Recent infantry releases from Privateer Press have come a long way from the Mechanithrall and Long Gunner days. We're seeing a lot of multipart models—sculpts with interchangeable components like heads, weapon fits, and accessories. While these models make for better-looking units than the old one-piece sculpts, they're a much bigger modelling challenge. Most of them require pinning at the least, and some have tricky areas where two or more parts need to line up together.

Before we jump in, please make sure you've got a pin vice and pinning wire; a strong gap-filling CA glue like BSI's Maxi-Cure; a low-viscosity gap-filling CA glue like BSI's Insta-Cure+; and the ubiquitous Green Stuff. You'll need all of it at one point or another.

Bane Knights

I'm going to start with the easy part: the Cryx Bane Knights. These guys are in a lot of pieces, but they fit together exceptionally well. I'm building a unit of eight—one box and one blister pack.

After washing and cleaning all of the parts, I lay them out to see what I've got.

In addition to the leader, there are three body sculpts (I got three of one and two each of the others), two head sculpts (three of one, four of the other), two halberd sculpts (again, three of one and four of the other), and two shield-arm sculpts (ditto). I also have sixteen shoulder pads, eight shields, eight bases, and eight wrought-iron fences.

Every sculpt in the assortment is interchangeable. Any body will take any halberd arm, any shield arm, and any head. You could even spread the leader's parts around if you wanted to, though I like to keep my leaders as distinct as possible from my troops. Since I'm free to match up any part with any other part, I have an easy time sorting out individual models.

The sorting process is where you'll get all the variety in your squad, so it pays to take a few minutes and mix up the parts. Start by laying out the bodies as shown above. The leader's at the top in the middle; take his bits out first. Then work your way through the two-ofs. Each body gets a different halberd/head/shield arm combo. Move on to the remaining three and spread the remaining parts out as best you can. Here are the specifics if you want to reproduce my sorting exactly:

Once you've got everything parted out, assembly is a snap. If you like to replace your polearm hafts with brass rod, now is the time. I personally can't be bothered - I'd just as soon be careful with my models and bend 'em back into shape as necessary. The Bane halberds aren't as troublesome as the IFP but some of them do stick out quite far from the model. Your mileage may vary.

Start by putting the models on bases so they're easier to hold during the rest of the assembly process. The foot-tabs are pretty thin, so they need some Green Stuff padding. Roll a thin cylinder of putty, lay it in the slot, push the model in, and scrape off the excess. Even for my conversion-averse brain, it's quick and easy. Make sure you let the putty dry completely before you proceed with assembly!

Now that the models are securely based, attach the heads. There's a big divot on the top of the model and a bump on the bottom of the neck. Drop of glue, plunk down head, repeat x 8.

Move on to the halberd arms. Each arm has a ball-and-socket joint so there's a wide range of movement. The joint is pretty deep and fits tightly. If you're pinning-averse you can probably just glue it with a strong CA glue. I prefer to pin because the outstreched halberds are great levers for shearing force. They're pointy to boot—you're almost guaranteed to snag them on something and break off an arm if you don't pin.

See that bump on top of the shoulder? That's where the shoulder pad goes. This is another tight fit with plenty of surface area, so you can just glue it.

Repeat the process with the shield arm. The shields have a deep hole that the shield arm wrist spike fits into. Since there's a spike on the halberd arm wrist as well, you have the option of building the model with or without the shield.

You probably want to pin the shoulder if you're attaching the shields. If (like me) you think the models look better without shields, pinning is optional. The arms sit close to the body and the shoulder has plenty of contact area.

The last step is to attach the wrought-iron fencing. Put a drop of glue into the slot and seat the fencing. Make sure the points are upward, as shown in the picture.

This eight-man unit took about two and a half hours from blister pack to fully assembled models. It's a real pleasure to open up a nicely-sculpted multipart unit like this. The process reminds me of assembling the Cygnaran Sword Knights—clean, elegant, and fast.