Forge World Drop pod finished


I finally finished the drop pod I've been working on now for a few days. This is my first one of these (Forge World versions) so it's been a bit of a learning experience.

You've got the regular stuff like working with resin and all but handling this thing while painting it has been a challenge. It came to me completely assembled so I had to work from there with painting. I decided to paint the inside and vertical fins first and then I worked on the outside faces of the hatches and the bottom engine last.

The rest of the pictures below can be clicked on for larger versions. I snapped a couple pics of key areas on the model since photographing the whole thing was a little awkward with trying to capture the details.


The inside cockpits were fairly easy to do. A base of silver with a couple washes and some subtle highlighting. I went for the grimy look on the inside since I figured these things are beat up pretty bad even when they are maintained by the Chapter Techmarines. The hazard stripes along the edges of the hatches add to the used feel of the equipment and make for a nice contrast of color.


The top engine was fairly easy too, except for actually getting to it to paint it. It's painted metal and given the heavy soot look.


Now the weathering or atmospheric entry damage was the hardest part. Toss in that it's a black model and it was even trickier. I used an approach similar to the soot staining for gun barrels but added a couple extra steps.

I started by drybrushing a dark brown from the bottom edge up the side of the hatch. I followed this with a dark metal color. A wash of sepia and black toned down the metal area and then I went in with a slightly brighter silver on the edges near the bottom of the drop pod where the damage from entry would be the worst.
I figured this is where it would be bare metal from the heat of entering the atmosphere at speed.

I went back in and toned down the upper parts of the brown (near the highest portion of the hatch) with an additional wash of black so the weathering was a smooth transition and not a harsh line across the model.


And the bottom of the pod. This area was worked up to the silver since it would take the most punishment. The use of a series of black washes allowed me to keep working up the raised edges and really give the metal a worn down look.

All in all, it was a fun model to paint and I learned how to add the damage to the bottom of the pod since I'd never painted anything similar before. Normal weathering, sure, but not like this.
It looks great as a finished model but I can definitely see where it can be a hard model to paint since you've got to do everything five times for each portion of the pod.


Ron, From the WarpIf you've got any questions about something in this post, shoot me a comment and I'll be glad to answer. Make sure to share your hobby tips and thoughts in the comments below!