Infuriating kits to build.

[infornography]

So, I've been getting frustrated with some of the kits and figured it might be fun to spin up a thread for us to just vent when a kit is giving us fits and who knows, maybe the insights will help someone else.

So the three worst kits I have assembled so far (aside from resin because f resin) are:

Illuminor Szeras. Oh my GODS this guy was fiddly. So many parts that interact multiple pieces down the chain with another part! The worst part was getting that stupid swirly ball of energies to line up! I ended up surrendering with it just looking like it kinda is in the process of forming. I cannot express how infuriating this kit was for me. I hate when parts interact in more than one location. Just dealing with 2 handed weapons can be annoying, but this guy took it to a whole new level. I couldn't tell things were not going to fit right until many steps down the line. GW seemed to really have fun making a big complicated structure of tiny fiddly parts and honestly, I did not appreciate that.

The Yncarne. Similar to Szeras there were a lot of fiddly bits that had to line up JUST RIGHT to work, but at least I could tell almost immediately if they were going to work. The big swirly energies thingie led to no small number of curse words. They look super dynamic but I'd rather the parts be less thin and fragile. It constantly feels like I'm going to bend or break something.

Flayed Ones. Yes another Necron kit! I really didn't expect so much frustration from these guys. They are infantry scale, they don't hold things in both hands, and they look like they should be relatively straightforward. Why oh why did GW decide to make EVERYTHING monopose? They built everything to fit JUST SO but finding the point where it lines up right is not as simple as it could be. Particularly the arms and legs here. One of my poor flayed ones looks like he is standing on the side of his foot because that was the only way I could get the tiny connection points to sit. I don't even know what I did wrong here. If they just gave me simple ball and socket joints so I could pick the pose I could work with that MUCH easier. Also all the random broken bits and flesh hanging off make it so hard to figure out what they are supposed to look like. One of them I thought I had missaligned the chest piece because it left one shoulder completely uncovered, but it seems that was how it was intended! There is no excuse for this kit to be this fiddly! There isn't even a good reason for them to be monopose, especially since it is a unit that can be up to 20 models deep but there are ONLY 5 POSES!?!?! There aren't even different heads to pick from. Not a single spare bit in the kit unless you count the sprue itself! GLARGLEBARGLEFLARGLE!

Anyway, there is my rant. What kits have given you fits?

[Hive Bahamut]

Oh I like this game. Here is a little video to inspire. Will add models of my disliking later. Need a good dig.

m.youtube.com/watch?v=FayBHOhucf0

[yoritomo]

3rd edition gargoyles. Worst models ever. Whoever decided to take one wing, wrap it around the body, and use it to form half the peg hole for the flying base was high on something. It might have worked on a plastic model, but this one was pewter. The weight of the piece combined with the leverage from the odd shape produced a torque that was stronger than any superglue I could find.

[hivefleetkerrigan]

Not exactly a list of annoying kits but here goes:

Parasite of mortex was annoying with the gaps in the wings. It's also possible to glue it onto it's base wrong so it tips over... I know this because I did it.

For some reason, I also always have an issue with one custodes bike out of a box. Two out of 3, very little mold lines and gaps. The third one has HUGE gaps. I'm not sure if it's me or the kit

Arms can also be an issue. You have to hold 3 pieces in place while simultaneously also not gluing your hand to the miniature.

[Jbizzy]

Metal Krootox riders. I could not and still cannot figure out how it's supposed to fit together. They will forever be in the pile of shame...

[LordPathos]

I am not sure why. It when I was putting my Swarmlord together (first plastic Tyrant) nothing wanted to stick. His arms, tail, and the little chest claws just refused to be glued. I ended up green stuffing them on and it looked terrible.

[angelwing]

Jun 2, 2022 2:52:40 GMT Jbizzy said:

Metal Krootox riders. I could not and still cannot figure out how it's supposed to fit together. They will forever be in the pile of shame...

It doesn't. you have to use a fair bit of greenstuff to fill in the cavernous gaps.

I've put together many awkward kits and could make a big list, but I'll plump for the tyranid tyrannocyte as a current kit. Just badly designed which gives you way too many bits which leads to too many mold and seam lines. It would be so easy to redesign the vents to just be low bumps on the carapace for a start. And if you build the tyrannocyte instead of the sporocyst you don't get enough tentacles to build the big spore mine. Should have squeezed the one extra in you need with the space saved from the vents. Ugly seam lines on the main body too. To finish it off, its just not a practical gaming piece, to play with or transport.
Such a shame, as its actually quite a nice model to look at! I really disliked building this kit, especially as I bought three of them...

