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Assembling Scouts


ShinyRhino

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I assembled my first ever plastic Scout last night, and it was an exercise in frustration. I've been playing since 4th Edition, but always with metal Scout models.

 

The Scout torsos have little notches for the arms, which is pretty simple until you try to assemble a bolter or shotgun. Are the arms supposed to match specific weapons? I couldn't get my shotgun off hands to line up with any of the handless arms. After a half hour of cursing and wrangling, I managed to line the wrist up close enough to be able to GS the gap. But then I tried to put the torso on a set of legs and discovered that the holster that sticks up over the waist joint forces the torso to the side. So now my Scout is forced to look like some sort of mutant with a shifted torso, or turn at a very unnatural angle for a combat pose that doesn't involve yoga.

 

Is there a trick to assembling these cursed models? I can't believe that after all these years of Marines, I'm confounded by assembling Scouts! :P

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You're right. They're a pain in the butt for some reason. I don't remember having the problem with the waist that you're talking about, though. I componded the problem by trying to magnetize the arms, and no matter what I do there are goofy little gaps still. And yes, the arms are paired but I think it took some trial and error to figure out which ones were matched pairs. 

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Ahh, ok. The matched pairs thing would explain some of the issues. The holster thing might just be the leg set and torso I was using. I'm building the first five models from bitz I've accumulated in years of trading. This set of legs is the one I started with:

http://www.bitzbox.co.uk/product_info.php/space-marines-scout-legs-p-1484

 

That holster sticks up quite a bit, touching the torso armor at the bottom of the ribs.

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Yeah, they're pretty unimpressive kits.  The legs will force you to turn the torsos at some very specific angles now and then, which can be annoying with mono-pose arms that find themselves bumping into the legs.  And really, they're just a pain in the ass to paint.  For me at least.  I have 10 on my desk right now, where they will likely stay for some time :P

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Yeah, they're pretty unimpressive kits. The legs will force you to turn the torsos at some very specific angles now and then, which can be annoying with mono-pose arms that find themselves bumping into the legs. And really, they're just a pain in the ass to paint. For me at least. I have 10 on my desk right now, where they will likely stay for some time tongue.png

Yeah, the mono-pose legs are horrible. I don't have the time or inclination to slice up all the legs and rebuild them, so I'm relying on the Land Speeder Storm for help...but not with the legs. I see a lot of models where the owner has taken the LSS Scout legs and slapped them in some crazy position on a base. Sitting on a rock, crouched like they're taking a dump, etc. It rarely works out.

Instead, I'm relying on the arms for more interesting models. The Storm kit comes with a lot of open-handed arm pieces. I'll be slicing off those arms at the forearm armor, and grafting them onto the standard Scout model arms. That way not every Scout is standing there with pistol on one hand and gargantuan, oversized blade in the other. Those blades bug me as well, so I'll be swapping them out for regular Marine combat blades and various other, smaller knives.

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Alternatively, just don't even bother with that horrendous kit..  There are a lot of MUCH better 3rd partly alternatives I'd blindly go for..

 

I've already got two boxes' worth I've collected through the years, so I'll have to stick with it. I have my second model assembled now, and the single-handed weapon arms obviously go together much better than bolters/shotguns.

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I really wish they'd make a new scout kit. There isn't any way that's happening, since they couldn't possibly cram all the options in one box, but I wish.

 

They're slightly less of a nuisance if you shave of the little bumps that are supposed to fit in the slots. Only slightly though.

 

I love how removing the thing that's designed to assist with assembly actually makes assembly easier.

 

Best thing to do with scouts, mini-wise, that doesn't involve knives and saws and greenstuff, is to build them with pistols - of course what that gets you on the tabletop is... up for debate.

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Well, you could always resort to these: http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/365082-Rogue%20Trader%20Space%20Crusade%20Scouts.html?m=2

 

I've a few myself ! No complaints about the Scout sprues from me, not with all that pouchy goodness. Mmmmm, pouches. Great sprues for assorted accessories and bits, including the bikes and LSS.

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I really wish they'd make a new scout kit. There isn't any way that's happening, since they couldn't possibly cram all the options in one box, but I wish.

 

 

They're slightly less of a nuisance if you shave of the little bumps that are supposed to fit in the slots. Only slightly though.

 

 

I love how removing the thing that's designed to assist with assembly actually makes assembly easier.

 

Best thing to do with scouts, mini-wise, that doesn't involve knives and saws and greenstuff, is to build them with pistols - of course what that gets you on the tabletop is... up for debate.

I must admit it's not the first GW kit where it only works if you want to build it exactly the way the studio army did. Unfortunately, with the advent of CAD as the primary method of producing new kits, it's likely to become more common. There's going to more effort and a buttload of cutting & scraping involved for all those of us who like a more personalised feel.

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They're slightly less of a nuisance if you shave of the little bumps that are supposed to fit in the slots. Only slightly though.

 

I ended up doing this for a couple of the models in order to put arms from the Scout Biker kit on them, and it works really well. I was able to tilt arms to a new angle to make the pose more dynamic. Right now I'm halfway through the swapping of a pistol hand for a Cadian powerfist.

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