Introduction
I've been working on some Dreadball figures recently. As well as some MVPs and coaches/assistants, I'm experimenting with styles of painting for my mechanite/robot team. See what you think.
The Mechanites
I have a mechanite team for Dreadball. Indeed, I've had it for quite a long time. However, until recently it languished in my "lead pile" of unassembled & unpainted miniatures. This autumn, I'm trying to make some progress on these models and to date I've finished three of them: TRS-80, Commodore and VIC-20.
I'm aiming for a grungy, beaten-up look. There are a handful of trivial conversions in my builds so far - for example, Commodore wears a yachting cap (who knows where the robot obtained that?).
These models are difficult to build, having a myriad of tiny pieces - all with some form of mould line that needs attention. That's even leaving aside the game-affecting decisions on which arms/legs/torso/head to put together.
I'm finding them difficult to paint as well; there is a lot of detail on these models - but much of it is quite 'soft' because of the material from which they are made. The paint jobs I have put on them took some time, yet I'm no happy with the results. Are they too grungy? Is the painting too sloppy? Are the colour choices not good? I can't quite put my finger on it...
Nightshade
In contrast, I painted Nightshade very swiftly. From memory, most of the work was completed within a short evening (and alongside other work, at that). He's a star player with a very shady past, so muted, sombre painting works well. I'm particularly pleased with the eyes, which were something of an accident. The whites add a tiny speck of light to what is otherwise a very dark figure.
Blaine
Conclusion
I'm delighted with the way that Nightshade and Blaine turned out. So why am I unhappy with the robots? Ah, maybe I'm just my own worst critic, I dunno...
