Pods to Drop and Lands to Raid part 11

It has been a long time since I added to this series, but don't think that I have been idle on these items during this time. For those of you who might be seeing this series for the 1st time, this is a focus on select vehicles in my Space Wolves army and for the most part I talk about my steps-by-steps in their construction. At the end of Part 10 (which was posted in March of 2012! Yikes!) I listed these items in this series that I would focus on:

• Minor Touch-ups on the Land Raider Crusader
• 2 more Land Speeder Typhoons
• and about 3 more Drop Pods

So let's review these in order.

Land Raider Crusader. Let's Start with the big one. The Land Raider Crusader has had most of the new sponsons painted, they just need to be assembled and magnetized. But I was really hung up, and I still am really, on the multi-melta sponson; I just can't decide whether I like it better with or without a gunner in it. To confound it more, I already have a gunner for the pintle-mounted storm bolter and I just think the Land Raider looks a bit silly with more than one guy sticking out of the top of it.

As of March 6th of 2013, and it hasn't changed since! 

As you can see, it just needs to be assembled and it's done, assuming I choose to not go with a gunner. I'm a bit fond of the burnt metal on the multi-melta's barrel and I like the targeting display. -Just stuck on it still!

Land Speeder Typhoons. I have suspended work on these for the time being, mainly due to my side interest in Dark Angels. I am flirting with whether or not they should be requisitioned by the Ravenwing. Heresy though it it is to think such thoughts as a Space Wolf player, right? Also I haven't really been using Land Speeders a whole lot in my Space Wolf lists recently so the urgency to complete these just hasn't been high.

Drop Pods. As followers of this blog might've read, I have occasionally done some work on my 2nd Space Wolf Drop Pod. I actually started work on this... I think in the fall of 2011 in Elkhart Indiana. I know I hauled it around to a few places intending to work on it, but not getting too far into it. (Wow-Has it really been two years since I started working on this? I remember that trip fondly because I drove from Elkhart IN to South Hampton MA for my cousin's wedding!). Anyway, Drop Pod #2 has seen many miles and many hotel rooms, yet failed to gather much paint! Haha!

These  first two pics where taken on 2/12/2013 while on my last business trip to Nashville and utilizing the Portable Neverness Kit.

In this first pic, you can see that I was starting on the first layer of mid-tones on the doors, and I had, crudely, hand painted the Wolf Guard icons on the exterior fins. I recall that I painted on this kit for awhile before stopping to write a blog post using my work laptop. Often back then I would post from the road as time was too precious and fleeting at home, and posting from the road helped to take my mind away from the trivialities of work. And it was fun!

This was as far as I got with that night, and few weeks later I switched jobs and now I don't travel like I did. As a result, I have not touched this kit or the Portable Neverness kit instead painting either random things for a day or two, or focusing on my WHFB Orcs.

Last Saturday, that changed. I was planning on spending the evening at my girlfriend's place, and she had to go to sleep early in order to get up to go to work (we're talking 4am-early) and I wasn't going to disturb her rest! So, what to do... and there was the Portable Neverness kit with the Drop Pod box on it, so I said :what the heck," took a snap-shot of the open doors of  Drop Pod #1 for reference, grabbed up the kits, and after spending a lovely evening with my gal, I then worked on this project well into the night.

A model being a model! 

 I finished all the mid-tones on the exterior pieces, as well as tightened up the Wolf Guard patterns on the fins.

I then clipped and assembled the doors. This is a kit where rubber-bands are definitely your friend!

And finally I further tightened up the Wolf Guard Pack markings and painted them with Bad Moon Yellow.

All done by hand, no ruling, templates, etc. 

Not bad for a late evening's focus. I haven't had much time this past week for anything hobby related as I have been focused on studying for a major work-related test. But last night, I repeated what I did in the previous week and made some more progress. This next pic shows where I added more to the mid tones on the doors and to the interior floor.

And this one shows more progress on the doors particularly where I added the thinned washes and dabs of Space Wolf Grey before tightening it up with solid Space Wolf Grey.

I didn't take a pic of the fins where I went and added metallic colors to some of the metal bits on it. The rest of the interior parts I will try to do at home once I have completed this study course for work.

All in all, I'm excited again about this drop pod, and hope to make more progress on it soon!