Building Stuff...well mostly my Shuttles
Hello
Readers,
Looking back
through the older posts on my blog I noticed that in the first year or two, I
would post a batrep / episode and then provide some “in process” shots and
small building explanations for any new scenic elements at the end. Since I
stopped doing that for some reason, this post will be a catch-up.
Design Philosophy
I wrote
about it at length here LINK, but to sum up: Table space is at a premium, and I
personally enjoy “bathtubbing” the heck out of the gaming surface. I would be perfectly happy using 3
skyscrapers to represent a city in one part of the board, and then
transitioning to a river and rural farms. But of course my “personal”
preferences are tempered by my gaming group, the rules and scales we play, what
caught my eye that day, and other random influences.
In the end,
I usually gain some on the table
footprint issue, and I usually
compromise on the bathtubbing end. A
“city” table is a city, a “desert” table is an oasis and a few dunes, etc.
Building
I’ll talk
about flyers, since I just did a giant campaign with them (and you guys have
been asking).
I will
kitbash the heck out an existing model if a suitable model exists, like my 2 Ork fighters into Thunderbolts, and that
process is relatively straight forward,
BUT if
needed, I will start from scratch.
Material
My main
material is MDF
The good
1. It’s durable and strong for gross structure
components
2. It does not show wood grain
3. It joins well with superglue and hot glue
The bad
1. It’s wood, I cannot cut it with a hobby knife
2. 3mm MDF sometimes looks a little too chunky
Tools
I MUST have
2 power tools to accomplish my builds
1. Small table saw
2. Mounted Crosscut saw
A couple of
months ago I acquired a Belt Sander. It
is a great addition, but my 3 shuttles (and ALL of my buildings) were completed
without it, so I would classify it as a “nice to have”.
While we are
on the subject, other “nice to haves” are:
1. A dremel with sanding wheel, cutter, and router
2. Mouse Hand Sander
3. Jigsaw
4. Hot Glue Gun (although superglue and accelerator
work just fine, options are always good)
The Process
After thinking
about how to describe my process, I realized I operate as sort of a manual 3d
printer. I look at what I’m trying to build in MDF layers from the bottom up.
I’ll go
through building the Shuttles as an example.
The shuttle’s
gross construction was layered in MDF templates like this:
(Now, you
will notice in the final models, I used wooden blocks for the payload and
cockpit sections on 2 of them. My
instructions are written for the way I finally executed
the build on the 3rd shuttle. I should have done this for all 4. The visibility of wood grain on the final
product drives me crazy. My only excuse is that every build is a learning
process, and it took me 2 tries before the dim lightbulb in my head went off.)
The downward
wingtip canards were done just by angle cutting a thin strip of MDF, then using
the crosscut saw to cut the correct length.
After that,
I found 1.25” garden hose nozzles for $0.75 each at Home Depot for the
engines. They simply rest on the engine
shelf and are superglued to hold them in place.
I built 4 of
them and I wanted to vary up their appearance, so I used a couple of different
configurations. I changed up the size and shape of the tails, on one of the
shuttles the payload area is removable, one shuttle has two engines, and I used
cardstock windows on 2 of them versus actual plastic bits for the windows on
the others.
I am sure
all of this could be done with foamcore or other hobby knife friendly
materials. My method just happens to be where my hobby journey has led me.
I am not
going to go into such detail on the Marauder build, but it was done using the
same method. Gross construction is simple strips of MDF in layers, then
griblies until it sags under the weight.
The main wing sits much higher to accommodate the 4 engines, and the
cockpit is stolen from a Valkyrie. I am very happy with how there is an
illusion of a complex (almost undulating) fuselage. The dive (atmospheric entry) brakes are dozer
blades from a Leman Russ sprue and I think they add to the heavy “brute force” appearance.
I hope this little
tidbit triggers some ideas to help you with your own gaming environments. Let
me know if you have any questions or if I can expand on any concepts.
Thanks,
Will
Thanks for the how-to. They look very good for such a simple process!
ReplyDeleteThank's for posting this Will as I'll be using it in the near future, just a bit busy at the moment which you shall see shortly.
ReplyDeleteThanks Guys,
ReplyDeleteIt was a weird moment realizing that I work like a 3d printer. :)
Can't wait to see what's in store Frank.
Will
I keep meaning to give MDF a try. Or maybe HDF. The shuttles are great little beasties. Very good design. And I keep meaning to build myself a few shuttles or dropships and at least one spacecraft. The Lace Rock Gang need their Firefly, as it were. Great post. Thank you. I love your narrative stuff, but the how-to can be inspirational. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteGlad you liked it.
DeleteI don't really know why I got out of the habit of doing these kinds of posts. I have a couple more already in the works.
The shuttles look great, I'm impressed!
ReplyDeleteThanks Dr.!
DeleteI find this highly inspirational. I first thought it was foamboard, not MDF, I'm quite curious about the whole process, I love your work here!!
ReplyDeleteI started down the MDF route a long time ago when I used to own a store, and that meant any scenery had to be very durable.
DeleteThese days, my constructions don't need to be so tough, but I am so used to working this way, it's just easier to keep going rather than change to foamboard, or cork
Excellent just what I was looking for after seeing the aircraft carrier. Graveskul is going to get some new scenery in 2017! LOL Thanks for posting this.
ReplyDeleteThanks for looking back, man!
DeleteIt's great to be a useful blog.
Makes my day.