Dynamic Hands and Weapon Arms: A Posing Guide

A static squad is almost always an arm problem. Five models holding identical weapons at identical angles read as five copies of one model, however well painted. Changing the arms — not the heads, not the pads — is what makes a unit look like it is doing something.

This guide covers the two ways weapon arms are sold, how to pose them without breaking the anatomy, and how to magnetise so one model can carry three loadouts.

With hands, or without

Weapon bits come in two forms, and buying the wrong one is the most common ordering mistake in this category.

Weapon with arm

The weapon, hand and forearm are sculpted as one piece. You remove the model's original arm and glue this in its place. The pose is fixed — whatever angle the sculptor chose is the angle you get.

Use it when you want a dramatic, deliberate pose and you are happy to accept the sculptor's choice.

Weapon without hand

Just the weapon, with a grip left open. You keep the model's own hand and arm, and the weapon slots into the existing fist.

Use it when you want to keep the model's proportions and pose, and only change what it carries. This is the safer option on a kit you do not want to cut into.

Posing without breaking the anatomy

Three rules that cover most of it:

1. Elbows bend one way. Rotating an arm at the shoulder to get a better weapon angle often puts the elbow through an impossible arc. Check from the side before gluing.
2. The weapon points where the model looks. If you rotate an arm, rotate the head to match. A model aiming left while looking right reads as broken, even to someone who cannot say why.
3. Asymmetry beats symmetry. One arm raised and one lowered always looks more alive than both at the same height. Vary the pair across the squad too — five models with the same left arm is still five copies.

Reposing a resin arm with hot water

Cured resin is brittle cold and pliable warm. Thirty seconds in hot — not boiling — water makes an arm flexible enough to adjust by hand. Hold the new position under cold water for ten seconds and it sets there.

This is how you get variety out of a set of five identical arms: warm each one, twist it a few degrees differently, and the squad stops reading as a copy-paste. Do not force a cold part — it snaps rather than bends.

Magnetising arms

Worth doing on any model that might change loadout between games.

1. Drill a 2 mm hole in the shoulder socket and in each arm's contact face.
2. Glue a magnet in each, checking polarity every time — mark one face with a marker before it goes in.
3. Sink the magnets flush or slightly below the surface so the arm sits tight against the body.
4. Drill before you paint. Always.

One shoulder magnet and three magnetised arms gives you one model that fields three ways — which is cheaper than three models and takes less shelf space.

Where to find them

• Universal Bitz — faction-free hands, arms, fists and weapons with and without hands.
• Heavy Guard — oversized fists, claws and drill arms for 40 mm bodies.
• Black Crusaders — gothic weapon arms and heroic-pose swords.
• Shadow Angels — relic weapons and heroic-pose arms.
• Universal STL files — including magnet-ready gauntlet kits in ten sets.

Common questions

What does "without hand" mean in a product title?

The weapon has no hand sculpted on it — you fit it into your model's existing fist. "With arm" means the opposite: hand and forearm are included and you replace the original arm.

Will these arms fit any 32 mm model?

The shoulder socket is sized to standard 32 mm kits, so most fit with minimal trimming. Cross-class does not work: a 32 mm arm on a 40 mm Heavy Guard body looks undersized.

Can I reposition an arm after gluing?

Superglue joints release with a few minutes in isopropyl alcohol. Easier to dry-fit properly the first time.

What size magnets should I use?

2 mm × 1 mm for 32 mm infantry arms, 3 mm × 2 mm for Heavy Guard. Bigger is not better — an oversized magnet needs a hole that weakens the joint.

My arms don't line up with the shoulder. What now?

Trim the shoulder socket, not the arm. If the gap is still visible, a thin sliver of green stuff pressed into the joint disappears under primer.

All arms and weapons are printed to order in Ultra-HD 14K resin, washed, cured and ready for primer — or available as pre-supported STL files for instant download.

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