15mm pikes

As the Testudo 30YW pikemen did not come with pikes, I had to find a supply of weapons for the figures.  So, I turned to an old method of mine, by using plastic rod for the pikes.

Way back on this post on my blog, one can see how I used the same technique to make the spears for my Tékumel figures (and some of those pics are better!)

First off, some raw material:

This package dates back to sometime in 1999...


And, some processing:

The rod is cut into 50mm lengths by just rolling the edge of the knife blade on it, then snapping the rod at the cut.


After a few minutes of cutting:

Next, the business end of the pike takes shape.  I place one end of the rod into some pliers with a flat tip, and give it a good squeeze, and then trim the flattened part to make a point.



This poor pic shows the three stages:

The point is approximately 2mm in length.  Very simple, very easy.


With a bit of super-glue, the troops have a new weapon:

The 1mm diameter rod fits in very well.  Now, to prime and paint...


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