Dreadball Spring Clean Hobby Challenge 2022

So here I am with only 25 models to go and over the last week I’ve found I’m working on more and more of them at the same time as there are similar colours and it’s just more efficient to paint a small group of models at once.  You can paint 3ish identical models in the same time it takes you to paint one.  The biggest time sinks are in switching paints and waiting for the previous coat to dry before you apply the next one.  You could be painting that same colour on more models.  These waiting times are also when I find I’m most prone to being distracted.

This stage of the project going forwards might be a good example of how to get a lot of diverse models with recurring colours or schemes done all at once.

So yes. At the end of last week I’d used the airbrush to lay down a “black” base coat and some highlights on three models.  First, they got a coat of Revell 36106 Tar Black, then I mixed in some 36174 Gunship Grey and sprayed from the sides and above, then just from above using only Gunship Grey and from a distance.  I cleaned up my airbrush and didn’t paint again for a few days, by which time I’d realised two more models needed to be black (Hexen and Eko’o) so I fudged them with a base of Vallejo 70.994 Dark grey.  There are two more models that want the black (the Zee), but they’re better off having their red done first so I’ll come back to them later.  Everybody got a drybrush of Revell 36176 Light Grey, and then a wash of GW Nuln Oil.

This wash was going to take a while to dry, so I pulled out two models that have a darker  green skin tone to paint, and thought I may as well paint the vines on the Treebeast the same colour while I’m at it.  They were given a few coats of Coat d’Arms Tank Drab, and then put on one side for later.  It was getting late on Tuesday evening, so I packed up and went to bed.

I next picked up a brush on Thursday evening.  I’m working towards doing the reds on these black models, and so I can bring the Zee in to the mix, but the manbat feels like I’d be better off doing his flesh first.  Some of the red goes over it, and it means I can afford to be a little messier with a drybrush this way.  here’s a recipe I’ve used before.  I found it didn’t work so well on the textureless wings here, but its good enough, and done is done.

Vampire Flesh

Base GW Rakarth Flesh
Wash GW Agrax Earthshade
Drybrush 50/50 P3 Menoth White Base / P3 Thrall Flesh
Drybrush less/lighter with GW Pallid Wych Flesh

This appears to be all I got done on Thursday after work.  I must have gotten distracted.  I suspect I played some Diablo 3 while waiting for the wash to dry, and stopped early to watch the new episodes of Picard and Moon Knight.

It’s Friday evening, work is done for the week, and it’s time to paint the red on Eko’o, Hexen, Nightshade, and the two Zee.  I’ve a recipe and some paints from an old Asset Drop I’ve not tried yet and I’d like a different red to the others I’ve used in this project, so lets see what it looks like.  In their guide, they’re using it on a dragon’s wing, rather than a metal surface.  It turned out after it works better on natural surfaces as it’s more of a desaturated neutral red, than a vibrant eye catching painted metal surface. I’ll use it again for sure, but these surfaces could have done with something a little more poppy.  Once again, it’s good enough, and done is done.

Red

Base Mr Paint RP-F073 Red Shadow
High 1 brush on a 2:1 mix of Mr Paint RP-F073 Red Shadow and Mr Paint RP-F070 Pink Fleshtone
High 2 same as above, but make it 1:1
High 3 the same as High 1 but 1:2
High 4 Drybrush gently to catch just the edges with Pink Fleshtone
High 5 Catch just the tips with a mix of Pink Fleshtone and any White
Shade with Mr Paint RP-F072 Brown Shadow
Pinwash Shade with Brown Shadow and a little Black

It appears I didn’t finish the final stages of the red until Saturday lunchtime.  I suspect more Diablo distractions while waiting for washes to dry.  I lost some of Friday to a window fitter appointment that got cancelled last minute.

With the red done, I painted the black armour on the Zee’s, repeating the steps above using the Vallejo Dark Grey.  While working on that I also painted the hair on the Vampire, and then got the leather belts and boots done on the Zee

Bat Hair

Base P3 battlefield Brown
Drybrush Troolblood Highlight (done at same time as for the Zee boots)
Wash GW Nuln Oil

Leather Boots

Base P3 Bootstrap Leather
Drybrush Troolblood Highlight (done at same time as for the Vampire’s hair)
Wash GW Agrax Earthshade

With those washes dry (and probably after a little Diablo, or a lunch break) I picked out the steels on Hexen and Eko’o

Steel

Base P3 Pig Iron
Wash GW Nuln Oil
Drybrush P3 Cold Steel

Hexen’s gold trip was then carefully picked out with GW Retributor Armour, without highlighting or shading.  I thought I was done with him, so i started work on the pale blue flesh of Shojuun.

