Jessie's Prints Episode 4 - Rick and Morty Flying Car

This week, I are mostly been printing... 

Rick Sanchez's Flying Car - https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3407058 

Another bucket list model for me.  The designer OneIdMONstr has put a lot of thought and consideration into how anyone downloading this model is going to actually print and build it.  

Start by measuring your own dome (mine came from a string of cheap Xmas lights) which you can then use to dimension the test dome file.  This will give you your scaling factor (mine was 58.05%) which you then apply to all the other files. Parts of this model are so tiny at that scale that it is approaching the limit of how small my printer go.  Sadly Rick and Morty are a bit wonky donkey and some parts like the steering wheel, well just don't go there.

Unfortunately I did not have any transparent filament to print the filler segments that fit in the slits in the top and bottom saucer parts.  However, I used an old modelling trick.  I taped over the slits and then mixed up some 5 minute epoxy (Araldite) with a bit of yellow paint.  This was then buttered into the slit from the underside.  

In hindsight I should have thinned down the yellow with water as the Scale 75 Paint I used is incredibly heavily pigmented specifically to counteract the tendency of yellow to be translucent. 

There are a few things I need to add to this model like the beer bottles and cans which litter the interior.  The model is designed to be lit, so when I find an appropriate string of bright white LEDs I will update this post.

Reaper Bones #14 - More Monsters

It's Monday Miniatures time again and here is the latest installment of the Reaper Bones Painting Marathon where we edge closer to 20% completion!

Ape-X, Super Villain (Jason Wiebe SKU:50031)

I'm fast becoming a fan of Jason Wiebe's sculpts and this steampunk cyborg homage to Gorilla Grodd is one of those odd but must have minis.  As you can see my airbrush work is getting a bit better by this time.  Shame we can't say the same for the photography.

Flesh Golem (James Van Schaik SKU:77169)

Another fantastic cross genre miniature which could easily double as Frankenstein's Monster or some other horrible experiment gone wrong in your Doctor Who, Victoriana or Steampunk game.

Oxidation Beast (Kevin Williams SKU:77032)

An homage to the bane of every paladin the classic Rust Monster.  A surprisingly rare miniature to find at the time of this kickstarter so this went straight to the top of the pile despite its late entry on this list.

Stone Golem (James Van Schaik SKU:77171)

There's a pseudo Egyptian feel about this miniature (it's the skirt!!) and so I had to paint it in a bronzed gold colour rather than the defacto stone that it's name suggests.  I half expect Indiana Jones to be facing up to this mechanical monstrosity in a future adventure.

Virina, Female Demon (Werner Klocke SKU:77067)

Another classic miniature with so many uses in so many genres.

I always struggle with painting red, either it doesn't cover properly or my highlights go all orangey.  This one turned out pretty good but the disaster of a matte coat has made this an arms length type of paint job.

Bones Progress

Reaper Bones: 245 - Painted: 49

Related Posts

Reaper Bones #1: The Marathon Begins - Where I paint a dozen Giant Rats.

Reaper Bones #2: Kobolds, Are They Dogs or Dragons? - Where I paint a dozen kobolds.

Reaper Bones #3: A Carcase of Skeletons - Where I paint a half dozen skeletons.

Reaper Bones #4: A Shuffle of Zombies - Where I paint five zombies.

Reaper Bones #5: Introducing Shaina Coppervein, Dwarven Orc Hunter - First PC mini.

Reaper Bones #6: Mimic, Treasure Chest and How I re-base my Bones - Where I paint furniture.

Reaper Bones #7: Fire Elemental Meets Novelty Lamp - Where I hack a mini with LEDs.

Reaper Bones #8: Flaming Sphere LED Tealight Hack - Another mini LED lighting project.

Reaper Bones #9: Elliwyn Heatherlark, Gnome Bard - Another PC mini.

Reaper Bones #10: Horace "Action" Jackson - A Baddass disco dancing Motherfucker.

Reaper Bones #11: Pirate Captain Thorin Stoneheart - A Swashbuckling Philanthropist.

Reaper Bones #12: Monstrous Menagerie - Clay Golem, Eye Beast, Griffon, Owlbear, Marsh Troll

Reaper Bones #13: Giants - Male Storm Giant and Female Cloud Giant

5 Free D&D Things I Bought on Wish.com - Part 1

Sometimes you do CRAZY things and today I ordered 5 random D&D things from Wish.com.

The Rules

Yes, there have to be rules, without rules there would be "Anarchy in your D&D".

1. I can only buy items which list for the search term "D&D"
2. I can only buy items with a list price of free, no limited availability items and shipping must cost no more than £3 per item.
3. I can only buy 1 item of a type, so no buying 5 different sets of dice.
4. No NSFW items please, we're British! 

Please wait 6 to 8 weeks for this post to conclude... 

Big Box Project - Part 2 - The Flap and Preparing to Stomp Bugs!

Work on my Mobile Painting Workstation continues

Installation of the Flap

The bottom section of the box is pretty innacessible and therfore lends itself to long term storage of the compressor, rotary sander, hot glue gun and other larger items such as brush boxes and palettes.  I also wanted a second shelf so the obvious answer is to make a flap.

Keeping the cost low, I used some sections of laminate flooring made from Medium Density Fibreboard (MDF).  This is good enough.

A little pull tab cut from an old lanyard was glued to the bottom of the flap with some 5 minute epoxy.

More Exterior Decor

As I mentioned in Part 1, Aliens Day is just around the corner (April 26th) and I wanted to get the iconic Bug Stomper noseart added to the rear of the box.  I found a suitable graphic but I didn't like the black centre so I fired up GIMP and removed it.  This is now my stencil.

