BUILDING THE BANEBLADE 2 Preliminary Assembly

Halved components
The first job is to clip off and clean up all the
components that are in two halves. When
Top Tip
Safety first
Tools and equipment used
in this article need to be
you’ve done this, stick the two halves together handled with care. Hobby
to make whole components. Use plastic glue
sparingly and make sure the parts fit flush to
Knives are extremely
avoid exaggerating join lines. Once the glue sharp, so make sure you
has dried, blend the joins (see tip box on right) always apply pressure
and then set the parts aside for later. downward onto a cutting
IMPERIAL BANEBLADE
PART ONE

Fuel tanks. Demolisher mount. mat, and that the item

you are cutting is secure
so it can’t slip. Finally, all
glues and spray paints
should be used in well-
Autocannon. ventilated areas.

Baneblade cannon.
Top Tip
Blending the joins
Hellhammer cannon.
Using a fine modelling
file, gently smooth away
the seams on the
3 Sponsons components you have
assembled. Such joins may
be hard to see while the
kit is in bare grey plastic,
Heavy bolter assembly but once undercoated and
Heavy Gun mount. Gun shield.
When building the sponson sub- bolter. painted they become
assemblies be careful with which
more prominent.
points you glue, or else you could A B
prevent articulation. Glue the twin
heavy bolters together through the
Over the next two issues, Studio modeller Mark Jones tackles sponson gun mount (A). It’s very
the mighty Baneblade. We follow his progress, from building important to not get any glue on the
central rim of the gun mount.
to painting this enormous tank. Carefully glue the gun shield onto
the gun mount as illustrated (B). Heavy bolter
Heavy bolter. sub-assembly.

1 Preparation
Side sponson assembly A Sponson base.

T
he Baneblade is a big kit with literally
hundreds of components. Before
embarking on the project it is best to
prepare your work area and to familiarise
yourself with the seven different frames so
you have a good idea where the
components are located.
Mark used a “sub-assembly” method for
building this kit, in which the components
are built in separate stages (called sub-
TM
assemblies) and are then combined together
into one model towards the end of the
project. When following this method you’ll
In this Modelling
Workshop, expert
modeller Mark Jones
takes us through the
process of building
Citadel’s biggest ever
plastic kit.
need a large, clear and organised work area To finish the side sponson, place the
with plenty of space for storing tools, top plate so it’s upside down on the
completed sub-assemblies and glued work area (A). Glue the side plates
components that are drying. into their allocated positions on the
underside of the top plate. When B
Mark’s approach is very methodical so dry, place the gun mount (also
as to get the best results possible. Be sure to upside down) so the top pivot fits Heavy bolter Top Tip
set aside plenty of time; patience will be inside the positive joint – do not sub-assembly
required for drying times, and it’s best not to glue! Finally add the sponson base,
glue these to the sponson plates and Baneblade or
rush through the assembly stages or not the gun mount. The sub- Hellhammer
mistakes can be made. When using the assembly is now complete so put it Before you embark on
components only remove those from the aside for now (B). Assembled this project, you must
frame you need at that point and store the Top plate. sponson. obviously decide which
unused frames and components close by. type of tank you will be
making – the Baneblade
or the Hellhammer. The
Lascannon sponsons differences are in the
First, create the sponson sub- Sponson top. weapon choices. The
assembly, as shown, then attach the Sponson Hellhammer uses the
lascannon barrel to the barrel sub-assembly. Hellhammer cannon in
Using the new Citadel Tool mount. Place the lascannon so the the turret and the Heavy
nubs on either side of the mounts go
range will give you the best
results, as all the tools have into the holes – do not glue, as this
Lascannon. Flamers are mounted in
the sponsons. If you are
been designed for the specific
purpose of putting together
will prevent the weapon from
pivoting vertically. Trap the weapon making the Hellhammer,
then all the advice in this
Citadel kits. You’ll need Plastic
Glue, Plastic Cutters, a Hobby
in place by gluing the sponson side
plate to the sub-assembly and then (and next month’s)
Knife, Modelling Files, a by attaching the sponson top when
the whole thing is dry.
Sponson side plate. article is just as valid.
Sculpting Tool and some
Green Stuff.

www.games-workshop.com 87
 4 Track Assembly 5 Adding the tracks

External track wheels 8-link track section. 8-link track section.

Both the external and internal track hull sides come
in two halves. Glue both parts of the same side
together first. Once this is done, add the track Outer side locating points.
wheels onto the external side hull sections. Use
the locator plugs as shown.
Large locating lug.

Track wheels.

Front and rear track wheels Inner side locating points.

Build the front and rear guide wheel assemblies as
Fitting the tracks
shown. When they are made attach them on to the When fitting the tracks to the track hull side assembly, it’s
internal track hull side. very important to start with the eight-link track section,
which should be placed onto the bottom of the track
wheel as shown in the picture above. Use the locating
lug on the track section to attach the track to the wheel.
Build the track forwards and backwards of the starting
section. Doing it this way will ensure that there are no
Front guide wheel. unsightly gaps in the tracks of your kit.

Guide wheel assembly

Rear guide wheel.

Gluing together Top armour plate.

