Dropfleet Commander Kickstarter - the wait is over!

Well I'm back! it's been a long time since I last posted, essentially I decended into a bit of a sulk as I waited for my Dropfleet commander KS pledge to arrive, and although I worked on other projects including: 

• Imperial Guard Kill team 
  
• Horse Archers for Lion rampant
  
  
• Some Ancient Britons to use in Frostgrave 
  

I didn't feel the urge to write about them, lost in the growing frustration of waiting my KS, as it turned out I was among a handful of orders that got lost and as such had to wait until the new year to receive it.

Don't get me wrong I haven't had to wait for DFC models; my friend Graeme received his pledge as one of the first and as such he gave me his KS "freebies" for the Scourge and Shaltari in exchange for my UCM & PHR Freebies (when I was due to get them). Also in the excitement of DFC shipping I bought a Scourge starter from a friend who backed at the highest pledge level and had enough starter sets to sell one off without issue.

With these models I have played two games, both of which are mediocre, but maybe this was tainted by my anger and frustration of not knowing what was going or when I was going to get my stuff.

Really this post is essentially nothing more than a list of what I got in a hope to invoke the passion for documenting my painting process and general blogging again.

Opened KS box

Sprues for the 2 player starter set: Scourge top, UCM bottom

Shaltari Starter fleet add on

Freebies: 1 cruiser and Frigate sprue for each race.
UCM dog tag and credit at bottom of picture

The thing to note about the models is that they are made from HARD plastic, now the reason I emphasize on the "hard" part is these are unlike any plastic I have ever used.
This is not a plastic to be cut using your old faithful, glue and paint encrusted hobby knife, this plastic requires a new sharp precision knife. I have also found that when cutting the Shaltari from their sprue some of the "spines/transport nodes" snap off.

Flight stands, dice and tape measure

Flight asset add on (fighters,bombers & torpedoes) 

Activation cards add on

Quick reference guides, battlegroup cards, building instructions and flight dial stickers for the "Freebies"

2 player set: Rulebook with vertical sleeve, battlegroup cards, quick reference guides, building instructions, flight dial stickers, cardboard game tokens and two fold out map sheets.

The 2 player set above came all shrink wrapped together which was very helpful; I'm not sure if that was a KS pledge organisation or if the retail 2 player set comes the same way, but I hope for everyone's sake that it does.

Well that will do for now in regards to the DFC KS but I hope to continue with my blog and that it's helpful to you as it is to me.

Painting: Dropzone Commander - Shaltari:Dreamsnare

While I'm working on other projects, none of which are ready to post about, here my Dreamsnare that I painted while ago as part of the DZC escalation I ran,

Details on how I painted it are below

Like always colours are from the Valejo game colour range unless stated otherwise.

• I started by undercoating white using Halfords white primer.
• I then liberally smothered the model in Army Painter Strong Tone, apart from the shield boosting relay which I accidentally covered in Soft tone. This will teach me to read the label. However I feel that it doesn't stand out too much.
• Then once the Strong tone was dry I drybrushed several times with Bonewhite (72.034) 
• I then drybrushed Dead White (72.001) several times
• The pads were painted Electric Blue (72.023)
• Then the Microwave-cannons, leg joints and leg points were painted Chainmail Silver (72.053), then coated with GW Nuln Oil, once dry I lightly painted the areas Silver (72.052).
• Next I drybrushed all over with GW Ceramite White. 
• The canopies were painted with Black (72.051)
• The models were then cleaned up where needed. After which they were coated all over with Matt Varnish (70.520), followed by Gloss Varnish (70.510) which was applied to the black canopies, and the Gauss cannon barrels.

Painting: Dropzone Commander - Shaltari: Ocelot

I'm currently working on my Gates of Anteras Ghar but they aren't ready for the a blog post yet so instead I'll post about my Ocelot that I painted in June as part of the DZC escalation I ran.

Details on how I painted it are below

Like always colours are from the Valejo game colour range unless stated otherwise.