The paint scheme of the UD-4L Cheyenne Dropship is a predictable military green.  However, you can't get a tester pots of emulsion in military green so I went for the nearest I could get, Wilko's Jungle Green Emulsion.

I didn't have a reference image to hand and this colour in hindsight is way too light but that can all be fixed later.

This was liberally applied to the back of the box in two coats.  Coverage was surprisingly good.  When I painted the sides of the box with automotive paint there was some kind of chemical reaction and it didn't want to stick to certain parts of the box.  No problems with the emulsion and it went on quickly.

Next job was to cut out the badge from the center of the paper giving me 2 masks.  One to paint the white circle backgound and one for the details inside the badge. 

Careful measuring and marking in pencil will ensure that the outer mask is aligned so that the hole is directly in the centre of the box.  I used some Repositionable Mounting Spray to affix the mask and the newspaper but you could use a gluestick at a push.

 This is then liberally coated in white spray paint,

Removing the mask and the newspaper leaves a neat white circle the exact same size as the badge.  Take more care than me when masking and you won't end up with annoying bits of overspray like me.  A quick touch up with some Jungle Green and all is well.

The it's time to add the noseart circle.  Same drill, spray on the adhesive and align with the white circle.

I'll be covering the hard part, cutting out all the different areas of colour, in the next gripping installment

Anarchy in Your D&D...

... and other popular types of government.

Anarchy - A society without a publicly enforced government or political authority.  This can be a natural, temporary result of civil war in a country, when an established state has been destroyed and the region is in a transitional period without definitive leadership.  

Fictional Example: Mad Max 2 (George Miller) - 1982 saw the return of Max Rockatansky and in the intervening years what was left of civilation has fully descended into anarchy.  What passes for government is either the gang rules of the Lord Humungus' Marauders or the commune style democracy led by Pappagallo. 

Max doesn't fit neatly into either of these camps and only agrees to fight alongside the travellers because his car is held hostage.  In the original script Pappagallo was the CEO of 7 Sisters Petroleum and  interestingly some of the marauders appear to be ex cops, although it is not explicitely referenced.

Autocracy - A system of government in which supreme power (social and political) is concentrated in the hands of one person or polity, whose decisions are subject to neither external legal restraints nor regularized mechanisms of popular control.  Autocracy has a nasty habit of turning into a dictatorship without appropriate impartial oversight or scrutiny.  Revolution and assassination tends to be the only outcome for these leaders.

Fictional Example: Ankhmorpork Discworld (Terry Pratchett).  Despite the "sharing" of power with the Guilds, the city is governed through a system of one man, one vote - the Patrician being the "one man" in question.  The best portrayal of Lord Vetinari can be found in the Sky mini series "Going Postal".  Charles Dance's performance is a masterclass in veiled menace and manipulation of Machiavellian proportions.

Matriarchy - Not so much a form of Government but a is a social system in which women hold the primary power positions in roles of political leadership, moral authority, social privilege and control of property.

Fictional Example:  Memory of Earth (Orson Scott Card)  In the first book of the Homecoming Harmony series we are introduced to the matriarchal society of Basilica.  All property is owned by the women and many of them hold high ranking positions within the government and academia.   Despite this being OSC's "Book of Mormon" I am quite fond of the concept of the oversoul and how it controls what technology is allowed to be invented to essentially prevent the warlike tendencies of humanity.

Plutocracy - Rule by the wealthy; a system wherein governance is indebted to, dependent upon or heavily influenced by the desires of the rich. Arguably every government is financed by plutocrats, as the saying goes "He who has the money makes the rules".  When the rules are made by the rich, who do you think reaps the greatest benefit? Oh it's the rich, funny that...

Fictional Example:  Game of Thrones (George R R Martin)  Technically this is a feudal monarchy with the various lords of the Seven Kingdoms being appointed by ruling King.  The position of the King is largely decided by the person with the biggest standing army or banners pledged to their house.  Financing this support comes from key houses such as the Lannisters and the Tyrells in exchange for grace and favour. 

Unfortunately the War of the Five Kings leads to Tyrwin Lannister becoming massively indebted to the Iron Bank of Braavos and when that line of credit dries up Cersei must turn to Euron Greyjoy to help her in the final battle for the Iron Throne.  Once again the stand out performances always come from Charles Dance as he pulls the strings, until he gets ignominiously shot by his son Tyrion whilst on the toilet.

Stratocracy - Rule by military service; a system of governance composed of military government in which the state and the military are traditionally or constitutionally the same entity. Citizens with mandatory or voluntary active military service or who have been honorably discharged have the right to govern.  

Fictional Example: Starship Troopers (Robert Heinlein).  "Service guarantees Citizenship" was the oft quoted line in the Mobile Infantry recruitment ads.  Johnny Rico's rich parents both want him to go to Harvard.  When they are both killed in the Buenos Aires meteor bombardment it only fuels Johnny's desire to do his bit for the war effort.

Technocracy - Rule by the educated or technical experts; a system of governance where people who are skilled or proficient govern in their respective areas of expertise in technology would be in control of all decision making.  In fantasy fiction Technology would of course be replaced by Magic. 

Fictional Example: The Rift War Saga (Raymond E Feist).  Whilst all Tsurani are governed by the Emperor along the lines of a Feudal system, the Assembly of Magicians stands apart from the law and no magician can be compelled by any non magician.

Which just leaves...

Idiocracy - When a US Army cryogenics experiment goes wrong Private Joe Bauers (Luke Wilson) and Rita (Maya Rudolph) awake in a nightmare future. Americans have devolved into idiots ruled by an ex Wrestler President Camacho (Terry Crews) and they are the most intelligent people in society by default.  I just love the craziness of this movie.