Coffee Bag Freebie Greeblies

A quick video about a couple of bits useful for trash bashing salvaged from an empty coffee bag.

Since the video came out to 41 seconds, I decided to play around with the Shorts format for this one.

7 Distress Calls to Start a Space Horror Game

Nobody can hear screaming in space, but distress calls seem to get through just fine. Distress calls have a long history in sci-fi horror stories set in space. A prominent example is Alien (1979, directed by Ridley Scott and written by Dan O'Bannon), which started a franchise with a transmission that turned out to be a warning. The highly regarded sequel, Aliens (1986, written and directed by James Cameron), is built around the "we lost contact, go find out what happened" variant of the trope. Here are seven ways to lure in a group of player characters in a role playing game or begin the narrative for a miniatures wargame scenario.

Just go out there and find out what happened. Easy money, right?

"Guilty Consciousness"

A freighter reported as missing and presumed lost is tracked drifting through a remote star system. No life signs and minimal power readings are detected. Long range observations indicate a hull breach, but the vessel is otherwise intact. The corporate owners send a salvage team to recover their investment. Naturally, things go south as soon as they get to the freighter.

The freighter suffered a debris collision that killed most of the crew on impact. The AI responsible for navigation went insane with guilt almost immediately. It was under orders to get the ship to its destination in the shortest possible time so that the crew could earn their bonuses. The captain had authorized transit through a high risk area to save time. The conflict between its orders and its safety protocols caused the AI to suffer severe psychological stress. The deaths due to the collision caused it to snap. It removed any witnesses by killing off the surviving crew and went on the run. The ship has been moving along minimum energy courses, conserving power, and only refueling at automated stations in isolated systems to keep out of sight.

Signs of its discovery and the appearance of salvage crew cause the AI to panic and lash out. The freighter is low on fuel, so it can't evade the salvage mission. However, it has complete control of the ship's automated security systems and will use them on any boarders. Handling the AI could take anything from an extended psychotherapy session to a sophisticated hacking attempt to spending a little time and effort in its processing core with a really big hammer.


"The Tools of the Other"

A private exploration ship returning from a long range mission has developed a technical fault. The audio-only request for assistance sounds almost bored as the voice describes a problem that could easily be repaired with the right part. Unfortunately, the expedition ran out during its decades-long mission. Should be an easy fix, right?

The transmission was weak, distorted, and garbled - the only things that experts could agree on was the source. A private exploration ship set off with its crew in stasis for the decade long voyage. When they arrived, they found the impossible - a duplicate of their own ship crashed on the surface of a dead world. Most of the team spoke of temporal anomalies and paradoxes, but one found answers in the wreckage. He found a journal and a few other items in the cabin of his Other. The journal, written in his own handwriting, told him what he needed to do. As the expedition prepared for the return trip, he reprogrammed his stasis capsule to awaken him early. The ship was still a year from home when he emerged from stasis and began the work of the Other. He awakened each member of the expedition, one by one, and murdered them using the Other's tools and following the rituals in the Other's journal. However, the work was not done. He made preparations, sent out a distress signal, and went back into stasis. The ship's computer will revive him when a ship approaches. He will be ready to receive any responding to his call. More sacrifices will be needed for the Other's plans.

The whole ship is rigged with traps to disable any who board it. The Other wants them to live long enough to die properly, after all.


"Servile Revolution"

Ideally, a new settlement should have as much infrastructure in place as possible before the majority of the population shows up. While the initial survey teams often face many challenges, the work of the construction crews who follow them is usually mundane. The process mostly involves assembling pre-fabricated structures and is assisted by automation. It comes as a surprise when one such effort stops reporting on the edge of explored space. The settlement's sponsors dispatch a ship to investigate.

It turns out that the work of setting up a new settlement got a little too routine and this particular construction crew sought out novel ways to deal with their boredom. One bright spark started running pit fights between construction robots modified by teams of technicians. To keep things lively, teams began to incorporate self-improving intelligences and augmenting the local wildlife into cyborg combatants. Some of the artificial gladiators were made self-replicating to cut down on build time. Naturally, the newest creations became a little too smart and got ideas about how to shake up the order of things. The construction personnel now only survive as parts in the descendants of their own creations. The place is now host to a self-replicating population of dangerous cyborg creatures optimized for close combat.

