Jessie's Prints - Episode 32 - Cowboy Bebop Spike Spiegel Swordfish II

This week, I are mostly been printing... The Swordfish II

Cowboy Bebop Swordfish II - Thingiverse: Thing 3082811

Anime fans will instantly recognise Spike Spiegel's red starfighter the Swordfish II.

This is an older file designed for FDM printing and is therefore a abit on the low-poly end of the spectrum  but it is very well put together all the same.

Meet the Parts

I opted to print this on my Resin SLA printer and I was mindful of the large size of the model.  The main core of the ship needed to be split in two using meshmixer and I took the opportunity to learn how to use the hollow functions. 

I couldn't believe how easy this was and it's definitely something I will be using in the future when I make larger objects as I reckon it saved a metric ton of resin and didn't lead to those peeling and splitting issues I experienced when printing my 3D Printed Akira - Kaneda Bike.

Sub Assembly

Once I had worked out what parts I needed and got them all printed to my satisfaction, I began gluing up the sub assemblies.

The core body and nose were split in meshmixer so needed to be joined back together.  Despite a really good print whenever I use mesh mixer I need to putty the seams.  The hollowed out core and nose also needed the drain holes filled and sanded.  I then doubled pinned the wings to this main assembly.  In hindsight I should have spent more time on this as there was a little bit of an alignment issue between the wing root and the wing itself.

The back half of the model was an utter nightmare of badly fitting airfoils and I bodged as best I could.

The cannon barrel, cockpit and reversing gear were painted using various colour shift paints and left until final assembly   

This was all given a solid black primer with my go-to rattle can matt black car paint from Poundland.

Panel Scribing and Underpainting

I knew I was going to want to try out the underpainting technique I've seen a lot of AFV modellers use to create their panel lines, but this model didn't really have any.  I dug out a ruler and scribed the aileron's and the folding wing joins with the back of an x-acto blade.  The rivet detail was simply drilled with a pin vice and a few other panel lines added.  This was all recoated in black ready for underpainting.

I used a Daler Rowney FW artists white ink straight out of the bottle through the airbrush.  I'm a pretty novice airbrusher and I have always struggled with thinning and getting the right consistency of paint and prerssure to prevent spidering.  

However, this ink added the new complication of fisheyes.  I'm not sure if it is the ink or the undercoat, but it was a real pain.  Several coats went on and some had to be wiped off.  I persevered and finally it was time to add the red coat. 

Weathering and Paint Chipping

The Swordfish is an old ship and given the meagre budget that the crew of the Bebop operate with, there is only the money to do basic maintenance.  A scuffed up worn out appearance was a must.

I use the sponge chipping method lightly dabbing some black on all the leading edges that would take the most punishment on re-entry.  This was then highlighted with some bright silver from Army Painter.

A simple but effective method to weathering whilst maintaining a clean look and not taking an age to dry.

Spike Spiegel - MyMinifactory

No model of the Swordfish II would be complete without it's pilot and the main hero of the show, Spike Spiegel.

I found a lovely model of Spike on MyMiniFactory which was a breeze to print and paint.  I think it makes a great addition to the model.  Shout out to sculptor EthanTSavage whose work is prertty amazing and scales up really nicely. 

The Base

I considered lighting this model but to be honest it was a bit of a pain once assembled.  I had a plan for routing the LEDs to the engine and the two spotlights on the nose, but I was not confident that the effect would be worth it given the low-poly detail of this model.  

I did want a modern looking base and found the perfect match in a box style frame in a thrift store.  Removing the glass and gluing the mdf backer in place proved a sturdy enough platform for a coathanger to be glued in place supported by a generous volcano of milliput on the underside.

I also took the liberty of drilling an extra hole in the corner for Spike to be glued in place.

The Swordfish II Plaque - Thingiverse: Thing 6455107

One of the more iconic graphical elements to the show is the logo.  I love the big kanji script but wanted the center to bear the name of the ship.  I found a suitable image online and modified it with GIMP.  I then converted the JPG to an SVG using Convertio and imported this into Tinkercad.  I added a simple solid back to the object and exported as an STL.  

From start to finish this took no more than 10 minutes.  You can download the STL file for free using the Thingiverse link above.

Many Thanks to...

A big shout out to Lou Dalmaso aka Aztek Dummy on YouTube.  I've thoroughly enjoyed his forays into 3D printed models and it was his channel that inspired me to give it a go myself.  

