Area Denial Destroid Squadron : Quick Paint Tutorial

Greetings All,

PythNutD here with another Robotech RPG Tactics Painting Tutorial. For those who read my last post you saw and example of an intermediate level, highly detailed, and time intensive paint job. This time around I have a quicker and simpler paint scheme of the Destroids that come in the RRT Starter box.

Enjoy....

                Took me almost two weeks of a few hours a night to finish the first three minis, so for my second batch of figures I decided to give a try at finishing a squad in one evening. So after three hours of work I ended up with a squad that may not look as clean as my first minis, but still look great on the table. 

As a reminder from my previous post, I use GW products because I am used to them from my years doing 40k, and I have a mix of newer and older paints. Any color can be easily swapped for a similar color from a different brand. So on to the Tutorial.......

For some additional info here is a link to my previous Rick Hunter VF-1J tutorial

1) Base: The first step to a quick paint job is to pick a base coat that is the main color present on the majority of the model. In this case I used an Army Builder spray paint, specifically from the War Paint line, Color British Armour (Italy) to give the models a light brown base.

2) Drybrush Layers: Now if you haven't heard the term Dry brush here is a brief description of the technique: You use a Dry Brush (Games Workshop and other companies make specific brushes called Dry brushes), put some paint from the pot on the brush and then wipe as much off the brush as possible, hence painting over a layer of paper towels. Next swipe the brush quickly across the model to dust the raised surfaces and edges with a small amount of paint. You can brush multiple times with the same color to build up the color over more surfaces or you can do a quick brush to edge the model.

In this case I started with a heavy dry brush using the GW color Zandri Dust using a large flat dry brush.

Next I dry brushed lightly with the GW paint Karak stone.

3) Dark Brown: Next I painted a few sections with a darker brown, In this case I used an older GW paint Bestial Brown.

I edged the Brown with another older GW paint color, Bleached Bone.

4) Metal sections: I painted the Gun clusters, Command Destroid rear, and the tips of the main guns with GW paint Boltgun metal. I painted the main guns with the Metal color to mimic the paint being burned off the Mecha by the heat of the cannons firing.

5) Model Wash: Next I used one of the GW washes to coat the entire model. I used to use Devlan Mud, but the new replacement Agrax Earthshade looks just as good. To do the wash I used a larger base coat brush and I made sure to add water to the wash to dilute it slightly, putting the wash and water in a bottle cap so not to dilute the whole pot. I made sure to work the wash into all the grooves and also brushed off the excess front the larger flat surfaces. 

NOTE: Now I used a bit more wash then I intended and the models came out a bit darker than I hoped. Next time I will either water down the wash a bit more OR wash the model before I start dry brushing, and will use a lighter brush.

6) Grey Areas: Next I painted the missiles, Defender radar panels, the Command Destroid plate, and a few other small places with the GW color Celestra Grey.

I edged the grey areas with Ulthuan Grey.

7) Blue Lights: I painted all the lights with GW color Calgar Blue

I painted a band of GW Hoeth on the left and top of each light.

Next I painted a smaller band on the left and top with GW Blue Horror, and added a bit of white for a final touch.

8) Red Lights: Next I painted several laser target lights and misc. spots with a layer of GW paint Red Gore.

I followed up with a highlight of GW color Blood Red with a small dab of Blazing Orange.

9) Final highlights and Decals: I went back and added a few sections of black with a simple grey highlight, including the base. I also added a few more sections of red. 

Next I added some decals. As I mentioned in my previous post I put a small amount of Micro Set decal setting solution before I place the decal and then after letting it dry a bit I cover the decals with Micro Sol. The combination of the two products soften the decals so they conform to the surfaces, this is key when placing decals on curved surfaces.

Some Final images.

Thanks for Reading,

I'll have a post about my first batch of Zentradi coming soon.......

PythNutD