Unbreakable spears and javelins for wargaming

On Saturday I played, and won, another game in our Clash of Spears campaign.

Unfortunately, though victorious, I did suffer some losses. Among them was a pair of broken javelins on my Victrix models.

I absolutely love the detail of the Victrix figures, and they are some of my favorite figures to build and paint. The only drawback is that often the spears and javelins are quite thin. While this looks great (I hate seeing troops with spears like tree trunks), it does make them rather fragile.

A while back I happened upon a Youtube video about making spears from synthetic brush bristles. On a recent trip to the Dollar Tree, I picked up a $1.25 brush head with that type of bristle in silver to see if I could make it work. The bristles are flexible, yet snap back perfectly straight!

Look at all those spears, err, bristles!

The brush has hundreds, if not thousands, of bristles (I didn't count!), and each one can make several spears and javelins, or even a long pike.

Each bristle will make several weapons.

As mentioned, the bristles are very flexible. They do have a point at which you can bend a crease into them, but I do not think that will ever be an issue in this application.

Flexibility!

When released, the bristles snap back to their original straight glory.

And resilience!

After initially cutting a bristle from the cheap brush, I decided to see if there might be other options. I went to the local Walmart, and discovered that yes, indeed, I had choices. I found a pair of brooms with thicker bristles. These cost a bit more (around $11 to $13) but remember that they will likely provide enough spears to last a lifetime.

I removed a bristle from each brush for comparison:

Detail of the various diameters of bristles I found.

To make the pointed tip of the spear, I started by using a pair of small pliers to crush a flat section into the bristle.

The flat section is at center.

Close-up of the flat section.

I used a regular pair of nippers to cut a wedge shape into the flat section to represent the point. I know the new spears will not have the same level of detail as the originals, but I think their sturdiness will outweigh that fact. Additionally, at tabletop distances I'd be willing to bet most people won't even notice.

Spears cur from the various thickness of bristles.

I think that in most cases, the middle bristles will be the best. They are just a tiny bit thicker than the Victrix javelins, and just about perfect for the spears. I think, though I will need to experiment, that I can use the thicker bristles to fashion sword blades and repair those in the same way, if needed.

Medium bristle compared to a Victrix spear.

So with bristles in hand, I set off to work on one of my unfortunate casualties. This Numidian lost part of his javelin during Malchus's victory over Marcos and his Greeks last weekend.

Broken javelin? I can fix that!

Once I clipped the remaining portion of the javelin and drilled a small hole in the horseman's fist, it was a simple matter to insert the new javelin and secure it with a drop of glue. 

New bendy javelin in place.

The javelin man is no longer just a man, he has a new javelin as well!

After a quick touch of paint, they are good to go. And, bonus, since the bristles are silver I didn't paint the spear tips.

Sorted.

Note, that I do not plan on being proactive about changing out all my javelins and spears. I will replace them when and if they break. Doing this for ALL my figures would be a nightmare for me.

I think this method will be most useful for longer-shafted weapons such as pikes, but it works great for shorter javelins and spears.

I hope you find this information useful.

'Til next time!