So the fleet is assembled! Only took a few hours, actually. I managed to get them cleaned up, washed, and assembled while watching an episode of Castle and then some Firefly. Now that I think about it, it sounds like I have a man crush on Nathan Fillion. Well... who doesn't? Oh well, my wife will understand I hope.
I assembled the cruisers first in order to get my feet wet before jumping up to the big battleship (and boy is that thing big!). They were pretty straightforward once I got the curve worked out of the first one. If you've never worked with resin before, it's pretty easy to do. I'm not going to say it's the simplest thing in the world but it's definitely nothing to freak out about. Just soak the model in some hot water or, if you're impatient like me, go back and forth with a blow dryer until it softens up enough to bend. Bend it back in place and let it cool. Voila. The great thing about these Dindrenzi ships is that they are pretty much flat on the side so you can just lay them down, put some heat to them, and add a little pressure. Probably the easiest miniature I've ever done this to. Other than this one little issue, the cruisers went together quite quickly and easily. I just had to clean a little bit of flash off of the sides of some pieces but it was hardly anything worth mentioning.
The destroyers were actually one of the harder ships to assemble. There isn't really a good indicator of where to put the engines. Other than a little indention that fits nicely against a piece on the hull section, you really just have to eyeball it. I did and it worked out just fine. After I got these guys assembled, I was really happy with the way they looked. I hope they're not complete crap on the table because I want to keep them in my fleet for their looks alone. I did have one complaint, however. When I was finishing up assembly, I noticed that one engine pod was larger than the other on my last ship. It was really weird because it was larger than all of the other engine pods. It was maybe 1-2mm longer than the others and that isn't a lot but it is noticeable on these small ships. I can deal with it but it was unusual.
Now for the battleship. Let me just say that this model, alone, is enough to make me love this game. It looks great. It has this blocky ominous feel that I just love. There is a lot of detail in the model itself and it went together fairly easily. My only problem was the bridge piece on top. It seemed to have some extra resin on the bottom that made the piece sit at a bit of an angle on top of the ship. I should have taken a picture to show you guys but I got a little eager in my assembly. Anyway, I just went downstairs, threw on some goggles and a mask, and sanded it down until it set flush with the top of the ship. Say what you want about resin but it is super easy to work with. Other than the bridge, she went together easily and with no fuss.
Well that wraps it up for this article. Again, I can't say enough about the Dindrenzi fleet and this starter box set. I'm happy with the purchase and it was a painless assembly that I could do while hanging out with wifey. Now on to the Sorylian starter fleet!
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