what's a pin vise

how do you pin things with a hobby drill?

A pin vice is a small vice (thing you use to clamp things together or hold them really thight).

You pin something by drilling a small hole (0.5 cm into the model, if necessary less). Then you glue a small bit (the length of the holes on both sides of the join, aka twice that of your present hole) of wire, put a bit of bright paint on it, and hold it at the other part in the desired position. Then drill a second hole where the paint has left a mark, insert the first part (including the pin) and glue it into place. This gives a very strong join, which is necessary if you want to build something big out of metal (balrogs, dragons, etc), and very handy with anything bigger then an arm.

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"... Telchar wrought it in the deeps of time."
-On Andùril, The Lord of the Rings

Now, I noticed that there was a question about how to convert the infamous plastic High Elves. Having done that a lot, in the beginning to failure and then more recently to great success, here are some things to keep in mind.

Swordsmen-
1) The shoulders must be cleanly cut off, otherwise your model has no hope. Cut right up against where the cloak wraps around the shoulder.
2) Don't be afraid to break the sword in half. If you don't, you'll never position the hands correctly.
3) Due to where the shoulders are positioned on the model, the right arm will have to be, at least, theoretically, higher than the left. Ideally it will stay at collarbone-level or higher. NOTE- while this is not necessary, it does help to balance the shoulders of the swordsman, as the right is higher than the left.

Archer-
Considerably easier, the main things are the right arm- take the whole thing off and re-model the armor if you want a different pose, for the left arm, once again, break the shoulder clean, then cut it in half and re-model the chainmail.

But above all, get creative. Best of luck!

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"...in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.”

Thanks valamir
Any tips from anyone will be accepted with gratitude, as I will probably be starting these conversions next week

You are welcome. As one more thing I forgot, do watch the scale. With weapons, the scale to the elves doesn't matter too much, but the arms and hands of the high elves are rather small- so any modeling should be conservative. Don't go for bulky the first time, rather, "Less is more."

Also, chainmail- I've found the best thing to use is a thumbtack (in my opinion the ultimate modeling tool), as you put the putty on, then dip in water, get rid of the bead of water, then etch details into the putty. Remove excess as you go (that's for the armor and cloak details- for chainmail poke nice, neat, small little holes in greenstuff).

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"...in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.”

I've been using a nail clipper and a wire cutter for decades. My friend has a flush cutter and when I was at his house for a hobby afternoon I used his cutters. They are 20 times better. I was shocked. Army Painter sells both metal cutters and plastic cutters. They just came out with "starter" tool sets for $10 US. A metal one with CA glue and the metal cutters and a plastic set with the plastic cutters and plastic glue.

Hi, I've been doing some High Elf conversions recently to add a bit of variety to my forces.

The archers are great for converting into spearmen or swordsmen. I then tend to discard the rest of the swordsman, once I've cut off the sword and arms.

If I get the chance, I'll post some pictures to give you an idea of what I've been up to.

Converting plastic High Elves is a lot of fun.

Remember that if you are changing an archer into a swordsman, you'll need to cut off the quiver from the back of the model and use greenstuff or similar to remodel the cloak.

A pin vice (as I know it) is a small hand drill. It's usually a bit shorter than a pen. In one end you put a tiny drill bit. Mine is a push drill, so when it's pushed down, the drill bit rotates. It's great for pinning models. Guidance on this is included in many of the rules manuals under the hobby section. You won't need one of these if you are converting plastics. They're only really necessary when joining metal parts as they give a far stronger join than glue alone.

Have fun!
Here's a link to my WIP.
viewtopic.php?f=50&t=11993&p=302449#p302449

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Painting again...

thanks natarn, and please post those pictures soon

I posted them in my WIP.
Click the link.

viewtopic.php?f=50&t=11993&start=460

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Painting again...

I thought a pin vice (and GW sells this under the name "hobby vice" is a clamp to hold parts together. What you describe is known to me as a hand drill/hobby drill. Where did you get this name for it, because I'd like to know wether I'm wrong or not?

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"... Telchar wrought it in the deeps of time."
-On Andùril, The Lord of the Rings

There was a topic on what a pin vice is on a different website:
http://theminiaturespage.com/boards/msg.mv?id=63275

Oops. Sorry for the misconception.

_________________
"... Telchar wrought it in the deeps of time."
-On Andùril, The Lord of the Rings