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

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

Painting: Dropzone Commander - Shaltari: Coyote

Sorry for the delay in this week's post, it's been an absolutely manic week! not helped that I have been stricken with man flu. But I have found a moments peace and respite from man flu (courtesy of Beechams (other medicines are available)) to be able to write this post.

So I open properly (aside from the apology) with exciting news: I am now officially a Hawk Talon! So if, dear reader, you are local to Berkshire then I can officially provide demos/assistance with events etc.

Anyway, enough of that and on with the painting. So as mentioned in my last post; March is the addition of a commander to starter set for the DZC escalation league I'm running. With my Coyote all built it needed to be painted ready to face my foes.

As ever the paints used were Vallejo unless stated otherwise.

I started with a solid undercoat of white primer from Halfords

Next I coated the model in Army Builder Strong tone. Despite painting an entire starter set this way it still makes me nervous for the outcome, stupid I know! As you'll also see one of the gauss cannons fell off during the application of the strong tone, this was quickly glued back on using super glue. In fact it stuck better this time than originally.

Now here I have to hold my hands up and say that I believe I may have skipped a phase from the scheme I used on my starter set; I don't remember using bonewhite, so I'm going have to assume that I didn't (especially as there isn't any photo to confirm) so it seems I went straight to drybrushing Dead White (72.001) several times.

Here I painted the command module fins, the area between the fins and leg pads Electric Blue (72.023)

This photo is the culmination of all the following stages:

I painted the gauss cannons, leg joints, bottom points of the legs and the small nodes around the top and bottom of the fan at the back of the model with Chainmail Silver (72.053), then carefully coated with GW Nuln Oil (except the gauss cannons those were liberally soaked). 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 everywhere avoiding the areas painted silver.

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 and gauss cannons.

I'm pleased with my commander, he looks the part and the command module is magnetised so it can represent the "eject" special rule.

Miniatures: Dropzone Commander - Shaltari: Coyote

In month two of the dropzone commander escalation "league" that I'm running, we are building 750 points lists, which is to consists of the starter set plus a command vehicle. This is to introduce the aspect of CV value and command cards.

With this in mind I have chosen a Coyote as my command vehicle and in true "Turno's wargaming blog" style I will review the model.

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 9 parts: 3 legs, 2 Gauss cannons, 1 leg-to-body piece (probably has a better name but I'm unsure), 1 command module, 1 cockpit and the main body.

As ever the detail is amazing, and beautifully reflects the Shaltari fluff.

Building the model

9 pieces...that's all, that will be easy.....how wrong I was! Now this could easily have been the type of glue I used but whatever it was this model was a pain!

Firstly the legs, they are on a ball joint which is great for being able to position how you wish however I just couldn't get them to stick; one would stick so I'd move on to the next then the first one would fall out, this practically slapstick situation continued for around 30 minutes, until all the legs finally stayed glued!

Secondly the gauss cannons; these also have a ball joint connection but I found that the connection socket was just that little bit smaller than the ball joint so caused a bit of an issue when it came to gluing. In fact it too fell off...several times.

The cockpit went on without issue and the command module would easily fit. I have since magnetised the command module so it can be removed during play if the commander ejects.

Overall beautifully detailed model but a pain to build. Now to get painting...

Painting: Dropzone Commander - Shaltari Starter Set

As I mentioned last week I'm running an escalation event/league over the next few months and February is starter sets!

So with my Shaltari starter set built and with it required to be painted by the end of month I had to get a move on. Now as luck would have it my wife was struck down with Flu (Not so sure that was her view on it)  and was bed ridden, so while she rested I cracked on.

Unfortunately I can't take full credit for my chosen colour scheme; I knew I wanted a white scheme and after a google search I discovered this blog:
http://toomuchmetal.blogspot.co.uk/2014/12/dropzone-commander-shaltari-done-and.html?m=1

So inspired by the above I began but with a few adjustments of my own.

As ever the paints used were Vallejo unless stated otherwise.

I started with a solid undercoat of white primer from Halfords

Next was a liberal coating of Army Painter Strong tone. This was quite a nerve racking phase, watching the white turn brown, wondering if I can bring it back to the desired white.

Once the Strong tone had dried I drybrushed Bonewhite (72.034) several times, doing my best to avoid losing any of the detail

Next I drybrushed Dead White (72.001) several times, trying to leave the fins as they were, and again trying not to obscure any detail.

The fins and teleport crystals were painted Electric Blue (72.023), and took a surprisingly long amount of time, which is due to not wanting to ruin the white.

In this stage I painted the gun barrels and teleport nodes with Chainmail Silver (72.053), then liberally coated with GW Nuln Oil. Once the Nuln Oil dried I lightly painted with Silver (72.052)

I then drybrushed the white areas, crystals and the blue fins with GW Ceramite White. This white is a really vibrant white and really makes the white areas stand out.

 

The canopies were painted with Black (72.051), to give them a nice sheen.

The base of the Braves were coated with sand, painted black, drybrushed with Charred Brown (72.045) then drybrushed with Bonewhite (72.034) and static grass was added.

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, teleport crystals and the barrel of the tomahawks.

I feel that this "simple" paint scheme is really effective, and came out just as well as I hoped. Unlike my scourge the underneath of theses models aren't painted as well as the top. I just couldn't be bothered especially as, by all accounts, they won't really be seen. Don't get me wrong they have been painted just not to the same tidy degree,

Those of you that have been following my blog will know that I seem to like being slightly ambitious with my schemes; now this scheme is relatively simple, which is why I have something more ambitious planned...so watch this space.