Hierophant model bending / breaking

[doomminion]

Hello Hive,

I have recently purchased a Hierophant but I have heard disturbing reports of the model bending and then eventually breaking under its own weight.

Are these issues common ?
Can they be avoided by adding extra supports to the model?
What would you recommend?

Sent from my Nexus 4 using proboards

[swarm492]

I to have heard about this and have seen pictures people posted regarding this issue. As far as I am concerned it is a real issue, I have seen various threads about how to deal with it and how to add pins within the legs of your Hierophant. I addressed this issue with my Hierophant by buying a 200mm resin base online along with a clear plastic rod. If memory serves me then mine was half an inch thick, but there are various thicknesses and lengths you can buy. I cut roughly a 12 inch section of the rod and took a power drill to the base and the underside of the Hierophant. My Hierophant is now supported by this rod and base completely, with the tips of the legs floating about a quarter of a inch off the ground. I have had great success with this. The picture is not the best but should provide a example.


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[rehkal]

How to solve this issue all depends upon how bold you are feeling. If you are not squeamish about cutting up the legs of a $300 model do what I did.



I bought copper armature wire from local art supply shop, about the same thickness as a wire coat hanger (hint hint). I gathered all the courage I could manage and made three cuts to each leg, the red lines indicate where. I have a super thin hobby saw I use for fine cuts, the blade is quite a bit thinner than the one GW produces.. it is also 'deeper' allowing deeper cuts, obviously. Using a drill bit slightly larger than the wire I very carefully drilled through the length of each piece of leg. Because of the length of each piece I had to drill from both sides, meeting the holes in the middle. On the scyth talon I just used a grinding bit on the dremel to grind a groove for the rod to sit in. The thickness of the back side of the talon is perfect to completely hide the wire. It should be noted I did drill through the 'bumpy' part at the top of the talon, then ground the groove in the smooth blade part of the talon. I shaped the end of the wire to match the curve of the talon and carefully reassembled the leg onto the single continuous piece of wire. A bit of glue and green stuff and the only way to tell there is a metal pin inside is with xrays or a metal detector. or if you look at the tip end of the talons you might see a bit of copper. My hierophant has been free standing for a couple of years with no sign of bending.

The back legs however... I did nothing with, well nearly nothing at least. After examining them closely I realized they would be strong enough with just a bit of tweaking so they are more upright, instead of sitting at the funny angle they are normally at.



See how straight up and down the lower leg sections are? That isn't normal, I heated the legs and bent them into that position. There may be a tiny amount of warping in the claws on the hind feet of mine but it's not noticeable unless you are really looking for it. Probably could fix that with a single pin drilled from talon tip upwards into the leg as far as you can reach.



This picture shows just how much I bent the back leg, still not straight up and down but so much more stronger with that little bend in it.

[doomminion]

Thank you very much Swarm and Rehkal.
I am glad to have multiple solutions to this issue. Now I can investigate the supplies I'll need from local stores to see what is on hand. I am also glad I'm not going crazy as cutting into a $300 model when I didn't need to would definitely make me squeamish.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using proboards

[Mauler]

Good luck!

[atrocity]

The model I bought was already pinned, it was cast with metal rods inside the legs (some chinese version). I thought Brilliant! It'll never break. A few months after standing in my cabinet the front claw was bent.

I drilled holes in a huge base and glued it there with extra support in the center. It hasn't broken since.

[swarm492]

Rehkal you are far braver than I, I remember looking at exactly what you posted and thought..awww (please do not swear) no.

[xtztxtxz]

On mine I found it better to support the body centrally on a base, then magnetise the tail and limbs using 6x1mm disc magnets. It makes the model much less fragile and far easier to transport as it can pack into a much smaller volume (I have some KR cases that hold the pieces).

On this one the supports (made from a wire coathangar) are hidden through the middle of the statue and attached to weighted base. My first Hierophant uses a similar idea with the crashed aquila lander terrain piece, weighted underneath. I can use cotton wool as smoke to hide the supports.

It also means you can give the model a lower profile on the table, as a large base the same width as the legs can be tough to balance, especially on the realm of battle board's hills...

[rehkal]

Jul 30, 2014 13:11:13 GMT swarm492 said:

Rehkal you are far braver than I, I remember looking at exactly what you posted and thought..awww (please do not swear) no.

It is model-craft.. it is what we do.

On a serious note, I did not want a central support on my Hierophant so I thought long and hard about how to keep the legs from bending over time. As the last photo shows I plotted out a large cinematic base for the model but have never made the time to finish it thanks to disruptive life changes. Which are starting to settle down now so I am looking to finish my army finally. But I have a lot to do before I get to what is essentially a purely 'for display' model. My usual opponents have nothing to counter the Hierophant, so I will not cheese a victory from them by using it. My Hierodules and Harridan is the same, mostly for the collection and display. Obviously if I ever get the chance to actually use my Hierophant in a game having such a large base would be a hinderance, so I had to design the Hierophant to be easily removed from the base. By making him free standing I can just pick it up and place it on a game board.

The marine in the Rhino has been rather extensively modified as well. lol.. poor chap doesn't realize the tail of the Hierophant is about to remove his head.

[swarm492]

This is very true, my Hierophant sees the table maybe 1-3 times a year.