• I started by undercoating white using Halfords white primer.
• I then liberally smothered the model in Army Painter Strong Tone
• Then once the Strong tone was dry I drybrushed several times with Bonewhite (72.034) 
• I then drybrushed Dead White (72.001) several times
• The pads were painted Electric Blue (72.023)
• Then the Particle cannon, transport nodes, leg joints and leg points were painted Chainmail Silver (72.053), then coated with GW Nuln Oil, once dry I lightly painted the areas Silver (72.052).
• Next I drybrushed all over with GW Ceramite White. 
• The canopies were painted with Black (72.051)
• The models were then cleaned up where needed. After which they were coated all over with Matt Varnish (70.520), followed by Gloss Varnish (70.510) which was applied to the black canopies, and the Particle Cannon

Painting: Dropzone Commander - Scourge: Corruptor

Sorry for not posting anything in a little while, life has been a bit hectic.
Not to mention the fact I have invested in 3 new system! I am seriously a gaming whore.

So moving on from dwelling on the new investments (no idea where I'm going to store them) here is how I painted my Scourge Corruptors and Razor worms.

As per my previous posts all paints used are from the Vallejo Colour range unless indicated otherwise:

Corruptor

• Firstly I started with Halfords Black Matt Primer.
• Next was an all coat of Hexed Lichen (72.015). Previously painted Scourge were then covered in Army Painter Dark Tone but I forgot to do it on these (teach me not to reference my own blog).
• Next Squid pink (72.013) was drybrushed all over. Escorpena Green (72.032) was then applied to the sensors, and vents. Gun Metal (72.054) was used on the rim of the vents on the top. GW Nuln oil was then applied to the areas of gun metal. Army painter dark tone was added to the vents.
• Then was a stage that I forgot how time consuming it was to do! Applying Bonewhite (72.034) takes patience that's for sure!
• I then tidied up the model; cleaning up the Bonewhite over-spill as best I could. Then Matt Varnish (70.520) was applied all over.

Now, separate from the painting I found that the flight widget was a tight fit on the flight peg so removing it for storage was going to be difficult. As such I removed the part of the widget that enters into the model and glued a magnet there, then, as you can expect, I glued another magnet into the hole on the corruptor when the widget would go.

Razor Worms

• Firstly I started with Halfords Black Matt Primer.
• Next was an all coat of Hexed Lichen (72.015), once dry Squid pink (72.013) was drybrushed all over the "top" of the worms
• Bonewhite (72.034) was then applied to the claws underneath
• Then I applied Matt Varnish (70.520) on the top of the worm and Gloss Varnish (70.510) on the underneath of the worm, I did this to give the worm a slimy look.
• Then I covered the base in fine ballast

There we have it, two corruptors and their sinister cargo ready for the battlefield

Miniatures: Dropzone Commander - Scourge: Corruptor

As mentioned last week I would either be posting about the Scourge Corruptor or the Shaltari Firebird.
I felt it was time to give Scourge some attention again and started with the Corruptor; this will  also prompt me to paint the Razorworm stands I have.

So without further ado...


The Model

As most of you should be aware (unless you've been living under a rock) the Corruptor comes as part of a multi pack with the Reaver heavy gunship parts giving you the option to build either. Although a savvy wargamer could easily use magnets to their advantage...

Each Reaver consists of: Intruder body, bulkhead, and 2 plasma lances
Each Corruptor consists of: Intruder body, bulkhead, and 2 launch tubes

I already have two Reavers and don't foresee needing any more (a phrase I may live to regret) so I will be building the Corruptor.

These have the same level detail we expect from Hawk, and unlike my Shaltari war striders I can't see any quality issues.

Although the quality isn't called into question I do have to ask what was going through "Hawk Dave's" mind when he designed these yonic looking launch tubes...or maybe it's just me?!

Building the Model

As with any model these had some resin tags, flash and a little mold lines that needed to be cleaned up before being built. These didn't cause many issues although one tag was covering some of the front part of a launch tube which meant a bit more was removed than desired.

The model itself when together very quickly after a simple application of superglue from the intruder chasis to the bulkhead. Then a little glue was added to the holes in the bulkhead for the launch tubes and then the tubes were applied.

There we have it, all built (mostly: I haven't glued in the flight stand widget yet) and ready to be painted.

