Unboxing Malifaux - Zipp's 'The Sky Pirates' Starter Box

'Up, up and away.....'

ZIPP

Zipp is the most feared Sky Pirate in all of Malifaux. The brilliant and daring leader of the Iron Skeeters, he robs and pillages as he pleases. Or, at least, that’s what he monologues about while his crew runs around and steals things.

Ever since the day Zipp discovered an aethervox and heard stories of grand adventure on it, he knew he was destined for great things. He started by joining a gang of thieving Gremlins, but everything changed the day he stole an experimental airship.

He has since christened his ship the Infamy, and with it, he terrorizes Malifaux. He soars through the air, taking what is rightfully his, striking fear into the hearts of his foes.

He's only too happy to use his lightning gun... once his victims have heard a proper monologue, that is. After all, you can’t just go around killing and robbing folks without giving them a proper monologue first. How else are they supposed to know who robbed them?

A 'Tactica' and some other information can be found here.

The 'The Sky Pirates' box contains enough parts for six miniatures...namely Zipp, his Totem Earl Burns (3SS each), The First Mate (9SS) and three Iron Skeeters (6SS each). It also contains stat cards for each one and eight upgrade cards three of which are for Zipp (two are Limited), one for The First Mate and four for any model with the 'Sky Pirates' type.

This makes the Soulsstone value of the box...

Zipp (0), The First Mate (9), Earl Burns (3), Iron Skeeters (6, 6, 6) Total (30) or (33) with a maximum Soulstone cache and (40) with maximum 'out of the box' upgrades.

Note - Izaak Fryer-Kanssen from the Gremlin Facebook group 'Thinkin Luck' has pointed out that when Zipp takes one of his limited Upgrades, it makes three Sky Pirate upgrades free - so it should *really* be 37 SS for maximum out-of-the-box upgrades...well spotted Izaak...

Sprues

The box has two sprues in it split into  six sub-sections between them 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.

Zipp

The Sprue

Assembled

This one is a fairly simple assy. The jet pack and smoke are two pieces with the exception of a fin that goes on the rear. There's a couple of points to note on Zipp himself. It's possible to put the legs on the wrong sides as the angle at which they join the body is similar on both sides. The left arm supports the gun underneath so imo it's better to put this arm on second so it can be aligned with the gun hand.

Earl Burns

The Sprue

Assembled

There is a very thin handle on the hammer on the tool belt section that attaches to the rear of the body but other than that the model is issue free.

The First Mate

The Sprue

Assembled

There are some thin spikes along the models spine and similarly delicate tendrils on the face so be careful not to damage them when handling those areas. Also in true gremlin kit fashion the connecting points for the separate feet are not particularly big.

Iron Skeeters

The Sprues

Iron Skeeters - General

All the Iron Skeeters have a number of issues in common so we'll cover them all in one go. All three Skeeters have spindly legs and all the riders have a grappling hook of some description with either a thin chain, thin hooks or both. Extra care needs to be taken when removing these from the sprue and you also need to be careful not to put any pressure on these pieces while assembling the model. The models come with Wyrd Games flight stands but there's no recess or mark on the model themselves that indicates where they should go specifically.

Iron Skeeter A - Assembled

The Proboscis piece on this one slots between the body halves and the riders head is effectively in three parts as some of it is on the body. Alignment is tricky in a number of areas so dry-fitting is definitely recommended.

Iron Skeeter B - Assembled

The legs for this one are only two pieces (one set per side) so the legs can't be mixed up though they share the spindly nature of those on the other models.

Iron Skeeter C - Assembled

The grappling hook and rope on the third Iron Skeeter is particularly long and the rope is definitely on the scarily thin side. My one was also missing a piece of rope between the rear of the hand and the waist area that I'll be replacing at some point but I assembled the model without for now.

Thoughts and comments are (as usual) most welcome.