Big thanks also to the rest of the Youtube modelmaking community for giving me hours of enjoyable content over the years. Plasmo, Mr E Models, SpruVerse, World of Wayne, TrekWorks, Interstellar Modeler, Boylei Hobby Time, Luke Towan, MSPaints, Squidmar, Ground Affected, Midwinter Minis and so many more...

Jessie's Prints - Episode 31 - The Ultimate Radical Centrist Demon Dude

This week, I are mostly been printing... A bloody great big Demon Bloke!!

Before anyone asks, my opinion on the Warhammer 40K and Games Workshop IP issue is, that I don't believe in direct recasts of currently available models. However, if you can sculpt something that is an homage to an existing IP or if the original miniature is out of production then I say it's fair game.  Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery after all.

The Ultimate Radical Centrist - Cults 3D

I can't remember how I managed to find this model but I'm bloody glad I did.  I don't play WH40K or typically use many demons in my own RPGs, but this was a love at first sight sort of thing.

Printing the body parts on my relatively small Photon Mono X was easy.  However, his wings were a challenge and I had to once again turn to meshmixer in order to slice them in half and even then they only just fit onto the print bed.  Even though the flat mating surfaces were printed flat on the build plate a good deal of sanding was required to join them together.  the discrepencies were filled with milliput original to make them seamless and whole again.

I wanted the wings to be detachable for transport and so I pinned them with coathanger wire.  Unfortunately they were so heavy and unbalanced that one pin made them rotate so a second finer pin was added.  If I were to do this again I would seriously consider adding some mini magnets.

The included base was insufficient for this quite top heavy model and so I printed a circular one on my FDM printer.  A square socket was carved out and the original base epoxied into place.  This was then covered in my go-to basing medium poundland wall filler.

Painting 

Painting was a game of two halves.  The body got the traditional zenithal, airbrush base colours, washes, highlights and dry brushes treatment.  For the wings I wanted something "Draconic" so I primed in black and then a layer of gloss varnish on the outside of the wings.

The outside surface is curves and I managed to stretch an old orange bag (the plastic mesh netting type) and used this as a mask.  This is the same technique that the Kustom car painters use when they paint the roofs of lowriders using lace table cloths.  I decided to go with the orange to violet colour shift paint from the Valleho "Space Dust" set.  

This was a great base but needed a silver highlight at the top edge to pick out the scales.  In hindsight using the gloss layer was a mistake.  It was a nightmare task to pick out the top edges of the colourshift in some parts of the model due to the reflected light 

The inside wings got a more muted leathery treatment with progressively lighter shades of brown through the airbrush and the finger spines were left darker.

Playtime 

Since printing him, he has debuted as the big bad in a game of Dark Heresy RPG at Hobbits Hole Roleplay Club.  I'm sure that he will also make an appearance towering over the streets of Mega City One in a prog in the not too distant future...

Mat Irvine, What a Modelmaking Legend

Whilst bimbling around on the YouTubes I came across a little documentary about the history of model kits.

I had the pleasure of meeting Mat Irvine at the Model Engineers Exhibition some time in the mid 90s. He was a gent and whilst I knew him from his sci-fi TV work, I was stunned by his impressive collection of car models.

Also in attendance at the show were a TV company looking for engineering contestants to enter into something called "Robot Wars"... Whatever happened to that?

The star for me was the Fantastic display for the upcoming movie Judge Dredd. Alongside the Hammersteinesque ABC warrior anamatronic puppet they had a Land Rover City Cab.

I think this is still one of the greatest futuristic vehicle designs ever to have made it onto the silver screen and, given my love of Judge Dredd, one model I would love to create in miniature for my 15mm Judge Dredd RPG Vehicle Fleet.  If anyone knows of a good STL pop it in the comments below.

Goodbye 2023... You will not be missed... mostly

All in all 2023 was a pretty fucked up year but there were a few highlights for me.

My Collection

I added a few RPG things to my collection this year including:

• Caravans (Al Qadim) - One of the missing campaign box sets for my favourite D&D setting and getting rarer as every day passes.
  
  
• Citi-Block Floorplans for Judge Dredd - Completing my Games Workshop Judge Dredd collection has been a long awaited event.  Now Sector 55 can grow upwards.
  
  
• Flotsam: Adrift amongst the stars - A little indie RPG by Joshua Fox which has quite a cool refugees in space vibe going on.
  
  
• Cairn RPG - An interesting mini RPG which should be perfect for those inbetween sessions when the regular DM can't make it.  I also picked up the Cairn Bestiary to populate the forest with some pretty cool old school monsters.
  
