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Well, it's pretty much decided. I hate Drop Pods. I love the model, love how it looks, but of man, Is painting it a drag.

If you think about it, A Rhino has 5 large surfaces to paint. With the Pods, well... each of the 5 buttresses has 2 sides, as does each of the doors. That makes 20. Call the base 1 more, the upper central node although small, is 7 sided and quite detailed, so we 'll call that the equivalent of 2 more there to be conservative. That makes for the equivalent of 23 large surfaces, or almost 5 Rhinos, but wait, you're still not done. The seats for the marines are just as detailed or more than most miniatures, and are highly detailed on both sides, so we'll call that a squad of 5 marines, to be conservative. but combine the bit extra spillover work there with some of the unaccounted for large surfaces, and I think It's safe to bump that to 10 minis. Then, you've got the hub the seats attach to, which is 6 sided and also very detailed, we can call that a Character model.

So I think it's quite safe to say That with the time and effort you put in to one Drop Pod, You could paint two 5 man squads, 5 Rhinos, and a Character

Granted, I have been working on other things in the meantime, but the one I am currently working on has been in process for months... I'm almost done, and I'm faced with the decision of whether I want to do any detail on the 10 little monitor screens... I tend to be slow and purposeful with my painting, and try to do things to the highest level i'm able, so i fear I may not be able to help myself...

I've got 2 more to go for the Battle Company list I'm working towards (not to mention 2 Rhinos and 6 Razorbacks). I think for the third one, I will skip the hub and seats and call it a Dreadnought Pod, although it will only rarely be used that way.

I just wanted to get that off my chest.

Just paint them glued shut, since the open doors have no gaming purpose anyhow. Also, if you allow the doors top open/close, the paint just rubs off, so I tend to paint them either permanently open or permanently closed.

Ahh, a fellow drop pod hater! So much anger on those damn things. I’ve built/painted 3.

One of my 3 I left the central pillar and harnesses out. Dreads don’t need them, and it saves a lot of work.

I do my painting with a fuzzy stick, but large surfaces could use an airbrush. Or at least a colored spray coat. Vehicles are just so tedious. One more things that makes pods so much worse then rhinos is that they are not just solid blocks of color though. Even if I could have base sprayed, I’d still have to go back and paint the panels and edge everything.

But they are sooooooo nice on the tabletop. The gamer part of me wants to get two more, so I can do more/larger drop lists. But the painter/modeler part of me keeps a lid on those crazy thoughts with threats of violence.

One of my happier hobby moments was when my third pod was finished and came online.

You don't paint the inside of the rhino? Are you some kind of savage?

A smart savage

If the inside is open and accessible, I’ll paint it.

Some of my rhinos are glued shut. Some are open.

Any new ones get the glue. Tanks are tedious enough just doing the outside.

I just assemble the top part with the fins separate from the bottom and doors. Then I paint both and shove them together. I never understood why people have issues with painting things like the insides of drop pods or behind weapons on a marine..just paint it THEN put it on the model..it's not hard..

I can understand completely about Drop Pods. I only have 1, and technically it's not completely finished. Needs some touchup work. Pods are just not very fun to paint or assemble. Thing is, I really should look into getting a couple more of them at some point, especially if I want to build toward full Battle Company for my Dark Angels.

As for painting interior on vehicles, I've done one (poorly). I really don't think it's worth it unless you are a truly gifted painter. You really won't see much during a game even if the doors on the vehicle open.

It probably doesn't make sense to paint a lot of vehicle interiors, but I think it's rewarding to paint *some* It's not really hard if you paint your vehicles in pieces, then assemble them. On the other hand, some vehicles are a lot easier to paint assembled, so there's that.

When I do Rhino-chassis tanks (and Land Raiders) with painted interiors, I semi-assemble them, so that the floor and walls are glued to one side. I prime everything, but only basecoat and paint the interior. Once the interior is done, I shut it all up and glue it together, then basecoat the outside and have at it.

For Drop Pods, if I'm doing the interior, I do all the fins and doors separately; it's just way easier that way. For the center thing, I do the column and the harnesses, and then glue them together post-paint.

This land raider interior (the picture at the bottom) was painted and photographed half assembled -- otherwise, there's no way I could have gotten lighting to it like that. Sadly, now that it's all put together, it's very hard to see all that nice interior

Painting interiors is a must for me... I just have to do it, even if no one will ever see it.

I've done on Land Raiders:


Rhinos:


Drop Pods:


And even a Stormraven:

ScootyPuffJunior, you are a sick, sick man. But that is AMAZING.

Scooty, that is a nice Land Raider interior! Love it

Oh my. Scooty, quality work!

 Talys wrote:
Just paint them glued shut, since the open doors have no gaming purpose anyhow. Also, if you allow the doors top open/close, the paint just rubs off, so I tend to paint them either permanently open or permanently closed.

whenever somebody uses closed pods I just assume everybody is able to freely shoot through them. Because its just a dick move to glue them shut so nobody can shoot through them anymore...

Aeri wrote:

 Talys wrote:
Just paint them glued shut, since the open doors have no gaming purpose anyhow. Also, if you allow the doors top open/close, the paint just rubs off, so I tend to paint them either permanently open or permanently closed.

whenever somebody uses closed pods I just assume everybody is able to freely shoot through them. Because its just a dick move to glue them shut so nobody can shoot through them anymore...

