Universal, small, and quite effective, the Cyberpunk Red Combat Zone Drone Set 1 adds drones and robotic unit options to add to your gang. Whether you opt for a hovering support weapon, a deadly melee robot, or hacking help, this expansion adds a few neat options for how you want to support your team.
Monster Fight Club
Cyberpunk Red: Combat Zone is a fast-paced, miniature skirmish game from Monster Fight Club. Set in the high-tech dystopia of the Cyberpunk RPG universe created by Mike Pondsmith, Cyberpunk Red: Combat Zone opens up a new way for players to create stories and combat in the universe. Crafted by veteran tabletop game creators, Combat Zone uses the [RE]action Dice System for organic, free-flowing gameplay interactions; no rounds, no turns—the game just goes!
Unboxing
The bag includes 8 miniatures, including 2x Crab Drones, 2x Gun Drones, 2x Bell Bumblebee Remote Rotocraft, a ‘My First Drone GRAF3’, and one Savannah Panther robot. There are bases for each model, as well as black flight stands to use for the drones. You get corresponding character cards, plus 2 Program Cards and 2 Gear Cards.
Assembling Your Models
Prepping Your Models & The Tools
GamingTrend has put together a handy guide for you to follow for how best to clean, clip, and assemble your models, regardless of the game. While the materials for the models may be different between games (plastic, resin, metal, etc.), there are simple techniques you can use to help make your painting experience go that much smoother.
Alec Kozak
Additionally, if you are new to painting and are not sure what brushes or tools you need, check out the article. This is just a starting place, and every painter has different preferences and recommendations. These are my recommendations based on the last decade or so of painting, and I hope you find them helpful!
For this tutorial, I have included a visual guide (below) of the paints I used for the miniatures so you have an easily accessible list to refer to if you need to go shopping. Many paints are used for multiple figures, so a single bottle of each will be more than enough.
To quickly paint up the figures and bases, I used double-sided tape on the minis and kept the bases separate.
The assembly is really simple. The Bumblebee Drones come in two parts, and the Gun Drones and Panther have some weapons with pegs. For the flight stands, while the black opaque ones are totally fine, I opted to upgrade them with a clear acrylic peg (3mm diameter) and a conical base that I designed in Tinkercad and printed off in SLA resin. I glued the flight stand holder to the base so that I could prime the entire base the same color.
Painting Your Miniatures
The Paint Plan
Every miniature painting project I do, I start with a plan. Even before putting the primer and paint on a model, I find photo references of the paint schemes and details I am looking for. Most times, this means having a browser window up with different web pages and images next to my painting area, so I can quickly refer to them as I paint. I also come up with a paint plan, choosing what colors I am going to use and what order I apply them in.
These drones are small and likely going to see intermittent play on the table, especially if I am playing through a campaign or narrative event. While the models have a lot of detail, the goal is to paint them quickly and get them ready for the table as fast as possible. They’re metal, so metallic primer and silver drybrushing is going to be my friend.
Remember that done is better than perfect!
Priming
In general terms, getting the majority of a color for a model applied via a rattle can or airbrush saves a lot of time. Typically, I prime all of the figures with a zenithal prime, using a base coat of Rustoleum Flat Black, and use Citadel Leadbelcher and Army Painter Daemonic Yellow (for the GRAF3, of course!) Now all of this could be applied via brush, but since I have these rattle can colors, I went ahead and just did a quick spray.
SLAPCHOP METHOD
For these pieces, I chose to take a variation of the “slapchop” approach for them. Slapchop is a painting method where you accent the details of the models by dry brushing shades of gray and white. Then, using speed paints, contrast paints, and/or washes, you paint a single coat over the top of the model, creating shadows, mid-tones, and highlights in a single pass. This would be akin to using Multiply or Screen layers in Photoshop to establish color values on a gray underlayer. This is a very fast and efficient way to paint a lot of models that you don’t want to put a lot of detail into, and instead rely on the mold of the model to provide enough detail and contrast to make it stand out on the table.
