Jessie's Prints - Episode 36 - Itsy Bitsy Drop Pods

This week, I are mostly been printing... Teeny Tiny Drop Pods!!

Isn't it just the way you wait ages for a commissioned print and two come along at once.  This time it's my work chum Gary who needed some drop pods for an upcoming game of Adeptus Epicus or something like that.  You know the one, the latest hotness from Games Workshop.

StarPorts - P.O.D. (Print on Demand) Droplets - Cults 3D

I don't really have much to say about these other than I managed to get 5 Dreadnought sized pods on one build plate and eight of the smaller unit sized pods on a second.  Print time was about an hour and a half each.

The models came well supported but the packaging of the files was a bit weird.  Extracting the zip file dumped 3 folders on my desktop; a Lychee scenes folder, a supported STLs and an Unsupported STLs.  I was not expecting this and so I thought that the zip file hadn't actually unzipped.  Weird.

I always opt for supported files and as I was leaving these on the support rafts for Gary to get the full experience of removing supports 😂 I didn't bother to check if these were hollow or not.  I assumed that they were solid.  To my surprise, and as you can see in the image above, these were actually hollow which explains why they came out of the wash & cure station a little sticky.  They had actually trapped a huge amount of resin in the hollowed out sections as it effectively formed a cup with nowhere for that resin to drain out of because they print upside down.

If I were printing again I would add my own supports and orientate them so that the unused resin can drain away whilst still being attached to the build plate.  A minor gripe I know but sometimes these things matter.

Anyway, as you can see these are considerably smaller than the full size drop pod for WH40K.  Aint they cute 😃

Jessie's Prints - Episode 30 - Mr.Blobby

This week, I are mostly been printing...  Blobby Blobby Blobby

Mr Blobby - Digital Taxidermy

As soon as I saw this model I had to have it.  For those of a certain age growing up in the UK our childhoods were indellibly etched with the presence of Mr Blobby.  Spawned by a creative monster he graced (or rather bumbled) onto Noel Edmond's House Party on Saturday evenings circa 1996.  This was a time before streaming and there wasn't even channel 5!!  Options were limited and most people flocked to the most popular variety program of the day.  

Sadly Blobby could not be contained in just a 1 hour TV slot and soon there were comic books cartoons a pop song and Blobby took over the UK.  Of course this stratospheric rise to fame took its toll and overexposure led to a meteoric collapse in Blobby's popularity.  

Needless to say this makes him ripe for a Judge Dredd appearance.  I imagine that the residents of the Noel Edmond's Annex of Thatcher Block (Sector 55) are itching for a House Party with those Smurfs from the Jean Claude Van Damme block.

These are multipart minis with lots of options for arms and weapons.  I printed some test pieces at 15mm and realised that I was going to have a hella fiddly time gluing individual arms on the blobby bodies.  I resorted to loading the files up into meshmixer and created 10 different poses which I could then print en masse at 15mm scale.  Meshmixer For The Win!! 

Zorg Industries Wall Art - Thingiverse:4815231 

To further embellish my Mega City One Miniature Storage Block I thought I would add a couple of signs which can be magnetically attached to the side or top of the case.  This wall art was perfect when scaled down for miniature use.

Mulder & Scully - Maco3D

A commissioned print for my Dragon's Keep Roleplay Club chum Kat.  We are currently playing in a Delta Green (Cthulhu meets the X-Files) game as special agents and being the world's biggest Gillian Anderson fan there was only going to be one FBI agent she wanted to play.  

I was a little dissapointed that these models came as rar files and when opened I could see that they were designed in a statuette scale for multipart printing.  They are both very nicely sculpted and I managed to support the files easily enough.  Mulder also came as a one piece print and Scully came as a two part print with options for skirt or trousers which was also very nice.  I would have preferred a complete model in both skirted and trousered versions making it easier for 28mm printing but this is a minor gripe.

However, the biggest problem with scaling statuesque prints down for tabletop games is that they are anthropomorphically correct.  This means that they have spindly ankles, wrists and gun barrels which snap off at the slightest glance.  To try to combat this I made them 5% bigger in the X and Y dimension in the hope of fattening and strengthening them up.   

As you can see they don't look at all overweight.