Complete track section A
When all the wheel components are The final part of the track side section to add is the rear
dry, stick together both sides of the plate (A) and the front armour plate. Ensure that you glue
track hull and the top armour plate. the connecting hose to the rear plate before you attach it
Add small amounts of glue to the to the track section. Rear armour plate
tips of the inner side locating points and fuel hose mount.
and gently squeeze both sides
together. It’s important to add the top
Front armour plate.
plate on at the same stage, as this
will keep the shape of the sub-
assembly square.

88 WHITE DWARF MODELLING WORKSHOP: IMPERIAL BANEBLADE www.games-workshop.com 89

 6 Assembling the Hull 7 Main Turret and Side Sponsons

Central hull Turret assembly

Assemble the hull base plate and then attach it to one of The main turret is built in a very similar way to the Turret top plate.
the side hull track sections. It does not matter which one lascannon sponsons, as featured earlier. First, attach
– we used the left side in the photos (A). Once dry, add the weapons to the cannon mount and then place
the hull rear plate. Finally for this stage, glue the hull the complete weapon into the turret, via the nubs.
front plates into place (B). Do not glue the pivot joints. Once the turret side Turret sub-
plate is glued into place, attach the turret top plate assembly.
to complete the turret.
A

Autocannon.

Turret side plate.

Hull rear plate.
Hull base Cannon mount.
plate. Baneblade cannon.
B

Side sponsons
The next thing to do is to add the side plates
and weapon sponsons. You can place your
sponsons in three possible bays, as indicated.
If you are building the Hellhammer, then you
should put the heavy flamer sponsons towards
the front of the tank. Finally, add the top
armour plates as shown. The turret can then go
Hull front onto the main hull; it’s a dry fit attachment, so
plates. no glue is needed. The turret can also be
removed in later stages if and when required.

Completing the hull Top armour plate.

When the sub-assembly from the Top armour plate.
stage above is totally dry you can
attach the second track hull side.
Next, add the main hull plate. Main hull plate.
Before you do, make sure you glue
the driver’s viewport rear plate and
demolisher rear plate into place, as
these will not be accessible once the
main hull plate has been stuck to the
main assembly. Demolisher Fuel tanks.
rear plate.
Driver’s viewport
rear plate.

Side armour plate. Side armour plate.

Side sponson.

90 WHITE DWARF MODELLING WORKSHOP: IMPERIAL BANEBLADE www.games-workshop.com 91

 8 Weapons and Detailing 9 Completing the turret

Final details Turret options

This stage is all about adding the smaller
components that add an extra dimension
of realism to the kit. Before you do,
however, it’s best to add the secondary
weapon systems that are still not
attached. The central heavy bolter
sponson is a dry fit, just like the main
turret. The demolisher cannon is held in
place by the cannon cover. Because it is
on a ball joint, which can be tricky to
get at with a paintbrush, it is best to
undercoat the weapon first, before you
permanently attach it to the tank.
To attach the lascannon sponsons,
place the sponson pivot through the
weapon and then add a small drop of
glue to the end of the pivot that will be
jutting out from underneath the
lascannon. Simply glue this to the main
tank. Components A-G, the engine
covers, ladders, etc, can then all be
added at your leisure.
Heavy bolter
sponson.
Demolisher
cannon.
The tow hooks and rear lights can be The exhaust system can now be
added to the Baneblade at this stage. attached to the power plant.
Also note the addition of the engine
crank handle.
A Tank name plate.
B Headlamps.
C Smoke launchers.
Sponson pivot. D View-ports.
E Turret spotlight.
Lascannon F Gun rangefinder.
sponson. Sponson pivot. G Sledgehammer.
Lascannon sponson.
Engine cover.
It is a good idea not to glue the
engine cover in place until after
the tank is painted – that way you
can get at the details beneath.
The Baneblade turret is extremely
customisable. You can have it with a
turret bin for storage. You can have one
or both of the cupolas occupied by
crewmen or closed shut.
When going for the crewmen and
heavy stubber option, then it is best not
to glue them in place at this time. This
will make them much easier to paint.
The Turret bin assembly is
reasonably simply to construct and
attach to the main turret. If adding the
turret bin, then leave off the lascannon
from the turret rear.
Heavy stubber.
Turret bin top.
Commander.
Gunner.
Next Issue: Get your
paintbrushes ready!
The only thing that’s missing now is
some colour. In part two of this
article, Mark will take you through Turret bin
some useful techniques to make sub-assembly.
your Baneblade ready for action on
the tabletop.
Turret bin side.

F
Exhausts.
Turret aerial.
E G
Demolisher
cannon cover.

C
A B

Ladder.

All the dry fit assemblies, A The Baneblade kit

like the turret, can be gives you the option of
easily removed for having a turret bin or
further modelling and not. If you don’t have
ease of painting. the turret bin, then
there’s a lasgun that
sticks out of the back
of the turret (A) to
remove any unwanted
enemy hitchhikers!
You may wish to hold off
attaching components like
the ladders, engine cover
and lascannon sponsons
until they have been painted.

92 WHITE DWARF MODELLING WORKSHOP: IMPERIAL BANEBLADE www.games-workshop.com 93