Hot off the Desk: Dropfleet Commander Remnant Centurion

Remnant Centurion - Battle worn, battle tested, battle ready.

The Remnant Centurion is (was?) a Dropfleet Commander ship available only at conventions and special web sales. It was most recently offered during the Adepticon (U.S.) and Salute (U.K.) 2019 shows, with the note that it would be retired thereafter. During Salute 2019, the Resistance faction was announced for Dropfleet, so I presume we'll see it - or something like it - resurface.

"Once these ships are guided to the Colonies, they are assessed for their space-worthiness. Many are barely intact rust buckets, fit only to sadly limp their way to Niccolum’s breakers yards under their own fading power. Others are surprisingly well maintained and are refitted with more modern scanner and ECM suites to join the UCMF. ... Those that have been pressed into combat duty due to the demands of the Reconquest have generally performed well and often exceptionally, especially those still captained by the same grizzled survivalists that brought them into the fold."  -- TTCombat, "The Remnant"

In the current experimental rules, the ship can fly with PHR or UCM factions.  The stats sheet lists it as a "Grand Cruiser" but in the narrative they say that this means "Heavy Cruiser" by "modern" standards.  Gameplay wise, the class has a good amount of hit points (14), good armor (saves on a 2+), and guns. Lots of guns.  This is offset by having a slower speed (7" thrust), higher signature (6"), and lower scan radius (6).

It's going to take awhile to get all the firepower where you want it, but the results should be worth the effort.

Fresh off the assembly line. Use superglue to assemble resin.

Detail is pretty good. One of the ships had some loss of detail on the underside but I lived with it. 

Anyway, at the Dropfleet narrative event at Adepticon, one of my opponents threw a pair of Centurions at me.  They hit hard, had staying power, and felt like a ship hull that could punch above its weight class.

Nursing my wounds, I recalled that I had one Centurion still in its packaging that I purchased at Gencon 2018.  I saw firsthand that they would work better in pairs in my fleet due to their broadside cannons; the rest of my UCM ships maneuver differently.  So, the next morning I walked to the TTCombat booth and bought a second copy.

One of my hulls came from a mold that was a little worn.  (Note to self, always check the package before you buy).  The panel lines were weak and there was some uneven surface finish, but some scraping and filing got the job done.  These were intended for tabletop so I didn't fuss, but display models would need a LOT of clean up.

Painting approach:
In the backstory, these ships have been fighting for centuries.  They'll have seen some action.  There were a few ways to go about this, but I wanted to try a trick that I learned at Miniature Monthly's boot camp last year.

Aaron Lovejoy uses sponges to stipple an undercoat of rust/wear and then masks it with a molding compound.  This yields a multicolored, "textured" effect that's masked in random/abnormal splotches.  Then, since you're actually causing the top layer to fail - rip, tear, and peel - as you remove the mask, the result is a legitimately failed surface finish (just like would happen in real life - either on a real Jeep or your creepy uncle's '96 Dodge Caravan).

Black primer. Stop here for a stealth look.

Stippled (yes that's a word) random metallic colors where I expected to have battle damage.

Closer view of one of the 'damaged' areas. See detailed notes below for more.

Aaron uses this method for tanks and mechs and metal things that get dirty and rusty.  I wanted to adapt this to instead some hefty battle damage - large caliber ship to ship exchanges.  The effect is convincing for rust, so my challenge was to adapt the colors and tune the details to create impacts, not decay.

This meant a color change (staying away from the rust belt colors), and adding some streaks/blast marks.

Basecoated and striped, it's time to scrape off the mold-builder mask.  If you look closely you can see the bumps where the masking is.

Five minutes later, here's the first pass at exposing the "damaged" areas. I'd continue to pick off mask and then paint the silver areas.

Ready for action.

I tried to make the damage random and asymmetric. 

Same pose, different camera focus point.

Included my typical engine soot with the Sotar and Liquitex Burnt Umber. Splashed a bit on the battle damage as well.  Didn't hit them too hard as there's already a lot going on.

The view my opponents will see.

Detailed Notes:

• Assembly was easy. I like TTCombat's resin, in general.  It's softer and more rubbery than some.  I needed to shave some of the locating pins/geometry to close gaps, but nothing to complain about.
• Like all resin assembly, use superglue, NOT plastic cement.
• Prep:  Rinsed in 70% isopropl alchohol, scrub with a toothbrush, which is now my standard for resin.  Rinse in clean water and let dry.  I had a few places that I should have cleaned better as the primer beaded off.  Beware of nooks and crannies.
• Primer:  Black Stynlrez, from the Badger 105 airbrush
• Battle damage:  Stipple on Reaper Nightmare Blue >> Reaper Scorched Metal >> Army Painter Pistol Metal with a torn sponge (I used a piece of pick-and-pull from Battlefoam that I saved).  Technique: Tear the sponge, dab in unthinned paint, dab excess off on a paper towel until you can see the "texture" and then apply randomly to the model.  Go slowly, you can always build up more color.  Put color on more areas than you intend to damage to avoid boring areas later.  I really couldn't see the Nightmare blue but knew it was blocking the upper layers from the pure black primer.  Apply the mold builder randomly, also with a sponge, be more selective here in where you apply, let cure.  Re-apply a layer of Stynlrez to block the colors from seeping.
• Basecoat:  Reaper Rusty Red
• Airbrush Shading:  (Sotar 2020) FW Payne's Gray underneath, Liquitex Titanium White ink on leading edges (masked with my thumb)
• Stripes:  Tamiya masking tape and Reaper Misty Gray.  I'll do a separate post on striping.
• At this point, remove the battle damage masking with your fingernail and/or the back of a brush.  Some pulled free with narrow tipped tweezers.  This takes some time; be patient. Some of the primer pulled free from the resin, but is easy to touch up.
• I tested the effect by adding some streaks to the battle damage; was happy.  My first few were blotchy; the key was to have a light touch, use thick paint, and make the streaks all the same direction and not random angles.
• Metal Surfaces:  AP Pistol Metal basecoat >> AP Dark Done Ink wash >> Dry Brush with AP Chainmail Metal
• Gun Body:  Reaper Gunmetal Blue
• Outline the bottom edges of the battle damage with Reaper Reaper Scorched Metal, Reaper Pure White, and a few dabs of AP Chainmail metal.
• Minimal dry brush edge highlighting on hull: AP Chainmail Metal
• Final shading and engine soot: (Sotar 2020) - Liquitex Burnt Umber.  I was gentle here, there's a lot going on already.
• Engine glow:  AP Crystal Blue >> Reaper Shining Mithril center, apply heavy, wet blend this a bit and let settle
• Crack a beer

The battle damage was an experiment that went pretty well.  All the silver basecoating was a chore to do by hand, and I got a little messy in a few spots.  Still, the total time investment for these models is less than you might think.