WIP: War Machine (Dragon Models)

A "proof of concept," if you will, to get a feel for Dragon's Iron Man armor kits before starting on the ones I really want to do my best on.


I have a handful of Iron Man armor kits made by Dragon, and in theory, I know exactly the methodology behind how I want to build and paint them, but I still haven't built one in practice. So I'm starting with War Machine, a moderately complex kit, but one of those if I mess it up irreparably, I won't feel too bad about ruining it.

I started by snipping out all of the pieces and test fitting them loosely. This helps me plan what areas will be better pre-built, or left as sub-assemblies, or just be a general pain in the rear.

After the test fit party, I realized that the skeleton that holds the kit together isn't visible, which is odd, considering there's weird detail put on it. So I assembled it and primed it black, just in case parts of it can be viewed through cracks in the armor, so it won't be visible.

Next, I knew the mid-section would be my first headache. Mainly, because it has to go on before anything else, but that creates problems with the upper torso and hip sections, because they create major seam lines. I can't mask the mid section prior to assembling, because once the torso is built, its a tight fit, and I won't be able to remove the tape if I mask, THEN build...but if I build before I paint, there are unreachable areas of the mid section.

So, the only option I saw, based on how I do what I do, was to paint the mid section immediately. I started by priming black, then a quick spray of Alclad White Aluminum, and after it dried for a day, I masked off the areas to remain pure metal, and sprayed Alclad Gun Metal (which is a great color, btw).

After painted and gluing those sections together, I then glued the torso and hip sections. Next step is to putty! Thanks for stopping by!