Shoulder Pad Bits: Fitting, Heraldry and Rank
Shoulder pads are what the eye reads first. On a 32 mm model seen across a table, the silhouette is a head between two pads — which is why swapping pauldrons changes a unit's identity faster than any other single part, and why it is the first conversion most hobbyists attempt.
This guide covers the three attachment types, how to get a pad to sit flat, and how to use heraldry to mark rank without repainting the squad.
The three attachment types
Flat-back pads
The back of the pad is flat. It glues onto a shoulder that already has a rounded stub. Easiest to fit, most forgiving of a slight misalignment, and the type most resin pads use.
Socketed pads
The pad has a hollow that seats over a ball or peg on the arm. Better alignment, but only if your model has a matching peg — otherwise you are filling a gap.
Integrated arm-and-pad
Pad and upper arm sculpted as one piece. The cleanest result and the most dramatic pose change, but it commits you: you are replacing the arm, not dressing it.
Check which one you have before you order. A socketed pad on a peg-less shoulder is the most common cause of a conversion that never gets finished.
Getting a pad to sit flat
- Dry-fit and look from the front. Both pads should sit at the same height and angle. The eye catches an asymmetry of one millimetre.
- Trim the shoulder, not the pad. The shoulder stub is plain plastic; the pad carries the detail you paid for.
- Glue the body arm first, let it cure, then the pad. Trying to align both at once while superglue grabs is how you end up with a crooked shoulder.
- Use cyanoacrylate. Plastic cement does nothing on resin — there is no polystyrene for it to melt.
- Pin oversized pads. Heavy Guard pads are heavy enough to lever themselves off a butt joint. A short brass rod fixes that permanently.
Using heraldry to mark rank
A squad reads better when its hierarchy is visible at a glance, and pauldrons are where you put that information. A pattern that works:
- Line troopers — plain or lightly engraved pads, identical across the squad.
- Specialists — one differing pad, marking the heavy weapon or the standard bearer.
- The sergeant — an ornamented pad with relief detail, chains or a skull.
- The character — a full heraldic shield, or a mismatched pair.
The mistake is giving everyone the ornate pad. If every model is a hero, none of them reads as one.
Where to find them
Pauldrons are spread across the ranges by theme:
- Universal Bitz — faction-free pads with no iconography, the safest starting point.
- Black Crusaders — gothic pads with crosses, chains and relief heraldry.
- Shadow Angels — lion crests, halos and winged motifs.
- Dragon Knights — dragon-scale and stone-plate texture.
- Nordic Hunters — fur-covered and rune-carved.
- Heavy Guard — oversized pads for 40 mm armoured bodies.
Printing at home instead? The same sculpts are in the STL catalogue.
Painting a pad off the model
Paint pauldrons separately, before assembly. The inside rim and the join line are almost impossible to reach once the pad is glued on, and a heraldic device is far easier to freehand on a flat piece you can rotate in your hand.
Prime, paint, varnish, then glue. The only cost is a little planning.
Common questions
Will 32 mm pads fit a Heavy Guard model?
No. A 32 mm pad on a 40 mm armoured body reads as undersized armour, which is the one mismatch the eye never forgives. Heavy Guard pads are sculpted at their own scale.
How many pads do I need for a squad?
Two per model. Our sets are sold in fives and tens — a set of ten covers a five-model squad exactly.
Do I need to remove the original pad?
If it is a separate piece, yes — clip and sand it flat. If it is moulded onto the arm, you either cut it off or use an integrated arm-and-pad part instead.
Can I magnetise pauldrons?
Yes, and it is worth it on characters you re-theme. A 2 mm magnet in the pad and one in the shoulder gives a clean swap. Drill before you paint.
Every pad is printed to order in Ultra-HD 14K resin in our Grenoble workshop, washed and cured, ready for primer — dispatched in 3–7 working days.