Outta Storage & Off the Workbench: Brutal Cities Eternity Lab Module C

I'm at the stage where I'm happy with how this looks, but kinda tempted to give it another weathering pass...

Anyhow, this is part of the same modular line of sci-fi office buildings as Module A from awhile back. Both modules were assembled and spray painted at the same time and using the same methods and materials. Life decided to get in the way of my hobby after I completed Module A and the accessories that came with both kits - the doors and air conditioner unit. Module C sat in storage until I got back to it. I decided on a simpler approach for a cleaner appearance and in the name of Getting It Done.

Sarah keeps watch while Rosie figures out what's wrong with the air conditioner.

Spray Coats
See Brutal Cities Eternity Lab Module A post.

Highlighting
Khaki areas: FolkArt 420 Linen diluted with water.
Blue areas: FolkArt 520 Dark Hydrangea diluted with water.

Diluting the craft paints allowed me to build up subtle gradations in the corners and other areas that would be more exposed to light.

First Wash
Mix of Liquitex Soft Body Payne's Gray, Liquitex Matte Medium, and water.

My goal was to augment the shading effect already in place from spraying the base coats in a zenithal pattern. This wash was applied over the entire surface and was allowed to pool in the recesses while the excess was wiped away.

Side view with A/C unit on top.

Second Wash
FolkArt 479 Pure Black diluted with water.

The shadows didn't quite look dark enough after the first wash coat. I brushed this darker mix into the areas between the Khaki and Blue areas and other recesses such as those on the ladder.

Lights
FolkArt 520 Dark Hydrangea
FolkArt 480 Titanium White

Here I reproduced the techniques used on Module A. The Dark Hydrangea got stippled on and around the light. I mixed some Titanium White in the Dark Hydrangea and stippled it on a slightly smaller area within the first one. More Titanium White was added in each following layer until I was working with an almost pure Titanium White.

Module A stacked on Module C and accessories (doors and A/C unit).

This project illustrates the benefit of a more streamlined approach and the issue of putting a project on hold. I was able to get Module C to a tabletop ready standard with less work than Module A, even through this is a larger piece. On the other hand, the two pieces don't quite match due to the different techniques used. Any more Eternity Lab Module kits I purchase from Brutal Cities will likely get the simplified and faster approach I used from Module C. This leaves Module A as the odd one out, but I'm okay with that.

Still thinking about one more weathering pass...

The post on Module A has my thoughts on the build, product quality, etc. Long story short - Ryan at Brutal Cities makes good stuff. Sturdy, well thought out, and can fit a variety of settings from modern to cyberpunk to space opera. The cost of shipping from Australia is higher than I'd like, but I can't fault Brutal Cities for the realities of the international shipping. I'll just resort to my usual remedy of waiting for a sale to offset such costs.

Back In the Saddle - Star Trek Adventures

Let me tell you about the RPG campaign I'm running!

It's been awhile since I've run any kind of tabletop game for a group. The last one was canceled in 2020 and starting a new one didn't happen for a variety of reasons. Remote gaming didn't appeal to my group, but we did keep in touch over Discord. A number of folks in our group were holding down medical or public-facing service jobs, so in person gaming kept getting pushed back.

That all changed recently when we decided to get the band back together.

Last minute cramming before Session Zero!

Early Discussion

The idea of returning to in person gaming came up over Discord and shifted over to picking out a game. The field got narrowed down to Star Trek Adventures, 13th Age, and Conan: Adventures in an Age Undreamed Of. The majority of the players are involved with an ongoing Dungeons & Dragons 5e campaign, so any form of F20 seemed redundant to them. Conan was ruled out since I didn't have a firm idea for a campaign other that a series of "throw stuff at the players and see what they like" adventures. With everybody being a Star Trek fan, the emergence of a variety of new content for that franchise coming out over the past few years, and my ability to come up with adventure ideas, Star Trek Adventures seemed like the best bet.

Now, I know what you might be thinking: "Star Trek Adventures? That's Undiscovered Country for the Over the Hill Gaming Blog!" That's a fair point. After all, I've only written about a couple of dozen posts concerning the game. I'm clearly not primed to run the game, but I'll just have to do my best and muddle through it somehow.


Session Zero (And Change)

The next step was getting together - in person - for Session Zero. The actual Session Zero got cut short due to scheduling issues. So we actually had Session Zero and Session Zero and Change. I usually run Session Zeroes with two major topics in mind - campaign discussion and character generation. Star Trek Adventures adds a third - starship generation.


