Assembly Instructions

The only tool required for assembling I/R kits is an X-acto #11 knife blade and holder (available from your local hobby, art or hardware store). Pieces can be very carefully and slowly bent after first warming under a lamp with a 75 or 100 watt bulb for a few minutes. Any mold seam lines (called flashing) that may appear on the model should be trimmed away with this knife.

Make sure the pieces fit together before starting to glue (see figure 1 & 2), neck holes may have to be reamed out wider with the X-acto knife to fit the head properly (see figure 3). Before the horse’s head can be joined, check to see if the leading edges of the horse’s body need be beveled to represent the roll of these muscles into the neck. This can be done by paring with the edge of the knife. The horse sides may have to be gentle bent together to fit, but any joint lines can be filled with glue (see figure 1).

The new “Super Glues” (cyano-acrylate), the types with fillers that are available from hobby shops, hardware and 5 & 10 cent stores, are ideal for “Tacking” the model pieces as they set in about 10 seconds, but read directions carefully as fingers can be glued together and will not come apart unless you roll a pencil between them!

Fast setting Epoxy glue is recommended for assembling these models as it sets in about 3 to 5 minutes when held together with you fingers, or by a rubber band in the case of the horse’s sides, and can also be used as a non-shrinking filler. To work this glue, squeeze equal spots of the two tubes onto a non-porous surface (wax paper, aluminum foil, etc.) and mix rapidly together with a toothpick (see figure 4). As soon as mixed, apply to the area to be joined. Quickly press the pieces to be glued in place, pulling any excess glue away with a clean toothpick. Hold together for a slow count of 300 and the pieces will be set. Other pieces can be added carefully by the same method. A word of warning – do not attempt to use the mixed epoxy when it is stringy as it is in the first stages of hardening and will not hold. Additional epoxy mix can be used as filler if all the gaps were not filled the first time. Allow at least an hour for the chemical action of the epoxy to complete drying before it can be shaped or filed (using a fine needle file from your hobby dealer). If no cutting or filing is needed on the epoxy joints, the model can be prime painted with our “Original Military Colors” #1 Metal Primer, even though the surface of the glue still feels tacky.

For additional information on assembly, converting painting and diorama building, we recommend our publication “The Model Soldier Manual,” by Peter J. Blum and illustrated by C.A. Risley.