Holy. Goodness.
This boat is easily the most complicated I've undertaken to date (for the record, I have now completed all the ships in the Grand Alliance.) The level of detail that has been added to this model is staggering. I counted 76 guns per side. Add in the 16 on the back and you're looking at a mind-bending 168 cannons and their gilded arches. My recommendation: patience.
The sails of this vessel are particularly difficult to paint as they require a heavy amount of freehand design and shading. Again, patience is key.
My only real complaint with this model, which extends to dreadfleet as a whole, is the warping that has taken hold on many of the masts. It's hard enough to get the pegs to fit just right (in most cases I actually clipped them out), but it's nearly impossible to do so when everything is at an angle.
The weather token is my favorite piece from the entire box. It's stylish, well designed, and functional. This is the gold standard that every game piece should be held to.
The Grand Alliance is now complete. The box is one half done, and I can't help but feel I picked the more difficult half to start off. We'll see next week when we take a look at some truly stomach churning sculpting work from the twisted minds at GW.
