WIP: Exocrine / Haruspex

Hive Fleet: Unending Maw grows!

Finally got around to ordering the Exocrine/Haruspex kit. It's a really great looking model, and I'm excited to build it. Given the rules, I'll probably run it as an Exocrine most of the time, but I'm going to magnetize it so I have a choice-- I've already build a nidzilla list with this thing in the elite slot.

As with all the new GW kits, the sprues are well packed, and the mold lines and gates are in much smarter places on the parts. The instructions are clear and concise.

I began assembly. I often use clamps to make sure the parts are bonded together as closely as possible. I bought the clamps you see below at the dollar store.

I assembled the model in smaller sub-assemblies to avoid complications during painting. I knew parts of the mouth would be impossible to reach if fully assembled.

All of this was done under watchful supervision.

Knowing that I wanted to run the model as both variants, I magnetized the forearms and sockets so it could be switched. A smart person would do this BEFORE the two halves of the torso were glued together, in case the magnet slipped inside. I used 3/16th x 1/16th rare earth magnets from the warstore.com.

Once the sub assemblies were complete, and magnetization was finished, I primed the model using vallejo grey airbrush primer.

I then applied base colors to the model. On the mouth and cannon parts, I used a base of vallejo fleshtone, and added a gradient of vallejo fleshtone and dark fleshtone.

Not bad for early progress. I'm excited to complete the model. I have a few interesting ideas for the haruspex's tongue attack, and some additional modeling to enhance it.

-trip