Step-by-Step Painting
Priming handled at least 70% of the work, which made the rest of the process go very quickly. to help streamline my workflow, I started with drybrushing Citadel Averland sunset over the bumblebees. I didn't worry about being accurate because I planned on going back over the blades with black. For the crab drones/bumblebees/panther and Graf3, I applied Army Painter Dark Tone and Citadel Agrax Earthshade, respectively, to add some depth with shading. After that dried, I used Citadel Yriel Yellow as a drybrush on the Graf3 and Bumblebees. I applied some Black Templar to Panther's armor to give it a little bit more variation.
Next, I used Citadel Necron Compound to drybrush the crab drones, panther, and gun drones. I realized I should have blacked out the bumblebee blades at this stage, to make my workflow a little more efficient, but it was a quick fix.
The last parts were the lights for details. For the Crab Drones, I first used a little white for the lights and then applied the blue and green contrast. This gave the glass a little more depth to it than just using a simple blue or green paint. A little bit of color goes a long way, so I did my best to keep the details some for the lights and eyes.
And with that, they were done! It took 2 hours to complete, with most the time waiting on primer and washes to dry.
Basing
For the Cyberpunk theme, I wanted to keep the basing basic. The 3D printed texture on the base is pretty close to asphalt or grimy concrete, so I just did a little bit of dry-brushing of Citadel Stormfang, although any gray or dark blue would work here. You can also add in road markings, or designs from a warehouse or loading zone, or even just leave it black. You can also apply texture paints if you want. More often than not, I do the basing at the very end because, as you can see from the Contrast paints, paint tends to get on the base.
Sealing
As I do with all of the models I paint that I also play, I applied a protective clear coating over the paint. This helps preserve the paint on the model and keeps oils from hands from rubbing off the paint as you continuously touch the models during games. There are many different kinds of clear varnishes to use, but I typically use matte or anti-shine varnishes, as satin, semi-gloss, and gloss tend to distort the colors of the models (not to mention that most models aren’t supposed to be shiny).
Brands that have been reliable for me are Krylon Matte Clear Spray, Rustoleum Matte Clear Coat, which is slightly glossy, and Testors Dullcote, although the latter can be expensive and difficult to find. For a coat with no shine that really enhances the colors, I use AK Interactive’s Ultra Matte Varnish, applied with an airbrush.
Painted and Ready for Play
Paints Used:
- Crab Drones - Army Painter Dark Tone, Drybrush Necron Compound, MH Titanium White, Citadel Striking Scorpion, Citadel Frostheart
- Mini Graf3 - Agrax Earthshade, Drybrush Yriel Yellow, Citadel Black Templar, Citadel Moot Green. You can check out our guide for the larger GRAF3, which was used for this one, just scaled down.
- Bumblebee Bee - Averland Sunset, Army Painter Dark Tone, Drybrush Yriel Yellow, Drybrush Necron Compound, Citadel Evil Sunz Scarlet.
- Panther - Citadel Black Templar, Army Painter Dark Tone, Drybrush Necron Compound, Citadel Evil Sunz Scarlet.
- Gun Drone - Drybrush Necron Compound, Citadel Moot Green, Citadel Evil Sunz Scarlet
Previously, I covered how to paint the big Graf3. I used the same colors here, but it a much smaller capacity.
Alec Kozak
Impressions
What I liked
These models are so quick and easy to paint. I could have definitely spent more time on details, but with some quick shading, drybrushing, and color dots for lights, I made them look the part easily. In total, from build to finished painting, the whole batch took me maybe 90 minutes of work. I am also very happy with how the flight stands turned out, and am glad I used the clear pegs instead of the opaque black printed plastic.
What I didn't like
The Crab Drones have very tiny connection points for their feet, and they barely fit onto the base. So I did a little extra gluing on them, which lost the pointiness of their little legs. I also could have spent a little more time on the panther, but since the goal was to quick-paint everything, he came out looking a little flat.
What I would do differently next time
I am really happy with how quickly these were painted up. If I were to paint them up again, I would likely paint them up in a scheme that matches the gang they will be a part of (Maelstrom, Zetatech, Bozos, etc. etc.) To keep them universal, I think keeping them to box art colors makes the most sense.
Final Assessment
This expansion is a great addition to the game. They’re easy to paint and get ready for combat in Night City! Depending on how the games go, I may even get a second set for additional loadouts and options for painting. For the size of the models, they have a lot of great details to them that, with very little effort, you can make pop!
Have you painted Cyberpunk Red: Combat Zone miniatures yet? Share your work with us!
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