Well I went to the craft (read beads) shop at lunch and have some 'ideas'
on cheap starships for FT/2nd from plastic and wood beads (real stones
go for my jewelry and besides, cost too much at these sizes.)
Question:
Given the measurements (approximate) I was provided by a fellow gamer as
follows
SC: 1cm FF: 2cm DD: 3cm CL: 5cm CH: 6cm BC: 7cm BB: 8cm DN: 10cm SDN: 15cm
CVH: 17cm
Would beads (especially round ones) be passable at about 67-75% of these
lengths due to increased mass (or appearance of same?) In other words,
assuming a base 'main body bead' of a 16mm wood beads (with seed beads -
those 'way too tiny' jobs some people sew on clothes - glued on for
'turrets, sensor arrays, etc.') seem 'in scale'?
Mostly I am thinking of cylinder or spherical wood/plastic beads as main
body with other beads (squares, tubes, pinwheels, barrels, and/or
cones) glued on front, back or sides to give 'functional form' to the ship's
shape. Mounted on wire/rod part of the base.
For example a 16mm Wood bead (large compared to the 'normal' beads in
jewelry) with assorted add-ons - would it pass reasonable well as a FF
or would it's mass push it up (appearance based) into a DD? Would 6 MM beads
pass as Scouts?
Experienced FT (or other systems) player's comments would be appreciated.
G'day Glenn,
> Would beads (especially round ones) be
Quite probably as most of the figs I've come across are flattened in one
plan (i.e. they're either mainly in the horizontal or vertical not both)
and so the added bulk of being in both planes would probably make-up for
the shorted length. I personally don't know of any round or cube figs (despite
the existence of the borg) that are on general sale, it'd be nice to see what
you can come up with. Tom Granvold might know of more blocky
miniatures you could compare your beads to.
Cheers
Beth
> Well I went to the craft (read beads) shop at lunch and have some
[snippage]
The best gauge for sizing a homebuilt figure is to compare it to one of the
regular figures. If it seems to be comparable in "bulk," then go with it!
This was mentioned on GZG-L a while ago; I'm not on the other lists, so
can't comment there.
Majestic Twelve games, a small mostly DTP game company, puts out 'figs' for
their Starmada games that are obviously made from craft pieces:
http://mj12.chrispy.net/
Select the Starmada tab, and scroll to the bottom of the page. The ships
are reduced in price. ;->=
I don't think there are any beads, but wooden wheels, miniature coat hooks and
the like are in abundance. I personally don't think they make great fighting
ships, but have possibilities as auxiliaries.
However, have you looked at disposable cutlery? I'm working with several
knife, fork, and spoon handles with some real potential.
The_Beast
-Douglas J. Evans, curmudgeon
One World, one Web, one Program - Microsoft promotional ad
Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Fuhrer - Adolf Hitler
> On Wed, 29 Nov 2000 19:16:59 -0600, devans@uneb.edu wrote:
> I don't think there are any beads, but wooden wheels, miniature coat
They look not bad, probably as (as you say) auxiliaries or commercial ships,
such as passenger liners.
The problem is that they are made of wood. You can't just prime them. If you
did, you'd end up with the wood grain leaking through. You'd need several
coats of primer, or you'd need to coat the stuff with a varathane sealant or
something. You'd then prime over that. I suppose a varathane paint over top of
a primer would give a nice finish, too. But varathane is an oil based paint,
and I'm not sure what the results would be like.
Of course, you COULD do some neat effects with colour wood stain. You could
use the wood grain for effect. It could be an interesting result.
***
Of course, you COULD do some neat effects with colour wood stain. You could
use the wood grain for effect. It could be an interesting result.
***
Right; contrasting highlighting/drybrushing could give an interesting
bio-tech look, though the shapes don't quite fit, unless as
'mushrooms-in-space'. *heh heh heh*
The_Beast
-Douglas J. Evans, curmudgeon
One World, one Web, one Program - Microsoft promotional ad
Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Fuhrer - Adolf Hitler
***
If you get wooden spheres/beads, you may be able to drill into them
and make arms from wire/thin nails/pins. Cover with glue and add
texture eg sand.
***
And use in DSII? Painted white, I can see the scenerio:
'OHMYGOD, it's the Stay-Puf...*ARGH*'
The_Beast
-Douglas J. Evans, curmudgeon
One World, one Web, one Program - Microsoft promotional ad
Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Fuhrer - Adolf Hitler
> >Would beads (especially round ones) be
If you get wooden spheres/beads, you may be able to drill into them
and make arms from wire/thin nails/pins. Cover with glue and add
texture eg sand.
God knows why I bother to write anything, if I just wait two weeks someone
else always writes it up for me.
> devans@uneb.edu wrote:
We recently bought some kids' yoghurts that came with a free spoon with a
picture handle (Thomas the Tank Engine, for those who have to know all the
details). Turned upside down (ie curved side upwards) it looked like an ideal
candidate for an NAC battleship. Sadly, my wife wouldn't let me
deprive my two-year-old daughter of her spoon and when I returned to the
supermarket the special packs were all gone :-(
Tony sed:
***
Turned upside down (ie curved side upwards) it looked like an ideal candidate
for an NAC battleship. Sadly, my wife wouldn't let me
deprive my two-year-old daughter of her spoon and when I returned to the
supermarket the special packs were all gone :-(
***
I think I see the start of yet another 'you know you're a gamer' list...
