Warning, this article contains large amounts of resin.
Let’s Build a Dreadnought!
Today we shall begin the process of building ourselves a Resistance Dreadnought for Dropfleet Commander. Undoubtedly this is one of the most interesting and unique miniature kits I’ve ever had the pleasure of building. Owing in large part to how modular this kit is. Let us get started!
Preparation
I began by cleaning up the resin pieces of any mould lines and unintended resin channels and the like. Remarkably little had to be done in this step as many sections didn’t need any work at all! Turrets and smaller pieces were cut loose with clippers and filed smooth with a file.
It is always a good idea to give all your miniatures a quick wash before doing anything else. We do this to remove any remnants left behind from the casting process that can otherwise interfere with glue and paint. I simply put all the pieces in a container and added washing soap and warm water and left it to soak.
Once they had been soaking for a couple of hours I rinsed them thoroughly with water and left them to dry. Finally, I organised the pieces to get a better idea of what I had available. Obviously I did not soak the little MDF bricks with the rest of the pieces. We will find out what their use is later on.
Construction
Starting with trying to decide on what I wanted my dreadnought to look like I began lying out sections on my work surface. As a result I was now learning exactly how modular this kit is, the options are rather mind boggling.
After contemplating quite a few different ideas I slowly managed to home in on my final design and it was time to get the glue flowing. Returning to those MDF bricks. They aid in assembly as spacers and creating plenty of contact area for the glue to adhere to, how neat.
From here it is basically a matter of constructing the ship of my dreams by dry fitting pieces together before applying glue. Thus the dreadnought starts to take form.
It was at this point that I felt that I wanted to add a little more mass to the stern of my ship. Therefore I decided to sacrifice a couple of the turrets that I was going to leave out of my build for this unintended purpose. I for one am happy with the result.
Construction Complete
So here it is, my finished Resistance Dreadnought. I’m very happy with how it came out and how simple it was to put together. Clearly the hardest part was making my mind up on how to utilise all the options available to me.
Now, some of you might be asking where all the guns are? Indeed, that is a good question. My answer is going to be MAGNETS. However, that is a story for another article for you to look forward to. If this not-so-little construction guide left you hungry for more Dropfleet Commander goodness, perhaps a pleasant spaceship browsing session in our online store is in order? See you next week!