Drop Pod: Monotonous Details

After completing my third tactical squad, my plan was to put the Ultramarines down for a while and start working on my 1,000 point Eldar list. I didn't have the Dire Avengers I was supposed to be building, so my wife suggested that I finally finish that drop pod she bought me a few Christmases ago. Right now, her Eldar have been pushed back a bit. I'm going to finish this drop pod before delving into the Eldar once more.

At its current progress, the doors and floor are almost ready to be sealed and glued together. All I have to do is the center section on 4 of the 5 doors and I can start sealing and gluing.

When finished, the other doors will have Ultramarine symbols as well.

The metal lines on the inside of the doors were very monotonous.

Having gotten this far in the painting process, I'm reminded why I like playing troop-heavy armies and why I dislike painting vehicles. Transferring my Ultramarines' painting technique to vehicles means that I had to take extra time putting the black lining into the metal areas of the doors. I paint slow enough as it is, but applying my processes to such a large model is just so monotonous. The benefit, however, is that it should match quite well with the rest of the army and so far I'm really liking the outcome.

If any of my readers here are getting discouraged from painting such repetitive details, keep at it! I just recently got through a very difficult spot on these doors and I'm quite pleased with how it turned out despite how long it took to accomplish it. Looking back at all the repetitive details that I've already accomplished helps keep me motivated to continue. Take a look at what I mean!

Painting repetitive details pays off in the long run!

Another problem I've discovered is in my harness section. This was a section that I put together a long time ago, right when I got the model. When I put it together, I wasn't thinking about how I was going to paint it. Now I'm paying for it.

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I think it'll look really good after it's completed, sealed, and glued in place. Right now, however, I keep dwelling on the fact that I should not have assembled it as much as I have before painting it. If anyone is reading this and thinking about buying their first drop pod, put together the center section and the five harness sections, then paint them independently. To do it all together is almost more trouble than its worth.

Needless to say, I won't ever be playing a drop pod list. Also, if I ever decide to paint another drop pod, I'll assemble it differently so that its easier to paint. In the end, I think it'll all be worth it. I think this drop pod is going to look pretty sweet when its done.

Have you ever worked on a model with monotonous details? How'd you get through it (or did you)? Have you ever assembled a model in such a way that made it harder to paint? What'd you do?