As with the Iron Daemon I thought it would be handy for us to pool our experiences.
The first thing I noticed with my model is that the platform was a bit warped/ twisted. I soaked it in some warm water for a little and sort of corrected it (looking at the pics it’s still a tiny bit twisted).
You have to be careful with the Brace (the bit with the big arrows on at the front), as the resin is very thin there (well it was on mine anyway and I snapped it).
Aligning the two parts of the rocket exhaust and getting it straight on the Warheads was tricky as well. The joins are not perfectly lined up and the rocket heads are twisting (logically to aid aerodynamics), but it makes it hard to see if it’s straight. So much so that I actually pinned mine together with grenstuff.
The wheels, as always, were a real pain to clean up.
My advice for people for painting/ assembly:
DON’T glue down the platform (or the Long Levers) until after painting!! It would be extremely difficult to paint anything under it well.
Paint the wheels and crew seperately.
Don’t glue any of the levers on the back of the Rocket Launch Chute. I did and it makes it really hard work to paint it well. Leave them off and glue last.
Test fit the one that Crew 1 is holding before gluing. It’s important to get it twisted to the right angle so his arm isn’t hovering over nothing.
NOTE
The rocket they supply you with is the Deathshrieker Rocket. If you look at the pics from Games Day last year they showed the alternate; the Demolition Rocket. If you plan to play with both and sculpt an alternate part it would pay not to glue down the rocket at all. Though it appears you can mix up the different rocket types throughout the game, so I guess it doesn’t matter either way really.
Overall I’d say that this is easier to put together than the Iron Daemon. Mostly because it only has 2 wheels to clean up! Also a lot fewer pieces. Some of the angles on things make it a bit harder to paint in places.
I did several small changes on mine that means some of the advice I have was not relevant to those building it normally.
Something else I just discovered that it so blindingly obvious I really should have seen it…
The deathshrieker and magma cannon aren’t exactly designed to be based.
The machines are designed to be hooked on only in a raised position so the back is not sitting on the ground.
Which means if you want to base it you have 4 options:
1. Attach it so the back is hovering off the ground and it’s held on only by it’s wheels… :~
2. Attach it fully to the base and accept it will not hook on.
3. Come up with an inventive pinning solution whereby it’s pinned through the wheels only to the base but can pivot up and down.
4. Have the Deathshrieker and Magma cannon based about 2-3mm higher than the Iron Daemon. That way it can hook on even when sitting flat on the base.
I went for the second option. When it’s placed behind the Iron Daemon the hook is hovering about 2mm above the ring. They’re quite close together though so it’s not really that obvious unless you really look for it. I could try and bend it up a bit I guess.
In hindsight I think I might go for the 4th option next time.
Have got the Magma Cannon coming soon. I found your Iron Daemon tips invaluable for when i built mine and will probably use the same principles for this next one. Thanks again.
...The machines are designed to be hooked on only in a raised position so the back is not sitting on the ground.
Which means if you want to base it you have 4 options:
1. Attach it so the back is hovering off the ground and it's held on only by it's wheels... :~
2. Attach it fully to the base and accept it will not hook on.
3. Come up with an inventive pinning solution whereby it's pinned through the wheels only to the base but can pivot up and down.
4. Have the Deathshrieker and Magma cannon based about 2-3mm higher than the Iron Daemon. That way it can hook on even when sitting flat on the base.
...
Grimstonefire
I haven't seen the model in person but I'd try to use something like number 3 with some brass rod to make a real axle for the wheels that way you could glue the wheels to the base so that when its alone the rockets are aimed up but the rear could still be connected to an Iron Daemon.
I came up with another option. I cut off the bit sticking out with the loop on, filed it at an angle and glued it back on. So it’s pointing up at an angle and hooks on perfectly fine.
Not an ideal solution, but the only one I felt happy with as I had already glued the machine down…
