon, hand or head is often a quick fix.
- Rebuild small missing details, such as a spear tip or blade, from plasticard, wire or epoxy putty.
- Turn the damage into a feature. A broken sword becomes a jagged battle-damaged one, or a missing banner top becomes a tattered pole.
Replacing parts is essentially a small conversion; our kitbashing guide has more ideas.
Filling cracks and gaps
After re-gluing, there may be a visible seam. Fill fine cracks with a thin liquid filler or putty, smoothed with a damp brush. For bigger gaps, use two-part epoxy putty and sculpt it to match the surrounding detail. Let it cure fully, then sand or scrape smooth.
Touching up the paint
- Prime any bare plastic, putty or metal with a brush-on primer or a thin coat of paint.
- Repaint the base colour over the repair.
- Re-apply shading and highlights to blend the repair into the surrounding paint.
- Varnish the area to protect the repair.
If you didn't note your colours, compare small test patches against the original under daylight before painting the repair.
Chipped paint
For chips on edges and raised areas, touch up with the original colour and re-apply the highlight. If chips keep appearing in the same places, a coat of varnish, satin or gloss followed by matt, gives much stronger protection.
Preventing future breaks
- Pin fragile parts during the original build.
- Varnish finished models before gaming.
- Pick models up by the base, never by weapons or banners.
- Transport models so they can't move or knock into each other. The same applies to scenery; see our guide to storing and transporting Battlefields: Armageddon terrain.
- Avoid storing models somewhere hot, which can soften glue and warp resin.
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Warhammer and the names of associated armies, characters and places are trademarks of Games Workshop Limited, used here without permission and solely to identify the subject. This is an unofficial fan guide.