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Tools Needed
*Or your choice of modeling material. I used Brownstuff for this mod as an experiement since I had not used it before. Personal preference is OK here as long as it can be drilled easily.
**I used a either a 1/8" bit, or a 5/16" bit to drill the hole - I can't remember exactly which size it turned out to be. Either way, simply eye the size of the bit to the diameter of the nail.
This miniature modification uses an electric drill, hacksaw and a sharp hobby knife. Drills, saws and knives can cause injury if not used properly! Modeling compound and superglue are both made with chemicals, and sawing through nails produces heat - enough to burn your fingers with! Be careful!
USE AT YOUR OWN RISK!
I take absolutely no responsibility for any injuries resulting from people attempting this project.
WotDQ Mod: How I made my Two-Headed Troll
NOTE: I did not include any instructions on the painting process. This is simply a how-to process on the making of the spiked ball and chain, the troll's sack, and how it all got put together.
The D&D miniature Mountain Troll from the War of the Dragon Queen set is a really great mini with one head...imagine it with two! First off, you'll need to get a hold of two Mountain Troll minis. Carefully cut the heads off both with a hobby knife. Alternately, you might be able to break them off. When I did my mod I was able to break one off, but the other proved more resistant. Cut the heads at angles where you wish them to line up. This process involves some observing and thinking. don't rush it. Hold the heads up to one of the bodies and try and see where you want to position them, and what kind of cutting and trimming you will need to do. Once cut, apply them to the body of the mini with modelling compound. I used Greenstuff for this stage. Sculpt the compound to achieve any surface textures (mostly hair in my case) and let it dry overnight. I also cut and repositioned the Troll's arm to hold the weapon higher up so I would have room for the spiked ball and chain.
STEP #1 - Making the Ball:
During the next few steps I exclusively used brownstuff. Mostly this is because I had never used it before and wanted to get a feel for it. I liked the way it handled. It shaped well and when dry it was easy to drill and cut with a hobby knife. During this step, I simply rolled a ball of brownstuff to the size I wanted and suspended it on a wooden dowel to dry. When it had dried overnight I removed it from the dowel. Where the hole from the dowel was became the spot where I would eventually add the chain.
STEP #2 - Making the Spikes:
Initially I tried working with some plastic ball and chain weapons I scavenged off of a dime store knight figure but they looked too fake. When I sculpted the ball I had given thought to making it a flail with a couple of spiked balls using smaller finishing nails for the spikes but when the ball I made with brownstuff turned out larger than I had anticipated I wound up using good ol' nine penny nails. Not only were they a perfect size for what I wanted, but they looked like crudely made points which is what I wanted a troll weapon to look like. I clamped the nails into my bench vise and, using the hacksaw, cut off the very tips of the nails. I tried to keep these all about the same length, but many wound up slightly different. This turned out OK since I simply fixed the length problem when I drilled the holes.
STEP #3 - Drilling the Holes for the Spikes:
I believe I used a either a 1/8" drillbit, but it might have been a 5/16" to drill the hole. Either way, simply eye the size of the bit to the diameter of the nail and carefully drill out the holes where the spikes will go. It helps to take a pencil and mark the spots where each spike will be so you wind up drilling the hole in the right spot. I worked by alternating sides. I also did not use an electric drill, but rather hand-turned the bits carefully so I could get the right depth. I did a lot of stopping and checking the nail bits to the holes to get it right before gluing. When I had a good fit with a spike I would use superglue to attach it to the ball.
STEP #4 - Finishing Up the Ball:
Here is the finished ball with all the spikes. I left the original dowel hole to add the chain on. At this point, I used super glue gel to fill in any small cracks between the spikes and the ball. A toothpick was used to smooth the gel into the cracks and get rid of any buildup. After drying, it was then ready to add the chain onto it.
STEP #5 - Adding the Chain:
I picked up the chain from one of our local craft shops. Unfortunately we don't have a proper hobby shop for things like making minis so the chain I picked up, while being the right size and shape, was meant more for making jewelry out of than it was for rusty old troll weapons. I was able to rough it up with sandpaper to make the paint stick a little bit, but it looks like it may wear off a bit over time. If I attempt this project again I will probably scour the pawn shops for older looking chains. Alternately, I may try and find a way to make this shiny chain look weathered. I think there may be products on the market for doing this, but I digress. To attach the chain I used a hobby knife to carefully trim the hole in the brownstuff so that half of the first link in the chain fit snugly into the hole. I then used a small amount of brownstuff to fill in the hole and hold the chain in place.
STEP #6 - Making the Sack:
The sack was started by taking a piece of aluminum foil and scrunching it up to form the basic shape of the sack. I then took some brownstuff and shaped it into a flat, thin rectangle and folded it over the aluminum foil. I attempted to use the edges and the natural folds in the brownstuff for my seams and holes. I attached a toothpick for holding it while sculpting and I used a metal screen, which can be found at any most stores that sell plumbing or pipe (smoking) supplies, to create the textures and seams. Seams were created using the edge of the metal screen and rolling it along where I wanted the seam to be. In hindsight, I wish I had used some brownstuff to create stiches along the seam as well.
STEP #7 - Adding Limbs:
I wanted it to be obvious that the sack contained the remains of those unfortunate enough to be the troll's lunch. I used a couple of other D&D Minis for this: Strahd Zombie and Aasimar Fighter. I carefully cut the limbs I wanted from each mini and added them to the sack. I used the natural folds and flaws in the shape of the brownstuff to place them which worked well in theory, but if I had to do it again I'd do more sculpting to eliminate those flaws/folds and give more thought to the placement of the limbs. The fact that the leg hangs out in thin air was something I didn't realize would happen until it was too late. If I had given it more thought I'd have had that leg placed more to the inside so that it was dragging on the ground next to the troll's foot. Live and learn I suppose...
STEP #8 - Other Details:
To make the top end of the sack, where it sticks out on the other side of the troll's hand, I made a thin disk of brownstuff and carefully folded it over a toothpick making sure that it bunched and folded. I cut the excess off the pointed end when dry. I also took a sword from a Reaper mini weapons pack and cut the end so that I could glue it to the base of the Mountain Troll. A plastic shield was bent, scratched up a bit and given a ragged hole to give it that 'I just pwned you with my big-arsed spiked ball' look. The only regret I had was that when I placed the shield and sword on the base the shield wound up mostly obscured so that the details like the hole are not really apparent.
STEP #9 - Other Details:
Once assembled, I primed and painted most of the bits before adding them to the troll. The exception was the sword, which I drilled out a small hole in the base and superglued into place before adding the primer the troll figure. Once painted, I used superglue and Elmer's glue to attach the peices to the troll. I pinned the bag into place, and used a small eye hook to attach the chain to the handle of the weapon. I simply screwed the eye hook into place and carefully pulled the top link of the chain apart with pliers to attach it to the eye hook. Some touch up paint and the mini was done. See my notes on making the snow
here.
If you have any comments, feel free to email me.
