Building the Skitarii, Part 2
The Skitarii offer a brand new aesthetic and new kits to the 40k verse that bring with them a unique set of challenges. I’m going to break the kits down.. and build them!
Dr. Bored here with part 2 of building the Skitarii. The first post had the first two kits and the second post will have the next two, the Sicarians and the Onager! It’s rather amazing that 7 units can be made, with so many options, out of just FOUR BOXES.
Again, these kits are very detailed, with plenty of finicky bits, but I hope these tips, warnings, and guides will help you build yours without any issue ahead!
Ruststalkers/Infiltrators
What a gorgeous kit. Detail, options, and really sick weapons! I got five boxes and fully intend to try out that Sicarian Killclade!
1. The kit comes with six bodies and five pairs of legs. Huh? That’s because one is the robed Princeps, but if you don’t want to make the Princeps, there’s the extra body and head to make a regular guy to add on to a squad. Much like the Vanguard/Rangers, the body-leg combos are set one way, but also only go with one head, which further limits your customization options without a lot of clever, pro-level modeling.
2. Just like the Vanguard/Rangers, the robe on the Princeps will need some TLC in the form of some Liquid Green Stuff to look whole. Unless you want to go for some tattered robe look, which would be awesome if modeled correctly. Pictured below you can see that priming doesn’t help the issue, there’s a line that goes up the robe, and the head is also in two pieces, which leaves a line through the model:
3. The parts in this kit are DELICATE. Many of them spindly, especially the fingers on the Chordclaw and the Prehensile Dataspike. Many pieces only have small areas of contact to glue, so make the most of those spots by using Plastic Glue to create the strongest bond possible. Just don’t go overboard with it, because that glue will definitely melt fine details in the hands and connections.
4. Each arm for the Ruststalkers is made to fit either the Chordclaw and Razor OR the two Transonic Blades. At first glance, I thought this might limit which sword or weapon goes with which arms, but if you carefully dry-fit beforehand, you can find different combos that can help differentiate your models. The shoulders are also universal, so you can put any left or right arm onto any left or right shoulder respectively, which helps mix up poses and keeps the unit from looking stale. Keep in mind that some of the razors/swords are held backhanded.
5. The Infiltrator arms are a little more universal. Like Space Marine models, the guns and close combat weapons glue at the wrist, which opens up for a wider variety of poses. Keep in mind that, Codex-wise, certain ranged weapons only go with certain melee weapons on these squads. You can’t mix and match across a squad. The Princeps also can have the Infoslave Skull, which, when paired with the screen that he gets, looks great, but is quite delicate. Be careful and take your time in putting these guys together.
Onager Dunecrawler
I love this kit the most! Not only is it really cool, the sense of presence, and in some ways the ease of the build made it the most fun to build out of all the boxes so far! Where the Rangers and Ruststalkers are delicate and small, and the Ironstrider is frail and complex, the Onager provides the perfect mix of challenge, customization, and detail in a kit. It’s my opinion that this one is simply the best. Here’s what I found in building…
A. The legs go together very fast, and are all exactly the same. Build them first. You can either leave them with their pointed feet, or you can add on the extra pads. There are many places where it says NOT to glue, so pay attention to the directions.
B. The legs slot into a four-pronged ‘waist’ that can be a little tricky to put together. Again, it recommends that you do not glue them. Front and back are denoted by little round pieces, and the waist is wider than it is long. I would not recommend gluing the legs to the base yet; wait until the whole thing is built first! Below is a picture of the base and how the legs are put together. Note the ‘do not glue’ markings. I found that putting the legs in was a little frustrating, as there’s no way that they would ‘settle’ into place. You might want an extra set of hands to help you!
C. The kit has a lot of details to add on, including pipes and handrails, kind of like the Imperial Knight. If you have them, a pair of tweezers can help position these. There are little holes where each bit goes, and the instructions will guide you on which piece goes where, so don’t cut the pieces out willy-nilly.
D. The weapons and other options are incredibly easy to magnetize! You will probably need about 11 or 12 magnets. The weapon slots into the side of the Onager like a Leman Russ turret, with the tabs that make for easy rotation and removal. By magnetizing the side of the weapon, as well as the various ‘bases’ that the weapons come on, you can swap them out easily. Only one weapon shares a base, and that’s shown in the instructions here, piece number 16. This one you’ll have to magnetize the individual barrels, but that’s easy! Below is a picture of the part 16 that two of the weapons share. You can also see how the Icarus Array plugs onto the round base, and the part 10, which is a round cap, goes on the other weapons, which can also easily be magnetized. The center of the base is hollow, so some plasticard or green stuff may be needed to support said magnet.
E. Similarly, the lights and cognis manipulator are easy to magnetize, since they go onto small round spots where you can just glue on a magnet after a little shaving. Very easy to make all the options of this kit accessible.
Conclusion
These kits were a blast to put together, and though there were a few bumps along the road, I’m glad that I invested into this army! If you have any other tips or tricks with these units, leave them in the comments below so we can help our fellow builders and hobbyists!
