Well, here we are. This was supposed to be a video, complete with peanut gallery commentary and a soundtrack, but then Covid got me.
Alas.
But that won't stop me from playing with my new toys! To be honest, it did for quite a while - you saw the unboxing video from over a week ago, it took me a while to be able to function enough mentally and physically to get this done. The fine motor skills that minis people have is just on another level.
Here I present to you, in no way intended to be a how-to as much as a please laugh at my bumbling, my first foray into putting together a single mini.
Okay, here we go. Starting simple. The giant ziplocks are a little intimidating, so maybe this awesome lady will be a little... not. I'm not gonna jinx it and ask "how bad can it be" though.
Getting a little closer look at her. I want that staff in real life, holy crap. That statue she's standing on is a little creepy though, very lost continent of Atlantis vibes.
And that crown doesn't seem too hydrodynamic, but who am I to judge.
Okay, this is doable! One sheet of bits! I'm not scared!
I've done enough Ikea and gunpla assembling to know skimming the directions is a good plan. You don't need to like peruse them by any means, but just to have an idea.
Yup, still creepy lil face.
MOVING ON!
The first step is always the hardest. Just do it, already! I did have an issue trying to figure out exactly where this belt/scabbard was supposed to sit since there wasn't a direct pin or anything. By looking back and forth at the box art to see what the final product looked like, and shimmying it around until it seemed to nestle in to one spot, we got there.
Narrowly avoiding gluing my fingers together on step one. I'm not sure if that would be a promising beginning or a curse.
Missed documenting the other leg being attached, but it wasn't anything too special. I was worried about getting the angle right for the base later on, but turned out I didn't have much to worry about. These figures are actually a little more forgiving than you would think!
Next up was Edna Mode's least favorite part- the cape.
It took me longer than I care to admit to realize that the cape was actually the entire back portion of the mini's torso. I was trying to get it to sit on top of the shoulder, farther down, anything but just... there.
See, so simple. But then I saw my next hurdle - I don't have a lot to go on as far as how the head sits.
This isn't my favorite part of the mini. I just don't like how I got it to sit, maybe I needed to file down the neck a bit more? My god that sounds gross. But really, I couldn't seem to get the neck in the front flush if the back was securely fit. So poor girl is kind of living la vida Nearly Headless Nick from Harry Potter for right now.
It's fine she's fine this is fine.
Looking at this, I get it. I see, I understand, here are the arms, here's the stuff, easy. But that staff. The arm is connected to this lil turtle dude, and the staff connects to that him, but it's the same situation with the neck. Would you please just sit in your assigned seat??
Why yes, my fingers are SOLIDLY glued together, why do you ask?
Look. it's as good as it's gonna get. Not flush, contains some of my skin, but it works .
From this angle you can't tell it looks like she had a compound fracture that was set badly and allowed to heal.
Again, fine totally fine everything is fine.
CREEPY FACE TIME!
When I tell you how much I struggled at figuring out how to get this base together. And when I tell you how hard I face palmed when I finally noticed the perfect little notch on the bottom to guide me.
See, it doesn't really look like it's supposed to fit like that, like I'm missing something. But it worked perfectly where it counts. Also my glue drips are definitely intentional to add some uh... underwater character. Yup.
Does this mean I'm done??
I'm done!!!! And this picture actually doesn't look half bad!
This was such a fun little escape and introduction to minis! I'm really glad that I Was able to do this, and that it wasn't any more difficult, otherwise my dayquil addled brain might not have made it through. It was touch and go once or twice there.
Next, we're gonna try to paint her! Wish me luck!