Saturday, December 20, 2014

Heresy Era Thousand Sons - Spartan build begins

With the bloody battering my Terminators took at Feast of Blades in October, it became evident that they needed a transport. I'd inherited a Spartan from Dave, so that means it's time that I joined Spartan Builders Support Anonymous! After building a few Proteusesses I had a pretty good idea of what I was in for on the tracks, so once I got everything cleaned and trimmed I gave them all a hot water treatment and dry (wet) fit them on the hull mounts to get them bent and re-formed into the appropriate shapes.


The 3-plate front piece and the top front sections were the first to get aligned and glued down.


Next the top and upper rear sections were added. All the prep work paid off here, and they fit together surprisingly nicely!


Finally the bottom two sections were attached. I ended up having to cut almost an entire link out from the bottom to get them to line up, but as this is on the bottom of the tank, it's hardly noticeable. I figured that would be the hardest part of the build, and the rest of the kit should be a snap, right?


Bugger. Back to the electric kettle, it seems! :D
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10 comments:

  1. ChrisDecember 20, 2014 at 12:23 PM

    Exciting times. I fear I may never get around to heavy armour...

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  2. Sr. DiesDecember 20, 2014 at 2:07 PM

    Those tracks look perfect!
    It was a pain to build my spartan... ouch.

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  3. ZabDecember 20, 2014 at 3:13 PM

    Hmm, the interior looks a little... spartan... I'm here all week! Nice kit :)

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  4. JakeDecember 20, 2014 at 5:08 PM

    Mord, next time you build one of these monsters, talk to Dave T. I did him up a new upper track set that fits in without needing extra modification. Could save you a little effort :)

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  5. MeltaburnDecember 21, 2014 at 3:48 AM

    Wow that's some serious warping. I've only ever had infantry sized minis from forgeworld so the worst I've had to contend with are bent sword blades.... It does kind of put me off buying any forgeworld tanks for my guard.
    When you consider all the small companies putting out 'straight' resin kits it does kinda make you wonder whether forgeworld are resting on their laurels a little when it comes to quality?

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  6. OktaneDecember 21, 2014 at 4:17 AM

    I thought the top part of my hull was warped, until I saw yours, wow that sucks! Currently building mine and will be good to see how our respective models turn out and how much hot water treatment is needed.

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  7. StephenDecember 21, 2014 at 4:40 AM

    Ah, I wish I could you got to you earlier. With some careful shaving, there is no need to remove a link as the tracks can fit just fine.

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  8. Mordian7thDecember 21, 2014 at 6:15 AM

    @Chris John: I do love building tanks! :)

    @Sr. Dies: Aye, it's definitely not their easiest model to assemble, that's for sure!

    @Zab: Ha! Tip your waiter, folks... :)

    @Jake: Interesting - I'll do that!

    @Phil Morris: Well to be fair, this model had been sitting in a bag in the bottom of a pile of other models in a box for over a year, so some warping was bound to occur. I have no complaints about the quality of FW's kits, and am of the opinion that the nature of resin means one ought to expect a bit more work in the prep stage than you'd need in plastic. With the electric kettle to facilitate the hot water, it's a breeze. From warped to good to go in 5 minutes! :)

    @Oktane: It was pretty egregious, but ended up working out pretty well - pics to follow!

    @Stephen: Aye, I could see post-assembly where some modification could be made to help the fit. I don't want to be "that two spartan guy" though - I'm feeling dirty enough with just one. Hah!

    Cheers, everyone!

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  9. StephenDecember 21, 2014 at 8:24 AM

    I know what you mean, why stop at two ;-)

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  10. DaiDecember 22, 2014 at 11:11 AM

    Ugh... that's enough to make one's faith in this hobby expire. ~_~

    Good luck with this one.

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