Unboxing Malifaux - Hamelin's 'The Plague Cometh' Starter Box

I think I might be coming down with something...

HAMELIN

Eons ago, Plague was a pre-eminent alchemist in Malifaux, well respected in his field of study. He developed a fascination with decay and aging, focusing his research on the manipulation of both. A tragic accident during an experiment involving the aether and a plague rampaging through Malifaux City nearly killed him. Drowning in his own blood, the alchemist tapped into the aether desperately. Screaming in agony, his eyes closed. The next day, Plague's eyes opened.

Few records remain from the years of the Tyrants of Malifaux. The only certain thing is that they were locked away, trapped because they could not be killed. Plague slept millennia in the necropolis deep below Malifaux City. He was awoken by Hamelin the Rat Catcher, a pitiful bully on the run from the Guild. Hamelin's death was messy and horrific, reminiscent of Plague's first rebirth. Immediately, the Tyrant went after His ultimate goal, only to be prevented by Kirai Ankoku who shattered His physical form. It took months, but Plague eventually reformed Himself. Now, He acts more slowly to ensure His victory in the long run, searching for a new method of ascension into the aether- and the acquisition of true immortality.

Plague is the most aggressive of the active Tyrants. He holds to a strange view, that all of the Tyrants are playing a great game, one which is only worth playing because existence itself is the gamble. While His first attempt at ascension, harnessing the power of the Red Cage, failed miserably, He has discovered new methods to try. With everything on the line, He refuses to admit defeat.

The 'The Plague Cometh' box contains enough parts for ten miniatures...namely Hamelin, his Totems the Stolen (2SS each), Nix (8SS), Obedient Wretch (4SS) and four Malifaux Rats (2SS each). It also contains stat cards for each one and six upgrade cards four of which are for Hamelin, one for Nix and one that's for any model with the 'Nihilist' type.

This makes the Soulsstone value of the box...

Hamelin (0), Nix (8), Obedient Wretch (4), Stolen (2, 2, 2), Malifaux Rats (2, 2, 2, 2) Total (22*) or (28) with a maximum Soulstone cache and (37) with maximum 'out of the box' upgrades.
*Note - Additional Stolen after the first must be summoned so the starting value of this crew wouldn't include the second and third Stolen.

Sprues

The box has two sprues in it as well as the aforementioned cards. Here's pictures of both sides of them...

Stat Cards

Wyrd Games didn't like my publishing pictures of both sides of the stat cards so you'll have to make do with this...

Lets have a look at each of these models in turn. Should there be any assembly issues with any of the models then they will be listed in the appropriate section and you can view larger versions of the smaller pictures or instruction pictures by clicking on them.

Instructions

Some General Notes on Assembly.

Many of these models contain quite small parts so depending on how dexterous you are you might consider getting yourself some tweezers. Dry-fitting is also always a good idea in case a part needs a tiny bit of extra filing or filling as some of the fits are quite tight. Where the parts on the sprue are quite thin (chains, weapon shafts, cables and the like) then it might be better to remove parts with a sharp scalpel rather than cutters.

Hamelin

The Sprue

Assembled
Hamelin himself is fairly easy to put together with only the long thin staff that might be an issue. The 'magic' being summoned by his staff is a large separate piece that is supposedly designed to go on the base with Hamelin...it will in fact fit on but for my purposes I wanted Hamelin to be on the base on his own. It both made it easier to photograph and I also plan on using the 'magic' for something else. I'll discuss it's assembly separately...

This piece looks far more formidable to assemble than it actually is. Most parts can only comfortably fit into one location on the main body and the instructions themselves are clear as well as having reference numbers for the parts as they appear on the sprue. If the instructions aren't quite clear enough for you then I have taken pictures from all angles that should be all you need.

Comparison

Here's a comparison picture between the new plastic and original metal version.

Nix

The Sprue

Assembled
The body is in two parts that fit together around a lower and upper body piece that are all fairly substantial though the front left limb has a thin section above the foot that you'll want to keep an eye on. The jaw is separate and is the only piece that could be considered 'small' but isn't particularly fiddly to attach in spite of that.

Comparison

Here's a comparison picture between the new plastic and original metal version.

Obedient Wretch

The Sprue

Assembled
The body halves are both large and fit together well. The rats that are integral to the parts that attach to the body do however have tiny, tiny delicate tails so take care when putting any pressure on these bits.

Comparison

Here's a comparison picture between the new plastic and original metal version.

The Stolen

Sprue

The Stolen - General Tips

These all have the common issues of smaller scale models and those are thin parts and some small contact points. Be systematic, dry-fit first and take care when you initially remove those smaller pieces from the sprue. As these issues are common to all three models I haven't bothered with individual assembly tips.

The Stolen 1 - Assembled

The Stolen 2 - Assembled

The Stolen 3 - Assembled

Comparison

Here's a comparison picture between the new plastic and original metal versions.

Malifaux Rats

The Sprue

Malifaux Rats - General Tips

Three of these models consist of just two parts with the fourth consisting of four. Rats one to three just involve gluing both halves together (while being careful to not snap those delicate rat tails). The fourth is the most challenging as it has a tiny separate head piece, a tiny separate arm and...a tiny separate and delicate tail.

Malifaux Rats - Assembled

Comparison

Here's a comparison picture between the new plastic and original metal versions.

Thoughts and comments are (as usual) most welcome.