Bolting a Large Mini to a Wooden Base

For the Grenadier Death Giant, I did not want the model to be permanently affixed to the wooden base I prepared, so I engineered a method of bolting it, so that it may be removed if need be.

The model itself has a hollow cavity on its cast base, so I had room to install two customized nuts. Slots were cut in with a hacksaw to give a gripping point to some wire anchors, as well as an encasement of resin that would surround them.

The placement of the nuts within the model's cast base came first, marks for the holes were then transcribed to the wooden base using a few measurements and tracing paper.

I realized that the whole figure tilted way too far back, so I started building up a rim of Green Stuff on one edge of the base to level him out.

To fit one of the nuts in properly some metal needed shaving off. A vice and a large file negotiated the deal.

A few bits of brass and some Green Stuff positioned the nuts in the hollow, and strong casting resin was poured in (foamed up a bit but was trimmed flush after curing) to permanently lock the nuts in position. Bolts feed through the bottom of the wooden base, into the nuts, and the connection is quite snug (being careful to not over-torque of course).

Fancy Footwork

Drop the Base

The Death Giant needs to know where he stands. The cast base is okay, but he will need something more substantial so I decided to have a go at hacking out a wood base. I may just paint the base as staining it will make the end-grain look awful, plus I can then adjust color to best suit how the finished model looks.

Being that I had limited access to woodworking tools, I did everything by hand.

I found a chunk of wood (this was cut off of a wooden palette) and measured out a decent little shape to fit the footprint of the model.

A few basic cuts with a hand-saw and the block is in shape. The bolts are in holes going straight through (I'm bolting the Giant, not gluing him, onto the base).

I measured out an interior edge .25" from the outermost edge to create a little bevel. I notched in a series of diagonal cuts around the edge, and started carving down to that measured edge. Hiring a beaver would have helped, but the job got done nonetheless.

A kiss of the sandpaper and it's shaping up. That inner angle is a bit crap but I can shape that up as I go.

Not exact but I don't really shoot for exact anymore, it just leads to disappointment when it's not achieved! Call it 'folk' art.

And the headless Giant stands proud on his new footing. I'll share my bolting method in the next post. Cheers and happy Spring! (which always means it's getting to be excellent weather to spray-prime outdoors again!)

Grenadier Death Giant: Arm Support

With a big model like the all metal Grenadier Death Giant of the Undead Legion, strong support is needed to hold those parts up. I had arranged a decent pin for the upright axe-wielding arm, but I felt more was necessary and so added another pin.

There was no more room in the arm cast to drill another deep hole. Half of the cast was now occupied by a failed attempt: a snapped drill bit embedded in the metal. I had enough to seat a pin comfortable, but the corresponding hole would have to be on the torso.

To do this, I had to build up an area of Green Stuff, let it cure, then drill into that.

A brass pin was seated into the arm casting,

The two pins participate nicely, one being rooted in the torso casting (old steel) and one being rooted in the arm casting (brass),

The fit works well, and the two pins being (of course) ever so slightly not parallel actually makes for a nice tight grip, even without glue.

But an unsightly gap needs some filling and detailing with more Green Stuff. I'll share the progress soon. Thanks again for tuning in to this blog!