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So, recently I found an old defiler kit that'd been sitting around and finally decided to put it together. As I'm putting it together, I get the initial 4 legs on and everything balances fine, but after I put on the smashy-smashy claws the damn thing just wants to tip over, and putting the upper torso on then didn't help. It'll stay righted with just a very light amount of pressure on the back end, but I'm trying to think of a way to fix the balance without having to destroy the model (tried to unstick the legs, they won't come off without...a fight) or having to put something under the front claws for it to rest on.

Thoughts?

You can always glue it to an oval base (same base as the new fiends, flyers and MCs). That will also remove any issues of assaulting measured from the hull of claws (that TFG made extendable to give himself an extra 3" range on the charge)...now just measure from the base.

Or just glue a heavy nut to the bottom of the hull.

Drill a hole in one of the back legs, pour in sand then seal with some plasticard/green stuff.

Many. First I always put weights on my models. For the normal infantry bases I use 3/16 x 3/4 o an inch washers (which are cheaper than using nickles.) For larger models I use a dremel + greenstuff and fishing weights and there are two ways you can use them. You can try to cantilever the weight (i.e. put more weight on the lighter side ) by putting the weights in the less noticeable areas like the feet in the back. Pro's: You can use smaller weights, Cons: Its still going to fall forward on occasion as you move it about the board and on uneven play surfaces. What I do most of the time is put larger weights in the general area of the model's center of gravity (in this case, under the model's torso or if you can during assembly, never made one of these, put it inside the torso) This is what I did when I assembled my Triarch Stalker which I think could work for you.

You can also drill holes in the heavier bits and then patch the holes with GS to make them a bit lighter.

My issue was two-fold. First, I wanted my legs & claw arms in a very specific position, Second, I added the throne fro Karamazov (with a CSM in it) to the top of mine, in place of a head. Needless to say, mine was EXTREMELY front-heavy.

I put each of my model's feet on a 40mm base. It gives me a larger footprint for each foot, which stabilizes the model better.
I just plastic-glued each foot to the base, then built the bases up with sand and bits for a "ruined battlefield" look.

Eric

The solution I came up with for my defiler, one of the smashy smashy claws is on the ground. Both are fully mobile, claws actuate and all that, but because of balance issues one claw is always on the ground. Any I'm free to have the other claw hold an opponents model in a death grip (when they give me their permission).

I'd use some weights on it's rear to keep it up. You can use things like fishing sinkers/weights carefully hidden to counter balance it.

Shove some old batteries or go buy lead fishing weights and shove those inside the back end and rear legs. Thatll solve your problem

Probably not batteries as they'll leak after a bit.