There have been pages of arguments on this topic. Some people say the doors should block LoS because pods are like any other vehicle, other people say that the doors should be true line of sight, other people just give a cover roll to make it simpler, and still other people allow pods to open some doors but not others. Not that it really matters, but I recall that during the GW Throne of Skulls tournament, they were played as true line of sight, but you could choose which doors you opened when the pod was deployed, but not manipulate them afterwards.

In games I've played, it's not totally consistent. Some groups play it with a 5+ cover save (as if the target were behind terrain); others consider it LoS blocking. But either way, the idea is to keep the game moving, rather than to argue about whether an elbow can see a toe if you aim a laser pointer just so

Aeri wrote:

 Talys wrote:
Just paint them glued shut, since the open doors have no gaming purpose anyhow. Also, if you allow the doors top open/close, the paint just rubs off, so I tend to paint them either permanently open or permanently closed.

whenever somebody uses closed pods I just assume everybody is able to freely shoot through them. Because its just a dick move to glue them shut so nobody can shoot through them anymore...

We play it as a 5+ cover save for intervening models in my group. Seems to be the fairest way to do it. That way you don't have to sit there and open all those doors and people with glued shut doors are okay too.

When I assembled my pod I just took out the interior assembly, although now I think I might just glue the entire thing shut and be done with it. I wanted to use the interior orb thingy to make a literal thunder fire cannon (think tesla coil on tracks).

 ZergSmasher wrote:
We play it as a 5+ cover save for intervening models in my group. Seems to be the fairest way to do it. That way you don't have to sit there and open all those doors and people with glued shut doors are okay too.

Yeah, that represents probably 90% of the games I've played. It's just way easier. About 3/4 of the players I run into build most of their drop pods shut, and probably almost every one that has some sort of "drop pod army" (eg 7+ pods).

I really don't think painting them shut is a big deal or some kind of model to win.

 MechaEmperor7000 wrote:
When I assembled my pod I just took out the interior assembly, although now I think I might just glue the entire thing shut and be done with it. I wanted to use the interior orb thingy to make a literal thunder fire cannon (think tesla coil on tracks).

I found some guide that I followed on my one, worked really well.

Assemble the doors and the bottom section/floor
Assemble the side fins and engine thing at the top
Assemble the interior

So then you have 3 pieces that are all stable (and a total bitch to hold) that can be painted individually without too much of a drama.

Magnetising the doors is also pretty straightforward, and can be done after painting

kb_lock wrote:

 MechaEmperor7000 wrote:
When I assembled my pod I just took out the interior assembly, although now I think I might just glue the entire thing shut and be done with it. I wanted to use the interior orb thingy to make a literal thunder fire cannon (think tesla coil on tracks).

I found some guide that I followed on my one, worked really well.

Assemble the doors and the bottom section/floor
Assemble the side fins and engine thing at the top
Assemble the interior

So then you have 3 pieces that are all stable (and a total bitch to hold) that can be painted individually without too much of a drama.

Magnetising the doors is also pretty straightforward, and can be done after painting

This is basically what I do. It just made more sense to me to assemble things in parts so everything can be easily painted.

 Talys wrote:
Just paint them glued shut, since the open doors have no gaming purpose anyhow. Also, if you allow the doors top open/close, the paint just rubs off, so I tend to paint them either permanently open or permanently closed.

I love the way they look open too much


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 mmzero252 wrote:
I just assemble the top part with the fins separate from the bottom and doors. Then I paint both and shove them together. I never understood why people have issues with painting things like the insides of drop pods or behind weapons on a marine..just paint it THEN put it on the model..it's not hard..

Mine isn't fully assembled yet, it's not accessing the areas that's the problem for me, it's the sheer volume of surfaces and detail.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 ScootyPuffJunior wrote:
Painting interiors is a must for me... I just have to do it, even if no one will ever see it.

That's some really great work there! I can relate. I think I will do the interior of the Razorback that my HQ choice and his squad will be in. As for the rest... I've just got too many to do for that to be practical. Because the Drop Pods open and stay open, I feel like I have to do the interiors. When I get around to getting my Black Templars Detachment together with a Land Raider Crusader, I couldn't possibly let that beautiful interior go unpainted. I think both in that case and that of the HQ Razorback, I might wanna kit them out with some LED's too.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

Aeri wrote:

 Talys wrote:
Just paint them glued shut, since the open doors have no gaming purpose anyhow. Also, if you allow the doors top open/close, the paint just rubs off, so I tend to paint them either permanently open or permanently closed.

whenever somebody uses closed pods I just assume everybody is able to freely shoot through them. Because its just a dick move to glue them shut so nobody can shoot through them anymore...

I'm just waiting for the day that I drop one close enough to some terrain or something that one or two of the doors physically can't open, and then my opponent tries to tell me 20-40% of my squad can't get out, haha.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

kb_lock wrote:

I found some guide that I followed on my one, worked really well.

Assemble the doors and the bottom section/floor
Assemble the side fins and engine thing at the top
Assemble the interior

So then you have 3 pieces that are all stable (and a total bitch to hold) that can be painted individually without too much of a drama.

Magnetising the doors is also pretty straightforward, and can be done after painting

For mine, I assmbled the top central node with weapon, assembled the bottom and doors, assembled the central hub, and assembled the 5 dual harnesses separately. I'm expecting it to go together pretty easilly when I'm done, althogh I may have to remove a little paint from some of the areas where the joins are. I.mm finding that with a little paint on the doors they keep them selves upright/ shut very nicely, and the area where the paint might rub off is painted a shade of the Mechanicus Grey, which is almost identical to the plastic anyway, so you really don't notice.