First clean all parts with warm soapy water. A mold release was used in casting and our little angel needs a good bath. Before you try to assemble the kit, you should remove all the cylindrical sprue ends. Also remove the little casting "fins" around the skirt, over the big bow, around the fingers, and at the bottom of the shoes. CAUTION! Do NOT remove the two rectangular extrusions at the base of the wings! These fit into the rectagular holes in Angelissa's back and hardcore give much needed strength to that connection. This is also a good time to VERY CARFULLY drill out the cavity in her clenched hand that holds her scepter. The diameter bit to use is 3/1 6ths, the same as staff diameter and no bigger. It should be a tight fit when you slide the rod through her hand. If you are worried about adjusting position of staff you can heat her arm or wrist to make final adjustments. It's also a good idea to do as much mold-searn sanding and filing as you can before you begin assembly. Those hard-to-get-at areas are gonna' be just about impossible-to-get-at once assembled. Test fit and glue up the WHITE RESIN pieces including the wings. Use Zap-A-Gap, Crazy Glue, or any quick-bonding cyanoacrylate glue. Do NOT yet glue in the metal rod or the clear pink scepter top. They REALLY get in the way when puttying and sanding the seams. Right now Angelissa is too back-heavy to stand because of her wings, but once the staff is added she will stand as sturdy as a rock. That's because the metal staff will give her a TRIPOD effect. Her two feet and the bottom of the staff should make an almost EQUILATERAL TRIANGLE so that her center of gravity, with wings, should fall between these three points. It may be necessary to heat her arm and wrist in hot water and bend a bit to get the staff to angle right. If so, do this now. Then slide the metal rod into her hand, UNGLUED, and place her on a KNOWN flat, level surface. Feel her weight as you tilt her forwards and backwards letting the rod slide through her fingers. When she feels balanced, mark where the rod exits her hand (top finger). Slide out rod and cut it at that point (hacksaw). Then slide it back in, rebalance her and glue the rod into her hand. Some final heating and arm bending will correct any minor positioning. When you're done with this step, she should stand very sturdy. Stiletto heels that never break? It's radical, but it's easy. 4 finishing nails. Now for the hard part. Grit your teeth and snap about a half inch off her heels. You don't have to be accurate but save the pieces. Finding a drill bit the same diameter as the nails, drill up into the thick part of her heel at least a half inch, at the same angle the former heel was. Push the nail into the hole until it stops. Then lay your broken heel up against the nail (while the nail is still inserted) and mark where the resin heel ends. Measure carefully what is REMAINING on the nail, and cut THAT MUCH off the pointy end of the nail. Then, when you slide it back in, it should be the same length as the original heel. If so, glue it in, and use a little putty to blend the nail into the resin heel. A snazzy way to get her feet to sit extra-flat is to Vaseline a piece of glass or formica. Then dab a tiny bit of putty onto the soles of Angelissa's cute little pumps and press her feet into the vaselined glass until it sets. Actually, you can use a razor blade to trim off the putty squirting out the sides while putty is still buttery. Once set, just slide off. The putty will not stick to the greased surface. The orb at the top of Angelissa's scepter requires some special attention. First of all, do not be confused that the entire top part of the scepter is clear cast even though the only part necessary to be clear is the oval orb at the very top. The orb itself should be sanded with NOTHING coarser than 320 grit sandpaper and be worked down to 600 GRIT at least. When that is done, Brasso or any silver polish can be used to buff the surface to a near glossy finish. At this point the orb will be almost perfectly clear and the tiny bubbles inside will be visible. Rub off the silver cleaner residue with soapy water, towel dry (not blow dry) really well. Finally, spray a clear GLOSS lacquer like Krylon Crystal Clear (excellent) and make the orb look like GLASS! The tiny silver cross is optional. Save attaching it until Angelissa is completely painted. At that time simply dab a teensy bit of glue to the end of the chain and attach it where the little ruffled skirt meets her hip (centered under the bow). She'll kiss you for it later. Sometimes airbrushed paints give a toothy surface build up especially on light flesh when several coats are needed to cover dark primer. Try dabbing on the final flesh coat a section at a time with a Q-tip and RUBBING IT IN with your finger. This will knock down the grainy tooth and fill the depressions at the same time. It will render a surface that is almost glassy smooth. Final detail airbrushing will go on great, and a finish or protector coat of a lacquer DULL COAT gives the proper sheen. As expert painters of models will tell you, contrasting surfaces can add a lot of realism to your model. Angelissa provides an excellent opportunity to exploit surface contrast. Her skin should be dull-coated to a satin finish. Her costume (silverleafed in the photo), and her eyes, and lips can be made glassy with clear gloss varnishes. If you do not wish to silverleaf her costume (actually a fairly easy process costing only a few dollars) we suggest painting her outfit with Liquitex IRRIDESCENT WHITE or PEARL WHITE. The sparked effect gives her a fairy quality, and looks really FANTASTIC! Try it, this color is a best-kept secret. Spray a thin, but opaque coat of white over all. Spray a coat of dull varnish to seal. Mix a thin wash of pinkish-gray with a little bit of airbrush cleaner or a tiny amount of Windex and brush over each surface so that the darker color flows into the crevices of the feathers. Mist all with Liquitex IRRIDESCENT WHITE. Gently blend a soft transition area where her flesh-colored back becomes the white wings. Coat all with dull varnish. Angelissa likes to look dressy when she goes out. Go to a sewing notions store, a doll store, a Woolworth's, or some place where they have cheap costume jewelry you can get for a buck. There you can find scaled-down little glass beads, diamonds, or pearls on a thread, that can be dangled around Angelissa's delicate neck, or seperate pearls to attach to her ears. These places are treasure troves of miniture do-dads. It's where we found her little cross. However you decide to adorn her, believe us, she will make it worth your while. We have had a lot of illegal knock-offs of our kits sold in foreign countries. Remember, Azimuth Design only sells directly to the customer, not in stores. Mike James original piece of art. It takes a lot of time, skill and money to bring you these precious girls. Please support creators, not thieves. Contact us if you suspect illegal activity, or if you see a Mike James kit or hardcore image being used for profit.