Operation Unthinkable: Dropzone Commander

So this month I set myself the goal of completing my brand spanking new Resistance starter set for Dropzone Commander, and I'm pleased to say that I've been successful with a few days to spare.

This is my final battlegroup, featuring a Kraken Hovercraft and three AA Gun Wagons. This unit is my main defence against enemy aircraft, and main strike force against enemy troop carriers. I believe that unlike most transports, the Kraken allows the Gun Wagons to fire on the turn that they disembark, which means that I will have quite a threatening alpha strike capability against enemy transports. However, the Gun Wagons are some of the only vehicles in the game that don't have active countermeasures and so enemies can shoot them from distance, and so I'll need to be careful with them (for reference - it seems that all of the other vehicles without active countermeasures are also in the Resistance list...hmmm...).

The Kraken was probably my least favourite model to paint in the army. Not only is rather dull as a model, but it also, unlike the other models in the set, seemed to have a lot of release agent from the moulding process all over it, so it took some effort to get the paint to stick to it. On the up side, it painted up quickly, and if I have to do another one at some point, I'll cope.

On the other hand, the Gun Wagons are loads of fun. They've been described as having a 'Mad Max' feel to them, but I can't escape the image of these being part of a rather extreme Top Gear special (maybe if they return to Patagonia...). When it came to painting them, I wanted to break from the military theme, whilst still using colours that appear in the rest of the army at points, which I hope makes them different, whilst not breaking the overall look of the army. Personally, I think this works.

The feature I like most about this battle group is that the Kraken can actually carry the Gun Wagons without me having to faff around with magnets. The design of the model has also allowed me to leave the ramp unstuck, so that I can open and close it as necessary.

Finally, a shot of the whole army. This is the first time I've worked with lots of resin pieces and I have to say, it's really enjoyable to work with. The crisp detail, ease of trimming and cleaning up, simplicity of assembly and the way it makes my painting style work well are all massive positives, and have made me glad that I went with this army rather than the cheaper plastic sets. As long as the game doesn't suck, I'll certainly be adding to this army at a later date.

So with eyes on next month, not only am I committing to another Operation Unthinkable target, I'm also beginning the handily titled: Six Month Mountain Reduction Painting Challenge (hereafter referred as 6MMRPC). The only major changes to my current behaviour this asks for are that I am only allowed to buy models three times in the next six month unless I complete projects and earn more Jokers, and I need to post something every week.

As I'm aiming at completing six projects in that time, I should be able to spend when I need to, and it's always good to have a little pressure to post.

So my next Operation Unthinkable challenge is to complete two Guildball teams. I played a game against Craig this week and found it to be a cracking little game. However, with no money to spend, I'm going to go back to my Cheaphammer roots and knock up my teams from stuff I already have. I order to claim a joker once this is done, I need to post a 'before' picture, so here's two of my bits boxes:

The teams I'm going to try to make are the Mortician's Guild, which will primarily use elements from my WFB Undead army, and the Mason's Guild, which will lean heavily on my Bretonnians and some plastic Bloodbowl miniatures. My minimum requirements are to make three models for each team (including the team leader), which is the minimum requirement for a game, but the ultimate aim is to get to six for each team, although I may need to burn a Joker for this as I've no idea what I'm going to use for the Mason's mascot, which is a baboon.

This little project will also allow me to revisit the commandments of Cheaphammer, which newer readers may be unfamiliar with, and will serve as a timely reminder of just how cheap I can be.