Desert Scorpions 10 Woman Squad: Tactics and Assembly Tips

Quick answer

Build the Desert Scorpions 10 Man Squad as a long-range firing unit by fitting every torso with rolled-sleeve rifle arms, then use the spare heads and legs to convert the squad into women where you want variety. Keep the unit at maximum range, spread the ten figures into overlapping fire lanes, and treat the curved daggers and canteens as detail rather than a melee plan.

The Desert Scorpions 10 Man Squad is a resin kit with enough spare parts to build a squad that looks like it belongs to your army rather than to the box. The trick is deciding what the unit does on the table before you glue anything, because the arms, heads, and legs you choose now determine how the finished squad reads at arm's length.

This guide walks through assembly in order, then covers how to use the finished unit as a long-range group. If you want a woman squad rather than a mixed one, the conversion is mostly a head and torso swap, and the kit's extra bits make that easier than starting from a single fixed pose.

Plan the squad before you cut anything

Lay out the Desert Scorpions sprues and sort the parts into three piles: torsos with heads, legs, and arms. The kit includes 6x Desert Torsos with Heads 'A' Male and 6x Desert Torsos with Heads 'B' Male, so you already have more torso options than the ten figures you are building. That surplus is the point. Decide which figures will be your leader, your rifle line, and any specialist before you start trimming.

If you want a woman squad, plan the head swaps now rather than after assembly. A separate set such as Heads with Short Hair Female x12 gives you twelve unique female heads, which is more than enough for a ten-figure squad and leaves spares for future projects. Matching heads to torsos early prevents the common mistake of building a body, then discovering the neck angle fights the head you wanted.

• Checkpoint: every figure should have a clear role before you apply glue.
• Keep the 6x 'A' and 6x 'B' torso heads paired with their intended bodies so you do not lose track of which is which.

Clean and test-fit the resin parts

Resin parts need a wash in lukewarm soapy water before assembly, because mould release agent stops glue and paint from bonding. Scrub gently with an old toothbrush, rinse, and let everything dry fully. While the parts dry, dry-fit each torso to its legs without glue. The Desert Scorpions kit includes 10x Desert Legs Standing Male, so you have exactly ten leg sets for ten figures, which means a miscut leg is a real problem rather than a spare.

Test-fit the arms too. The kit includes 5x Male Universal Rolled Sleeve Rifle Arms and 10x Rolled Sleeve Rifle Arms, giving you fifteen rifle arm sets for ten figures. That surplus lets you choose the best-fitting pair for each torso instead of forcing a mismatched set. The common mistake here is rushing the dry-fit and then discovering a gap at the shoulder after the glue has set.

• Checkpoint: every joint should sit flush before any glue touches the model.
• If a joint gaps, lightly sand the contact surface rather than filling the gap later.

Assemble the torsos and legs first

Glue the torsos to the legs before adding arms. This gives you a stable core to work from and lets you check the stance of each figure against the others in the squad. The Desert Scorpions kit also includes 1x Desert Officer Sprue, so decide early which figure gets the officer parts and build that one first. An officer with a distinct silhouette helps the whole squad read clearly on the table.

If you are converting to a woman squad, this is the stage to swap heads. Trim the neck peg on the torso slightly, test the replacement head, and only then glue. The common mistake is trimming too much at once. Remove a little material, test, and repeat, because a loose head is much harder to fix than a tight one.

• Checkpoint: stand all ten figures together and confirm the officer stands out.
• Keep the 10x Round Canteens aside for now; they are easier to place after the arms are on.

Fit the rifle arms for a firing line

For a long-range squad, fit rolled-sleeve rifle arms to every figure. The Desert Scorpions kit supplies enough rifle arms to arm the whole unit, so there is no reason to leave anyone with a different weapon unless you deliberately want a mixed loadout. Position the arms so the rifles point in roughly the same direction across the squad, which makes the unit look like a firing line rather than ten individuals.

The common mistake at this stage is gluing arms before checking the rifle angle against the torso. A rifle that crosses the chest or points at the ground wastes the long-range look you are building. Dry-fit, check the angle from the front and the side, then glue one arm at a time and let it set before adding the second.

• Checkpoint: from the front, the squad's rifles should read as one overlapping volley.
• Reserve the 5x Male Universal Rolled Sleeve Rifle Arms for figures where the standard arms do not fit cleanly.