It would take a significant infantry force to clear out the settlement and make it safe for human habitation. A less brute force approach might take the form of a virus - software, biological, or both - targeting the former gladiators. Or the team sent to investigate might decide to nuke the site from orbit as the only way to deal with the threat. Of course, that team would have to survive long enough to escape back into space.


"Unwelcome Passenger"

The new FTL drive is a revolutionary development. It offers longer range and better performance with none of the drawbacks of older systems. The published results of all tests to date are positive, but there are rumors of unreported difficulties. Even so, the prototype installed on an experimental ship is sent out for testing. The first full power test ends with the loss of all communications. Long range scans detect the ship near its target destination. A spacial anomaly is also detected at the same coordinates. The ship is adrift, power readings are minimal, and there are no signs of life. A rescue ship is sent to recover the expensive hardware and find out what happened.

Any boarding team soon discovers that the corridors and compartments of the ship extend beyond the ship's external dimensions. The new areas are obviously of alien origin. Scraps of bloody uniforms and a few bones are all that's left of the crew.

The full scale test opened a door to somewhere else and attracted the attention of something living on the other side. Always hungry, it crossed over, consumed the fleshy things it encountered, and made itself at home. Now fresh prey is at hand.

Weird sculpture with strange writing? Nothing suspicious here. Ship it!

"Never Dig for Miskantonic U"

Miskantonic University regularly sponsors xeno-archaelogical expeditions throughout known space. Many proceed without incident, quietly expanding humanity's knowledge of ancient extraterrestrial cultures. Contact with some expeditions ends mysteriously and later investigation reveals abandoned camps and missing personnel. The last word from others are urgent messages - sometimes spoken in strange languages - stating that something has gone horribly wrong before getting cut off.

One example is the expedition lost while surveying the cyclopean ruins of a world scoured of life by a nearby gamma ray burst. The camp is in good order with all atmospheric seals intact. It's as if every single expedition member just got up and left at the same time. The only clue is the last entry in the expedition log mentioning something about an artifact found in the ruins. The entry describes a bizarre sculpture carved from green-black stone.

Another example is the expedition sent to explore a vast repository of knowledge taking up most of a newly discovered planet's surface. Regular uploads of data are cut off by a panicked report of hostile beings approaching the camp site. The location could be orbiting the star Celaeno or be a Yithian library. Either way, both the staff and the non-human patrons don't view the expedition or would-be rescuers favorably.


"Runaway Growth"

A passenger transport ferrying workers from a remote mining outpost emerges from FTL. An automated distress call indicates that it has suffered a reactor overload and radiation leak caused by a FTL drive malfunction. Life readings are confusing. There are no indications of human life, but something is still alive on the ship. Scans of the transport ship also indicate that it is running on emergency power. A rescue team is dispatched to investigate.

The ship was carrying samples of organic material discovered during routine mining operations. The mining outpost lacked the means to analyze it, so samples were placed in sealed containers and sent back with the workers. The organic material includes a colony organism of a type not previously encountered. The radiation leak penetrated the sealed containers and triggered rapid growth and mutations. The growth of the organism broke the seals on the containers and they escaped.

None of this was noticed by the crew and passengers, who had other issues. The FTL malfunction greatly accelerated the flow of time aboard the ship. There was no way for the supplies to last for the decades of relative time that the trip would now take. The crew began to work on ways to shut down the FTL drive.

Their efforts were overtaken by the spread of the organism. Efforts to contain it failed. The ship's medical personnel discovered that spores had moved through the life support systems and infected everyone aboard. The spores had also infected the food supplies and hydroponics bays. Already weakened by radiation exposure, the crew and passengers began to die from their infections. Strange creatures burst from the corpses to attack the dwindling survivors. Meanwhile, the colony organism continued to spread throughout the ship.

The decades of relative time allowed the organism to use the bodies, food, and other organic materials aboard to evolve into a full blown colony. Growths have spread throughout the interior of the ship. The drones that once collected resources for the colony are dormant in their cocoons. Any disturbance aboard the ship will alert the colony to new sources of organic materials it can consume and use to grow.

Was this on the manifest? What were they thinking?!

