Electrical Box Shelter WIP Part 2 - Theory and Primer

The Christmas break offered me the opportunity to catch up on ongoing projects. The weather was neither too humid nor too cold for spray priming and painting. And it wasn't like I was going anywhere for the holidays in 2020.

Nothing like a coat of primer to tie everything together.

But let's back up a little.

My initial post for this project only touched on the concept of using an electrical box for terrain. Plenty on what to do and how to do it, but not much about discussion about the general idea or why an electrical box is a good choice for a project like this one.

The oldest references to electrical box terrain projects that I can find date back to 2009-2010. I have the feeling that the idea is older than that based on the familiarity that these references have when discussing the topic. I also haven't been able to find out who first came up with the notion of taking one of these boxes of blue plastic, gluing on some bits, painting it up, and putting it on the table. It might be one of those things that doesn't have a single, definitive source. There is the possibility that multiple people independently came up with the concept around the same time.

These things already look like industrial structures. I'm kinda surprised that folks haven't done more with the insides of these things. Something to keep in mind for a future project.

Electrical boxes appeal for sci-fi terrain projects for a number of reasons:

• Initial appearance. The blocky shape already has enough details to suggest an industrial building.
• Customizing the look. The flat surfaces offer large areas to add details. Want something that can be used in a variety of games? Use generic details. Does it need to fit into an existing collection of terrain for a specific game? Tie it in by adding details specific to that setting. Skulls, for example.
• The ability to determine scale. A box could be made into a shed (28mm), a light industrial building (15mm), or a warehouse (6mm). The scale depends on the size of the doors, windows, and other details added to the box.
• Durability. These boxes are made of tough plastic. The ones I tend to use are PVC. They certainly won't shatter if they fall off a table or get crushed while being transported. The details glued on to them are another story, of course.
• Cost. These are mass produced products made of molded plastic. The ones I favor run from $2-3 USD. There are more expensive ones, but there are also reasons to avoid them.

The sticker and that protrusion need to go.

It's not all smooth sailing with a project like this. There are some disadvantages to using electrical boxes for sci-fi terrain:

• They need preparation. Most of these boxes have stickers and protrusions that need to be removed. In fact, the more expensive boxes tend to have more things that get in the way. A contractor might find a nail built into a box handy for mounting it, but a terrain maker might feel differently. I would also recommend sanding the surfaces to allow adhesive and primer to bond better to the surface of the box.
• Sloped sides. The sides of these boxes - the ones I've seen, at least - aren't at right angles to each other. The subtle slopes can complicate a build. See my comments on gluing on the airlock in my previous post.

Overall, a terrain piece using an electrical box as its core is a good project regardless of skill level. It does require some basic tools and a fair sized collection of bits and parts. The first couple I did taught me quite a bit. For example, a high speed cutting tool does not work well on a plastic with a low melting point. This project is teaching me new things. How to get an even layer of primer on a complex surface is one of them.

What would be a good color for this?

Returning to this project, I finished priming everything this past weekend.

I primed the underside of the "shelter" piece and inside of the electrical box black. This keeps the blue plastic on the inside from showing through the openings. It also provides some basic shading effects that will be handy later.

Not painting the inside of the clear plastic piece I used for the airlock body might be something I come to regret. Any scratches or wear on the paint covering it will look weird. Unfortunately, the idea didn't occur to me until after assembly.

The main layer of primer is a flat gray. I'm not quite sure what colors I'll be using and priming it a neutral color keeps my options open. Areas like under the ladder ended up needing a little touching up.

Now I just need to figure out what colors to use on the shelter. Maybe an industrial color like yellow?

Reaper Bones 77065 Norgol, Irongrave Knight

This was an unplanned Saturday morning speed paint. I was looking forward to spending Saturday spraying primer and paint on some ongoing projects. Those plans went into the bin when I woke up to the sound of rain hitting the roof. I figured that painting this figure would be a good way to help fill a cold, gray morning.

I'm pretty sure that Norgol doesn't use that ax on wood.

Primer Layer

Norgol got the mix of FolkArt Glass & Tile Medium and an appropriately colored paint that I generally use for Reaper Bones miniatures. In this case, black for the armor and brown for everything else.

Base Layer

I decided to go old school for the armor on this chaotic-looking fellow with some of my surviving Citadel Colour paints. The armor, ax blade, and pommel got a coat of Codex Grey. All other areas were painted with Reaper 09284 Lonestar Leather. The furs did not receive any further layers of paint except for the wash.

Metallic Layers

The armor and other metal areas were painted with Citadel Colour Boltgun Metal and highlighted with Citadel Colour Mithril Silver. I applied a layer of Secret Weapon W003 Armor Wash to bring out the details and tone down the contrast between the two metallic colors.

Cape, Ax Shaft, and Horns

I used Reaper 09292 Bathalian Chitin to provide some contrast with the rest of the color scheme.

Gloves

Reaper 09110 Oiled Leather was used as a highlight to make the gloves stand out from the rest of the browns.

Wash Layer

Secret Weapon W010 Dark Sepia was applied over the cape, ax shaft, horns, gloves, and furs. It worked well, but it is more runny than I'm used to.

Basing

A one-inch steel washer glued under the integral base gives the figure a little more heft. Reaper Bones figures tend to tip over otherwise. Glued on sand provides texture and a couple of earth tone craft paints gives the basing the appearance of dry ground.

That cape and those furs would normally keep in the warmth, but I'm not sure how helpful they could be over all that metal armor.

Norgol is another figure from the first Reaper Bones Kickstarter. I'm planning on picking up the pace on my unpainted miniatures pile in general and my Reaper Bones collection in particular during the coming year. At my current rate, my grandkids will be inheriting unpainted plastic miniatures.

Not my best work, but a fun figure to knock out on a weekend morning.

Electrical Box Sci-Fi Shelter WIP Part 1

I decided to give a classic of scratch-built sci-fi terrain - the electrical box building - another try. My previous attempt was way back in 2012. I'm looking forward to applying what I've learned since then.

