The Elder Scrolls: Call to Arms | Miniatures Discussion & Assembling the Plastic Dragonborn

[@captainbridger6413]

thank you for this. dragonborn has been driving me insane to put together for like 3 hours

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

I’m glad the video was helpful.

[@seankavanagh3742]

Skyrim is in my top 10 games of all time, this range however I fear will not rank so highly - 12 pieces for a single 28-30mm miniature is just crazy!

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

It’s definitely a bit much. I reckon they will switch to all resin before long.

[@shadowfox1423]

I saved the Dragonborn for last from the plastic bleak falls delve. I felt the other 7 pieces were quite easy and straightforward. I could not have put the Dragonborn together without this video. Thank you so so much for this video!!!

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Thanks for watching. I'm so pleased you found the video useful. It's definitely one of the most unusual assemblies I've had to deal with.

[@shadowfox1423]

Always Board Never Boring I have close to 0 experience putting minis together so when I heard it was a hard one I was nervous but I sorta paused your video and just followed along. Made it actually extremely easy. I ended up putting it together in like 30 minutes which is faster than the skeletons lol

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

That’s great. And well done for tackling some pretty fiddly miniatures and getting them done. They do look very nice once they’re assembled.

[@Ecstacy333]

Kinda pissed as they werent adverrised like this, was gonna buy 2 of each set for both display and dioramas, im settling for buying 3d printed ones off etsy. Thanks for making this!

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Thanks for watching. The resin miniatures they are making are in fewer pieces; it just seems to be the plastics. They look pretty good when they're all together, but I've had to move on from this product line.

[@rainking4242]

This isn't the first mini I've put together, but I definitely needed help with that left leg. Thanks! 🙂

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

It's an incredibly odd build. Had me scratching my head. I'm glad you found the video useful!

[@emmahayes111]

Here for how to do the Dovahkiin’s leg! Argh what the heck! Thanks!

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Glad the video helped. It looks like a lot of people got stuck on this one.

[@everettjaymes8317]

Thanks for this! Your walkthrough was super helpful and saved me a ton of headache and frustration. I did find the second leg easier after gluing the left hip armor and scabbard first.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Thanks for watching. I’m glad it was helpful and you managed to find an easy way to get the miniature together.

[@Cosmic_Gruuv]

I cannot tell you how frustrated I was trying to figure out how that damn leg/cloth piece went together with the mini. Im so glad you made this vid and were so clear with what you knew. Worth the time, like, comment, sub, favorite, bell, and I'm gonna use the element games link to buy something,

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Thank you so much for the support. I'm really glad you found the video useful. This has to be the weirdest cut in a miniature I've ever seen! Unfortunately I ended up not enjoying Elder Scrolls even though it has some really interesting ideas in it, but I hope you have a blast playing and it was worth all the annoyance building the miniatures.

[@Cosmic_Gruuv]

@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring Incredibly useful, it makes me feel spoiled by some of the builds I've done before this as they've mostly been GW or Gunpla. Im much more on the hobby side than the player side but still like the models nonetheless. Also loving your dive into Heroes Quest! Love the models and Im getting a buddy to print some replacement furniture and the like so I can paint those up.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

@@Cosmic_Gruuv Yeah, there's a world of difference and it really makes you realise how good companies like GW are at what they do. I hope you have fun with your HeroQuest project.

[@kariranta-ojala5181]

i also felt building the kit was challenging. I took my time and built them over a few days before I primed them all.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

The female Dragonborn really seemed to stump people based on comments I've received. They really weren't fun miniatures to build. Fortunately, they look pretty good when you are finished.

[@johnmiddleton4291]

You can use liquid poly cement to unseat and move superglued parts again. Super glue sets as an acrylate polymer (acrylic plastic) that is soluble with something like Tamiya thin. You also don't need to worry much about join lines with liquid cements, as you can fill/cover them by brushing over the seam.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Good tips. I strongly advise against superglue though. These miniatures often require a little bit of "jostling" to get into position, and the plastic glue allows that. Furthermore, you are handling very small parts (like the face), which makes superglue more of a pain to deal with. I prefer precision applicators to brushing and will often run a little plastic glue along a seam if possible to save using green stuff. This particular model actually has parts that fit together pretty well, once you figure it all out.