Thoughts of depriving two-year olds are depraved! ;->=
I've seen similar spoons at ice cream shops for samples, though no Thomas.
Most are the softer plastic I don't find particularly workable. The
polystyrene cutlery are, to my lights, very carvable(coined word?) and there
are plenty of paints and adhesives particular to PS. If only the manufacturers
were a little more careful in aligning their molds!
On the other hand, a resin cast would be a fine place to start. So far, I've
been blessed with friends willing to cast for me when I've come up with
something interesting. That is a skill I hope to soon pick up.
And, if your spoon hasn't already been chewed up and/or in the bin, when
the little tyke is next napping...
The_Beast
-Douglas J. Evans, curmudgeon
One World, one Web, one Program - Microsoft promotional ad
Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Fuhrer - Adolf Hitler
> devans@uneb.edu wrote:
list...
> Thoughts of depriving two-year olds are depraved! ;->=
I think my wife would be even less happy if I poured silicon rubber all over
the spoon, made a mould from it and then tried to feed my daughter
with it again ("but darling, silicon isn't _that_ poisonous, honest !").
I think I'll have to wait until she's grown out of it (as kids always do) and
then hope it's in a decent enough state to retrieve.
> From: Tony Francis <tony.francis@kuju.com>
You need to check out the FAQ's on making your own vulcanized rubber molds! A
bit of work just to make a couple of ships, but if you had to justify it, it
wouldn't be a hobby.
> Well I went to the craft (read beads) shop at lunch and have some
I took a similar approach for my saucer fleet, but using
o Wooden buttons in various sizes, and a wooden yo-yo kit,
for the main body. (I filled the holes with a bit of epoxy putty, then
sanded.) o "acrylic cabochons" and "acrylic faceted gems" in various sizes (1,
3, 5, 7 mm, I think) for sensor & weapon pods. For engine pods (to provide a
directionality for gaming), I used
gun turrets from an old (and incomplete) 14"-long SDF-1 model.
I'm particularly proud of the ex-yo-yo halves: fleet carriers
with an ungodly number of launch ports (7mm "faceted gems").
I painted them with a mix of dark brown and gold for the base,
with gold sensor/weapon pods and dark gray engine pods.
One of these days, I'll get some photos up, but don't hold your breath!
('Course, one of these days I may even deploy them, but I'm not holding my
breath, either!)
- Sam
On Thu, 30 Nov 2000 13:17:41 -0500 "Peter Mancini"
> <peter_mancini@msn.com> writes:
While this wasn't directed to me it made me think about doing it until I
realized most beads (and wire/glue) wouldn't likely hold up in the mold
making process. Or would it? Got a URL for these FAQ's?
> Glenn m wilson wrote:
They probably wouldn't survive in a vulcanised mould, but they'd be fine in an
RTV rubber mould.
I'm afraid I can't point you at any FAQs - someone else might be able to
help.
What if you "painted" plain old white glue (elmers, ect.) over the wood parts.
Would that make it paintable by ordinary paints?
Donald Hosford
> devans@uneb.edu wrote:
> ***
In a message dated 12/1/00 9:39:25 AM Central Standard Time,
devans@uneb.edu writes:
> Now, a true wood working fanatic would tell you to lightly paint 14
You can also buy "sanding sealer" at a hobby shop. It is designed to give
balsa a paintable surface for model airplanes. Be aware it is not water based,
but once dry, very lightly sanded it will provide an excellent base
for painting with water-based acrylics.
> I took a similar approach for my saucer fleet, but using
I also have some 'saucer' spacehips made from glitzy fancy buttons. With the
right kind of buttons, you need to do little more than mount them on a base.
Trouble is, the bigger ones can cost as much as a spaceship mini.
Greetings Karl Heinz
From - Mon Dec 04 11:29:36 2000
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Date: Fri, 1 Dec 2000 13:01:16 -0800 (PST)
From: Michael Llaneza <imperialdispatches@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: [OT] Starship Troopers
To: gzg-l@csua.berkeley.edu
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> --- Jesse Casey <jessecasey@netzero.net> wrote:
themselves
> on their PCs.
Definitely try the demo before purchasing. It's an ok realtime
squad-level
game, with nice graphics and lots of bugs (the kind you shoot). There are a
few 'issues' with things like facing of formations (but maybe with the actual
manual I'd find something I missed). I may pick up a copy, but not til it
drops to about $30.
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
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From: "Barclay, Tom" <tomb@bitheads.com>
To: "Gzg Digest (E-mail)" <GZG-L@csua.berkeley.edu>
Subject: [FT] Defsats - next question
Date: Fri, 1 Dec 2000 16:30:50 -0500
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Q1: Efficient vs. Inefficient builds... what is legal and how would you do it?
Defsat Design 101: Do you A) Build with Thrust 0 (only able to orbit) but
presume this allows you to pick any facing at the start of turn in orders,
thus build 1 arc weapons (thus making a very nasty weapons platform) B) Build
with Thrust 0 (assume you can't voluntarily rotate) and build with
multi-arc weapons or 360 weapons
C) Build with Thrust 1 (only use to rotate though....) and build with single
arc weapons
Following on to this strain of thought.... how fast would these babies rotate
if no thrust was applied? Could they constantly keep the same arc out from the
planet (ie Front arc always directly away from the planet)?
You can pack a lot of firepower in a mass 40 defense station with no engine
and the ability to limit its required arcs.