New to miniature gaming and in need of help

After gluing and priming, I rarely do partial assembly.
I use a dark brown on the back of my shields, and an orange/red/brown on the front.
I usually paint the base color for all the skin next.

 

A bit of white tack or Soft sanding. Haven't had many issues. You could always pin them into place as well.

 

I usually paint them and then scratch the areas to be glued with a scalpel

 

Thanks for the tips everyone I ended up gluing them on for the last few models as well, and will just make sure to paint the backs first and then I can paint the skin after. The models are for gaming rather than display, so I realize it's probably not a huge problem if there are some imperfections on the back of the shields Just finished assembling all the models except for the Saurus who will be riding the Cold Ones, and I must say it's looking pretty good!

I'm planning on picking up another kit of Saurus Guard to make a 1000 point army list with a Scar-Vet on Carnosaur, two units of 16 Saurus Warriors, and the 8 Saurus Knights, all units with full command.

I'm also looking at putting together a 2000 points list with a Slann, a box of Skinks and a Temple Guard unit as well, but that's a little further down the line. Regarding the Temple Guards, do I get everything I need in the Saurus Warrior box?

 

I don’t think so, I think you need a box of guards, or do some conversions to the warriors.

 

Ah, I figured since they were basically upgraded Saurus Warriors and since I couldn't find Temple Guards on Games Workshop's site that they were just Saurus Warriors that you slapped some other helmets on, but I see they are listed as Saurus Guard! Do they use the same bases as the regular Saurus, though?

 

Same base sizes yes.

 

Yep, 25 by 25. There was a mini tutorial somewhere around in the forum explaining how to convert saurus warriors into temple guards. Hold on one sec
Edit: Can´t find it, but it was basically swapping the saurus warriors spears´ heads with the saurus warriors´ sword.

 

This one I think:
Saurus to Guard Kitbash
But it still requires a box of Guard, just using the left over heads and some shoulder pads

 

Yeah that one, but the shoulder pads come in the saurus warriors box

 

Ooh, that's pretty sweet! I assume that if I do that, I can't use them as Temple Guard for tournaments, but can I still play them as Saurus Warriors? Are there 15 extra heads and shields in the box so that I can make a full 15 additional Temple Guards with a box of Warriors? If so, that should allow me to field 30 Temple Guard and 17 Saurus Warriors with just one more box of Warriors and one box of Guards, which seems pretty nice for a Slann-based list. If I need the points or I'm not playing a Slann I suppose I can always just play the converted Guards as back rank Warriors in larger/more Warrior units.

I also want to get a Stegadon, but I'm not sure yet whether or not I want to play an Engine of the Gods. Are the Engine and Howdah easily removed if I want to use the same model as Stegadon and Engine in different armies, like the Oldblood throne-thing from the Oldblood on Carnosaur kit?

 

They are quite easy to swap, it snaps in quite nicely without glue.

 

Awesome, that seems like an easy buy, then!

 

Yes, in the old box there were 10 saurus, and 14 heads left over, so with 15 you should on average (not all the sprues are equal) be left with 21 heads.
That means that from a box of guards and a box of warriors you can get up to 35 temple guards, using all of the models, and still have one head to use

 

Wouldn't it make sense to do that early for the more expensive/modifiable units, though? Not that I have any idea what amount of work and supplies it would require.

Oh, wow, that is a lot more than I had expected! I suppose I can go much heavier on the Guards in a Slann army, then.

I have another question, by the way! If I want a BSB in my army (and I assume I do?), are the Slann, Scar Vet, Skink Chief and the named characters the only characters who can carry it? And if so, do all these kits include one? I wanted to make a non-Slann army for my first few games since I believe they add quite a bit of complexity to the turn with all the different spells they can cast, so I wanted to use my Scar Vet/Oldblood on Carnosaur as my general. So for that army, I would need someone else to be my BSB, and I'd also like someone to carry a dispel scroll. Therefore I was hoping I could use a Skink Priest for both purposes, but it doesn't seem like he can carry a Battle Standard? If that's the case, what is the cheapest/easiest way to get one I can use?

 

It's pretty easy to bash together a BSB from all the extra bit and banners.

 

I can't say I've seen any banners in the starter kit, except for the various stardrake icon thingies. Are there no designated Battle Standard pieces? I tried googling and it seemed like people were gluing two or three of the icons from the Saurus Warrior kits together to make one, so I suppose that's the norm? And what kind of character should I have to carry it?

 

Usually a Scar veteran or whatever they are called now.
There is exactly 1 official Saurus BSB model, but he is expensive and hard to get.
mostly because the Slann could be general and BSB at the same time.