Squarg the Frog Rider - Part 7 (The reins of terror)

The reins for Squarg’s frog comprised of five very small parts that needed to be fixed into place very accurately. With the bulk of the painting done, it was time to take the plunge and get gluing. It all added up to a tense evening! 

Before I fixed anything in place I did a lot of test fitting to see what worked best and to get my head around where and how best to hold the parts while fixing. 
A pair of needle nose tweezers were invaluable to hold the parts and get then into position. I put a tiny dot of super glue onto the reins at the point where they make contact with the frog. I used a pin to apply the super glue as this gave me more control on the quantity and positioning. Once the superglue was fully set I put a little diluted PVA wood working glue into the joins to reinforce then. 

This was a horrible fiddly job. It took me a couple of tries to get a result I was happy with but it was well worth the effort. The reins are just as beautifully sculpted as the rest of the mini and give a feeling of completeness to the pose and composition that was lacking before their addition. 
Painting the reins was a straightforward job that needed to be carried out with a little care and attention to detail. It’s important to resist the temptation to speed up as the mini approaches completion. Mistakes can be easy to make in the eagerness to get things finished. 

There are a few tiny touches and details that I might add to Squarg’s paint job but for the time being he is done. It’s now time to turn my full attention to his plinth.