Fillet is the season 2 team captain. Seasons are how Steamforged advances the story, introduces new characters and veteran versions of old characters. Fillet changes the style of the Butchers when used instead of Ox. Whereas Ox is a tough brawler whose function is to increase the damage output of the rest of the team, Fillet is an out and out damage dealer and (at the time of release) the most lethal model in the game, but is herself quite fragile.
The Fillet model is lovely but suffers some familiar Guild Ball challenges. Her arms are very delicate but do require pinning, so some careful drilling is needed here and of course filling the joins (note thankfully the join is at the elbow or upper arms, not the wrist as the render above suggests!). And like Brisket she’s in a running pose on one foot, which creates a weak point at the ankle (it actually bent while I was drilling one of the arm sockets), so I used the same solution of a reinforcing pin between her shin and the models tab. This will be covered with a grass clump later.
I found the pose a little improved by having her hold her right knife up in the air as if about to strike, rather than holding it level as in the stock pose. Beware of the knives as well, which are very fine at the hilt and prone to bending. I can see these snapping if not carefully stored and handled during play.
Finally you have the option of a belt with tools on it (optional in the sense you could alternatively do some filling and have a model similar to the render above). Not attaching the belt appealed to me a lot (another part that could easily break or bend, plus extra detail that is arguably not needed) but I eventually opted to stick the belt on as it really helps to accentuate the movement of the model.
For basing I chose to angle the model so Fillet is running up a slope. This opens up the pose so it’s easier to see the detail as she is no longer quite so low to the ground. The angle is achieved with a couple of plasticard wedges, then I will use cork rocks and miliput to build up the base and fill the slot. Something worth noting for anyone building Fillet – I wished I’d mounted the model before attaching the arms and tool belt as I was in constant fear of bending or breaking the delicate parts.
