Unboxing Malifaux - M2E Ashes and Dust

"Didn't I kill that once already?"

The Ashes and Dust box contains enough parts for three miniatures...namely Ashes and Dust, Dust Storm and Ashen Core. It also contains stat cards for them though there are no upgrade cards.

Ashes and Dust - Sprue

The box has one sprue in it split into three pieces as well as the aforementioned cards. Here's pictures of both sides of them...

Ashes and Dust - 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 these...

Should there be any assembly issues with the model 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.

Ashes and Dust - 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.

Ashes and Dust

Ashes and Dust - Assembled

The pieces that fit inside the body sections cannot be inserted after the outer halves have been put together and the fit wasn't brilliant until I did a bit of filing. There are grooves for the small spiky parts to slot into and you can work out which one goes where from the instructions. The forearm armour can be put on the incorrect arms fairly simply so remember that the thumb grooves face inward so you don't make that mistake. You may also wish to assemble the arms before attaching them to the model so you have more space to work. The claws are specific to a particular hand in order to make the fingers flex in the right direction and you can see the correct orientation on the instructions. Though even taking that lot into account it's not a bad model to assemble as long as you're systematic.

Dust Storm - Assembled

The model consists of large pieces with some small spikes that you might want to avoid pressing on. There are also some smaller parts to attach to the body though they all have decent attachment points.

Ashen Core - Assembled

The 'Skull' is on extremely delicate and thin pieces and the slightest pressure will bend or break them so be really, really careful when handling it. The four pieces that form a square below the top piece create a shape into which the top piece slots but can pretty much be put together in any order so make sure you put them together correctly to get the correct slot shape (It should end up the same shape as the lower part of the 'skull' section that fits inside it). There's a slight gap between the pillar and the middle section on the pictures but I sorted that afterwards with about ten seconds of filing so don't let it put you off.

Ashes and Dust - Comparison Picture

Here's some comparison pictures between the original metal versions and the new M2E plastic ones.

Thoughts and comments are (as usual) most welcome.