Pale Blue Flesh

Base P3 Frostbite
Wash P3 Frostbite mixed with Warcolours Marine 1
Highlight P3 Frostbite
I may have mixed a little white in to Frostbite for a final edge highlight on the nose and perhaps eyebrows, and maybe knuckles and fingertips.

I then remembered Hexen’s stupid masks with their stupid shallow detail, and stupid hand and backpack in the way.  I couldn’t tell you what they’re supposed to look like as the detail just isn’t there.  Here’s my recipe.  I’ve used it elsewhere with more success

Hexen’s white mask

Base P3 Menoth White Base
Wash P3 Trollblood Highlight
Reclaim with base
High 1 Menoth White base mixed with Menoth White Highlight
High 2 Menoth White Highlight
High 3 Menoth White Highlight mixed with White.  Keep adding more white and painting more layers, until you’re happy
High 4 glint highlights with pure white, if required

Back to Shojuun, picking out the remaining details on him

Shojuun’s wires: Reaper 09024 Amethyst Purple
Shojuun’s eye sockets Mr Paint MRP-072 Brown Shadow (it was already in front of me)
Shojuun’s “Backpack” was painted the same as the Steel above for Hexen.

The last remaining colour on these minis was Caucasian flesh tones, which also appear on five other models, so I painted them all at the same time.  One of those models is Brute Force (Power Loader Ripley from Aliens).  Her yellow was painted back at the start, but it needed a little something more so it got a drybrush of Scalecolor SFG-41 Hykey Yellow.  Doing this first meant I could be messy.  I then got to work on the flesh.  This has lots of washes which I know take a while to dry so i played a lot of Diablo and watched X-Men Dark Phoenix (Not as bad as people have said.  It had it’s problems, but I think it annoyed me less than some other X-Men movies, perhaps only because my expectations were so low at this point).  I got the final wash in before going to sleep, and drybrushed the highlights in the morning.

It’s now Sunday, and I’ve finished the flesh highlights.  My D&D group is starting up again this evening after a month or so off.  I’m running things and it’s the start of a new adventure.  I’ve been doing prep for months, but it’s like the day of an exam.  There’s cramming that can only be done on the day, and there’s some nerves too as I’m out of practise, and in theory, they have the option to derail everything, and have multiple paths available to them, depending on who turns up and what they want to do.  So yes.  I’m a little distracted and I know I’ve got to buckle down after lunch and get some “work” done.

Rather than embrace a large stage of the project, I found myself drawn to Brute Force.  I’d ben avoiding her as I was afraid that she was too soapy and I wouldn’t be able to tell what’s what on her.  I was also afraid that she’s a bulky model in a cramped pose and I’d have great difficulty painting her.  Now the flesh is on I can see her better, and I’m feeling a lot more confident on her.  I can also see she doesn’t match the studio model on their website.  Mine doesn’t have that canister above her head.  I can’t remember if she came pre-assembled or not, but I cannot see an obvious attachment point for it.  I’m confident that the studio paint jobs are done on higher grade casts than are sold to the public, which feels cheeky at best, and an outright lie and a con at worst.

Where was I?  oh yes.  Painting Brute Force.  I painted her trousers and shirt at the same time.  They’re both military greens, so a lot of the same paints and steps were used.  I got her hair done while waiting for the wash on the clothes to dry too.

Green Trousers

Base P3 Traitor Greem
Drybrush P3 Thrall Flesh
Wash GW Agrax Earthshade

Green Shirt

Base P3 Ordic Olive
Wash P3 Agrax Earthshade
Reclaim with Ordic Olive
High with Ordic Olive mixed with a little P3 Bog Moss
High 2 as above, but with a little Thrall Flesh

Hair
Base P3 Battlefield Brown
Drybrush P3 Trollblood Highlight
Wash GW Nuln Oil

I think I allowed myself to be distracted by Diablo until early afternoon, when I buckled down with my homework, and we eventually had what felt like a good D&D session.

I said in my last entry that I need to be averaging 3 models per week in order to be done by the end of spring.  I have 6 models here I’m calling done, and I’ve made a lot of progress elsewhere too.  I’ll do everyone’s eyes, bases, and blue glow all together at the end, just before varnishing.  It just seems more efficient that way.  I have undercoated with white where the red will go on all the bases already, while waiting for other paints to dry.