Test fit with the parts held together with putty.

The concept is a hostile environment shelter with an airlock and external workspace in 28mm scale. The functional and futuristic structures in movies like "The Martian" and video games such as "No Man's Sky" inspired this project. The details represent external equipment that can be monitored from inside the shelter. They could be experiment packages, sensors, or communications gear.

A PVC electrical box is an inexpensive core for a project like this. It looks like an industrial structure straight off the shelf. The flat sides are a blank canvas for adding the details needed to convey whatever look the maker is going for.

Step #1 - Diving into the Bits Bins

This step was mostly digging around my bits collection for the kind of parts that suggest some technical function. I also wanted a consistent appearance - a few bits went back into the collection because they were too detailed. They would stand out from the rest and throw off the look I wanted.

Step #2 - Test Fitting

Next was some trial and error. I used the kind of putty used to mount a poster on a wall to temporarily attach everything. This allowed me to rearrange the parts to find the best fit. A fair number of parts went back to the bins because they just didn't work for this project. I also had to move some things around to accommodate the "garage" piece.

The ladder raised an issue - simply attaching it to the side didn't look right. There's no place for anyone using the ladder to step onto. Cutting down a plastic gift card provided a platform and made the ladder look more plausible.

Test fit rear view with "garage" detached. Note that I already started surface preparation on the garage piece.

Step #3 - Surface Preparation

Electrical boxes need work for a project like this - stickers and unneeded protrusions need to be removed. I sanded all the parts and cleaned them with soap and water. This step makes gluing and painting much easier.

Step #4 - Assembly

I used the photos of Step #2 as a reference when gluing everything together. This is when a couple of previously undetected issues came up. The sides of this particular electrical box slope slightly. This made the "airlock" jut up rather than run parallel with the surface. I used a couple of foam bits and another cut down plastic gift card to create a "porch" to go under the airlock. I also added a few cut down straws to represent pipes and cabling to connect some of the details.

Assembled shelter. Note the "porch" added to support the airlock. The garage piece was already in the priming stage.

Parts List

Laundry detergent cap/measuring cup for the airlock body.
Ladder from Hexagon Construction Kit.
Door from Brian Roe's Trash Bash Bits: Sci-Fi Doors Kickstarter.
Pill bottle cap.
Pull tabs.
Cut down plastic gift cards.
Foam bits from packaging.
Various printer parts.

Upcoming - Priming and Painting

The next step is spraying on a layer of primer. Unfortunately, that depends on the weather. It's been varying between "too humid" and "too cold" if what the label on the can states is true.

Black Friday/Cyber Monday Haul 2020

As with last year, I took advantage of the post-Thanksgiving sales to pick up a few gaming-related items. This year's sales-inspired online shopping spree was more restrained than previous occasions. Adding to the project pile didn't interest me, so I focused on things that would aid me in finishing the projects I already have lying around.


From Secret Weapons Miniatures

I developed a liking for washes put out by Secret Weapon Miniatures over the past year. Their washes offer specialized effects for specific projects. They act as glazes - shading and providing an additional tint over the base color.

Brighter than I thought they would be.

W015 Acrylic Wash - Blue
W016 Acrylic Wash - Green
W017 Acrylic Wash - Purple
W025 Acrylic Wash - Just Red

Many projects use these colors as a base. I purchased these washes as potential replacements for the old Citadel products Asurmen Blue, Thraka Green, Leviathan Purple, and Baal Red. The name of W025 - Just Red - reflects the number of red washes on offer from Secret Weapon Miniatures. These washes are much brighter than I expected and the Green is more of an aqua - more towards blue than yellow. We will see how these turn out.

A couple of things that looked interesting.

W001 Acrylic Wash - Soft Body Black
W006 Acrylic Wash - Parchment

Soft Body Black is intended to provide shading without too much of a change to the overall color. The other "soft" washes I've encountered tend to be browns, so I'm interested in seeing how it turns out. I got Parchment to fill a niche that used to be filled by watering down Citadel Washes Gryphonne Sepia - shading a color representing paper or an off-white cloth like undyed linen.

Do I own a base big enough for what's in the box?

W008 Acrylic Wash - Baby Poop

I got a couple bottles of Baby Poop with a specific project in mind. This product worked great for the Reaper Bones #77113 Eldritch Demon I finished early this year. The particular green/brown/orange color over a green base provided the "cosmic horror awakened from a long nap in a pit of deep sea slime" appearance that I was looking for. That project tested the color scheme for something I'm planning on tackling next year - Reaper Bones #77194 C'thulhu. I hope that two bottles (plus what's left of the one I already had) will be enough!


From Warsenal

These look a little dull due to the packaging. Note the one on the right where I removed the protective backing.

Fluorescent Scifi Screens - Communication Array in Blue, Green, and Red

I purchased these to provide more detail for the various "bash bits together" projects I have in the works. These were originally made by Warsenal for their Communications Array (the original one, not the one currently available from their site) and they also offer the screens used for their Tech Console. Note that the dull appearance in my photo is due to the protective backing - I removed it from one screen to show the piece's transparent appearance. I have to commend Warsenal for making these available for scratch building.


Kudos to both Secret Weapons Miniatures and Warsenal - both for offering their products for sale and for their customer service. My orders were filled and shipped promptly.

Five Turbolift Pitches for Star Trek Adventure Missions

Our Star Trek Adventures campaign is still in hiatus. Bad news for us, but maybe not for y'all. Here are some more mission ideas I've dusted off from my notes. Let me know if these ideas see use in your campaign!

My well loved copy of the STA Core Rulebook, one of my many notebooks, and a starship model from Eaglemoss for inspiration.

Would Anyone on a Federation Starship Know What a Ponzi Scheme Is?

