> Thanks for the tips on the KV. The first doesn't work on a
Try using half inch units; it will make your 4'x4' table comparable to
8'x8'.
the one big problem in shrinking units down is area effects; the figs usually
cannot physically get close enough to make ADAF effective, and nova and wave
cannon area blasts are less effective. I haven't tried this, but I'd suggest
make area of effects 1.5 to 2.0 times bigger. (ie: instead of a
ADAF area reduced down to 3" [six 1/2 inch units], either keep it 6" or
reduce it to 4.5")
> size constraints (1000 pts) made a carrier unrealistic when I wanted a
My friends and I have decided that a 3:2 ratio of points works good. (that is
three human point to two KV points) Yall ought to at least start off with
3000:2000 points! Get some big stuff in there!
> As far as building fleets goes, I have to do it as cheaply as
Hmmph! Guess that's one way to do it.... I just can not get myself to fork
over $6.00 for one die cast ship! Sad thing is, as a teen, I LOVED figs! Only
problem is I have about a hundred D&D type figs, and no space opera
stuff; might work with Star Grunt (if I decide to do the War Hammer route,
that is....)
One thing I have found which might help those of you doing half scale fighting
or smaller. I found at a arts and crafts store something called flat ear
posts. I think they're for women who make their own earrings.
Anyway, you can get a bag of them cheaply, the flat part is 1/2" to 3/4"
in diameter, and the "post" part makes a great peg for ships. Kind of like a
half scale stand for your fleet.
In article <33C7E66B.5781@usachoice.net>,
> Rodrick Campbell <rcampbell@usachoice.net> wrote:
One bloke at cancon (Canberra) this year had a ripper fleet made entirely
out of maetal/plastic pen caps.
it scrubbed up very well.
Hey! Darryl, would you share with us some terrain tips?
Jeff,
Thanks for the tips on the KV. The first doesn't work on a 4'x4'
table. I'll have to give it a ty on the 12'x6'. More room for manuevers.
The other is inhumane, but... that's along the lines I was thinking. Even a
few fighter groups to force a choice of targets would be nice. Again, size
constraints (1000 pts) made a carrier unrealistic when I wanted a decent
balance. I did manage to hold out five turns and kill five of the
nine ships with my fleet (hvy cruiser, 2 light cruisers, 2 destroyers and 3
frigates). All in all good leesons learned. And you can play several games in
4 or 5 hours.
As far as building fleets goes, I have to do it as cheaply as possible. One of
the reasons I got my dealer's license several years ago
was to get my toys cheap. My brother has done some work with balsa and a
Dremel. Mstly large space station stuff. Asteroids look pretty good when
you cut irregular chunks of styrafoam and melt the surfaces with a lighte or
candle. They paint up with this pebbly texture and the surface hardens due to
the melting. I ordered KV ships and recieved a NSL light cruiser in one of the
KV light cuiser packages. After looking at it a bit and painting it I decided
they could be built out of matt board and scrap card stock. Dowel rods for the
engines. Some wire and putty for detail work. Cheap battle fleet. It would
work for ships laid out on a horizontal plane also. I do a lot of sculpting
with Sculpey. It can be added directly to the base ( no styrafoam or plastic!)
or baked in blocks for subtractive sculpting. Endless possibilities and it
runs about $9.00
for two pounds. Lots of ships!
Well, that's it for now. Thanks again.
Rod
In a message dated 97-07-12 21:01:57 EDT, you write:
<< Asteroids look pretty good when you cut irregular chunks of styrafoam and
melt the surfaces with a lighte or candle. They paint up with this pebbly
texture and the surface hardens due to the melting. >>
Our group uses old lava rocks out of propane grills. Drill a hole in them to
mount on stands, and they look good without even painting.
Rod
<snip>
> I do a lot of sculpting with Sculpey.
I've looked at sculpy and what can be done with it. However, we have only a
microwave and a toaster-oven. Can sculpy be used in a microwave? Have
you
had any success with a smaller oven like a "toaster-oven"? We tried to
make
something for a diorama for my daughter and it browned/burned[?].
Any Suggestions? Polymer clays look like you could create some great
non-traditional shapes and designs.
> On Mon, 14 Jul 1997, John M. Huber wrote:
> I've looked at sculpy and what can be done with it. However, we have
Have you
> had any success with a smaller oven like a "toaster-oven"? We tried
The reason that the sculpey burned was that your toaster oven is too hot. The
normal baking temp. for sculpey is something like 275 and the toaster oven is
350 or something like that. You could probably bake the sculpey in the taoster
oven by turning it on for a minute, letting it cool for a minute, turning it
on for a minute etc. but this seems labor intensive. Sculpey will not work in
the microwave since the microwave is tuned to the frequency of water and it is
difficult to heat water to 275. You might be able to use the toaster oven if
you could shield the sculpture and reduce the temperature it was exposed to.
--Binhan