Vibrant Lantern - General Advice

General Advice Updated 12 December, 2016

About the build guides at Vibrant Lantern

Vibrant Lantern is not a replacement for the official Kingdom Death build guide
The guides are not perfect, I do my best to keep up with feedback & corrections
The armor builds shown on Vibrant Lantern are complete Survivors built using their own armor and do not mix across kits. The kits are designed to be interchangeable so mixing armor sets is expected: leather legs with phoenix torso, screaming weapons and a lion head
The Survivor Armor Kits are usually 2 female and 2 male models with monster based armor and weapons. Try building a male and a female from one armor set with weapons and accessories you like saving the others for mixing parts across armor sets. Using the Rawhide and Lion builds will give you a good idea of how the kits go together. After that, it’s really a matter of what combinations you want to permanently represent with a miniature
With more than 150 weapons and gear included across all Survivor Armor kits the Vibrant Lantern builds do not represent "optimal" builds. Don't like what you see? Google and YouTube can help. You can also see what other players are building with all 9 gear slots or at least 1 piece of gear equipped

General Advice

Start simple – remember that you only need clippers and glue to build the Prologue Survivors and the Lion to begin playing. I recommend Citadel clippers and Thin Plastic Glue. The links are to the Games Workshop site but most local gaming stores have these items – ask for “Warhammer” and tell the staff what you’re doing, they’ll be happy to help. Formula P3 and Army Painter tools are great choices as well.
On glue: standard super glue will work (and is required for resin miniatures) but I prefer plastic glue. Plastic glue actually “melts” the plastic and bonds the plastic together, has a thinner consistency which allows for precise placing, hides seams better which leaves a better bare miniature and sets up better for priming and painting. If you are unsure, clip a corner off the sprue and test glue. You only need a small amount of glue - you can always run a bead of glue along a seam to reinforce.
The damp paper towel and tray protect your work area from stray glue and hold sprue clippings and trim offs.
Have a clear, realistic goal of what you’d like to build when you sit down.
Sort out the sprues needed to complete the build you’d like to finish.
Look before you clip. Kingdom Death has a lot of tab/slot attachment points. They are easy to miss when you’re starting out in the hobby or with a new set of miniatures.
Don’t clip too far ahead on multiple choice or complicated builds. Have small plastic bags handy to group things together or if you need to stop mid-build. Don’t put freshly glued pieces in a sealed bag – set them out in the tray to dry.
Inspect the pieces you clip for a clean cut and test fit pieces as you assemble.
Other helpful tools include small needle nose pliers, moldline remover, small files, and a hobby drill.
Be patient. While it doesn’t take long, it may take a bit longer than you think to hold pieces together and set the glue. Thin plastic glue has good adhesion but remains flexible for 5-10 minutes to make adjustments. Recommend you leave a freshly assembled miniature overnight before handling extensively or playing the game with it, you'll notice it firms up and feels much safer to handle.

It can be helpful to keep track of what you’re using. This is my working layout when I put builds together.

A set of small clamps and rubber bands can help close seams while the plastic glue sets. Above is the Gorm.

Use cut/folded index cards to hold pieces in place while the glue sets. Above is the Green Knight Armor build.
Have fun!