[Jbizzy]

Jun 13, 2022 22:07:10 GMT angelwing said:

Jun 2, 2022 2:52:40 GMT Jbizzy said:

Metal Krootox riders. I could not and still cannot figure out how it's supposed to fit together. They will forever be in the pile of shame...

It doesn't. you have to use a fair bit of greenstuff to fill in the cavernous gaps.

I've put together many awkward kits and could make a big list, but I'll plump for the tyranid tyrannocyte as a current kit. Just badly designed which gives you way too many bits which leads to too many mold and seam lines. It would be so easy to redesign the vents to just be low bumps on the carapace for a start. And if you build the tyrannocyte instead of the sporocyst you don't get enough tentacles to build the big spore mine. Should have squeezed the one extra in you need with the space saved from the vents. Ugly seam lines on the main body too. To finish it off, its just not a practical gaming piece, to play with or transport.
Such a shame, as its actually quite a nice model to look at! I really disliked building this kit, especially as I bought three of them...

Ah that's brutal! My T-cyte is still in the box and I did want to put it together to drop a walkrant in Kronos list.

[hivefleetkerrigan]

Another per peeve: GW mislabeling arm numbers. Sometimes it actually matters for holding a gun without gaps! Get it right please!

[infornography]

Jun 14, 2022 1:41:18 GMT hivefleetkerrigan said:

Another per peeve: GW mislabeling arm numbers. Sometimes it actually matters for holding a gun without gaps! Get it right please!

Yeah, GW's instructions don't often have errors, but when they do they can REALLY screw you up and you DEFINITELY remember the misses.

If they would just stop with the complicated arm/leg/body interactions which necessitate getting it right every time it wouldn't be such a big issue. DO we really need one piece to be the back of the torso, the top of one leg and the front half of the other leg? Also split pauldrons! Ugh! Why?

[hivefleetkerrigan]

Right? In my case, it's when the arms don't look complicated, but they need to have the exact right height to hold the weapons.

Pauldrons are always an issue for me. I've just taken to using glue + greenstuff to get a nice fit

[mattblowers]

Necrons in general were a major PITA. I remember the Nightbringer giving me nightmares trying to build it.

Moving outside of 40K the Wyrd first plastic kits for Malifaux look awesome but were really cut up weird on the sprue. I remember one of the models having seperate boobs that had to be glued in place and one dude had to have his goatee built seperately. Talk about fidly.

For Bolt Action the artillery kits from Warlord are some of the worst ever. Good luck figuring what goes where.

For Tyranids I thought the new Parasite model is pretty awful to build and instructions really weren't that clear. As said above, the way it connects to the base was a challenge. The T-cyte gave me no joy in building.

[mattblowers]

Jun 14, 2022 15:16:49 GMT hivefleetkerrigan said:

Pauldrons are always an issue for me. I've just taken to using glue + greenstuff to get a nice fit

A neat trick for this that I learned from Forge the Narrative: clip up some old sprues into plastic cement (I use Tamiya extra thin in a jar with a brush). Simply 'paint' the resulting gloop into the cracks and you have a perfect filler that is the same color and consistency as the model. It's a perfect solution. Once it's dried, you don't have to worry about it cracking when it cures. It's such a simple and incredible solution.

[infornography]

I only have one T-Cyte and I modeled it crashed into the ground instead of hovering just above it. Just used a hobby saw and cut off part of the bottom of the model at a slight angle. That way also it works as either a T-Cyte or Sporocyst not that I have EVER felt the need to field a Sporocyst.

[hivefleetkerrigan]

Jun 14, 2022 16:06:07 GMT mattblowers said:

Jun 14, 2022 15:16:49 GMT hivefleetkerrigan said:

Pauldrons are always an issue for me. I've just taken to using glue + greenstuff to get a nice fit

A neat trick for this that I learned from Forge the Narrative: clip up some old sprues into plastic cement (I use Tamiya extra thin in a jar with a brush). Simply 'paint' the resulting gloop into the cracks and you have a perfect filler that is the same color and consistency as the model. It's a perfect solution. Once it's dried, you don't have to worry about it cracking when it cures. It's such a simple and incredible solution.

Ooh! That's a good one! I'll have to try it!