Tag Archives: 28mm

Dreadball Battle Foam Review

I love Dreadball.  I’m almost done painting both teams, just the 4 human strikers left unpainted.  The box insert that come with the game has places for everything, including the minis, but it lets them move around and bump into each other.  To remedy this, Battle Foam sells a kit that is specifically for Dreadball, and fits in the game box.

The imaginatively titled Dreadball Foam Kit For Game Box is $37.99 and comes with 2 foam trays. Only one of the trays will fit in the box at a time.  I’m not quite sure why it comes with two.  Just one tray will fit 4 teams, cards, dice, tokens, balls, and the ref.  What do I do with the other tray?

That said, the foam is very nice.  The bottom is a dense, stiff foam, and the top part is a softer foam.  It fits in the box well, and has a space for the game cards.  There are many different sized spaces, so you can fit everything into an appropriate space, including the dice, tokens, etc.

The foam is just slightly too tall, however.  Once the board is placed on top, there’s not quite enough room for the rulebook, or the roster pad.

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Here’s the foam tray in the game box.

 

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This is how much the rulebook sticks out when the game board is placed on top of the foam tray.  It’s not too bad.  Once the lid is on, it’s hard to tell.  However, there is no room at all for the roster pad.

 

One last, minor complaint: it takes a while for your order to show up.  I ordered directly from Battle Foam on June 5th, and my order arrived June 19th.  To be fair, they do warn you about that on their website.

Pros:

  • Fits in the box
  • Has a spot for the cards, and other spaces will hold dice, etc.
  • Can fit 4 full teams
  • Sturdy construction
  • I feel my minis are safe

Cons:

  • Why 2 trays?  I’d prefer just the one tray and a cheaper price
  • A bit too tall, the rulebook sticks out a little.
  • No space for the roster pad

Overall, I’m happy with it.  I suppose I can use the 2nd tray later this year when my Deadzone gear arrives.  More importantly, the minis I spent hours painting are protected, and everything (except the roster pad) still fits in the box, more or less, with a lot less rattling around.

 

Dreadball Human Team Part 1

Yesterday, I started on the Human team that comes with Dreadball.  Today, I painted the 2 guards. They were a test for my color scheme, and I’m happy with it.  The light blue didn’t come out very strong, but I’m good with that.

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The assembled models.  From left to right:  a striker (there are 4), jack (there are 4), and guard (there are 2).

 

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I primed all the models, and washed them.  This is so I can play the game with them, even before they are painted.

Today, I painted the 2 guards. I had half a plan when I started, and it evolved as I went.  That’s pretty much how I paint most things.

This is a guard basecoated and ready for a wash.

 

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I washed it very heavily in black.  When it was dry I highlighted and drybrushed it.

Next, I need to apply the number decal, then spray on a few coats of Dullcote varnish.  The Dullcote puts the finishing touch on it, plus it protects the paint.  I just love how minis look after a coat of Dullcote. It’s hard to describe, but they just look “finished”.  After that, I’ll put just a dab of Citadel’s ‘Ardcoat on the eyes to make them shiny.

Then it’s 2 down, 8 to go!

Dreadball Orx / Goblins team painted

After hearing such great things about Dreadball on the Meeples & Miniatures podcast, I decided to pick it up.  It’s around $55 on Amazon.com, which is way less than the $75 MSRP.

I have not played yet, but I’ve read the rules, and it seems pretty straightforward.  The main holdup it that it took me 3 weeks to paint just one team!  I usually paint 15mm, and these are 28mm, with the giant Orx guards more like 35mm.  I was very surprised by how much longer it took to paint this larger scale.

Now that one team is done, I’m going to assemble, prime and wash the other team, and start playing.  Then I’ll paint that team gradually, so that I can actually play the game sometime this month.

The time it took aside, I’m really happy with the way they came out.  Here’s some pics along with my comments:

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This is how they come straight out of the box.  They are a plastic resin – not quite resin, and not quite plastic.

 

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Sorted into the pieces for each figure.

 

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The Orx / Goblins, ref and balls assembled and primed.  Everything fit fine.  No trimming or bending was needed.

I did clean up a lot of mold lines and some flash.  I used a file on the mold lines, and it did not file as cleanly as metal.  As some point I decided I was doing more harm than good, and just left the mold lines.

In hindsight, any “damage” I did was easily covered by the paint, but the mold lines I left are still visible.  So I wish I had proceeded to clean up the rest of the mold lines.  Too late now.

 

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I did one Orx first, to make sure my plan was going to look OK.  You can see the other 3 Orx in progress.

 

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Goblins in progress.

 

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Goblins basecoated and drybrushed, ready for a wash.

 

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After a wash and highlights.

 

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The back, with the number decal.  I bought the official decals from Mantic, for , I think, $1.99.

 

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Completed Orx.

 

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The back of the Orx with the number decal.

 

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The whole Orx / Goblin team, along with the ref and balls.

 

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Here is the size of the different figures.

 

I learned a lot painting these figures, my first foray into a scale that’s not 15mm.  Also, my first dealings with resin / plastic.  I’d assembled and painted 1 vehicle in the past that was a mix of resin and metal, but these were my first all resin minis.