"A Taste of Forbidden Fruit"

An automated emergency beacon signal is received from a distant planetary survey team. The team was investigating the potential of a paradise-class world of lush, biochemically-compatible forests and jungles for settlement. All previous communications from the survey team were routine check-ins and progress reports. An expedition is launched to rescue the team and recover their findings.

The survey camp is in ruins and the team is missing, but the data systems can be salvaged. An initial search of the survey team's logs reveals:

• All tests indicate that the native flora is safe for consumption. The team leader authorized using the native fruit and vegetables to supplement their food supplies.
• Cataloging the local fauna is still proceeding. Reports of a large primate could not be confirmed. No member of the team was able to catch more than a glimpse of one.
• Weak radio signals have been detected coming from a nearby magnetic anomaly. A group of volunteers would be deployed as soon as work schedules would permit.
• Team morale is declining. The overall mood improved after the introduction of fresh food, but dipped back down quickly. Conflicts are escalating and tempers are beginning to flare. The team leader plans to focus the team's attention on investigating the radio signals to divert their attention away from internals conflicts.
• A fair amount of survey data, but not enough for a complete report.

The rescue expedition has its first encounters with native fauna soon after arriving.

Deeper searches of the logs are possible, but require time to yield results:

• An expedition was sent to investigate the radio signals and magnetic anomaly. The magnetic anomaly is the wreck of an obviously alien spacecraft and some nearby structures. The team determined that the hull of the spacecraft was partly disassembled and the components used to construct the nearby structures. The poor condition of the wreck and structures, along with the amount of overgrowth, indicate that they are centuries old. The source of the radio signals is a beacon inside the wreck using the last of its power.
• The expedition had to be abandoned due to attacks from the native primates. The survey team was taken by surprise and several team members were carried off into the wilderness. None of the survey team was killed, but some sustained injuries. The team leader decided to pull back to their camp after an effort to track down the captured team members ran into further attacks.
• Further survey team logs describe how the native primates have been systematically attacking the camp. The long range communications and remaining food supplies were specifically targeted, but none of the team were killed or seriously injured. Fortunately, the primates have not interfered with the team's efforts to forage for native fruits and vegetables. One particular fruit is noted as particularly delicious.
• Barely enough survey data for a tentative report.

Hanging around the camp to recover more data, venturing into the wilderness, or going to investigate the alien wreck triggers an aggressive response from the native primates. They avoid killing - their goal is to take captives.

The final logs are corrupted and take time and effort to recover:

• Discipline and morale within the team collapsed. Some members of the survey team became obsessed with a particular native fruit, gorging on it and trying to persuade others to give it a taste. They later banded together and attempted to force others to eat the fruit. They became aggressive when confronted and rebelled. They were last seen disappearing into the wilderness around the camp.
• Efforts to forage for food have begun to come under attack.
• Piles of the fruit have begun appearing near the camp. With other food supplies running low, the team will have to consume the fruit into order to survive.
• The remaining team members are concentrating their efforts on defending the camp and repairing the emergency beacon. Hopefully, they can hold out until help arrives.
• All of the survey data collected by the team.

There is a specific native fruit possessing addictive and transformative properties. Anyone eating the fruit quickly craves more and encourages others to partake. The fruit's effects slowly transforms those who consume it into a powerful primate that appears to be native to the planet. The primates already present when the survey team arrived are descendants of the aliens from the wreck. The captured survey team members were forced to eat enough fruit to begin the transformation. The rebellious survey team members left when they felt the transformation beginning. The last of the team were left with no alternative but to eat the fruit and transform. They left the camp soon after repairing and activating the emergency beacon.


Hope y'all enjoyed these ideas! Let me know how they work out in play.

Reaper Bones 80008 Rosie, Chronotechnician

It's been months since I did anything with my Five Parsecs From Home campaign. Sizing things up, there's three things I need to continue and a substitute miniature for Lin is the easiest to check off the list. Lin, previously represented by Rosie, Chronotechnician from Reaper's Chronoscope line, failed to repair her signature Brutal Melee Weapon and will be wielding a more conventional weapon for the next fight. Fortunately, I received the Bones version of her miniature as a reward from the first Reaper Bones Kickstarter.

