How to build and magnetize an Archangel

Welcome, people of the interwebs !

This week, let us all take a look at the mightiest creature of all: the wild great dragon, also know as an Archangel.

So, if you are like me, when you bought that creature, it came with a very large plan explaining how to build it with much sketches and details. Don't ring a bell? Hum, maybe my memory is a bit fuzzy with this one. Anyway, I would like to take on the journey of how to build and magnetise the wing of your Archangel.

First step, you will need in your toolbox:
- 4 10mm magnet
- 1 Bowl (like a soup bowl)
- 1 Sharp modelling knife
- 1 7/16" drill bit
- 1 drill
- 1 Epoxy glue
- 1 Good ol' glue
- 1 Boiler
- 1 Archangel (obviously)
- 1 Green stuff pack (aka Milliput)
- 1 or 2 toothpicks (depends of your skill level with the Epoxy)
- Some modelling tool (ya know, that 3 tools kit that looks like a dentist arsenal ? Yeah, I'm talkin' about that)
- Some water
- A hell lot of patience

Now that you have everything handy, you shall know that you're here for a couple of hours, so maybe turn on the radio or put your favourite CD on. (I recommend Christmas music since we are in December.)

Second step, when you open the box, it should look like this:

As for any models, take the time to cut the moulding lines, and particularly with the Archangel, the moulding vents, since there is quite a few. Watch out to not cut yourself, because sometimes the knife goes faster than we expect into such resin. Very important also to regularly try the parts together to see if it fits well, or if you need to cut a little more resin. It is better if you have taken off to much rather than not enough since later we are going to back over the gap. (Don't do a butcher's work either.) Oh, very important, don't cut the stump at the end of the wings!

Once all parts are clean, fits well and you still have at least nine fingers, we can move on to step three. Which is glueing almost everything together. Start by glueing the butt on the stone. You will probably need to cut off a bit on the inside of the right knee if you didn't already. Another option is to use the boiler combined with the water to get smoking hot water, and sink the butt into it. You really need a bowl of fecking hot water for this model, because a sink hot water stream is not enough exposure for the thickness of the model. If you use the water, make sure to dry well the part where you're going to apply your good ol' glue (which is your regular modelling glue, actually). Once the butt is done, you can move the left leg. With this one, no particular problem, just glue it straights. For the left knee, you can either do it now or wait at the end to do it with the rest of the metal parts. Move on to the torso. For me, it was a pretty good fit after carving a bit here and there. Then, proceed with both arms. The right arm should be good, but the left... Let just say my Archangel have a bit of dislocated shoulder problem on that side. Just make sure the arm is well glued, as this is something we can cover with some green stuff, so no biggies.

Now the tail. I give her its own paragraph because "eeerrghhhh", what a mess... At first, I thought that the hacked parts of the tail were a miscast, then I read that it was supposed to be "battle damages", and then I realise that those are specific spots that must interact with the base for a perfect fit. Only an image can explain that clearly:

The tail is made to go on the small rock, around the blighted monolith, on the ribcage and there is even a small bump for a duo of skulls, all while coming out of your Archangel butt. There, you will need the hot water. Like really, I tried the sink and it just doesn't cut it, uses a lot of water (I'm not a Circle player, but we can still try to save a fish or two) and cools too fast. Put the tail in the water until she's like a hot noodle or an elderly twinky, whichever you prefer, ain't no time for judgement here. She will be warm enough to give you time to first dry it, then apply the glue and stick it in there. Put glue on all the points of contact (butt, rock/monolith, ribcage, skulls bump), and when glueing, apply pressure to the butt with one hand and position the tail in its place with the other. I would recommend the ribcage as a good second spot for applying pressure. You might even want to try it a first time without the glue, to check-out how it goes. Also, as if it is not hard enough already, make sure that the end of the tail is high enough for the second part of the tail since she goes downward.

Next stop, the head. This time, start with the lower jaw first and glue it on the torso. After that, do the upper jaw and finally to back head part. As usual, carve to achieve a good fit. Don't panic if there is a small gap between the upper jaw part and the back head part. You can do the left knee if he's not done already.

