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Hi,

I have found quite a few threads mentioning that Tau battlesuits (and broadsides) have a tendency to break at the ankle joint, and the sugested fix is to pin them. However, i have not found any actual guides on the subject and i am not very clear on what exactly needs to be pinned.

I have not assembled any yet, so i am unsure exactly how they break - and so where the pinning needs to be. I am hoping to avoid this problem before it occurs in the first place.


Is the pinning suposed to go through the side of the foot horizontally, pinning the foot and the ankle ball together?

Or does the pinning go vertical through the base of the leg only, acting purely as a stiffener of the leg? (since theres a hole in the bottom of the foot below the ankle, so they cant relaly be pinned together that way)

Or is it another method entirely?



Also, what size pin is the best? the ankle is only 1.5mm wide at the base - is a 1mm diam pin okay or too big?


I would greatly appreciate any help on the subject, or references to any guides on the subject

thanks

What, no post in the dakka introduction forum? shaaaaaame.

Anyway, I don't play Tau but my roommate does. Broadsides tend to break where the ball meets the foot, where the only thing holding the model together is glue. I'm not quite sure on the proper pinning techniques though. I'll be assembling a broadside soon enough, so I'll at least have some answers by then. Your horizontal idea sounds good but I'm not sure that won't just end in the pin breaking through the ball part if the pin is too close to the edge. Right now I'll have to theorize that adding greenstuff to the underside of the base and then pinning vertically might be a good bet. I'll definitely get back to you on that!

Oh, and welcome to Dakka

I put a pin vertically up through the ball socket ankle into the leg as that is where it breaks. 2 seconds with a pin vice and a paper clip and it done, it's more prevelent with the fw resin suits than the plastics. I would still pin to ensure longevity.

Hey there, I have only assembled two tau suits, one with and one without pinning.

First one I had no idea what pinning was, so I just glued it together. It broke off at the ankle some months later. I have fixed it since then, but it sucked at the time.

Second one was more recently, bought one for modeling and painting fun, and that one got pinned through the ball socket, vertically into the leg, and anchored into the base with the pin. It has yet to break, but then again I haven´t had it for that long.

I think most people have trouble with the ankle bit, since it is way too thin to have any strength. so whatever else you pin, I´d definitely strengthen that.

Hope that helps.

I have never had any of my suits break at the ankle. So, I cant help you. I even extended the lower legs of my broadsides but they are still mounted on the ball jointed ankles.

i personally mounted my broadsides on plastic feet so i could get the more solid plastic-plastic glue joint instead of the metal-plastic one. i just got a few broadsides in a purchase and one came completely broken, including the ankles. i'm not going to rebase the feet but i just plan on drilling into the feet and ankles and using a short length of paperclip as the actual pin.

Captain Jack wrote:I put a pin vertically up through the ball socket ankle into the leg as that is where it breaks. 2 seconds with a pin vice and a paper clip and it done, it's more prevelent with the fw resin suits than the plastics. I would still pin to ensure longevity.

You've got that backwards.

The FW resin suits are far, far better designed in regards to the ball-socket. than the plastics

Kanluwen wrote:

Captain Jack wrote:I put a pin vertically up through the ball socket ankle into the leg as that is where it breaks. 2 seconds with a pin vice and a paper clip and it done, it's more prevelent with the fw resin suits than the plastics. I would still pin to ensure longevity.

You've got that backwards.

The FW resin suits are far, far better designed in regards to the ball-socket. than the plastics

I don't own any of the plastics, but a lot of guys I play against do and they've never had any real problems. I agree the FW ones are a lot better designed, but would still pin as best practice. I have had more than a few people 'picking up to 'av a good look' and not being too careful about getting 'em back on the table. Especially Ray Meers...

So, does everyone just use paperclips for the pin, or go in for brass rod like some authors mention?

Does a 1mm drill bit work for paper clips? or do you need a smaller one?


Do you super glue the pin in place? either in the hole before putting in the pin, or just cap the end after the pins in place? or do you just push the pin in and leave it?

Paper clips work just fine, brass rod can be used but is more difficult to clip. If you have a GW pin vice then the small bit is the correct size. I would check the 1mm bit by comparing the diameter with a regular paper clip, it should be just slightly larger.

When you do start drilling, just be mindful of the angle as you don't want the bit to exit the side of the ankle.