Hierophant assembly guide

PAGE 1 of 4

So what do you get in the box!
 -Left and right rear legs
 -Left and right front legs
 -Left and right biocannons
 -Left and right head mandibles
 -1x Rear leg support sprue
 -Left and right mini body claws
 -1x head
 -10x Sprues of spikes (62 spikes in total)
 -6x back exhaust vents
 -1x Main body
 -1x Tail
 -1x Sprue of lash whips

Step 2 ( Dry Fit ) (pic2)

 - Its important to do a dry fit of parts before rushing into a project. A dry fit will show you problems with the kit at the first hurdle, allowing you to plan and work out what needs to be done.

 In this instance the dry fit uncovered 2 flaws in the hierophant kit!

Uncovered Flaws (pic3)

 Flaw A - The weight of the main body can not be supported by the thin legs. This is a shocking discovery and required a solution which is covered in Step 6 and 8. In the picture 3 the white arrows illustrate areas suffering under the weight.

 Flaw B - The fit of the legs/tail left huge gaps in the joins. This was an issue as i was planning on painting the parts separatly and assembling once painted. But Greenstuffing parts once painted sounds a nightmare. The 4 legs and tail, will be pinned and greenstuffed before undercoating.

Step 4 ( Reinforcements ) (pic6)

 - The next problem was the flimsy front legs. This is a heavy kit and the front legs and claws aren't up to the job of supporting the body. So i decided to cut the legs in half and steal one of my fianceé's coat hangers. I cut the coat hanger in pieces using a hacksaw. A dremel also works, but clippers won't work. This is a very tricky and potentially costly part of the process so i must stress take time and care when cutting a £185 models legs in half.