Along came an arachnarok

Have you guessed today's sponsor? Of course you did.

The Arachnarok Spider kit is, to my mind, the best product GW has put on the shelves. It is very fun to assemble and paint, it is insanely detailed (and I mean insanely) and it is, well, BIG. I've grown accustomed to big sci-fi models, but fantasy ones of this size are still "new".

I don 't have any WIP shots anymore, but I shall be making another spider in the future and I will document the process. As you can see, I've altered the pose somewhat. What is being proposed by the design doesn't ring well with me - I can't imagine all this huge mass of plastic being held in four tiny places. Hence, the solution:

The eggs in the tree stump in fact conceal a 2,5mm brass rod holding the whole thing much more firmly. I've made a profound use of the airbrush on this little spideress (yes, it's a she!) and i sincerely recommend the model to anybody who wants to start airbrushing as well. You can go as simple (as I did) or as elaborate as you please, the model really offers possibilities for both. Just be careful of some nasty gaps that need to be filled and sanded very, very smoothly. Take your time on them.

 The model is not without its flaws, mind you. The carapace can't be properly glued, filled and sanded before attaching it to the main body. This makes the airbrushing somewhat problematic - you have to mask the body very, very well to avoid surprises. Luckily, you can paint the "flesh" before attaching the main carapace. However, I recommend constructing the two smaller pairs of mandibles and the whole head bit on the body, then filling the gaps (they don't fit as well as you might expect), sanding the joints smooth and painting the thing. Here good masking is absolutely crucial.

The goblins and the howdah will probably be your most time-consuming step. Not everything fits perfectly here, good glue and some clever clamps are essential. But most of all the sheer mass of detail can be overwhelming. All these twigs, spider web, string, bones, feathers, shield and, of course, skulls will require time to look decent.

 

The goblins are probably my favorite bits here. All are very characterful, with very natural poses, well-detailed bits and generally are a big step forward. I purposefully left over the shaman and some other crew...

 

...plus the upgrades like the flinger for a future project. The only thing left to do here are the tiny spiders, which will go on the base to liven it up a little.

 As a final word, thanks to Sigmar of Warhammer Battle Reporters for making the spider a poster child for his latest forum project.

Till next time!