Jessie's Prints - Episode 29 - Killdozer - Goes Anywhere Kills Everything

 

This week, I are mostly been printing...  THE KILLDOZER

Killdozer / Landraider - Thingiverse: 734066

The quintissential Cursed Earth chariot and a must print for my 15mm Judge Dredd RPG games.  This multi-part model is an excellent sculpt but originally intended for FDM printing.  I scaled it down by 50% to fit perfectly my 15mm Lawmen.

Those of you familiar with the history of this iconic comic car will know that it was part of the Matchbox Adventure 2000 range and came in Avocado Green (1977-79) or Metallic Blue (1980-81),  Neither of these colours befit the Justice Department of my youth and so I went for a Dark Blue with Yellow and Red accents.

I don't know what it is about airbrushing blue but I just don't seem to be able to find the right blue.  I did get to try out some of my colour shifting space paints from vallejo on the turbine and exhaust which was nice.  I think I need to airbrush an entire vehicle to get a really good idea of how they might work.

Justice Department insignia greeblies were sculpted in milliput and the windows got the classic Car Wars wasteland reflection treatment.  You can find my poster art in my Judge Dredd mini posters collection 

Jessie's Prints - Episode 28 - Mega City One Street Furniture

This week, I are mostly been printing...  Street Furniture

Suicide Booth - Thingiverse: 734066

I'm a big fan of Futurama and there was no way I was going to pass up the opportunity to print off a few suicide booths for the citizens of Sector 55.  The model is very accurate but scaled far too large for my printer and so needed to shrink it to about 1% it's original size.  The model is also hollow and at my 15mm scale the walls became impossibly thin for my resin printer to print consistently.  

However, I did get a couple of decent prints which painted up nicely.  I also created some posters of the signage which I've included in my Judge Dredd Mini-Posters pack. 

Robot Food Stand - Thingiverse: 1645528

This is a great little model for designed for 28mm miniature wargaming game infinity but I thought it was such an interesting shape that it would make a great centrepiece for any plaza scene.

Printing in 15mm scale was easy enough although the robot arm is incredibly fiddly.  I chose to magnetise the roof of my stand to make painting and assembly easier which was a challenge at this scale.  The robot arm is a little too big for this model so I had it leaning out in "attract mode".

In my games this is going to be Klaw Dogs, their moto is "Served Robot Fresh" and you can download this signage in the Judge Dredd Mini Posters Pack.

Tardis - Thingiverse: 153977

I have always wanted my own tardis for a Judge Dredd game.  Not necessarily as a plot point but as a piece of background scenery.  I'm sure that if any of my Judges are out on patrol they will spot this immediately and either blow it up or have it taken away as an illegal structure without the correct city permits.

Needles to say, if Judges ever encounter a timelord, they should arrest them on sight as an illegal alien.  I believe that possession of a timetravel device also carries a significant sentence these days.

Holding Post -  Thingiverse: 6023582 

Having GM'd a few games now, the one functional (storywise) piece of street furniture I've always needed are holding posts.  These are the ubiquitious plascrete features that adorn the streets of Mega City One to which Judges cuff their arrested perps to await pickup from a pat-wagon. They are tough, tamperproof constructions designed to stay intact in all but the most extreme conditions.  They are able to withstand most vehicle impacts and abuse from smallarms or handheld tools making them the perfect safe and sturdy way to keep your perps locked up.

The holding post is my own design for my 15mm Judge Dredd miniatures but can easily be scaled up for 28mm games.  It makes a great addition as an objective marker or cover for games such as Warhammer 40K, Cyberpunk or infinity and is available for free download  at the link above.

Sci-Fi Benches - Thingiverse: 4293393

A rare model are this collection of benches designed specifically for Warlord Games Judge Dredd Miniatures wargame.  A great job on the model from Death Zap Studios who has also done some fantastic work on scenery and buildings for the Marvel Crisis Protocol boardgame.

Sci-Fi Merchant Stall v3 - Thingiverse: 5924557

This model is a fabulous set piece designed to complement any wasteland or outer rim world but I think it looks great in a Mega City One pop-up shop sort of fashion.  It's hard to keep track of the changing trends inside the city and these prefab pop-up structures change vendors on a weekly basis much like the tastes of your average citizen.  

I printed out a bunch of these funky little structures for my games.

