Dragon WIP

[Duende]

Hey just because I'm judging the IP doesn't mean I'm not keeping busy.

Surprisingly, it looks like Karma actually does happen! (and I was such an unbeliever.) Not long ago, I sent Hinton a dragon so he could experience the joys (aka pains!) of doing larger scale minis. Then a few days ago, another friend of mine sent me one of their spare dragons, so I've put my elf on the back burner right now to start it. Right pain in the ass it is too! This dragon was released way back in the day when joints that could be described as "ah.. it almost fits" was good enough. I'd like to meet the guy who decided that two large heavy wings, needing joined together in an awkward V-shape then fit both into the same slot in the back of a skinny body, was a great idea. I'd like to smack him around a little. If anyone else has dealt with this model can you tell me how you handled the wings? It was fun enough getting the other body parts attached (thank god for my dremel stylus!) that these most awkward wings are left. Any pointers?

Anyway, here's the first image:

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l236/Duende71/WotCdragon005.jpg

(Had to put a wing across his tail or else he'd be falling on his face)

[Ritual]

Some sturdy pins should do the trick, right? Seems there's plenty of metal to drill into!

[Skya]

Indeed, I'd think two heavy pins per wing would do it. Out of curiosity, is this the old WotC Black Dragon?

[Duende]

Out of curiosity, is this the old WotC Black Dragon?

Yep, you nailed it. I looked up others at CMON and it seems these being a pain to put together is par for the course. But despite all my b*tching about it, it's actually been kinda a fun challenge to get the parts on there right. Just the wings are left now, this should be real fun. :D

And would you like to guess how many things I've ever successfully pinned? lol ("successful" being the key word there!). Once it's all together, I do have an idea for some other figures I want to pose with it, looks like I'll need to hit the Wyrd store soon.... ;)

[Ritual]

I suggest you use a two-part epoxy glue for the heavier parts. It is much more durable for the type of tension that the weight of the parts cause. Then, of course, hide the joint with some putty.

[Duende]

Take THAT you damned hunk of metal!

Well, I spent the majority of my Thurday night arguing with the wings of my dragon.

Anybody who's had to deal with this particular dragon knows what a horrible fit they are. To explain, the dragon's body has a single large, long, slightly-curving slot down the middle of his back that both the wings have to fit into. At the base of each wing is a long "tab" that nearly the length of the wings. The wings are "supposed" to fit against each other in a V-shape as they go into this slot on the back. LOL Well, that was the basic idea anyways, but the actualy fit was horrible, plus each wing is damned heavy, making it difficult to try to hold one wing in place while trying to fit in the second (and the two tabs together were wider than the slot!).

My whole saving grace was using glue to stick the wings together first after dremelling the contacts sides of the tabs enough so there was a large enough area of metal touching to hold a bond. I then could hold the wings as one, big piece while I tried to figure out how to fit them both into the back. What was MOST surprising was the glue... I use Loctite Super Glue, which I started using after reading THIS article (http://www.coolminiornot.com/forums/viewthread.php?tid=7541) at CMON written by Nathan himself ages ago. This glue held these wings together through days of "not-so-gentle" handling, dremeling, sanding and repeated attempts to be squeezed into the dragon's back. They never fell apart or even felt "loose" it was a solid hold. So I was able to get enough dremeling done to make a half-decent fit (it was kinda like a puzzle, figuring out where the metal was rubbing to keep it from fitting properly).

And now the wings are on with nothing more than super glue and greenstuff. And it holds perfectly! I've even gone so far as to tempt fate by holding it by it's head only, then it's tail only, and even shaking it. I have a witness to this too if you don't believe me! It has a good solid feel to it, like it's one whole piece rather than 13. This glue is great, I couldn't recommended it more.

So here's the most recent picture. I tried to show how the wings fit into the back (I didn't think I should GS that area between the wings since there would be natural "crease" there anyway). And the right shoulder where the wing meets the body, which had the biggest gap, roughly 4-5 mm wide which I had to GS then texture to match the rest. Might be hard to see, so much gets lost turning a 3D object into a 2D image.

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l236/Duende71/WotCdragon2.jpg

Now the MOST DIFFICULT part - primering and painting!

[TAB Studio]

I have this dragon primmed and ready for over a year now. It took me much longer to get together and mine does not stand on its own.
You didi a great ! Lots faster then I

I remember the posts on cmon about the glue :D

I use loctite now also. The only event that seems to seperate it is if the mini after time gets banged the impact shears the glue from the metal. as far as plastic , it will not debond.
I pinned the wings though the shoulder and then backstuffed with gs. just to be safe.
Excited to see your painting