A Federation cultural survey team studying a pre-warp culture sends out a distress signal. The culture they are monitoring is suffering economic collapse. It was triggered by "The Visitors" - aliens that arrived in orbit months ago and only communicate by a mathematical code broadcast by radio. Analysis indicates that the code is similar to various "universal" methods of communications developed for first contact such as linguacode. The Visitors made promises of technology, wealth, and power to various nations, corporations, and influential individuals. All they asked for were certain "trade goods" - refined materials, cultural artifacts, and specific technology. More and more of the planet's economy was tied up with providing the Visitors with what they demanded. However, what the Visitors offered in return was only just enough to fulfill the letter of their promises and keep the flow of trade goods going. The crew must investigate and find a way to undo the cultural contamination while playing lip service to the Prime Directive. Otherwise, the economic disaster will set the development of the planet back decades or even centuries.

How this plays out depends on who the Visitors are. The Ferengi and Orion Syndicate are the obvious choices, but that makes them the first the players will suspect. Independent criminals running a scam are fairly common in Star Trek. Or they could be members of the Obsidian Order or Tal Sh'iar up to something needlessly complicated. They could even be a Klingon House fallen on hard times and needing an infusion of wealth and resources.


"New Life" is Part of the Captain's Oath, After All

A panicked report from a Federation colony states the impossible - one of the local mountain ranges/deserts/forests/oceans/otherwise relatively immobile terrain features has started migrating. The colony's leaders are calling on Starfleet to intervene before it gets to the colony.

Dealing with the strange and weird is part of what Starfleet does. Much depends on what terrain feature is on the move. Mountains or deserts could indicate previously dormant silicon based life - although the mountains might be organic life forms with thick shells. Mobile plants and life forms suspended in water could explain migrating forests or oceans. Or the whole planet could be alive in some sense with different terrain features moving as the adventure upfolds. In any event, the crew has to figure out what they are dealing with and how to either talk to them (if they are sentient) or influence their behavior (if they are not).


Echoes from Minos

Starfleet Security began a records review after the Battle of Wolf 359 and other encounters with the Borg. Their intent was to find any indicators of earlier Borg incursions and opportunities to acquire information on the Borg threat. Rumors from the Lorenze Cluster suggest that the Minosians incorporated some newly acquired technology in their Echo Papa 607 before their own creation destroyed them. The source of that technology is unclear, but the similarities between the Echo Papa 607's ability to counter the means used against it and Borg adaptation are unsettling.

Starfleet left the planet Minos alone since USS Enterprise-D's search for USS Drake ("The Arsenal of Freedom" - TNG season one). A version of the Echo Papa 607 was used during the Ersalrope Wars as a reconnaissance system. The Echo Papa 607 that destroyed the Minosians and was encountered by USS Enterprise-D automatically deployed drones to gather intelligence, capture personnel, and attack targets. The system adapted to any tactics or weapons used to destroy a drone by deploying an improved drone capable of countering the means used to destroy the previous one. The system could manufacture and deploy an improved drone in twelve minutes. An Away Team from USS Enterprise-D was able to deactivate the Echo Papa 607, but not before the system had produced a drone capable of threatening a Galaxy-class starship.

Starfleet sends a starship to Minos with orders to recover any Borg technology incorporated into the Echo Papa 607 for analysis. There might be other autonomous weapon systems still active on Minos, so the starship chosen will either be well armed or have an escort. Even worse, the Federation aren't the only ones with an interest in Minosian weapons or Borg technology.


The Early Distress Call

The crew responds to a degraded distress call with a timestamp indicating that it will be sent hours from now. Subspace communications with the origin of the distress call - a Federation botanical research outpost - indicates that nothing is wrong. Did someone falsify the transmission or does the crew need to brush up on their temporal mechanics?

Is someone trying to lure the crew away from where they are supposed to be with a false distress call? Is something about to happen to the research outpost? If so, what does it have to do with botany?


No Prey, No Pay

The player characters are assigned to deal with pirates operating on the frontier. The pirates have been hitting all shipping in their area of operation. This has made them many enemies, including a few who are willing to overcome any distaste for working with Starfleet to shut the pirates down.

The players are faced with two challenges - finding a way to take down the pirates and dealing with all of the others who also want the pirates gone, but are prepared to be much more ruthless than Starfleet. A successful pirate operation depends on finding easy pickings and selling the loot. Making their targets harder to attack makes turning a profit more risky. Finding out who the pirates are selling to cuts off their profits until they can locate a new buyer. Cunning players may try to set a trap with a tempting target or by ambushing the pirates when they arrive at their buyer. Finally, the pirates will likely have a base of operations to rest, make repairs, and store their loot until they can sell it off.

Who the other enemies of the pirates are depends on the era. While the Federation has many rivals who are willing to ignore or even support raids on Federation targets, even they will not tolerate attacks on their own shipping. Unfortunately, the Klingons, Romulans, or Cardassians won't be too concerned with the risk to innocents in their efforts to wipe the pirates out. One twist is for the Orion Syndicate to aid Starfleet by providing clues and other covert support in dealing with the pirates. The pirates are hindering the movement of all goods in the area - including those shipments belonging to the Orions. Accepting their aid may mean that the Orions will be able to expand their operations after the pirates are gone.

My Favorite Stuff - 2020 (and 2019)

The end of any year is a time for looking back. The nature of 2020 makes it challenging to find the good among all the bad. Here are some things that I've found helpful in pursuing the hobbies that provided some respite from a hard year. This post is a sequel to a previous post back in 2018. I'm including a couple of things from 2019 since I forgot a follow up post last December. We'll see if I remember to post something like this in 2021. I hope that you find something new to try and find useful.

Some of my favorite things from 2019-2020.

2019

Every Tool's a Hammer by Adam Savage

Adam Savage is best known for his role in the long-running television show Mythbusters. However, he wouldn't gotten that role without a long career behind the scenes in prop making and special effects. He continues to produce videos and podcasts as a member of Tested, which I recommended previously. This is his first book - an effort to impart his experiences as a maker.