Add gear and details last

Once the bodies are solid, add the 10x Commando Backpacks and 10x Round Canteens. These are the parts that make the squad look equipped for a long patrol rather than a parade. Place backpacks so they sit flat against the torso, and place canteens where they will not be knocked off during painting. The kit also includes 10x Curved Daggers, which are best treated as a visual detail on the belt or chest rather than a sign that the unit wants melee.

The common mistake here is over-loading a single figure with every accessory. Spread the daggers and canteens across the squad so no one model looks cluttered. If you plan to paint the squad in a desert scheme, leaving some flat areas of cloth visible will make the unit easier to read at a distance.

• Checkpoint: every figure should carry gear, but no figure should carry all of it.
• Leave the daggers off your officer if you want the officer to stand out through silhouette rather than equipment.

Use the squad as a long-range firing group

On the table, the Desert Scorpions squad works best as a long-range group that forces opponents to close the distance. Deploy the ten figures in a spread line with overlapping fire lanes, keeping the officer central so the unit's direction is obvious. Because the kit is built around rifle arms, the squad's strength is volume of fire at range, not close combat, even though the kit includes curved daggers as accessories.

For woman squad tactics, the same principles apply. A converted squad has no different rules, so use the same spacing and target priority as any long-range infantry unit. The practical difference is visual: a squad with distinct heads and poses is easier for you to track during a game, which reduces the chance of moving the wrong model or forgetting which figure has already acted.

• Checkpoint: keep the squad at maximum range and avoid charging unless the objective demands it.
• If you need a smaller companion piece, Mechanic Shazza and Bingo gives you a character and dog on a 25mm round base that can sit behind the line as a support model.

Assembly steps at a glance

1. Step 1: Sort and plan: Separate torsos, legs, and arms, and assign a role to each of the ten figures before cutting anything. Checkpoint: you can name what every figure is for.
2. Step 2: Wash and dry-fit: Wash the resin in lukewarm soapy water, dry fully, then dry-fit every torso, leg, and arm joint. Common mistake: gluing before the parts are clean and dry.
3. Step 3: Build torsos and legs: Glue torsos to legs first, and build the officer figure early so the squad has a clear centre. Checkpoint: the ten figures stand together without wobbling.
4. Step 4: Swap heads for a woman squad: Trim the neck peg a little at a time, test the replacement head, and only then glue it in place. Common mistake: trimming too much and ending up with a loose head.
5. Step 5: Fit rifle arms: Arm every figure with rolled-sleeve rifle arms and check the rifle angle from the front and side before gluing. Checkpoint: the squad reads as one overlapping firing line.
6. Step 6: Add gear and details: Attach backpacks, canteens, and curved daggers, spreading them across the squad rather than loading one figure. Common mistake: cluttering a single model with every accessory.
7. Step 7: Deploy at long range: Spread the squad into overlapping fire lanes, keep the officer central, and avoid close combat unless the objective forces it. Checkpoint: the unit's strength is ranged fire, not melee.

Kit facts worth knowing

• Desert Scorpions 10 Man Squad: This resin kit contains 6x Desert Torsos with Heads 'A' Male, 6x Desert Torsos with Heads 'B' Male, 10x Desert Legs Standing Male, 1x Desert Officer Sprue, 10x Round Canteens, 10x Curved Daggers, 10x Commando Backpacks, 5x Male Universal Rolled Sleeve Rifle Arms, and 10x Rolled Sleeve Rifle Arms. The surplus torsos and rifle arms let you choose the best fit for each figure and build a full ten-figure firing line without buying extra parts.
• Heads with Short Hair Female x12: Includes 12x unique female heads sculpted by Victoria Lamb as a high resolution 3D print. Twelve unique heads cover a ten-figure squad and leave spares, which is the simplest route to a woman squad without repeating faces.
• Mechanic Shazza and Bingo: Shazza and Bingo, Mechanic and Dog, includes Shazza body, cooler arm, head and spanner, Bingo, and a 25mm round base. A character and dog on a single 25mm base makes a compact support or objective model that fits alongside a Desert Scorpions firing line.

Build the Desert Scorpions 10 Man Squad as a long-range firing line, use the spare heads and torsos to make it your own, and keep the unit at range once it hits the table. Clean parts, patient dry-fits, and a clear role for every figure will do more for the finished squad than any single accessory.