Kingdom Death Monster Converting Spidicules and Hot Salt Dipping 13:27 Board Game , Kingdom Death , Modelling 3 Comments

Howdy all. I have been asked quite a lot now about how I went about converting the Spidicules miniature. First of all Why Convert Spidicules? For all those who play Kingdom Death Monster and have fought against the Spidicules there is the general consensus that his model is a pain in the ass. First of all his legs take up spots of the board that you need access to, they are quite spindly so prone to being knocked and you need to get under him to fight him which means deftly navigating his legs. If you have big old hands like me you are going to be knocking him everywhere.

Spidicules about to devour his prey

For this reason Spidicules has been sitting in his box for the best part of 6 months while I figure out what to do with him. I started knocking up designs for pulling him off the board and suspending him but those legs are still in the way. I find the original model design cool but a little static and symmetrical for my taste so when I set about designing a different set up I wanted him to look a bit more organic, dynamic and sinister.

Spidicules with reshaped legs on rocky diorama

I settled on designing a rocky pillar and having the Spidicules diorama positioned on top of it. The legs tucked away by reshaping them. I have done this with other Games Workshop plastics and the Kingdom Death Monster plastics are very similar.

Custom Spidicules Kingdom Death Monster Base

First I got the base set up. I happened to have a miniature holder for painting which worked really well for this, the central structure is very much solid. If you go this route you want a damn solid central structure to attach stuff to otherwise Spidicules is gonna wobble and fall off. A pinned rod would also work here.

First step, create a solid central base for Spidicules

I then added some much needed weight to the base. It doesn't actually need to be a lot as Spiddy is not all that heavy but you want to make sure a knock isn't going to send him tumbling so I attached some coins to the base.

Coins add weight to the base.





I also started to use some blue foam and cut away at it to make an organic(ish) looking piece of rubble. All the offcuts I kept and made a load more so I could work these around the base to build up the stone column.

Now you want to start building up the column. The rule here is we don't want it to be very thick as we want room for survivors to get underneath Spidicules easily. Start thin from the bottom and fatten it as you get towards the top. The image also shows I have used some decorators caulk and a few spare stone faces and pushed them into the structure. The blue foam is stuck on with UHU glue and superglue.

Filling gaps and the base with decorators caulk. Adding stone faces too.

Now we have a solid foundation we need to start looking at how to reposition Spidicules legs. To do this you need to Hot Salt Dip the plastic from Kingdom Death Monster. If you aren't comfortable with this then this is not for you. It can ruin plastic! It is also pretty damn dangerous. I take no responsibility for anyone trying this. If you do, you need to take precautions be responsible and have the right equipment. Salt will heat up far beyond water, so whilst 100 degrees of water will burn you. Salt will theoretically heat until 800 degrees centigrade which will strip the skin from your body.

Hot Salt Dipping small pan heating up

The key here is that GW plastics turn to liquid at about 240 degrees centigrade but they become malleable at around 140 degrees centigrade. The plastic enters a state where you can manipulate it and this is what you are going for.

Bending Spidicules leg joints into position.

To do this you need to heat up salt, a small pan is really useful for this, you can also just do it in a frying pan. Run it on high for 3-4 mins, turn it down to low and run for another minute, turn it off then test with a piece of spare sprue. Submerge it in the salt but not touching the bottom of the pan for 30 seconds then take it out. If it has bubbled then its too hot, wait for 2 mins and try again. If it hasn't bubbled then try to alter the shape of the sprue by bending it. I have found the sprue to be touchable to the hand as the salt falls off but please be careful. Whatever you do don't touch the salt in the pan!

Bending spidicules large leg joints

You then just need patience and to go for it. I bent the knee joints inwards slightly and started working on his front hand's as these have the biggest surface area so are useful to pin into the top rock, they will hold a lot of weight. The larger joints will take a little longer in the salt than smaller joints. If you submerge the ends like feet or spindly bits for too long they will warp and curl, this is OK. You can straighten them out with more heat. Once happy with the shape, run under a cold tap to set the plastic. It is good to keep a cold tap running in case you need to get to it in an emergency.

The first legs require patience and something to prop him up

The first hands I put on from Spidicules I pinned through the palm and into the blue foam. I also used superglue and added more glue foam chunks to help adjust his fingers to the shape and make it look more natural. You will need to construct something for him to sit on whilst this sets and you get the back legs on as at this point all his weight will pull his hands off the structure.

Spidicules back legs converted to stand on structure

Once you have the back legs on he is freestanding so you can work at your own pace to get the other legs on. All in all it took me two evenings and probably about 6 hours to build the lot.

Side shot of Spidicules converted

These last two photos show him from either side. I also swapped out the guys hand on the rock with one holding a lantern, you can see it better in a top image. I thought this will act as my light source when painting (something I have on all the monsters). Anyway, enjoy, stay safe and I hope your Spidicules comes out looking ace!