Savage Dredd - Gangs of Mega City One

Mega City One has its fair share petty criminals and none come more petty than the juve gangs who vie for supremacy in their respective blocks.  Here are just a few of the gangs I have created for my Judge Dredd campaigns set in Sector 55.

The Squid Squad

Residents of Little Korea, the squid squad are easily identifiable by their neon pink all over jumpsuits and black facemasks.  They are one of the most organised and disciplined gangs in Sector 55 and should be approached with caution.  Their suits offer protection against all chemical attacks and their masks include breathers and headsets rendering Stumm Gas and Sonic cannon ineffective.

I found a free guard model on Thingiverse 5021982 and scaled them down to 15mm to match my other Judge Dredd minis.  This was pretty much the limit of how small I can print a standard 28mm mini as they were a little vulnerable in the ankle area.  I love how they came out and with a quick lick of paint they are absolutely ready for a rumble in Mega City One.

The Fatties

It is almost impossible to find models of fat people on the internet.  Of course the officially licenced range has some fantastic minis but these are 35mm.  Milliput to the rescue.  I blobbed on some putty and roughly sculpted some corpulent citizens to flesh out any gathering.  I only made 5 but if I get a really great scenario idea that needs more then who knows. 

There is a distinct lack of protest banners as whenever they are depicted in the comics they always seem to be shouting about something or other.  I did have a go at modelling belly wheels but it was an abject failure.  They of course come in a wide variety of jumpsuits and track suits as they are always in training for their next big weigh in.

TV Media Crews

In Mega City One there are almost as many TriD TV channels as there are citizens.  From documentary channels to citizen broadcasters the airwaves are chock full of options for the discerning viewer and 24 Hour News is just one small slice of that media cake.

Looking like a cross between the anchor men of old and corporate shift workers, these guys are a common sight at any incident.  They band together like fleas on a rat, but when they smell a story it's dog eat dog.  Oh and don't think that they aren't above creating the odd incident on a slow news day.

The Barbarellas

These costumed crusaders can usually be found defending their home turf of Jane Fonda Block.  The Barbs, as they are colloquially known, work double duty as an organized crime gang and the block's Citi-Def. 

Armed with stub guns and reflective body armour styled after an old holovid from 1960s.  Membership of this gang is exclusive and you only get in if you are a prime specimen of health and vitality.  One of the gang's most lucrative rackets is running the many Fonda Fitness Centres which also give it access to a steady stream of new recruits in peak physical condition.

Boardgame Rescued - Battle Over Britain

A recent charity shop find saw me fixing up the box and sorting counters for this vintage 1983 SPI TSR copy of  Battle over Britain. 

These sorts of counter heavy wargames are not my bag but for some reason I couldn't let it just fade away.

Boardgames Should I Punch It or Punt It?

Having a bit of a tidy up at Roleplay Geek Publishing HQ and I dug out these two unplayed boardgames.

The big question is should I punch it out and play it or punt it out on eBay? 

Civilization (Gibson Games)

The original boardgame that didn't launch a million computer games or make Sid Meir a household name.  This is infact the earlier boardgame version by Francis Tresham and is complete, unpunched and minty fresh.  

Clearly an unwanted Christmas gift from circa 1988.  The giftee must have opened the box looked at all the tiny pieces of cardboard and smiled back saying "thanks I can't wait until they bring out a version of this on my MS DOS PC."

eBay-ability: £5 to £20

Civilization (Gibsons Games) circa 1988

Soldier Raj (Avalanche Press)

One for the real Grognards.  Soldier Raj is a traditional counter wargame simulation of the British Raj period between 1767-1848.  I'm not one to cast aspersions about the people who like to play these sorts of heavy wargames.  

My introduction to gaming was through my father who was a dedicated wargamer back in the 80s.  He gravitated from Napoleonics to Ancients, dabbled in a bit of micro-armour gaming and even converted the Pony Wars game to the Condominium of Anglo-Egyptian Sudan 1899 - 1956.

Sadly, playing this sort of game comes lower on my bucket list than poking my eyes out with red hot pokers.  Never mind "The Struggle for India" I'm struggling to stay awake and I've only just opened the box.

eBay-ability: Unknown

Soldier Raj The Struggle for India 1767-1848