Miniatures & Painting: Dropzone Commander - Shaltari: Ronin

To add to my Shaltari force I purchased some Metroid suits, sorry I mean Ronin.

In my excitement to build them I forgot to take pictures of them on their sprue, and due to their small nature I will combine the build aspect with the painting.

Building the model

Essentially the bodies come on a sprue and the left/right arms come on their own sprue.

As you can see by the picture below these are metal, so wire cutters were requires to remove them from the sprue, then further cutting/sanding/filing was required to clean up the base (this resulted in shards of metal pinging in all directions - something that I haven't had to deal with in a long time).

The arms however came off the sprue with ease, with very little cleaning required.

Painting the model
So keeping in theme with the rest of my army, I used the white scheme, which I have described below

• I started by undercoating white using Halfords white primer.
• I then liberally smothered the model in Army Painter Strong Tone
• Then once the Strong tone was dry I drybrushed everything except the Gauss guns, several times with Bonewhite (72.034)
• The Gauss guns were painted Chainmail Silver (72.053), then coated with GW Nuln Oil, once dry I lightly painted the areas Silver (72.052).
• Next I drybrushed all over with GW Ceramite White., i reverted back to my flat drybrush and that produced the result that was missing from when I painted the Jaguar
• The canopies were painted with Black (72.051)
• The models were then cleaned up where needed. After which they were coated all over with Matt Varnish (70.520), followed by Gloss Varnish (70.510) which was applied to the black canopies, and the Gauss guns barrels.

I'm so excited about what I'll be posting about next week I have to mention it now...next week will either be building of the Corruptor/Reaver or the Firebird/Thunderbird.

Miniatures: Dropzone Commander - Shaltari: Dreamsnare

As mentioned last week I have added a Dreamsnare to my collection for the last part of the escalation league I'm running.

So this week I'll be reviewing the building of the Dreamsnare.

The Model

The model consists of 9 parts: 3 legs, 1 leg support, 2 dragon cannons, 1 cockpit, 1 main body and 1 shield boosting relay.

The majority of the model is to the usual Hawk quality standard with the exception of the cockpit, which seems to have the same issue I encountered with some of the fins on one of my spirit gates; In the sense that the part isn't a clean cast overall. It's slightly rough to touch, raising concerns on how it will turn out when painted. But despite that I felt it's acceptable.

I just hope it won't ruin the overall atheistic of the mode when painted.

Building the model

As per most Hawk resin models there was a little flash, tags and mold lines that needed removing, all of which were removed with ease using a craft knife.

Much like the particle cannon of my ocelot I wanted to be able to remove the shield boosting relay for storage. So I removed the resin plug with a craft knife and stuck a magnet in the dead centre. I then drilled a small hole into the recess of the body to the same width of the magnets and added another in there. There we have it, one magnetised relay.

I started with gluing the leg support to the body, then the legs to that part. Afterwards I glued the cockpit down and then the dragon cannons on. Within minutes the Dreamsnare was built and ready for painting!

Miniatures: Dropzone Commander - Shaltari:Ocelot

As we enter the final month of the local escalation league I'm running we move to tournament sized games (1.5k) points and as such I have expanded my force to include an Ocelot, Dreamsnare and Ronin. Of course I won't be able to include all the Shaltari I own in my 1.5k list but at least I have options!

This week I will be reviewing the construction on the Ocelot.

As mentioned in previous posts I am skipping the review of the packaging as I've covered it many times and it hasn't changed.

The Model

The model consists of 10 pieces (3 legs, leg support, body, cockpit, 2 targeters, gun support and the particle cannon)

The quality is to the usual hawk standard but with the same unfortunate blurred detail of the underbelly of the cockpit that I have recently experienced.

Building the model

As per most resin models there was a little flash, tags and mold lines needed removing. These were removed with ease using a craft knife.

I want to be able to remove the particle cannon for easier storage so I have drilled a hole in the tab in the gun support and in the recess of the body to add magnets. This took a little while as I needed to carve out the hole before I started using my drill. I probably could just invest in some thinner magnets. The magnetised cannon should also be useful when the Panther is released.

