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Dynamic CAV Posing

by Mike Hardy

Greetings all!
This here's a tip that John Bear Ross, one of CAV's prominent 3-D Artists, gave me.
Generally speaking, most CAV miniatures come in a static pose. Meaning, the CAV is sculpted in a rigid standing pose. While this is great and lends well to easy production of the miniature, it can get kind of boring on the tabletop. This is particularly true with some CAV miniatures like the Grundor House Assassin, Koda Works Dictator and Hughes Marietta Warlord.
To increase the aesthetic appeal of your CAV miniatures you may want to convert them to have a more dynamic pose. The best way to bring out a dynamic pose on a static miniature is to give it the sense of walking or running on the tabletop. This can easily be achieved by kicking one of the miniature's legs back.
Here's how:

Supplies

  • CAV Blister
  • Dremel tool, jeweler's knife or simple hacksaw
  • Pliers or vise-grips
  • Pin vice or small drill
  • Thin wire, paper clip or straight pin
  • Super Glue
  • Green Stuff
A note on safety: With any miniature conversion, care must be taken to not damage the miniature or yourself while cutting. Always wear eye and hand protection, the metal gets hot and it tends to fly all over the place. Try to cut the miniature with the cutting blade facing away from you. Important for Young Mini Artists- Make sure you get your parent's permission before you start hacking away at your minis.

Cut the leg away at the point where it meets the miniature's hips. Make sure the leg is intact. Notice there's also metal at the mini's feet. This helps the miniature adhere to the hex base. Cut this metal away from the leg you want to remove as well.


As mentioned above, the metal can get hot (especially when using a power cutting tool, like a Dremel), and you'll want to keep your fingers as far away from the cutting blade as possible, so I use a pair of pliers or vise-grips to hold the legs steady while cutting. Vise-grips and pliers, however, can damage the metal of the leg you are trying to hold. So you can use a piece of cloth that will protect the piece from scratching.
Sand and file all of the rough edges down and test pose the now-removed leg to determine a position that is desirable for you. You may want to work with the bottom of your CAV's foot to bring out some more detail to it, like treads. I don't do this as I feel the CAV has been slogging through fields with lots of mud and debris. So, these treads will be full mud and crud. So, I simply sand the base of the foot flat and paint it the color of the miniature's base.
Wash and dry each of the pieces of your CAV at this time. This removes the chemicals used in molding the miniature, any oils from your fingers while working with the mini, and any residual metal shavings from your cutting process. This will allow the paint to adhere better to the miniature later on.
Next, using a pin vise, drill a small hole in both the removed leg and the hip. Snip a small segment of wire or paper clip and insert this into the hole that you've just drilled. This is called pinning your miniature. The pin strengthens the now glued joint between these two pieces to help keep it in place. To help line up the holes between the leg and hip, you can apply a small dab of paint to the tip of the pin when inserted into the leg. When you test pose the leg as desired, you'll see a small dot of paint on the hip. Just drill where that dot is and, voila, your holes will be lined up.


Assemble and glue the entire miniature at this point in the pose that you desire.
There will undoubtedly be a gap where you cut the leg from the hip. This is to be expected and can easily be remedied with some green stuff or other model putty. Take a small portion of green stuff and smooth it into the gap.
Let the miniature sit overnight to allow the glue and green stuff to set. Finish by filing smooth and residual green stuff and glue. Now you're ready to prime and paint away. Once you're done, your new CAV will look great on the table.
Excelsior!


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