Invaders from the Planet IKEA - Scourge Despoiler Heavy Dropship

Having just spent some time defending Dropzone Commander on the matter of price, it seems a bit unwise to look at one of the most expensive models in the range.

The Scourge (think horrible Aliens) Despoiler Heavy Dropship is quite a piece of work. It comes as a 27 part kit in lightweight resin. I can hear the short intake of breath at the number of parts, but the vast majority ate the 18 "shelves" which in pairs support the nine medium or six heavy grav tanks that make up the standard load, stacked vertically for easy deployment. When the players saw this model it was quickly knick-named the Vertical CD Rack of Doom, and I'm sure you will be able to see why. Like the other Heavy Drpoships, the Despoiler isn't really essential, in fact you can argue it is a bit of a risk putting all those eggs in one basket, but it does look good and adds a bit of survivability in comparison to a Medium Dropship.

Cleanup of the resin parts was very easy - snips and an emery board purloined from Mrs Renko were all that was needed. There was some minor bowing on one of the vertical supports, which was fixed by a quick hot water bath followed by a cold water plunge, and there is a minor bubble in one of the engine assemblies which will need a tiny amount of filling before painting. The resin used is very light but easy to work with and takes paint well, very much a wonder material compared with some I have contended with over the years. I should mention that the heavy dropship models seem to be the only ones I ever have any moulding or casting issues with, usually bubbles which need filling. This does not happen in my experience with the smaller models, s it may be something to do with the production process.

I drilled and magnetised the chin turret using 2x1mm magnets - not really needed but I gave got used to doing it and being able to pose the turret is "kewl".

Everything then stuck together quickly and cleanly using cheap £ shop superglue. I've not fixed the "shelves" in yet as I need to make my mind up which payload this will take. I'm thinking of going for the full 9 Mediums as this looks pretty good loaded up. In the pic she is just resting on the stand, when finished there is a little "widget" that fixes underneath and keeps everything nice and steady

I'll get some pics of the beasty once she is painted up and loaded

One last point. Although the RRP on this is £20, the larger Dropzone models do appear regularly on ebay for much less. I paid £11 for mine, so was doubly happy.