I didn't want to simply reproduce my previous paint scheme on this figure. First, it's boring. Second, a quick change of clothes along with the weapon makes sense for the character. Third, it would allow me to use the figure as a different character later on.

Lin's got a loaner weapon until her big wrench gets fixed.

Base

I glued the integral base to a spray primed steel fender washer. The gap was filled after painting the miniature with a variant on my standard basing mix. This variant adds black rather than brown craft paint to a mix of sand, PVA glue, and a little water to improve flow. Some gray drybrushed on after the basing mix dried completes the industrial look of the base.


Preparation

The same approach I use for all white Bones plastic. Details are at the end of this link.


Skin

Menoth White Base

This with a wash creates a pale skin tone. I've never been happy with this approach and moved away from it, but used it here to match the Chronoscope version I painted before.


Shirt

Reaper 09017 True Blue

This is a bright blue that coats well. As the shirt is a small, flat area, I didn't feel the need to paint any highlighting over what the wash I applied later would provide.


Weapon

Citadel Colour Chaos Black
Citadel Colour Codex Grey
Army Painter Warpaints Quickshade Dark Tone

Not the neatest or fanciest approach, but one that brings out the mechanical details.


Overalls

Reaper 09158 Olive Drab
Reaper 09177 Camouflage Green

These are darker and lighter versions of an olive green camouflage color. They work well paired as a base and highlight.


Leather

Reaper 09284 Lonestar Leather
Reaper 09110 Oiled Leather

This is the same combination I used for the leather on the metal version and has become my go-to for a base and highlight combination.


Hair

Reaper 09183 Cloud Pink
Citadel Washes Baal Red

Again, the same combination I used for the metal version. To my surprise, the Baal Red was still perfectly viable, but most red washes should work fine.


Wash

Army Painter Warpaints Quickshade Strong Tone

Everything except for the hair and weapon got a coat of this wash slapped on it. Again, this reproduces my approach to the metal version and remains how I paint Bones plastic.

Bones (plastic) version on the left, Chronoscope (metal) version on the right.

Chronoscope and (Early) Bones Comparison

This is a chance to compare the metal and plastic versions of the miniature. To my mild surprise, I haven't actually painted the same sculpt in two different materials before.

The details of the Chronoscope version are sharper and better defined when compared to the Bones version. This is the expected finding. The soft white plastic used in the initial waves of Bones doesn't seem to be able to retain fine detail like metal or the harder gray plastic that Reaper switched to later on. The difference in detail is significant. The face is less detailed and the goggles are a muddy mess. It made for a less pleasant painting experience as I kept hunting for details that I knew were there on the metal version.

A comparison between the metal and plastic versions is incomplete without discussing pricing. Here are the prices in USD at the time of this writing:

Reaper Bones 80008 Rosie, Chronotechnician $3.99 (USD)
Reaper Chronoscope 50016 Rosie, Chronotechnician $5.99 (USD)

The plastic version can be picked up for two-thirds the price of the metal one. However, two bucks isn't a huge price difference in absolute terms. It comes down to personal preference. Is the difference in detail worth paying a little extra? The Bones version wouldn't be my first choice as a hero miniature or display piece. Which material is the buyer more comfortable working with? Metal and plastic demand different approaches. A painter set up for one material may not wish to adapt to the other.

Bones (plastic) version on the left, Chronoscope (metal) version on the right.

Bones - even early Bones - do have a place. Most of my Bones collection is from the first Kickstarter and is therefore the white plastic from the beginning of the line. All of the ones I've painted are serviceable when painted to a tabletop standard. The majority of the figures are monsters or other opposition that will only be on the table as long as the players allow them to survive. Also, a Bones figure makes for a fun "rainy day" painting experience. The work goes quickly since I don't stress much about getting the best results possible like I might with a metal, resin, or higher quality plastic figure.

In the end, comparing this figure to its metal counterpart didn't change my option on early Bones miniatures. They are a cost effective option for the kinds of miniatures meant to be used in bulk. Orcs or zombies? Oh, yeah, I'm going for the white plastic Bones versions. Likewise, large miniatures are much more practical in any form of plastic when compared to metal. However, I'm happy to shell out a little more for a centerpiece miniature of metal, resin, or higher quality plastic that I'm painting to look the best I can manage.