The book does present practical knowledge - tools, techniques, and materials. It's a fascinating read just for that, but it's not the thrust of the work.

The real value of the book is Adam Savage's descriptions of the mental processes of handling a project from idea to completion. Using lists, drawings, and mock-ups during planning. Working with deadlines. The value of cooperating and sharing knowledge with others. Maintaining a level of organization that promotes working efficiently.

I got the sense that Adam Savage was doing his best to impart his hard won experience. It would have been easy to just present his successes and triumphs, but he tells of lessons learned the hardest way - bitter and embarrassing failure. The book is the distillation of a lifelong career of making things, but I got the sense that there might be more to tell.


Small Scenes From a Big Galaxy by Vesa Lethimaki

Who knew that anyone could shoot stunning scenes of Star Wars Lego figures?

This is a coffee table book of Vesa Lethimaki's dynamic photos. Falling snow on Hoth. Flying sand on Tatooine. Mist. Fog. The illusion of moving action. I'd love to try my hand at something similar with tabletop gaming miniatures and terrain, but some of his techniques for snow seem a little messy. Of more immediate value are Vesa Lethimaki's comments on lighting and setting up shots on a small scale. Much of it is relatable to shooting miniatures.


2020

Fiskars Fingertip Detail Knife (Loop Design) 163050-1001

Three issues I've long had with craft knives are comfort, control, and setting one down. I always feel like I'm going to loose my grip on the handle or that the blade is going to go flying. And a craft knife isn't something that needs to take flight. Even worse, the pen-like design of many craft knives means that they tend to roll off a work surface if set aside for a moment. This unusual design took a little getting used to, but the grip quickly became comfortable with good control. It doesn't entirely replace the other craft knives I own - there are certain angles that it can't quite get into - but it is the first one I reach for these days.


TaoTronics Dimmable Touch Eye-Protection LED Desk Lamp TT-DL13

A birthday gift from my wife after I decided that I needed a desk lamp for detail work - things like assembling and painting terrain and miniatures. I've grabbed it off the desk a few times when I needed a strong light for photos.

The design is compact and folds out of the way when not in use. The brightness levels range from "dim, but better than what comes out of the overhead room lighting" to "high noon on a summer day" with five levels in between. I generally use the middle couple of the seven brightness settings. The color is also adjustable, ranging from a bluish-white and adding more red for a total of five settings. The USB power port doesn't see much use since it sits in the same area as my PC, but it might be handy if I ever set it up next to a comfortable chair as a proper reading lamp.


Canon EOS Rebel T7i

This was a gift I bought for myself. It is my first digital camera that isn't a point-and-shoot or built into a phone. I got it partly for shooting better photos for this blog, but mostly to do something about my long smoldering interest in photography. The Rebel T7i is a good camera to grow into - I started with the automatic settings and began experimenting with the manual settings as I've grown in confidence. It's been rewarding to build a new skill and learn about ISO, aperture, and shutter speed.


Gorilla Super Glue

So much in this hobby relies on bonding dissimilar materials together. I've developed some preferences:

Bonds quickly, but not instantly. This is a hobby I pursue in my free time. I need to squeeze in as much progress as I can in as little time as possible. Spending minutes holding pieces together as they bond doesn't help with that goal. On the other hand, I also need a little time to adjust the positioning of the parts if they are a little off.

Strong. The finished project has to stand up to regular handling during play, transport, storage, and accidents.

Reliable. Some adhesives work great, but on on specific materials or in certain conditions. I prefer something that works for a variety of projects.

Doesn't go bad in the bottle. Certain brands of cyanoacrylate have the nasty habit of solidifying between one use and the next if the seal isn't quite airtight.

This stuff meets all of those preferences. It works fast, but still gives me a little time for adjustments. The bonds are holding up, but the real test will come when we're all back to face-to-face gaming again. It's glued together everything I've tried it on to date. And the stuff remaining in the bottle is still fluid every time I've reached for it so far. That's a better showing than some super glues I've tried - some didn't even make it through a single project!

Note: This is NOT the polyurethane adhesive that Gorilla Glue Company is better known for. Gorilla Super Glue is a cyanoacrylate like most "super" glues.

Bombshell Miniatures Bug Spray

This is "Bug Spray" from Bombshell Miniatures, based on artwork by Matt Dixon. This 32mm scale miniature was introduced as part of Bombshell's "Babes" Kickstarter back in 2012. It is no longer available for purchase from Bombshell Miniatures.

"Bug Spray" going to work.

"Bug Spray" seems to draw from a variety of genre sources. Sigourney Weaver's Ellen Ripley - particularly her depiction in Aliens - may have been the inspiration. The clothes would not be out of place on Tomb Raider's Lara Croft. And the purple hair (as seen on the original artwork) reminds me of Leela from Futurama.

Painting this figure is part of an ongoing effort to complete the out of production products in my collection. I also wanted a straightforward miniature painting project - no hydrophobic plastic to deal with or parts to assemble. This was also a chance to try out a couple of the Secret Weapon washes I picked up awhile back.

Skin
Reaper 09044 Tanned Skin. A clean, even layer was important to provide a foundation for the later wash layer.

Hair
My initial approach was a base layer of Reaper 09025 Burgundy Wine with Reaper 09024 Amethyst Purple applied as highlight. The results were disappointing. There was too much contrast between the two layers. I applied some watered down 09025 Burgundy Wine to better blend the two colors and darken the overall appearance of the hair. Next time I decide to try for purple hair, I might try reversing the initial process - using 09024 Amethyst Purple with some thinned down 09025 Burgundy Wine as a wash.

I'm not sure if the weapon is supposed to be a flame thrower, a plasma projector, or just a BFG.

Shorts
I went with a clean layer of Reaper 09158 Olive Drab and relying on the wash for shading and details.

Top
Reaper 09074 Palomino Gold with 09009 Lemon Yellow for highlighting. There was a strong contrast between the layers, but I knew that the wash I planned on applying later would bring it down.