[@johnmiddleton4291]

I'm not saying super glue for plastic. Just that you can soften it if you use it on something else, like resin. Liquid poly is also far better for plastic than the thicker stuff. The thick stuff is liquid with polystyrene dissolved in it as a thickener to make it a gel. You can get clumping because the extra glue that oozes out dries into actual extra plastic and I've found that on some kits the little extra layer of plastic in joints can cause issues. I don't think most gaming minis are tight enough to have it be an issue, but many model kits it does. All of that can be resolved with very careful glue application, but the other benefits of liquid poly make it not worth stocking both types on my hobby bench. For liquid you can brush a bit on the seams and let it dry to the air, fit the parts and then just touch the brush to the seam, allowing the capillary action to draw the cement in. You can then brush over the seam to fill and hide a line as needed. You do not apply it like with little needle tube.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

I just never got on with brushing. I think everyone finds their preferred way of doing something. I use Revell or GW plastic glue with the precision nozzles and I've never had any problems with clumping, but as you know I don't do kits like Gundam or Arifix, so perhaps that would be a different experience. I also can't speak for other brands of plastic glue. Back when I was a kid and didn't know any better, I once assembled the miniatures from Advanced Space Crusade with a tube of UHU glue. Now that was a mess!

[@johnmiddleton4291]

It's just a practice thing, and then you would prefer liquid.

[@1000jjwalker]

I love a good mini game but man thats nuts

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Yeah, they didn't make it easy. Unfortunately, I really didn't enjoy the game either.

[@BloodyCactus]

yeah I had the most trouble with the dragonborn, not realising the arm sandwiched, so I had to cut the nubbin off to jam it in after putting the body halves together. The number of peices was really bad. individual feet on draugar that glue onto a leg thats just hip to ankle, no reason it was not all one piece.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

The way some of the miniatures are cut up is very strange to me, and it really isn't necessary. It's a bit of a shame because it creates a barrier to entry which I feel could have been somewhat avoided.

[@pirtrom11]

I was stuck and you saved me. hail you

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

I'm really pleased the video helped you. This was probably the toughest miniature to put together.

[@meetsintaverns5330]

Thanks for that. This was driving me bananas - and I thought Marvel Crisis Protocol could be a pain!

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Seems like this one caused problems for a lot of people. I've never seen anything quite like it.

[@hoopie5000]

Thanks for this I was pulling my hair out trying to build it.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

It still stands out as the most ridiculous miniature kit I’ve ever worked on. Glad the video helped.

[@hoopie5000]

@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring I volunteered to make them for someone at my South London warlords club. What a big mistake.

[@dharmakaya_bee]

Thank you. This video stopped me from tearing my hair out

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

I'm glad it was helpful.

[@tp6498]

I see what you mean about the end result. Once everything is in place and glued it's difficult (as the viewer) to see any gaps or seams. Just need a good pair of tweezers and lay off the caffeine beforehand lol.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

They look good in the end but they were incredibly strange to work with. The resin versions are machined differently making them a bit less of a pain.

[@itsio7188]

so was the plastic easy to glue together? im weighing my options byuying some resin sets or plastic

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Plastic miniatures are fine to work with, although I recommend using plastic glue which will slightly melt the plastic and form a strong bond. If you are going to go for resin you will need to use superglue. In general I prefer working with plastic over resin, but I do collect Moonstone miniatures which are all resin, and they are fine to work with.

[@itsio7188]

@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring I suppose I prefer plastic, for durability. I read it's the same plastic as gw. But I tried tamiya thin and it took quite some time to loosen the plastic. It felt odd. I have some of their resin models, and the grey resin is soooo brittle

[@teddscaut493]

I had a fairly easy time putting together the minis, but that freaking Dragonborn! I absolutely ruined her right arm (I could NOT attach her stupid arm properly), and I somehow managed to melt her stomach when I accidentally glued my finger to her torso. I had to do a patch job on her right side with a ball of rolled up tissue, and I wrapped twine around her stomach to cover up the melted area. I spent two hours on her >_

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Most of them weren't hard as such, just more fiddly than they really needed to be. Slicing off faces and separating legs into two or three pieces seemed unnecessary. But yeah, the female Dragonborn is ridiculous.