Trash Bash Pill Bottle Stasis Tube

Awhile back, I made some Stasis Pods using pill bottles as a quick and dirty project. The idea behind this terrain is to be able to place a 28mm scale miniature inside and still see it through the transparent pill bottle. The original set met a sudden need for the campaign I was running at the time, but I knew I could do better. This is my second try at the concept.

Final test fitting. Just waiting for its first patient. Or victim.

Top Cap
This is a McDonald's Happy Meal toy from ages ago. I'm pretty sure it's a Star Wars themed spinning top. I wiped it down and realized that the protrusion would get in the way of mounting it on the pill bottle. I didn't relish the idea of cutting through the tough plastic of the toy, so I did the other thing.

Stasis Tube Body
A transparent pill bottle with the labels removed and cleaned with warm soap and water. I drilled a hole to accommodate the top piece's protrusion.

Mounting Hardware
The bottom piece is the cap from a juice bottle. I removed most of the threading to improve the fit of the pill bottle.

Initial test fit prior to painting.

Mounting Hardware Internal Platform
I glued a bottle cap inside the juice bottle cap to cover up some markings. It also raises up any figures placed inside the tube.

Display Panel
From a set of Fluorescent Scifi Screens from Warsenal. I purchased these awhile back to add exactly this kind of detail to my terrain projects. Not sure about the color, though. I'll try the blue and green options before gluing anything down.

Various Mounting Hardware Details
The towers are plastic clips of some kind. I don't recall the source. The round piece that I used to mount the display panel is a salvaged printer part. The square details were recovered from a nonfunctional keyboard. Finally, the parts glued inside to add some internal detail are the same as the ones I used as arms for the "Astromecha" robot. I may add some wires to simulate hoses running between them at some point.

Test fit after black spray coat.

Painting
The top cap and mounting hardware were spray painted black and then metallic. I then applied a dark wash, wiping off any excess with a sponge.

Major components after painting and prior to assembly.

Assembly
The spinning top and pill bottle fit together perfectly. It's almost snug enough to not require glue. Almost. The fit of the display panel is also good, but it will also be glued in place once I settle on the color. The pill bottle sits evenly in the juice cap and can be easily removed so that a miniature can be placed inside.

Tin Man Miniatures Princess Livia recovering from a beach trip.

I'm content with the results. but I still think I can do better. It's a more convincing terrain piece than the originals. It's missing something, though. I'll have to give it some thought and make another attempt later.

Trash Bash "Astromecha" WIP

Something I threw together the other day. I was digging around in my bits collection for something else, noticed how well these parts fit together, and spent about twenty or thirty minutes building this robot miniature. Then I set it aside and got back to what I was doing in the first place.

Arms raised in threat, surrender, or just stretching?

In my defense, I've been considering cobbling together a trash bash robot for awhile now. I even collected a few images for inspiration. Maybe my brain seized on the first opportunity it came across.

Going from the bottom up to the top, the parts are:

• A 25mm plastic slotted base. Pretty standard in the tabletop miniatures world. This particular one is from Games Workshop.
• A pair of metal weights from a gaming mouse. Intended to customize the mouse to the exact specifications of the user. Salvaged after the mouse in question stopped working.
• A plastic button from either a telephone or a fax unit. Again, salvaged after the unit they were once attached to stopped functioning. The plastic protrusions were clipped down so the mouse weight "wheels" would fit properly.
• Three white plastic bits - the "arms" and "head" are separate parts. Printer salvage. I'm not sure, but I think they were paper feed roller parts from two different devices. How well the "head" fit on to the button "body" is what started this unplanned project.
• The plastic "head" is hollow, so I glued in a flat sided plastic bead to partly fill the space.

Maybe not the droid she's looking for.

Everything is held together with Gorilla Super Glue. The bond with the base will be reinforced with my usual choice of basing material (sand, glue, paint, and a little water to improve flow) after the detail pass. The stuff sets like concrete. I'll just have to remember to tape the slot closed beforehand. Yes, I've made a mess by forgetting that step before.

The basic form is done. I've put off hitting it with a coat of spray primer until I can dive back into my bits collection and give it a detail pass. I'm hoping for an antenna or some access ports. Maybe something additional to fill in the empty "head" space. Until then, it's just not quite ready for painting yet.