Leather Accessories
The boots, gloves, and belt all got a clean coat of Reaper 09284 Lonestar Leather. It is a good color for relatively new leather. I would normally apply another color for a more weathered appearance, but I wanted to see what the wash layer would do.

Band Aid
Preserving this detail from the original artwork was a nice touch on Bombshell Miniature's part. Reaper 09233 Bright Skin is too pink to be useful as a skin tone, but works fine for a plastic adhesive bandage.

Weapon
I dipped into my last bottles of old Citadel Colour metallics for this part. Boltgun for the body. Tin Bitz for some of the details with Shining Gold as a highlight. Again, I was relying on the wash layer to bring things together.

Note the adhesive bandage on the right knee. A nice touch on the sculpt!

Weapon - Wash Layer
Secret Weapon W003 Armor Wash. The black-brown brings out the details and gives the weapon a used look.

Almost Everything Else - Wash Layer
Everything except the weapon, the hair, and the adhesive bandage got a layer of Secret Weapon W005 Flesh Wash. Secret Weapon calls it a "medium orange/brown tint" on their website. The tint turned out darker than I expected, but the dirty look fits the figure. The wash works well with the Reaper 09044 Tanned Skin to produce a sun-kissed tone. There is a shine that I initially found a little annoying, but I realized that it helps sell the idea of sweaty and exhausted woman who is having a bad day.

Reaper Bones 77310 Water Weird

This is a Reaper Bones Water Weird glued to a LED tea light. I wanted a straightforward project after the grind late last month of getting Kaladrax Reborn done by Halloween. I didn't quite achieve that goal, but close enough.

The yellow LED works better at simulating fire, but the effect isn't bad on the table.

This figure was introduced as part of the Reaper Miniatures Bones II: The Return of Mr Bones Kickstarter. I deliberately didn't get the core set for Reaper Miniatures Bones II. The amount of miniatures that showed up with the first one left me with little need for more. Instead, I picked out a few that looked interesting. That was the last Reaper Bones Kickstarter that I participated in. These days, I figure I'll pick up whatever Bones miniatures I want after they become available on the Reaper Miniatures website.

This isn't the first time I've used a LED tea light to modify a transparent plastic miniature. I basically copied the process I used for the Large Fire Elemental. As with that previous project, I'm treating the LED tea light as a thick base for the miniature. I considered modifying the electronics to create a shorter base. Unfortunately, that would take the "straightforward" right out of this project. I also like the ease of replacing the battery by unscrewing the bottom.

Water Weird miniature on a conspicuously tall base.

LED Tea Light Base Cover

I removed the plastic flame and the cover from the LED tea light. The plastic flame went to its new home in my bits box. I spray painted the cover black to serve as the base for the miniature. Once the paint was dry, I glued on the Water Weird figure.

Water Weird Well
The well portion of the Water Weird figure got a black undercoat. This was the toughest part due to the LED. I fitted the LED back on after every layer of black paint to make sure that no light would show through the well. It ended up taking four layers of black paint. Only after that did I apply a layer of gray to simulate stone. The Water Weird itself went unpainted.

Basing
The top of the base was textured with a sand/glue/brown paint mix. Once it dried, I lightly brushed on a little sandy colored craft store paint. I brushed on a little of the same paint to highlight the well.

Testing
The final touch was screwing into the electronics and see how everything worked. No light was showing though the well portion of the miniature and the light could clearly be seen. The yellow flickering light produced by the LED works better a flame, but the effect still works.

Reaper Bones Kaladrax Reborn - Finale!

Finished!

And I made my Halloween deadline!

Barely.

At least I got done before kids started knocking on the door looking for candy.

It's been awhile since I selected this figure as a $10 add on to the first Reaper Bones Kickstarter. It was delivered with the rest of the backer rewards from that Kickstarter in 2013. I didn't take a brush to it until June of this year.

This project was a real learning experience. My first insight was to stop thinking of it as an enormous miniature and treat it like a terrain piece. It made it easier to divide the work into manageable portions. The layered approach I used for painting the skeleton is going to come in handy for old bones and possibly stone. This was my first attempt at painting a glow effect - something that I look forward to applying to certain future projects.

The plastic used for the tail's end piece is soft enough to flex under the paint, causing some cracking.

Periodically publishing Work In Progress posts helped me with organizing and planning this project. Links are below.

Part 1 - Discussion of the Kaladrax Reborn as a Reaper Miniatures product, the inspiration for the necrotic glow paint scheme, description of the techniques used for painting the base, and testing the paint scheme for the skeleton on two of the legs.

Part 2 - Progress on the other two legs and the tail, the fictional backstory that Reaper created for Kaladrax Reborn, and a few thoughts on how I might use a huge dracolich in a F20 campaign.

Part 3 - Progress on the main body, description of the techniques used for the glow effect, and a look at the brown undercoat used on the skeleton.

Part 4 - Base painting complete, assembly, and planning for the final polishing passes.

There's a face that no adventuring party wants to see.

There's always a little more that could be done with a project like this. A bit more wash. A touch more highlighting. Another polishing pass. But the question has to be asked: "Will the results make the additional effort worthwhile?" Sometimes it does. Other times, diminishing returns rears its ugly head. For Kaladrax Reborn, I've decided that good enough is good enough. It's time to put Kaladrax Reborn into the display case and move on to the next project.

Reaper Bones Kaladrax Reborn WIP Part 4

The Halloween deadline I set for this project is only a few days away at the time I'm typing this. Am I gonna make it? Dunno. But I at least have this beast painted and assembled.

I'm gonna need a bigger display case.

Kaladrax Reborn needs a couple more passes before I'm willing to call this project done.

The skeleton needs some touching up. I put a coat of brown wash on parts of the skull, spine, and tail. The wash brought out the details a little bit more, but those areas are now noticeably darker than the rest of the skeleton. The whole skeleton could also use some highlighting. So I'll be brushing on some more light color paint to achieve the look I want.