Campaign Discussion

The first Star Trek Adventures campaign I ran for this group was strongly influenced by DS9. It was placed along the Cardassian border. The Bajorans, Cardassians, Maquis, and Dominion all featured regularly. The themes revolved around the kinds of conflicts and dilemmas depicted on DS9. It all worked well overall, but the darker tone and untangling complex issues fatigued the players. A change was in order.

The next one was a soft reboot of the first. Certain plotlines and characters carried over, but the campaign was set on another starship with a mostly newly introduced crew. The location was moved away from the Cardassian border. The themes and tone was shifted over to exploration and frontier diplomacy. Unfortunately, that campaign was canceled shortly after it started due to the situation in 2020.

We briefly talked about alternatives to the standard Star Trek Adventures set up of the player characters being a Starfleet bridge crew. Star Trek Adventures does support other campaign concepts such as running a stationary installation. The Klingon Empire Core Book presents the nuts and bolts of running a Klingon campaign. However, this would be our first time back out in awhile, so we decided on the well-worn path of flying Federation colors.

This campaign is a fresh start - a hard reboot with no connections to our earlier Star Trek Adventures campaigns. We're starting over in the default year of 2371, a period with plenty of opportunities. Things are kicking off in the Beta Quadrant - the familiar realms of Klingons, Romulans, and Orions. The initial themes are exploration and diplomacy, but things are expected to change as the timeline moves forward.


Character Generation

Most of both Session Zeroes were spent on discussing character ideas, making choices along the lifepath system, and filling out the details of each player character's background. I prefer to have all of players handling character generation as a group activity. It's handy to have a group to bounce ideas off of and brainstorm with when a player gets stuck when coming up with a character concept or element of their back story. It also helps to insure that everybody - gamemaster included - is on the same page.

In Star Trek Adventures, I start things off by listing the senior officer positions on a whiteboard. The players divide them off however they want. I also reminded them that Supporting Characters exist as an option to cover any gaps or for a player to use when their character isn't in a scene. Once things got rolling, I took a backseat - answering questions and helping when requested, but otherwise letting the players work at their own pace.


The NPC Captain

None of the players really wanted the role of the captain. I'd rather not force a role on somebody - myself included - and diminish their enjoyment of the game. I had a couple of issues with the idea of a NPC captain, but agreed after ways around the issues were found.

Making the authority figure a NPC potentially takes decision making away from the players. With a NPC calling the shots, they may end up dragging the player characters through the story as spectators. The most direct way of avoiding this is a passive captain, but that doesn't make much sense for an experienced professional in a leadership position. Our solution involves stopping the game during key decision points to allow the players to discuss what direction to take things. When play resumes, the NPC captain then proceeds as if they made a decision that matches what the players decided on.

Most iterations of Star Trek have the commanding officer as the series lead. Authority figures tend to pull focus. It's one thing to have various NPCs pop up and depart as we move through an adventure. Even NPCs who show up regularly don't present a problem. It's another matter entirely to have a NPC with authority over the player characters show up in almost every scene. It's just too easy for such a NPC to overshadow the player characters in the context of Star Trek. If aliens call the ship, they're going to want to talk to the captain. That can easily cut the players out of participating in the conversation, making them passive observers. Most players show up to play the game, not watch it unfold. Fortunately, Star Trek canon provides a partial solution - the captain doesn't go on Away Missions. I'll be designing the adventures to take place off the ship as much as possible.


The Cool Starship

We turned to one of the few canon starships that's a blank slate outside of its only on screen appearance - USS Phoenix (NCC-65420). The ship disappears from canon after showing up in "The Wounded" (TNG 4x12). Not even the comics, novels, video games, and other beta canon revisits the ship. This is unusual since Star Trek writers regularly reuse ship names to tie the story they are telling to earlier episodes. For example, USS Cairo is introduced in "Chain of Command, Part I" (TNG 6x10). It is stated to still be in the area and responding to the current crisis in the following episode "Chain of Command, Part II" (TNG 6x11). Much later, USS Cairo is believed to be destroyed in "The Pale Moonlight" (DS9 6x19).

USS Phoenix played a part in both of the previous campaigns. One of the player characters in the former campaign was an officer aboard USS Phoenix during the events of "The Wounded" and had a black mark of their record as a result. The ship was to be featured in the latter one, but didn't get far due to that campaign's cancellation.

For the purposes of this campaign, USS Phoenix was moved away from the Cardassian border after the arrest of Captain Benjamin Maxwell. The ship was repaired while the senior officers were investigated for their roles in the incident. USS Phoenix was eventually reassigned to the Beta Quadrant and served under a different captain for a couple of years and was pulled in for a refit. The newly refitted starship is now ready for duty under a new captain and crew.