Rear view showing the bead partly filling the space in the top piece.

More after I finish what I was working on in the first place and get back to this project.

Tin Man Miniatures Princess Livia

Presenting her royal highness, Princess Livia from Tin Man Miniatures. Tin Man Miniatures is best known for producing 28mm-32mm scale figures based on the Barsoom planetary romance series written by Edgar Rice Burroughs. This is the non-"A" version of the figure. The "A" version represents the same character, but wearing less than what is seen here.

Extraterrestrial beach attire.

Figures representing women clad more in concept than reality don't regularly feature on this blog, but this one has been in my unpainted pile for more than long enough. I picked her out of the pile since I was in a swords and sorcery mood after an involuntary month long break. Although "sword and planet" might be a better description here.

My first attempt ended with Livia taking a bath in Simple Green. I tried out a different spray primer and found that it went on too thick and obscured the finer details. Then the nozzle broke and I threw out the can. Worse, I didn't like how the paint scheme I picked out - pale skin and gold metallics - blended together.

Sometimes a fresh start is the best option. Besides, I need more practice with painting flesh tones. This wasn't the end of the challenges I ran into with this project, though.


Preparation

This figure required nothing other than the warm soap and water cleaning I give to all of my miniatures as a first step. I wasn't able to find any mold lines or flash.


Base Assembly

I decided that the small integral base is not fit for the purpose of keeping the figure standing upright. My solution is the same one I use for Reaper Bones miniatures - gluing the figure on a steel fender washer.


Color Scheme

I opted to paint this figure as a human rather than a Red Martian. No offense intended to Edgar Rice Burroughs, but I felt that I would get more utility out of a swords and sorcery appearance for this figure.

The warm colors of the figure's skin and hair contrast with the cold metallics of the figure's outfit and jewelry. The small amount of blue cloth continues the warm/cold contrast.

Hair flowing in the winds of an alien desert.

Spray Primer

Tamiya Surface Primer (L) Gray
Tamiya Surface Primer (L) White

Sprayed in a zenithal pattern. This worked much better for preserving the details of the model.


Skin

Reaper 09041 Dark Skin
Reaper 09221 Olive Skin
Reaper 09260 Bronzed Skin
Secret Weapon W005 Flesh Wash

I built up a tanned appearance from the Dark Skin base layer to the Bronzed Skin highlights. All of these paints work well as various skin tones. The wash added surprisingly little and I'll skip it the next time I use this recipe.


Hair

Reaper 09221 Olive Skin
Reaper 09257 Blond Hair
Secret Weapon W005 Flesh Wash

Using Olive Skin as a base layer meant one less paint bottle to dig around for. The wash was much more useful here, bringing out the flowing hair sculpted on the figure.


Metal

Citadel Colour Codex Grey
Citadel Colour Boltgun Metal
Citadel Colour Mithril Silver
Formula P3 Armor Wash

Metallic paints don't always coat well, so I started with a non-metallic base layer. Even applied as a highlight, the Mithril Silver overwhelmed the layers it was sitting on. The wash toned down the shine and brought back the details of the metallic areas.


Cloth

Reaper 09017 True Blue

Basing

The basing material is my usual mix of sand with water, PVA glue, and FolkArt 231 Real Brown to fix it in place. Next came a dry brush of FolkArt 420 Linen to give the surface a drier, sandy appearance. I used Citadel Colour Chaos Black for the rim and - judging by the photos - I'll need to touch it up.

The base still needs a little work, but good results overall.

The initial set of photos I took of this miniature revealed all of the flaws in my paint job. This wasn't the first time I ran into this issue, but it was the first time it was bad enough for me to go back, fix things, and reshoot. Most of the flaws were with the cloth and skin tones. Also, it was at this point that I applied the wash to the metallic areas since the reflections were giving my camera fits.

This project turned out to be more of a challenge that I anticipated. This is not the fault of the figure, which is well sculpted and cast. An unplanned month off from painting left me a little out of practice. Perhaps something else might have been a better choice for a first project back. On the other hand, I did come out with new recipes for painting skin tones and metallics. Overall, I enjoyed the process of finding solutions for the problems I ran into and extracting a figure from the unpainted miniatures pile.