  
• The White Box RPG - An OSR inspired mini RPG which looks like it might be a great first introduction to OSR roleplay.  
  
  
• Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master - I've been a long time follower of Professor Dungeon Master who highly recommended this tome of DMing Shortcuts, Tips and Tricks.
  
  
• Cthulhu's Vault - Not an RPG per se but a story telling card game of two halves where one player gets to become an Elder God and fight the other players to the death.  A lot of fun. 
  

Kickstarters Backed in 2023

• Ultracryl Paints - I just liked the look of these paints and  wanted to check out the ultra pigmented neon colours. 
  
  
• Tiny Epic Cthulhu - I have been a big fan of the Tiny Epic series of games since I first played Tiny Epic Galaxies back in the day.  I backed this without hesitation as there is definitely a space in life for another 

Movies I Enjoyed

Whilst Hollywood imploded upon itself this year, I got to see a few absolute gems: 

• The Dungeons & Dragons movie was a pretty good experience all round and whilst it is a shame that it didn't do more business than it did, I firmly expect this to be granted cult status and have a long life on streaming sites.
  
  
• Sisu - A goldminer makes a big score in Lapland and all he has to do is get from the mine to the bank in one piece.  In his way are a bunch of Nazis who are hellbent on capturing his horde.  Bloody good fun if you like a Tarantino style revenge movie or are a fan of Scandinavian movies.  Axsel Hennie doesn't dissapoint as the evil SS captain 
  
  
• Renfield - Who could pass up the combination of Nick Cage and Nicholas Hoult.  A popcorn movie which sheds a new light on Dracula and his man servant.
  
  
• Blood and Gold - If you enjoyed Sisu then you will love Blood and Gold which has a similar premise.
  
  
• They Cloned Tyrone - John Boyega stars in this made for Netflix sci-fi movie.  Done in the best possible low budget blackploitation style it's a really good story with an epic twist.  I really hope to see a sequel.
  
  
• Day Shift - Jamie Foxx lives a double life as a gardner come vampire hunter in modern day LA.  Good fun and a welcome antidote to the likes of The Walking Dead.
  
  
• Rebel Moon: Part One - A Child of Fire - I'm not a Zack Snyder fanboy but I thoroughly enjoyed this sci-fi version of The Seven Samurai.  Very watchable and I can't wait for part two where hopefully the world building will continue and we will get much more of Jimmy the robot.
  
  
• Glorious - If you enjoy strange tales of with strange premise you will love Glorious.  Effectively a one room play if your room is an out of the way roadside rest stop with a glory hole.  Full of twists and turns and epic bait and switch, so don't be afraid, watch it today.
  

Games I Played at Dragons Keep Roleplay Club

2023 saw the club continue to grow with a steady influx of new players and our future is looking very secure indeed.

• The Rivenlands - 2023 saw the culmination of this homebrew D&D 5e campaign which was an epic adventure for all.  The fun will resume in part 2 where we descend into Hell to retrieve our fallen comrade Derek.
  
  
• Delta Green - I haven't played this modern interpretation of Cthulhu in years and Mark did not dissappoint.  Some weird AF, X-Files inspired alien shenanigans occurred and I set the club record for having two characters die in the same session!!
  
  
• Where the Monsters Come From - A change of pace was in order as I joined our younger roleplayers band of misfits as Freddo the Frogling. Whilst we have not yet completed our epic quest to prevent the Arch mage from destroying everything to summon his demonic master, it has been a riot. 

Sadly I was unable to attend the Manic Tournament this year but well done to Josh who picked up the trophy.

The Nadir of RPG

As I get older I get more and more immune to being triggered by the manufactured "panic" which seems to be the currency of social media.  However, even I could not ignore some events.

The OSR Scandal which consumed social media in early 2023 until WotC realised they had just alienated their audience of both players and publishers. The jury is still out on whether WotC are going to see a resurgence in good fortune when they release the next edition of D&D and players buy into the new online experience.  I have it on good authority that the VTT is very IRL play inspired but as I do all my play IRL can I be bothered to subscribe to play the new version of D&D when 5e works well enough?  

I'm old enough to have gone through a few edition wars in my lifetime and know that whatever happens I will still be able to play great fantasy roleplaying games.

The Hasbro Lay-offs left a sour taste in the mouth with just 2 weeks to go before Christmas but I am sure that the talent will rise to the top and we will see a raft of new RPG projects and imprints as a result.