The Dragon is a welcome addition to just about any player who wishes to command a truly legendary creature of Evil. It also makes for exciting scenarios where Good heroes are the only things that stand between a Dragon and its twisted designs. In order to get your Dragon onto the tabletop, however, you have to assemble it first! The photos and tips presented in this article will guide you through the entire process so you'll spend less time messing with a pile of metal bits and more time rolling dice (and eating Dwarves)!

Why Pinning? In order to make sure your Dragon stays together for the rest of its gaming days, pinning is a very good idea. Large models like the Dragon are made up of hefty pieces that can easily be knocked off during a game, which will ruin the paint job. This is especially true for the wings on the Dragon model! If you do not wish to pin your Dragon, that's fine — it's your choice after all. However, we strongly suggest that, at the very least, you take the time to pin the wings. It would be wise to trim and pin (but not glue!) all the pieces of your Dragon now before moving any further.

How Do You Pin a Model? The idea behind pinning individual pieces of a large model is to provide structural support. When you have a bit of sturdy wire internally supporting an arm or leg AND super glue working for you, the model is sure to withstand casual handling. Pinning involves four steps. First you need to drill a hole into the bit using a pin vise. Next, clip the actual pin to be used from a paperclip or brass rod. Third, line up the pin embedded within one piece (in the photos shown above, this would be the Dragon's body) with the piece to be pinned (the Dragon's neck) and drill a second hole. Finally, glue the two pieces together with a pin in place and set it aside to dry. Your join is now twice as strong!

Where to Start? With everything trimmed and pinned (but not glued!), you can begin to assemble the Dragon. Start with the head, as it makes sense to get it out of the way now, plus it's a great place to explain some simple glue and putty techniques you'll be using throughout the project.

Smart Glueing. When you apply glue to join two pieces, do so in a manner that doesn't go everywhere! Target the join, place a small amount of glue where the pieces make the most contact with one another, press together, and tightly hold for about 30 seconds. Once this dries a little, go back in with a tiny drop of glue on the tip of a paperclip and spread the glue along any gaps (highlighted by the red line in the photo above) to help fill them in a bit as well as reinforce the join.

Puttying Gaps. Gaps in a large metal model like the Dragon are unavoidable results of model production. You can choose to leave them be, but they WILL show through once you begin painting the model. Again, the choice is yours. To eradicate them, you'll need to do a bit of sculpting work. Roll out a very, very, very, small line of putty and place it against the gap. Now, press the putty into the gap with a sculpting tool. It's easier to start with less putty and add more later than having to scrape off any excess putty.

Match the Skin. Now that the physical gap is filled with putty, you'll need to use your sculpting skills. Mainly, we need to disguise the fact that you used putty in the first place! Take note of the skin and scales around the gap area — your goal is to replicate this texture as best you can. Be patient and work slowly so that when you are done, the putty seamlessly blends into the model.

Scaly Shortcut. With the head out of the way, set it aside and grab the left rear leg. Fit and glue it in place. As you can see, the leg has left a visible gap that runs the length of the Dragon's hip. However, this line is easier to fix that you'd suspect. The Dragon has a sort of sculpting shortcut built into it to that'll help you along: scales. If you look at the gap and visualize the scales that bridge the gap (just like the photo above), this process becomes much easier!

Sculpt Those Scales! Start by placing a very small dot of putty over the gap where you want your scale to go. Next, press the dot down with the flat end of your sculpting tool. Pull and blend the edges of your new scale so that it flows into the existing scales. With a bit of patience, your handywork will hide the line gap as well as complete the Dragon's scaly hide. You will be repeating this technique quite a bit as you build the Dragon, so over time you'll get to be quite good at it.