Now we will do the spikes on the spine. The sections go in that order, from head to tail: 4 smalls, 3 huge, 4 mediums, 3 smalls. I recommend you to start from the neck and to go down. You might need to bend some little to achieve a good fit, which is not always possible. On mine, it is as if he misses a couple of millimetres and the spikes don't come quite straight on the tail part. Do as best you can, and we will handle the rest with green stuff.

After that, glue the small wings, they fit alright. For the metal tail part, check if the tail get close enough that you can also glue it on other places than just the resin tail part. On mine, it was a toe and a rock. Maybe bend it a bit to get it to touch somewhere, because that resin part ain't going to hold all that metal part.

For the big wings, start by glueing the claws, pointy part inward. When will probably need to cut into the small metal square under the claws to get it to fit well, since it's too dangerous to try to open up the hole on the wings. For the tiny spikes on the wings, I didn't really find if there was any supposed arrangement for them, so I just glued them the longest outward and going smaller and smaller inward.

Now, go out, take a walk, eat maybe. Sleep if you haven't in the last 36 hours (that's my personal limit, after that, I start falling asleep where I'm standing without warning. Pretty freaky, don't go there unless you have to.)

Next and last part, the magnetizationneering of the wings. While being an awesome model, the Archangel is very difficult to transport and store because of his wings. But, if carefully magnetised, he can keep all his might while not being a pain in the lower back area. To keep the most support possible, you will want to keep the stump on the wings, and that mean you will need to drill into the torso to make room for the magnets. The easiest side is the right, because the hole is smaller than the drill bit you're going to use. Yes, that means you're going to make the hole bigger, but once over, it will be mostly hidden by the wing shoulder. It's very simple, just drill, blow out the resin, drop two magnets inside the hole, add the wing on top, and check if it's looking good or not. Here too, it's better if you go a bit too deep than not enough deep. For the left wing, since the hole is bigger, try to drill following the same angle as the stump goes in, and also try to not hit the border of the hole, since he is already quite big.

Now to glue the magnet and make sure everything is aligned, you actually need to glue the magnets while they are in the hole, and I recommend you do one magnet at a time, event if that mean you will lose some glue. You're working on a 100$+ model, don't grumble around about your 10$ epoxy glue tube. First, put the two magnets in the hole and don't push them to the bottom. Mix a small batch of glue, apply it with a toothpick on at the end of the stump, on the wing, but make sure there is none around the stump! Insert the wing slowly into the hole, so that the stump contact a magnet and push it down. That way, your magnet will be perfectly aligned on the stump. For the second magnet, it's trickier (weep, not tricky enough yet). Since a drill bit is like a cone, make sure there is not resin residue into the hole (easiest way is with a couple of q-tips (ears cleaning stuff) and water), make sure it is dry. Check the thickness of the stump plus the magnets, and compare it with the deepness of the hole. You will know approximately how much glue you need to put in. That's why epoxy is good, because she is thick enough to fill the gap. Mix some epoxy, put it in the hole (be light handed here, better to had some later then have too much), put the second magnet on the first one, and then put some glue on it. Proceed to slowly insert the wing on the shoulder. Once you reach the bottom, take it out. Yes, TAKE IT OUT! Now make sure that the glue on the bottom and the glue on the magnet have made contact (they should have spikes where they make contact), and also that the glue at the bottom didn't go all over the place because there is too much of it. If it is the case, try to scrape it with a clean toothpick and a wet q-tip to clean the area. After all, you don't want the wing to be glued there permanently. For the second wing, do the same thing, but try to both the magnets in a complimentary way, as they will all pull toward each other instead of each side repulsing each other (normally, the magnets are strong enough that you will see after you have done the first wing which way the magnets are attracted).

Technically, ta da !!!! You have a fully glued and magnetised Archangel. What about the green stuff part, you say? Well, that will have to be in part two, since this one is already pretty long, and will include also green stuff's stuff on Raptors and Lylyth3, because Christmas means Reindeer Riders are next in line for painting.