[@teddscaut493]

This, along with the followers and allies miniatures were the first miniatures I've ever bought, so having to put the Dragonborn together was an absolute nightmare. The other two miniature packs were extremely easy to put together, and I felt the fact they were made of resin made it easier as well. Unfortunately the delve miniatures I ordered were made out of hard plastic, which meant the extremely runny super glue I used got all over my fingers. I have no clue what the manufacturer was thinking when they designed the delve figurines to be in what seemed like a thousand tiny pieces, none of which seemed to click into place smoothly. Oh my gosh, and the fact that the labels on the diagram didn't match up with the sprues -_-

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

@@teddscaut493 The resin sets they make are easier to put together than the plastic ones, and I believe that as they go forwards they will only be making resin, which is probably a good thing. It makes no sense to me that they would try to launch a game with such fiddly plastic models. I would be interested to see how easy the resin dragon is to build. By the way, if you have to build plastic miniatures in the future, consider grabbing some of the plastic glue. It makes life a lot easier, and you won't stick your fingers together!

[@teddscaut493]

Oh, I actually bought the dragon when it came out. It’s really easy to put together. I spent a lot of time cleaning it up before assembling it since it’s such an expensive model, and I had to fill in a lot of the seems with Green Stuff, but it looks great. I have yet to finish painting it, unfortunately. I painted the head and scenic base, though.

[@caladorx5853]

Would you rather have bought the resin set? Looks like it is easier to assemble

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

I'm not a fan of resin and avoid it whenever possible, really. Having seen the resin miniatures they have their own problems. They require a lot more clean up, I find they're more difficult to clip off the frame, and they are going to be a bit more fragile. These plastic models are fiddly, but they're relatively easy to clean up and I'm very happy with the end result. I just thought it was worth doing a video on the assembly as I had made several comments about it in the past.

[@HistoricalConflict]

I agree resin sucks balls

[@MrMeanSpeaks]

Thanks for this series as I was looking to get into it as I wanted a good solo fantasy game.... Sad to say I will pass on this one and live vicariously thru your channel as I dont want to work that hard on putting minis together! Have you looked at 5 Parsecs from home or its fantasy version 5 leagues from the borderlands...mini agnostic...

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Unfortunately Elder Scrolls was a big dud for me. While I realise many people love it, it failed for me on almost every level. I do know 5 Parsecs and 5 Leagues, but I haven't played either and I'm not planning on getting them any time soon. I play Rangers of Shadow Deep, and I plan on picking up Lasting Tales at some point. Those are both miniatures agnostic games as well.

[@MrMeanSpeaks]

@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring ya thats what I am getting from allot of other gamers. I love RotSD, I as lucky enought to get the faux leather green cover when it came out. I am tempted to get the monster cards. Keep up the great content. If your into tabletop rpg's feel free to check my channel where I talk about allot of different rpgs. Thanks for the reply.

[@thesamsquatch2704]

I’ll take this as a warning - got the starter bundle for Christmas and immediately thought the minis came in an unusual number of pieces - I’ll save this video for when I’m home so I can build them. Did you give the ethereal Dragonborn a blue wash? Looks considerably most shaded than mine 😂.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

The plastic miniatures are a bit of a pain, particularly the plastic dragonborn. They look nice when they're done though. I did a full paint job on my ethereal dragonborn, the video is here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/lXWxn4KwpplqpaM

[@thesamsquatch2704]

@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring Thanks! I’ll give it a watch 😁 I did think the bare translucent resin looked a little...plain. The details don’t really shine through. I’ll give it a watch now 😁.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

@@thesamsquatch2704 I think it definitely needs a bit of paint to make it pop.

[@thesamsquatch2704]

@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring I agree, and yours certainly does pop! Great work 😁.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

@@thesamsquatch2704 Thank you.

[@ArcaneCowboy]

So glad these are in plastic and not resin. But what the hell?

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Yeah. I'm not really sure what they were thinking with this. Thanks for watching.

[@kingofthe1s214]

Nice looking fig, but I have zero interest in a 12 part man sized figure, yikes!!

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

It is somewhat excessive, and unfortunately I feel a lot of people might feel the same way. There is the resin alternative, which comes in fewer parts, but resin comes with it's own problems (and is way more expensive).

[@maxriley9540]

Thank you Those legs were awful

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

They were very bizarre. I'm just editing a video about the Stormcloaks, and they were much easier to put together.

[@HistoricalConflict]

Jesus those instructions are awful compared to GW stuff

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

These were a headache.

[@SilasTheBreaker]

Too much work

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

As it turned out, I ended up not enjoying this game, so it wasn't worth the effort for me. It seems to have done well as a game system though so it found is audience.