The glow effect needs work. The body and wings need more bright green and possibly yellow-green highlights to better convey that they are light sources. I might have gone overboard with the green reflections on the skeleton. They'll get toned down a little when I give the skeleton another pass. The green reflections on the base are looking good, though. They also had the effect of bringing down the shine.

Close up of the body. Note the reflected glow on the skeleton and base.

A problem I ran into during the push to finish this project is the flexibility of the plastic in certain areas. I know that the white Bones plastic is fairly soft, but the horns on the skull and the tip of the tail almost flop around. This causes the paint to crack and flake. Kaladrax Reborn might be a "look, but don't touch" display piece due to this issue. Fortunately, I don't need an enormous undead dragon that often in my fantasy dungeoncrawl campaigns!

I've come to realize that these Work In Progress posts have helped me with planning each stage of this project. Writing each post means that I can stop, review my progress, see where I am, and figure out where I need to go. I'm not sure if I would have maintained any momentum without them as a tool.

Hopefully, I'll have enough free time this week to make the final couple of passes before Halloween. I'm also optimistically clearing out space in my display cabinet for this beast. It's my only storage space that's big enough!

Really Neat Tricks: Weather in the Mouse Guard Role Playing Game

Let's take a look at the Mouse Guard RPG's seasonal weather system. This post leads a series presenting rules, design elements, lore, and concepts that I've found handy beyond the game that they first appeared in. In this case, it's a system that adds weather as an element to a fantasy campaign without needing a meteorology degree.

I'm not usually one for nostalgia, but I miss RPG boxed sets.

The system is built around the idea that weather is a significant obstacle in the Mouse Guard setting. This makes perfect sense in Mouse Guard - the player characters are literally mice. Small mammals would be effected by even minor weather changes.

Adapting the system to other fantasy games brings in an often ignored element. Seasonal weather can present both challenges and opportunities to an adventuring party - spring storms slow travel, supplies are easier to come by after harvest, winter tends to shut everything down as snow and ice block traffic, etc. I'm guilty of overlooking weather unless I want to add atmosphere to a roleplaying interaction or spice up a combat encounter. If nothing else, adding a mechanic for handling weather adds variety to a fantasy campaign.

Mouse Guard's system for modeling seasons and weather takes up a whole chapter, so this is a bare bones summary. The gamemaster determines how many game sessions each season of the year will last, ranging from one to three sessions. An alternate system triggers a seasonal change based on how many times the gamemaster bring weather into play. In either case, the change of the seasons is inevitable.

Each season is described in its own section - animal activity, the kinds of weather that can be expected, conditions in the wilderness, and the kinds of adventures and other activities that are available for the player characters to pursue. Mouse Guard is set in a temperate zone, so winters are long and the other seasons tend to be short. Spring is a busy time, but rain and mud can slow things down. Summer is unhurried, but productive. Fall is another busy time as the harvest is brought in and everyone prepares for the coming cold. Everyone hunkers down during winter - player characters in Mouse Guard use the time to rest, recover, practice, and engage in role playing.

The system can be modified for other climates or for changing conditions. The next campaign does not take place in a temperate zone? Alter the length of seasons and the types of weather generated. Is the big bad cult gathering strength, summoning dark powers in the north while weakening the deity of fertility? Gradually make the winter longer while shortening the other seasons through years of game time. Food gets more and more scarce. Trade is disrupted. Armies can't get around fast enough to respond to reports of a new threat from the north. It's up to a plucky band of adventurers to find the cause and fix the problem before the final winter comes.

Mouse Guard's seasonal weather system avoids a couple of problems I've seen in other weather generation mechanics. First, it does not require the record keeping of a detailed calendar. Creating a calendar for a fantasy world is a daunting task - how many days in the year, what to name the weekdays and months, how do the phases of the moon(s) line up, where do the holidays fall, etc. Keeping up with it is even more work. Mouse Guard sidesteps the issue by basing seasonal progression on the number of sessions played. Second, it does not try to be a weather simulator with tables for wind speed, air temperature, humidity, etc. Is the weather close enough to maintain verisimilitude and how does it effect play are my concerns as gamemaster. The precise air temperature and number of inches of snow matter less to me than is it cold enough and is the snow thick enough to make even Conan the Cimmerian reconsider his travel plans and settle by the fire for some mulled wine?

Reaper Chronoscope #50016 Rosie, Chronotechnician

This is an early figure in Reaper's Chronoscope line. The name is likely a reference to Rosie the Riveter - best known from the "We Can Do It" poster, but also featured in song, film, and a Norman Rockwell cover for the Saturday Evening Post. The headset gives Reaper's Rosie a slightly more hi-tech look than the World War II cultural icon. The heavy boots, tool belt, and goggles are timeless necessities of manufacturing work, though.

Rosie and her attitude adjustment tool.

The paint scheme is inspired by Rosie the Riveter's denim overalls and a character from the video game Starscape (Moonpod, 2003). Jenna Johnson ("JJ") served as Deputy Engineer on the exploration ship serving as a home base in the game. JJ favored red overalls and pink hair. I knew that the hair would work fine, but I didn't want that much red on the figure. The red was restricted to the figure's shirt. I considered painting the overalls a military color like olive drab or khaki before deciding on denim. I might revisit the idea later when I paint the Bones version of this figure.

Denim

With a bottle of Reaper #09285 Denim Blue on hand, choosing a base color for the overalls was pretty straightforward. The color is a good match for new denim. I used Reaper #09057 as a highlight and to add a little wear to the overalls.

Leather

Reaper #09284 provides a rich brown good for somewhat distressed leather. I brushed on Reaper #09110 Oiled Leather to further simulate the look of worn leather on the boots, gloves, and tool belt.

Skin

I decided to experiment with using Formula P3 Menoth White Base with Army Painter Warpaints Soft Tone Quickshade for the bare skin. The result is serviceable and I might choose it for painting a squad or army in a hurry. I just need to find something better for single miniatures.