Since building the previous walkers (Coyote & Jaguar) I'm finding building walkers quite easy now.
I start with gluing the leg support to the body, then the legs to that part. Afterwards I glued the cockpit and then the targeters. I left the particle cannon unattached from the gun support so I can paint all areas.

Painting: Dropzone Commander - Shaltari: Jaguar

As mentioned last week, April's addition to my Shaltari escalation force is a Jaguar.
Much like my other Shaltari, I followed the same colour scheme, so I've written up a shortened version below as it's covered in-depth in other posts.

Like always colours are from the Valejo game colour range unless stated otherwise.

I started by undercoating white using Halfords white primer.
I then liberally smothered the model in Army Painter Strong Tone
Then once the Strong tone was dry I drybrushed several times with Bonewhite (72.034) (I defiantly did this time, well with most of the model anyhow, I some how forgot to drybrush the AA turret)
I then drybrushed Dead White (72.001) several times - you can see the difference between the main body and the AA turret.

The pads were painted Electric Blue (72.023)
Then the Gauss cannon, AA guns, leg joints and leg points were painted Chainmail Silver (72.053), then coated with GW Nuln Oil, once dry I lightly painted the areas Silver (72.052).

Next I drybrushed all over with GW Ceramite White. On previous models its shown and made a difference however this time I don't think it's shows as much. This could be because I used a different drybrush, I'm just not sure.
The canopies were painted with Black (72.051)
The models were then cleaned up where needed. After which they were coated all over with Matt Varnish (70.520), followed by Gloss Varnish (70.510) which was applied to the black canopies, and the Gauss cannon barrels.

Miniatures: Dropzone Commander - Shaltari:Jaguar

Among this months additions to my Shaltari escalation force is a Jaguar, here is my personal review of the model and my experience with building it.

The Packaging

I'm not really going to say much here, as it's the same for all Hawk blister, so I think going forward I'll skip this phase referring to "standard packaging" unless it changes.

The model

The model consists of 10 parts: 3 legs, 2 Gauss cannons, 1 leg-to-body piece (probably has a better name but I'm unsure), 1 twin AA gun, 1 AA turret, 1 cockpit and the main body.

The majority of the detail is exceptional, however some parts are lacking a little: The cockpit is very detailed on top however the underneath is blurred, and less detailed. Nothing big as it's underneath the model but it is a little disappointing.

Building the model

Once the excess resin had been removed (just some resin tags and some mold lines) it was building time!

Lessons had been learnt from building the Coyote and used a combination of superglue in the leg recess, water on the leg ball joint and patience. This worked a lot better than before, happy times.

I checked the gauss cannon holes and notices they had excess resin within, so carefully scraped it out with a craft knife, which allowed the guns to fit better - using the superglue technique mentioned above.

The AA turret was a little tricky, which I was surprised at after recently building 6 plastic Kukri (that's right folks I've bought another starter set). The issue appeared to be that the neck of the turret was wider than the pole which connects the AA guns. So after a little trimming on the turret neck the guns snapped into place, and a little superglue was added to secure them.

Within a fairly short period this Jaguar was built. I haven't glued the AA turret down to allow for all over painting and for ease of transport. I'm considering magnetising it but doing that on the coyote was a pain so I may not...haven't quite decided.

Painting: Dropzone Commander - Shaltari: Spirit Gates

While I was away on business I also painted my spirit gates but I have only just got around to writing up the process.

Much like the Yari I apologise for the change in photos and again I hope it doesn't distract from the painting process too much.

As ever paints described will be from the vallejo game colour range unless otherwise stated.

The spirit gates were under-coated white using Halford white primer, then liberally washed with Army Painted Strong tone.

Much like the Yari I definitely didn't paint over the wash with bonewhite and went straight to drybrushing with Dead White (72.001).

Next I painted the fins and transport crystal with Electric Blue (72.023)

Then I painted the transport nodes with Chainmail Silver (72.053), then carefully coated with GW Nuln Oil. Once the Nuln Oil dried I lightly painted with Silver (72.052).

