The build was what I call a service grade, I cleaned up all the major tabs but did not go into spending time filling small seams or scraping every tiny parting line. It took about eight hours to complete… You do not want to approach this kit when you are short on time or having a bad day.
You will need:
A sharp Exacto knife to deal with the tab leftovers
A sprue cutter to remove the parts, but do not cut too close as the plastic will shrink back slightly; far better to trim it with the knife once it is off the sprue.
A small file will be helpful but is not required.Model Cement; I prefer Testors orange tube (Please do not use superglue, the bond will be inferior)
Some notes and thoughts:
The Capacitor Cooler and Excalibur sword options are permanent modifications to the base kit… You should choose what you want before gluing. You could get tricky by magnetizing for the capacitor coolers but that will take some work.
The screwdriver that comes with the kit is good for some of the areas, but the major joints, where you need a lot of tension created, you will need a larger screwdriver for better leverage.Be careful about stripping the screw, if you over tighten you will strip the plastic part and end up with no way to add tension. Unfortunately there is no way to tell when this will happen… So use caution. I think the screws in the sword arm will be the easiest to strip, as they have the smallest teeth (threads).
Step 39: where you lock the legs into the ball joints: It is easier if you slide the cup over the ball joint and then insert the cup/ball into the leg socket. If you try to put the cup in the leg and then insert the hip ball joint you will need to use A LOT of force to get it to work ;) I tried it and decided to fish the cup out of the leg rather than attempt to force it.As I stated earlier, there are some issues with the instructions. I will post an update ASAP but the worst of the issue is already noted on the instructions page in the link above.
Having built a few resin kits, this model was still a major departure, sure it looks the same but from an engineering and part design standpoint it is a very different kit. I spent twenty minutes just playing with poses and having fun… No way to do that with the resin kits. I was smiling ear to ear :)Take your time, enjoy the build and I think you are going to love this kit.
Cheers!
Mark