Details

The hair is Reaper #09183 Cloud Pink with a layer of still viable Citadel Baal Red Wash. The shirt is Reaper #09004 Fire Red. The scarf is painted with Reaper #09011 Leaf Green to stand out from the warm colors around it.

Wash

I switched between Army Painter Warpaints Quickshades between different areas of the figure. A layer of Dark Tone brought out the details on the denim and headset. Strong Tone added to the dirty and used appearance of the leather.

The asymmetry of this specific base is a good fit for this figure.

Base

The base is from a batch I ordered from Champ Industries several years ago. There is a good variety of base designs in the batch I received and all fit the generic sci-fi appearance I tend to favor. The Champ Industries website is still up. I'll have to see if they are still taking orders when my supply eventually runs low.

Closing Notes

The photos from the last couple of posts were taken with my new camera. For this post, I started experimenting with the aperture and ISO settings rather than simply using the automatic or close up modes. The majority of the photos ended up getting deleted, but I learned quite a bit from the process.

This figure has been in my collection for longer than most. I made the purchase when I was getting back into tabletop gaming - roughly the same time that I started this blog. Maybe it's a sign that I'm making progress on my pile of unfinished projects?

Reaper Bones #77041 Harpy

This is another one from Reaper's first Kickstarter - Reaper Miniatures Bones: An Evolution Of Gaming Miniatures. The rewards from that Kickstarter alone amount to a couple hundred figures. I don't expect to be done anytime soon.

Feathers and bat wings? Well, she's a fantasy monster. Forget about biological plausibility, I guess.

One goal I set out for the Reaper Bones Harpy was to experiment with some of the washes I've purchased over the last couple of years. My older stock of washes are either used up or are drying up in their containers. Trying out the newer stuff lets me cycle it in and get used to how it works.

Washer Base

I borrowed a trick from Chris Palmer's All Bones About It and glued the figure to a one inch steel washer. Reaper Bones miniatures are light enough that they tend to fall over easily with the extra weight on the bottom. I spray primed the washer before gluing it to the figure.

Primer/Base Color Coat

FolkArt Tile and Glass Medium mixed with Formula P3 Menoth White Base. A post on Reaper Miniature's forums recommends preparing Bones miniatures with FolkArt Tile and Glass Medium. Formula P3 Menoth White Base works well as an undercoat for lighter colors like white and flesh tones. I tried laying on washes directly over this coat, but the results were so disappointing that I abandoned that approach. Fortunately, mistakes like that can simply be painted over.

Flesh Tones

A coat of Reaper #09047 Fair Skin went over the previous layers. I tried a layer of Secret Weapon W005 Flesh Wash to bring out the details, but I didn't like how it turned out. It might work better applied over a white coat.

I next applied a layer of Army Painter Warpaints Soft Tone Quickshade. This is the wash sold in dropper bottles, not the dip sold in cans. Many of the washes I've used work by darkening the overall color of the surface and bring out details by flowing into recesses. Army Painter Warpaints Quickshade doesn't coat the way that I'm used to - it flows off raised areas more easily. The result is less of a change to the overall color of the surface it is applied to and more pooling in the recesses. I'm pleased with how it worked on this figure, but I may try diluting it next time to reduce the contrast between the raised and recessed areas.

As a final touch, I used a Silver Metallic Sharpie over certain bits to represent the minimal armor worn in those areas in the fantasy genre.

I like how the sculptor captured the figure in the middle of a banking turn.

Feathers

I'm not sure why this figure is sculpted with bat wings and feathers, but harpies are fantasy creatures and I'm not gonna lose any sleep over it. The base color is Reaper #09017 True Blue. I lightly brushed on Reaper #09288 LED Blue over the True Blue, being careful to allow the True Blue to show through in the recesses. This gives the feathers some depth under the brighter color.

Legs and Wings

I used Reaper #09088 Stormy Grey as a base color and a lighter grey for highlighting. A layer of Army Painter Warpaints Dark Tone Quickshade brought out the details. I considered yellow, orange, or tan as more realistic for bird legs, but I felt that the brighter colors might stand out too much from the rest of the figure.

Hair

Reaper #09070 Mahogany Brown is a good color for reddish-brown hair. I applied Army Painter Warpaints Strong Tone Quickshade over it. I considered making the hair the same color as the feathers, but I wanted more variation for the top of the figure.

Cloth

I wanted a relatively bright color to make this detail stand out. Reaper #09004 Fire Red tuned out to be just a little too bright. A layer of Army Painter Warpaints Soft Tone Quickshade brought down the color just enough.

There's always that one mold line that only shows up after painting and photographing.

Basing

Some glue and sand provides texture and a couple of earth tones simulate dry soil.

Closing Notes

I noticed an odd smell when I was using the Army Painter Warpaints Quickshades. It's not an issue that is unique to Army Painter products - some other washes produce a similar odor. Maybe it has something to do with the specific pigments or medium used?

The paint job on this figure turned out darker than I expected, but I'm happy with it. The harpy is a monster - something that will only be on the tabletop as long as the players permit it to be there. Heroes, boss monsters, and other significant figures need to "pop" on the table, but monsters can be subdued in appearance.

The "Makuda" Class Klingon Battle Cruiser Background

Awhile back, Michael Okuda shared a tale from his time working on Star Trek: The Next Generation to the Facebook page that he shares with his wife. The post includes a single photo of his suggestion for what would become the K'Vort-class. The photo shows a kitbashed model using what appears to be a K't'inga model kit as its base. He reinforced the model with a brass rod, installed lights, and attached various greebles. Rick Sternbach added weathering and battle scars. Unfortunately, the model was not used and the ILM's Bird-of-Prey became the (much larger) K'Vort.

