Holding Patterns

    My test print of the 1:1200 Steam Launch arrived in the mail today. I've been anxiously awaiting it so I could compare it to one of the old plastic Aphids for sizing. I was also concerned about the thickness (actually thinness) of some of the elements. Here are a few quick shots I took this evening.

    I had the printer leave the support system in place to help with future designs. It's always good to see how either the machine or the operator decides to position the model.

    One of the details I was worried about was the depth of the portholes. You can see in the last two photos that they are printing quite well.

    The ventilation tubes, fins and the forward gun mount also printed well. I left the gun off of this build to get a feel for the actual printed size of the mount.

    Here's a shot of the Steam Launch and the plastic Aphid from the old boxed set. I have to look up the lengths of the ship and compare them to see if the size ratios are correct. I can tweak the Launch 3D model either way for the final print.

    I'm also left with a lot of decisions about how to bulk up certain parts so they will actually be castable. The fins and sidewalls are less than 1/2 a millimeter thick. I'll need add thickness there and I'm thinking about repositioning the air ducts and thickening them so they cast more easily. The gun mount will probably need some extra bulk with the actual gun just being suggested since it's so small. The last thickness concern is top to bottom along the hull. I'm probably going to need to thicken the whole model in the z axis by 10-20% to end up with the actual thickness I want.

    So... back to the drawing board for me when I get the chance. But for the next week or two I need to focus on commission work and get it out the door.

Not so long ago, on a painting table fairly close by...

    ...some vaguely familiar space guys were finished.

    The master casts were delivered at Historicon. Production molds should be finished this week. I expect to have them here by the 15th. We'll see how that goes.

    Meanwhile for my next trick...

Remounts for All

    After the last flurry of sculpting I settled down to finish up several more pieces that have been on the table a while. The next master mold will include remounts for several projects.

    The first is a new pony for the Goblin Factory halfling cavalry. Taking a 15mm horse and modifying it slightly really didn't give satisfactory results. So a new sculpt was commissioned.

    The halfling on the left is on the original pony. The center is on the work in progress sculpt. The horse on the right is a standard 28mm horse for size comparison. The new sculpt is slightly larger and more in synch with the style of the halflings. Hopefully it will be a good replacement.

    The start of the second project was blogged several months ago. I want a series of 15mm horses to be used in future projects that require mounts. This is another WIP shot. The legs have a general shape and the bases have been added.

    The plan is to do a series of 12 horses. Three standing, three walking, three running and three in some other extreme poses. Maybe rearing, jumping, whatever. I'll put each set on a production mold for sale as plain horses and for use in other projects that require tack and harness.

    The last set of remounts is for the Space: 1889 line. I've added basic tack and harness to the gashant for the British and Martian cavalry.

    I'm sculpting an accessory sprue that will have a rifle boot, canteen and a couple of other bags that can be glued in place wherever the customer desires. Due to mold issues with the thickness of the gashant and the thinness of the sprue, the accessories will probably be added to the rider packs.

    The latest series of Space: 1889 ebooks has a bit more on the gashant. It suggests that they have claws in the wild that are removed by more civilized folk when the beasts are young to make them easier to handle. So there is also a sprue with claws planned that will be added to the Hill Martian cavalry packs. These will have a socket that glues onto the existing stubs. It's not a perfect solution, but it minimizes mold making problems and  extra costs.

Time for Terrain

    At Fall In last year, I had the pleasure of sharing my space with Ken from Proxie Models. As payment I wanted some of his products for my personal use. I ended up purchasing several more sets to help fill in a Pavlov's house Stalingrad board I've been building. I'm not sure if I'll ever finish it, but it gave me a way to rationalize several purchases at the time.

   I picked up some corner ruins (Link: Corner Ruins) and another set that I don't see listed now. The come packaged as two sprues with each sprue building a corner piece.

    While cleaning them I examined them. I sat them on a shelf and looked at them once in a while for several months. Finally last week I wanted to fill out a ruin for a test game of Tomorrow's War. So I spent an hour cutting, trimming and gluing 14 sections together.

    The first thing I noticed was that the individual pieces were very sturdy. They were also easy to separate from the sprue and trim. The problem I found was in the design of the corners. Brickwork wrapped around both edges and one ends up gluing brick faces to the back edge of one side piece. This is a minor issue and if I weren't seeing how quickly I could get these done, I would have spent extra time sanding one edge, filling the gaps and carving new detail where it was needed. You can see what I mean in the picture below. A minor detail, but one of those things I'd prefer a designer think through and not pass on to the consumer.

 

    Now for the disclaimer. I did not do any priming or painting for the test game. The models just went on the table as black plastic pieces. They served the purpose, but I really was anxious to see how they painted. So about the middle of this week I primed them. They take primer very well and the job was about an hour all told including drying time.

    I selected one corner to paint with test colors and see how quickly they could be done. The interior was painted with pale drab colors. The floor piece is a little clunky looking, but the details in the interior are simple and effectively get the point across that this building has taken some damage.

    The exterior was painted red brick with a light grey mortar. I slopped paint on as quickly as I could for the base coat. Washed it all with brown drawing ink and highlighted some areas. The final touch was a little weathering with a dusty red pastel rubbed on with my fingers. The over all effect was quite good.

    One thing does bother me, though. The scaling of the windows is off. They're the size of doors for 15mm guys. It's another one of those minor details that could have been addressed in the design process. That said, I'm still very happy with these buildings and will definitely buy more products from Proxie Models. They're very reasonably priced at $4 for two corners. They are durable and easy to make look good with only a few hours of work.

    I like to have reminders of things to do or not to do around me. So I'll leave this first model as is, but I'm going to go back to the others and fill that crazy gap before I paint it. It shouldn't add much time to the process and the end result will be even nicer.

Hogzilla Makes a Friend

    I slowed down a little after last week's flurry of activity. Took some time to enjoy the fourth with friends, watch some films with ma'honey and go shooting yesterday morning. But I wasn't totally idle. I wrapped up a few more pieces that have been on the table for a while and another that was started last week.

    The first is a wild Spanish pig.

    I've taken a shot with Hogzilla for comparison. Hogzilla is 15mm high at the top of his back ridge. The pigs will most likely be sold as a separate pack to be used with whatever game you wish. Hogzilla will be added to a pack of redneck hunters. I'll have to get them sculpted and ready for sale in late August. At least that's the plan.

    The second set is the High Queens behind the wardrobe.

    I've photographed them with a Splintered Light mouse warrior for comparison. These are sculpted for use with 28mm miniatures. I'm not sure exactly how they will be sold or by whom yet.

    The last few items I wrapped up were Big Momma, the ZHuh ZHuh gang leader and a helmet and blaster sprue for some minions in white to shoot at my space pals. I'll post pics of them when their sets are complete.