How to repair a broken miniature

Yesterday something happened to me that I hate … while cleaning my shelf, one of my miniature broke! Unfortunately our best friends often have small delicate parts, or others that hold together for small points. In this case, a blaster of my Foetid Bloat-Drone, of the Death Guard, came off the Warhammer Dark Imperium box set. Let’s see together how to repair a broken miniature.

First, let’s define together which tools we need to carry out the repair:

First, using the file, gently remove any imperfections from the two parts that have broken, in order to recreate a flat surface. This will help with the next step to make the hole for the iron support which will make the miniature more robust for the future.

At this point switch to the modeling drill, it is also a very useful tool for recreating the holes in the weapons of our Space Marines. In this case, however, you will need it to drill the joining parts between the miniature and the broken part. For this reason, pay close attention to the depth you intend to reach. It happened to me to underestimate the depth and I found myself with the tip of the drill that passed from part to part of the foot of a painted Space Marine … it was unpleasant, I can assure you!

Make the hole also on the other side, where you have to connect the miniature. After making the hole, insert the drill again and try to evaluate how deep the two holes are, it is information that we will need for the next step.

What we need to do now is to create a support that connects the two sides. To do this, we will use an attaches by cutting it with the nippers. Have you taken note of how deep the two holes are? Very well! So now you can cut a piece of metal of the right size, so that with glue it can bind perfectly to both sides.

Start from the part of the miniature that has come off. Put some glue in the hole and insert the support just made. Wait for it to dry and try it by inserting it in the rest of the miniature. By doing this we can make sure that, if it is too long, the support has the right dimension and, in case, it is still possible to reduce its size with the nippers.

You just have to use the glue for the last time, putting a drop on the hole and reconnecting the two parts. If you have made a support of the right size, the miniature will recompose perfectly, returning as new.

This is a technique that I learned in the past at great expense, during Mortarion‘s painting and composition. An imposing “miniature”, with huge wings connected on two small points. They broke away immediately … Since I applied the supports, however, I have not had any more problems.