How (Not) To Paint Your Dragon

THE TIAN LONG ARMOURED DRAGON ROBOT EMERGES FROM THE PAINTING CAVE

What a beast! Simply put, the Chinese Federation have the most entertaining models in Dystopian Wars at the moment. I say "entertaining," but "exhausting" may also be accurate. This model, much like the Zhanmadao Dreadnought Fortress, is a lot of work - crammed with detail, huge, and bloody difficult to handle without breaking something or rubbing the paint off a prominent area. I managed to complete the Dragon in one day, while also completing some tiny flyer bases, and I consider this a mighty achievement.

For all the complaints you are about to read, it is a fantastic model and I really enjoyed it for the most part. If I had not, I doubt I would have been able to complete it so quickly. Read on for all the reasons I made life difficult for myself, and take into account the lessons I have learned...

LESSONS LEARNED

• PIN THE BASTARD - I did not do this, and have had to re-attach certain parts of the model more times than I care to count. The arms, "whiskers" and fins above the ears are particularly bad offenders.

• PAINT IN SEVERAL DIFFERENT PIECES - Trying to paint a model this long, this fragile and with this many protruding parts was a goddamn nightmare. Extreme concentration was required for long periods of time, mostly working out how to hold the miniature without rubbing the paint away or putting too much pressure on certain elements. 

• PAINT THE LARGEST AREAS FIRST AND WORK TOWARDS THE SMALL DETAILS - I painted the red scales across his back last of all. This was not easy, as the rest of the model was finished and I did not want to ruin all that work. Outrageously simple mistake.

• BEWARE YOUR SURROUNDINGS - Painting small details is engrossing, but be aware when you're getting into painting how hard surfaces and models do not mix. With such a large model, make sure you know where the tail is and that it's not being pushed against a hard surface like the painting table - if this happens, it can snap or chip, apparently. 

• WORK OUT HOW TO STORE IT - I have not worked this out yet. 

With a powerful Heavy Flamethrower and brutal claws for Boarding, the Dragon is a threat to targets of any size

The Dragon is the length of several Medium-sized vessels

Wreaking havoc

The League of Italian States make for hesitant allies

Gaming wise... well, I haven't given it a go yet. It looks to be on par with the Metzger in terms of biting and clawing apart the opposition, and with seven Hull Points it should be able to take a few hits - and it will suffer a few hits, look at it! I'd be targeting it every turn. The weaponry is okay, a Concussive rocket battery and a good flamethrower, and all for 150pts - a nice investment. 

LOOKING AT BOARDING

I am treating the Tian Long as a Robot, even if it is not currently written in the PDF. This is clearly a typo.

• HEAVY FLAMETHROWER - Able to fire at the target of the Boarding Action, this is nasty! Shame the rockets are wasted. 

• SONIC GENERATOR - Not exactly a game winner, but could be amusing if it goes off.

• CRUSHING IMPACT AND HULL BREAKER  - These two MARs together mean that should the Boarding Attack beat the DR of the target, it will lose D3+3 Hull Points. With 7AP, this is going to obliterate any Medium vessel and cause concern for a lot of the Large ships, especially as it ignores defensive Generators and MARs liked Rugged Construction. 

• TERRIFYING - Well, yeah - an entirely necessary extra kick in the gut after ripping your Cruiser to shreds. 

Also painted this weekend, two more Luxing-class Aerial Bombards to bring the squadron up to full strength

Their Aerial Bombardment will be very useful against squadrons of Small vessels in particular, or could be Linked for one massive attack

Another addition to the fleet; a third Chui-class Support Carrier to bring this squadron to full strength

So there we are, a huge, nasty piece of kit for the Chinese Federation, a brilliant centrepiece for a fleet that already have so many beautiful vessels, and a painter's nightmare if they choose to make things difficult for themselves. Beware the Dragon!

SIDE NOTE

This was my ONE HUNDREDTH post for Full Spectrum Dominance, and today is my birthday. Good to see I have my priorities straight. 

One hundred posts! As ever, thanks for reading, 

George