I'm thinking about using the design whenever our Star Trek Adventures campaign starts back up. The Klingon fleet, even in the 24th century, could use a little more variety. I wrote up a quick history of the class and gave it a name inspired by its creator. Stat-wise, I'm planning on just using the K'Vort from the book.

The Makuda-class battle cruiser was originally conceived as a response to Starfleet's Excelsior-class starship. The design is a modified K't'inga-class with enhanced systems and a reinforced hull. The Klingon Defense Force ultimately rejected the design. Although the Makuda would have set new standards for battle cruiser performance, it was far more expensive than simply keeping the K't'inga-class in service. Upgrading existing K't'inga-class battle cruisers to the Makuda-class design was considered, but the estimated cost was comparable to new construction due to the additional hull bracing and upgraded structural integrity fields needed to support the improved systems and performance.

The Makuda-class design was revisited on three occasions.

The first was in response to Starfleet's introduction of the Ambassador-class starship. To save time, a new team took the existing Makuda-class design study and updated it with the technologies that had been developed in the interim. The design was well-regarded, but lost to the K'Vort-class - an uprated and expanded Bird-of-Prey design based on the B'Rel-class. Again, the deciding factor was cost. The K'Vort could be more economically produced in the numbers the Klingon Defense Force needed to protect the Empire. On the other hand, a few Houses took a liking to the design, preferring "proper battle cruisers" to "overgrown scout ships" and it entered limited production to replace older battle cruisers. Most were never deployed outside Klingon space, but a few saw action against the expanding Cardassian Union.

A proposal to expand production of the Makuda-class was put forth after the reemergence of the Romulan Star Empire along with their fleets of impressive D'deridex-class warbirds. However, the Vor'cha-class battle cruiser was entering service to glowing reports from their first crews as they shattered performance records. Another factor was the latest refit for the K't'inga-class - one that would enable the venerable battle cruisers to serve in the brief Federation-Klingon conflict just prior to the Dominion War. With brand new battle cruisers joining the fleets and plenty of freshly refitted older ones around, the Klingon Defense Force rejected the proposal and even orders from the Houses began to dry up.

The desperate early days of the Dominion War was the third and final time production of the Makuda-class for the Klingon Defense Force was seriously considered. It was pointed out that there were some slipways too small to build a Vor'cha, but not suitable for a K'Vort or B'Rel either. Most of these slipways originally built D-7 battle cruisers and had been retooled for civilian production as the Empire tried to restore its economy after Praxis. It had always been possible to use them to produce Makuda-class battle cruisers, but the direct cost of retooling and the indirect cost to the Empire's economy was always deemed to be too high. Questions of cost disappeared as the Dominion proved to be an existential threat to the Federation-Klingon Alliance.

The Makuda-class plans were once again updated, but there were limits to what could be done with the aging design and progress was slow. Only one slipway was retooled and limited production began by the time the Romulans entered the Dominion War. With the tide turning, the Klingon Defense Force halted plans to expand production further. The single slipway continued to produce Makuda-class battle cruisers - at a rate just enough to replace losses - until the end of the war. The slipways that were to be used to build Makuda-class battle cruisers were instead retooled to produce troop transports to ferry Klingon warriors to take planets in Cardassian space instead.

Homicidal Warbot Trash Bash WIP

I was going to spend my free time this weekend on Kaladrax Reborn, but I got distracted by a shiny new idea. It occurred to me that certain bits from my collection of random junk could be assembled into a sci-fi defensive emplacement or robotic weapon system. I did put some paint on Kaladrax, but that was in between prepping and assembling this brand new project.

Someday I'll figure out how to make a plan and stick with it.

This figure is built around the plastic spigot of a liquid laundry detergent container. I noticed that the spigot appears vaguely like part of a turret awhile back, but I wasn't sure how to complete that look. Everything started to come together while I was rummaging through my bits bin for something else. The "barrel" - actually the hub of the feed roller for a printer - fit snugly into the spigot. An old pull tab fit around the barrel, evoking some kind of barrel shroud or sensor system. The big discovery was that the orange base part - originally a screw-on cap for a bottle of something or other - fit nicely under the "turret" piece. The rest of the parts were selected to add details to suggest various functions - communications, venting heat/fumes, etc. I have multiples of all the parts, giving me the luxury to experiment.

Initial bunch of parts used for this project.

Next came the test fit. On a practical level, this step confirmed that the parts could actually be assembled into a completed figure. Parts on builds like this often need a little "convincing" to fit. Test fitting also gave me a better idea of what the assembled figure would look like on the tabletop. I used a little mounting putty to hold everything together during this step.

Initial test fit. Some of the parts moved around for the final assembly and the side parts haven't been added yet.

The test fit revealed no assembly problems, but another issue appeared. The long barrel unbalanced the figure. It tended to fall over even when resting on a table or desk and was almost hopeless on terrain or felt. Possible solutions included weights, adding more parts, and gluing the figure to a wide base. I decided to plow ahead while I mulled it over.

Preparing the parts involved an abrasive sheet and a little elbow grease. Many plastics tend to be too smooth for glue and paint to "grab" - resulting in weak bonds. Roughing up the parts produces more surface area and allow glue and paint to bond properly. All parts were then washed with soap and water. No telling where these things have been.

Close up of newest bits.

While waiting for everything to dry, I found a couple more parts that fit on the sides of the figure. I have no recollection of what these parts are, but they are visually interesting and I have plenty of them. These parts counterbalance the barrel and the "legs" stabilize the figure. I'm still planning on putting this figure on a base, but I feel better knowing that it will rest on a flat surface on its own. The latest parts were prepared using the same techniques as the rest.

Rear view with various parts added to provide detail.

Assembly was straightforward. Test fitting provided good practice. All parts were bonded using cyanoacrylate glue.

The assembled figure looks like a cross between an astromech droid and a Dalek. I'm thinking less "static defensive emplacement" and more "homicidal warbot" for the future of this project. For now, I'm setting it aside for a few days. I don't want to get a bright idea on some new part to glue on after I've already primed and started painting it.