The Vanguard is a very unusual looking warjack. The legs in particular are segmented very differently than the standard "human" type that the rest use. The legs remind me of the Covenant from the Halo series. The pieces can be a bit confusing to put together at first, so I'm just going to put this Vanguard together in a stock pose to show you how it's done.

Parts

The Vanguard comes with the following parts:

• Left Leg
• Right Leg
• Lower Torso
• Upper Torso - top half
• Upper Torso - bottom half
• Smokestacks
• Head
• Left Arm
• Tower Shield
• Right Arm
• Right Hand with Gisarme
• 40mm Base (not pictured)

If your kit is missing any of these parts, contact the PPS Front Desk for a replacement.

Jigsaw Puzzle

The most confusing part of this jack is the torso pieces. It's also where I decided to start. I started by attaching the upper half of the upper torso to the lower torso. I put a pin in the rear connector but didn't bother with the other two.

You can approach the next step two different ways. My initial attempt was to attach the lower half of the upper torso first, shown here:

The problem was, the smokestacks didn't quite fit. I ended up popping the lower half back off and attaching both the stacks and the lower half at the same time to get a good fit. You can see that this caused a bit of a gap, but the pieces are all glued to each other and the shoulders will cover the gap. I've also bored out the smokestacks a little bit with my Dremel tool.

Head Case

Ordinarily I will attach the head during the arm stage or even after. Since I'm just working a stock pose though, it's easier to attach it now.

Rise I Say! Rise!

The knobs to attach the legs have little molded keys at the bottom. I filed them off as I liked a slightly different angle than what they gave, I drilled into the knobs and glued in pins from 1/16" brass rod.

Next I attached the legs to the torso and the base. In hindsight, I did this all backwards. I always start from the base and build up. I went top down with this one because I was so focused on getting the torso to work. Yet another lesson learned.

Wall of Iron

Next I attached the left arm to the body and the Tower Shield assembly to the arm. I have the points of the shield resting at table level to help with stability.

Next I pinned the right hand to the right arm and attached it to the torso. I angled the weapon haft back to rest against the table as well, sort of like a "wheelie bar". The Vanguard is back heavy and I have it a bit too far back on the base. I don't want it toppling over. Here's the finished product:

Patching

There wasn't really anything to patch up with putty after assembly. I did smooth out the strap on the shield and I had to reattach the torso halves together as the one pin mount didn't quite work.

Disaster Strikes!

I prime my minis in the garage and bring them inside to dry. As I was taking this piece out the the garage I stumbled on the stairs and it toppled off the 1' x 1' wooden tile I use to spray on, crashing from about 6' into the concrete floor and flying apart into multiple pieces. The sound of pewter hitting concrete is one that any mini gamer dreads. My heart sank and I uttered more than a few profanities. Once I was done fuming I gathered up the pieces to inspect the damage.

Not too bad all things considered. A bent toe on the left foot and the weapon haft was bent. Notice what survived though. The legs pinned to the lower torso and the upper torso assembly. Yet another reminder as to why I pin metal models. I was in a hurry to get this one done and I wasn't too thrilled with the model so I rushed it. Now I have to do it all over again. This time I decided to do it right.

We Can Rebuild Him. We Have the Technology.

Starting at the base this time, I was fiddling around with how to improve the pose of the legs. I was startled to find that the bent toe was exactly what I needed! With the left leg rotated back and the toe bent to lie flat on the base, it gives a walking stance that is believable and requires no cutting. The only drawback is that it almost looks like he's kneeling on one knee from the front.

Next I planted the upper torso back into place.

I straightened the Gisarme haft and pinned the right arm back in place. With the stance changed it was much easier to get a better pose for the arms. Things are coming together.

I wasn't surprised at all about the shield coming off, but the gun did. It has a large flat surface and I had scored it dozens of times. The glue should have held. I decided to kill two birds with one stone and do a pin though the shield into the arm.

With the shield now firmly pinned to the arm I felt confident in having it raised as if firing the gun. Once this was in place, I quickly realized I needed to follow my own advice. Head position sells a pose. I pulled the head back off and used a long pin to reposition it looking in the direction of the shield gun. A subtle change, but a key one. Here he is, completely rebuilt:

A triumph over adversity, and the final product is far better than the original to boot. He's safely primed now and awaiting his new paint in the next installment.

Until next time.

--YW7--