Assault Squad built

My second squad built is an Assault squad. This kit took a lot longer to build than the Tactical squad I started with. The minis just had a lot more flash, mouldlines, and generally took a lot more effort to clean up. So this five man squad took almost as long as a 10 man, the improvement in the newer kits is significant. Happy with the results though, again I especially like the Sergeant, love the Power Fist and Combat Shield which makes him look like a formidable combatant.

Assault Squad and old molds.

Overall the quality of these molds is quite a step down from the newer 2013 Tactical kit. The newer kits are far superior on fit and do not have nearly as many mould lines to clean up. I don't remember dealing with any "flash" on the Tactical kit, just some very faint mould lines.  Even the quality of the plastic is better on the new kit, it has crisper details and the finish is more uniform and smooth.  Also, the plastic on the older Assault kits seems harder, so it's harder to file without using more pressure.

I also don't like the fit of the exhaust area of the jump packs.  The fit is just off, the side seams I just filled with Citadel Liquid Green Stuff and filed down a bit which worked great. Inside the exhaust port is a different story. I don't have the files it would take to clean those areas up. Looking around the web it seems a lot of folks don't even fill the sides of the jump packs, and just accent them instead.  I don't mind the look of the intake area lines, they look mechanical, the sides of the pack look better filled and cleaned up in my opinion.  I'm going with filling the sides and living with the ports for now.  Maybe if I had a file kit like this, I could have a go at cleaning up the very small ports on the back of the pack...for now it stays.

I'm still happy with the models once they are cleaned up and assembled.  Some pretty nice stance and gear options, I just have a hard time with the port area...it's hard to ignore.  Probably need to get to some painting before I build more.

Exhaust port seams.

Jump Pack sides filled with Liquid Green Stuff.

A Sergeant arrives!

The Sergeant is built, and I'm very happy with the end result. I went with a Chainsword and Plasma Pistol.  This Sergeant also carries a banner. I added a few extras like the scroll carrier and loincloth. This is my favorite Marine yet, no surprise. I'm glad I waited to build the Sergeant last.

Mark VI Corvus Battle Plate!

I decided to build my next Marine equipped with MK VI Corvus armor, in the past I wasn't a huge fan of the "Beak" helmet but after building this model I really dig the look of it.  I also used the alternate hand so he looks like he's getting ready to slam another full magazine in his Bolter.

Mark VI Corvus Battle Plate.

Slamming a full clip into his Bolter.

I made a small mistake on the Purity Seal on the shoulder plate, it will interfere with the Ultramarine decal that will be placed on this shoulder guard.  I'm going to have to cut it off and file it back down which shouldn't be too hard.  This is the first model that may require a bit of Liquid Green Stuff to fix some errors.

One thing I noticed that I was missing in this unit are Grenades, which are standard weapon load out for Tactical Marines.  This battle brother has both Frag and Krak grenades on hand ready to decimate foes that are closing in or behind barricades.  These things are so tiny that I lost the first on on the floor, and almost lost another which I found after getting on my hands and knees using a magnifying glass.  Going to head to the hobby shop today and pickup a hobby tweezers!

Krak grenades and a large finger!

Frag grenades.  Elbow mishap.

The elbow on this model had a small gash from getting a little "over zealous" with the clipper, this is the other spot I'll need some liquid greenstuff to fix.

And then there were four . . .

 That's it for now, tonight I build number five which when added to the others will form my first 5 man squad.  I think #5 will be wielding a Missile Launcher.

Burn the heretic!

My third tactical Marine is wielding a flamer, I also used the head sporting the special rebreather....certainly a good choice for a Space Marine bathing the unclean in holy promethium!  I wanted to be sure at least one model would have skin tones to paint even though I prefer helmets.  It will be good practice and it makes the flamer stand out, plus I like the look of it.

Battle Brothers....

So number two is put together and wow....doing a dry fit with putty along with gluing up the arms and bolter one at a time really made the whole process go much smoother. Plus, no glue smears!

Mounting arms and Boltguns...adhesive putty rocks!

Getting this phase of the marine together is giving me fits. I now realize that trying many different left and right arm combinations using adhesive putty is the key. Hopefully I can get a better fit this time.

I didn't see at first that many of the arms look identical at first glance, but there are minute differences like the angle of the wrist joint.....or maybe the angle is different where the arms meets the torso.  Time to work on my dry fit more this time around.

Adding adhesive putty to pose arms.

Full mocked up.

No clog cement trick....put to the test.

Shamelessy stole this trick from White Dwarf, but so far it has worked great.  If your cement keeps clogging, just store them sealed tightly upside down.  Supposedly even a clogged tip will clear after about a half hour upside down.  So far I've had no clogs so I figured that I would pass it along.

Must drill those gun barrels!

From day one I've always planned to drill out all gun barrels using a bit that gives the same large bore impression you see in 40K art, drilled barrels just look so much more realistic. This bore looks right to me...and it was a very tight fit.  I was waiting for the gun barrel to break any second....but it worked in the end. 

I used a 1.0mm bit for the side ports and a 1.5mm bit for main bore. I used the new Citadel drill for the job with the included bits and it worked great.  The bits seem very sharp, they dug in fast and required almost no pressure to bore a clean hole.  I did make a small pilot whole with a push pin.

First miniature built!

Short post....it's a bit late. So there he is, my first Space Marine.  My plan is to start with the more "vanilla" space marines, then move onto some of the customization options, finishing up with the Sargeant.  It was nerve wracking and already a learning experience.

Going to do all ten in this squad individually, that way I can learn from each one and apply what I learned to the next model.  Overall I'm pleased with how it turned out, I had a bit of a problem gluing the bolter and two arms in place all at the same time.  I'm sure there is a better way to do it, I think I'll post for some advice on Dakka Dakka to what other modelers do at this stage.  I ended up with a bit of plastic cement getting on the trigger hand, hopefully I'll be able to do some filing to clean it up.  So that's it for now....it will be fully cured in the morning. Hopefully I applied the plastic cement correctly so I have a strong bond.

Light....highly recommended!

Had to run to hobby lobby to get a light/magnifier. I don't know why I thought I could make it without some type of light on my work surface, I just plain could not see any of the details.  Also, I have no idea how anyone can work on these without some kind of magnification.  From what I have read online there are a lot of folks that have no need for a magnifier, I'm not one of them . . . must be my middle aged eyes.  

Made a trip to Hobby Lobby to see what they had and found a small desktop lamp/magnifier which certainly did the trick for now.  It is rather cheaply made, and I intend to pick up a higher quality unit later, but for now it is a life saver for $39.00