Then tidied up the white areas where blue and silver had accidentally come into contact with it, after which I drybrushed GW Ceramite. Which really made the models pop however when drybrushing the fins it highlighted the imperfections.

Next I painted the canopies Black (72.051). Once dry I did a little tidying around the canopies and coated all over with Matt Varnish (70.520), followed by Gloss Varnish (70.510) which was applied to the black canopies and transport crystal.

Although I am generally pleased with the result I am a little disappointed as I feel the paint didn't cover the imperfections of the model as much as I had hoped.

Miniatures & Painting: Dropzone Commander - Shaltari:Yari

Sorry for the absence of a post last, this was because I was on holiday. Since being back I have given my blog a little organisation and have added pages for easier access to posts., I hope you find it useful. I know I have.

So in addition to my spirit gates I have some Yari to expand my 1k escalation force; I felt that the scout option was the right way to go.

As these are tiny models I will combine the miniature review with painting them.

The Packaging

As per previous posts these models come in a blister, which contains the models, firm foam and a card inlay

The models:

The model consists of 3 parts; vehicle body, turret and weapon. You get the choice of both Microwave gun and AA, but you can only build one type per model (unless you can work some wonder with tiny magnets).

The detail on these models is typical Hawk quality, which was a nice relief following the disappointment with my spirit gates.

Building/Painting the models:
This section/post type has been combined as I didn't want to finish building the model until they were fully painted so not to obscure any part  of them and to get an all over paint job.

As ever paints described will be from the vallejo game colour range unless otherwise stated.

You'll notice that these pictures are different to the normal format, this is due to being on a business trip when painting them. I hope it doesn't distract too much from the progress pictures.

The Yari were under-coated white using Halford white primer, then liberally washed with Army Painted Strong tone (I know I must have shares in the stuff). Now this stage was an absolute arse; due to the numerous holes, and indentations. I had to apply coat after coat of strong tone directly into those areas.

This time I definitely didn't paint over the wash with bonewhite and went straight to drybrushing with Dead White (72.001), which as you can see created a dirty white, so this stage shouldn't be skipped (especially when lots of strong tone has been used)

Here I painted the fins with Electric Blue (72.023)

Next I painted the weapons with Chainmail Silver (72.053), then carefully coated with GW Nuln Oil. Once the Nuln Oil dried I lightly painted with Silver (72.052).

Then tidied up the white areas where blue and silver had accidentally come into contact with it, after which I drybrushed GW Ceramite White including the microwave gun silver area but avoiding the AA guns silver areas.

Next I painted the canopies Black (72.051). Once dry I did a little tidying around the canopies and coated all over with Matt Varnish (70.520), followed by Gloss Varnish (70.510) which was only applied to the black canopies.

There we have it, four complete Yari: 2 with microwave guns, 2 AA. These are fiddly little models that go together nicely and although painting them meant painting most of my fingertips (and using lots of strong tone in the initial stages). I have learnt not to skip stages if I want a cleaner looking white...but maybe a dirty white works for scout units.

Miniatures: Dropzone Commander - Shaltari: Spirit Gates

With April approaching it meant that my DZC escalation league was moving to 1k games and as a result I needed to expand my force; so to start I purchased some spirit gates.

Here is my personal review of these fast small gates.

The Packaging

As per previous posts these models come in a blister, which contains the models, firm foam and a card inlay


The model

The model consists of 3 parts: main body and two fins.

It is with a heavy heart that I make the following comments: the detail on these is....mediocre at best. It appears that I got a bad set; the detail is blurred and bumpy with a slightly rough feel. There was a flimsy film like flash, which, although easily removed (by rubbing my fingers over it), was all over the model. If this hadn't come in Hawk packaging and from a know distributor I'd say this was a knock off.....bad day in quality control. Hopefully when painted it won't be noticeable.

Building the model

With only 3 pieces in total these didn't take long to build.

The fins don't fit as snug as they do on the plastic Eden gates but it didn't take long too glue into place either.

So in no time these were built, shame about the quality but I expect a lick of paint will cover the issue.

*forgot to add that the flight sticks wouldn't fit in the base without slipping through so I glued some flight pegs (bought previously) to prevent that