Wooden Wars: Assembly Guide- Horses and Hussar Light Cavalry

 General Assembly

Today we'll be building a Wooden Wars horse and a light cavalry Hussar. This tutorial provides some handy tips for assembly basics that will cover most all standard cavalry types. Remember, Wooden Wars is designed for children ages 8+, but should ALWAYS have parental supervision when assembling, especially when sharp objects are involved! 
Designer's note: I have updated  many of the images with a yellow lettering instead of red, as per feedback. Apologies to my colorblind friends. 

You will need a sharp knife, a suitable cutting surface, some sandpaper and a bottle of carpenter's type wood glue. I find the chisel type blades are best for cutting Wooden Wars pieces from their sprues.

The Horse 

Horses are comprised of 4 basic parts: the body, two head pieces and the base. There is also a Skull and Crown ™ coin which can be used for reinforcement coins in the game, or ransom, or medals. Each model piece  has 1 or 2 tabs. The horse body has 3 tabs.

I nick the back of the connecting tab first, then cut all the way through from the front.

The coin can be uses for objectives or reinforcement coins.

Remember to be very careful when handling the blade and cut away from any fleshy parts!

After cutting the pieces, test fit everything, then give the tabs a sanding.

They Glue Horses don't they

use the "cheek" line on the horse as a guide for the head.

Using a wood glue attach the head pieces. While the glue is still wet, use your finger edge to line up the sides. I prefer the “yellow” carpenter's glue. I stuck mine in one of those smaller "kid-size" bottles for easy handling.

Basing

When fitting the horse into the base, test fit the slot first. As there are sometimes subtle differences in the thickness of the wood, it's best to make sure the piece fits well before gluing.

If necessary, sand the slot of the horse on the sides to make it thinner, then glue the model firmly in place.  On larger models like horses I'll lean a couple of paint bottles up against them to keep them true while drying.

 The Hussar 

 Just like the horse, check the back of the sprue and locate the tabs, then nick them with your blade, flip the model over and do the same to the front, and remove the pieces. 

You can in fact, remove many pieces from the sprue by simply twisting them out- but this may cause the wood to splinter, and I don't recommend it.  Note you have different arms and hat options, so noodle around with the pieces for a bit and see what you like best.

Set the saddle pieces  and the carbine off to the side. We'll assemble the rider first.

Take the back piece and glue it to the main body, again lining up the edges with your finger. I use the shoulder as my guide here.  When this is dry enough, Glue on the sword arm.  If you wish to create an elite Hussar, glue on the fur Busby style shako.  Lastly glue on the plume.

Note: your troops may take a pounding on the battle field, which sometimes causes plumes to become unattached. If they do, simply glue them back on. or leave them off as many real troopers did when going into battle.

Saddle up! 

This may be the trickiest part of all Wooden Wars models. Really! 

The saddles center has a wide slot in which the rider fits. Take one part of the saddle and apply glue below that line, then attach to the horse with the back of the horse at or just below the slot. See the images and look at where the red line is.  Once secure  attach the other side and line them up.

I find at this point It helps to take your rider and place him in the saddle adjusting it forward or backward or up and down a bit for best fit.

Lastly, with your rider in the saddle, take your carbine and glue it to the right side saddle following the vertical strap. Note how the carbine shape curves up and loosely  "frames" the hussars body. It also helps support him in the saddle when the rubber balls come flying! 

Note: I often base coat my horses before attaching saddles. I may even paint the saddles first as well. It's entirely up to you.

Ready to Charge!

French 5th Elite Hussars

That's all there is to it. Sit back and bask in your glory! Now you can think about painting your suave hussar, or send him straight out to capture the enemies flag, or  attend a dance with a princess.