With Session Zero (and a half) done, we're ready to get started. I'm in the process of putting together my ideas into something halfway coherent. The first adventure will likely start in a couple of weeks. In the meantime, I hope that this post has been entertaining and offered some handy ideas and insights.

Trash Bash Sci-Fi Fuel Drum

This was a quick and dirty proof of concept I threw together over a hot summer afternoon. The goal was to see what else I could do with a couple of plastic soda bottle caps other than make another wheel for a sci-fi vehicle. It could be almost any kind of sci-fi widget, but I'm going to develop it as a sci-fi fuel drum for 28mm tabletop gaming. The execution needs more refinement before I crank out a bunch for scatter terrain.

One thing I can't complain about is the cost of the parts.

Parts List

• Plastic soda bottle caps x 2
• Coffee bag valve x 1
• Plastic beads x 3

Preparation

The soda bottle caps and coffee bag valve got a good scrubbing with warm soap and water. Then I sanded down the edges and tops of the soda bottle caps. The edges were pretty rough and I wanted to improve how well they fit together. On the other hand, the tops were too smooth and I was concerned about how well glue, primer, and paint would bond to the surface.

Assembly

Pretty straightforward. I formed the main body by gluing the pair of soda bottle caps together. The coffee bag valve and beads were glued on what I arbitrarily decided was the top.

Spray Priming

Krylon Fusion All-In-One Matte Black

Coated all surfaces, including the underside.


Spray Painting

Krylon ColorMaster Paint + Primer Metallic Aluminum

A single coat. Since this was a proof of concept, I didn't feel the need to go further with the paint job. Later iterations will get a coat of wash and some details painted with a brush.

Moving Forward

It's good enough for a proof of concept, but there are some issues that I'll need to fix in the next iteration. I didn't notice the lettering on the coffee bag valve until after spraying on the metallic coat. That will have to get removed next time. I might play around with the number of beads and find something else to add as a detail. Reducing the number of beads from three to two would match the number of openings on a real world fuel drum. Adding an angular bit would contrast with all the curves everywhere else. Finally, I'd like to try another color for the base coat.

Trash Bash Monowheel Cycle FINISHED

Here's a monocycle model I cobbled together from reclaimed materials. It started off as an experiment with making a wheel with a pair of plastic soda bottle caps and grew from there. When I last posted about this project, all I had left to do was put it on a base and paint it up. Finding my way forward took awhile.

Rosie inspecting some Atmospheric Water Condensers during her frontier days.

Basing

I started by attaching the model to a round plastic base with Gorilla Super Glue. This bond was only intended to hold everything together long enough to apply texturing mix to the base. The mix of sand, PVA glue, paint, and water that I favor sets like concrete once dry. The combination of Gorilla Super Glue and texturing mix produces a strong and durable bond.


Spray Re priming/Base Coats

Krylon Fusion All-In-One Matte Coffee Bean Paint + Primer
Krylon Camouflage Ultra-Flat Khaki

At least one more coat of spray primer proved necessary when I ran into problems painting the wheel black. The Tamiya Surface Primer didn't seem to bond properly to the plastic soda bottle cap. The Krylon Coffee Bean covered well and provided a flat, dark brown base coat. I followed up with Khaki sprayed in a zenithal pattern.

A little dirty and dusty, but still purrs like a kitten.

Painting

Wheel

FolkArt 479 Pure Black

A couple of coats over the entire wheel surface to represent rubber or some sci-fi substitute.


Body

FolkArt 437 Lipstick Red
FolkArt 932 Calico Red

I considered yellow or orange for the body, but went with red for the speed boost. Lipstick Red works as a dark base color and Calico Red as a highlight color.


Clean Up

FolkArt 231 Real Brown

I changed my mind about where some of the red went and gave those areas a coat of Real Brown. The dark brown produced a good undercoat for the metallic and cloth areas.


Metallic Areas

Citadel Colour Boltgun Metal
Citadel Colour Mithril Silver

I don't know how, but these old bottles are still going strong. The Boltgun Metal coated the areas representing bare metal parts with Mithril Silver lightly brushed over as a highlight.


Cloth

FolkArt 420 Linen

Linen seemed like a good choice for the sandbag seat cushions and the bags in the stowage area.

The only thing kept clean on this ride is the holographic projector for the HUD.

Weathering

FolkArt 479 Pure Black (diluted with water)
FolkArt 231 Real Brown (diluted with water)
FolkArt 420 Linen

The monocycle is supposed to be made of salvaged parts – much like the actual model - and used in the wastelands of some frontier world. A showroom new appearance didn't seem like the right move. The diluted Pure Black and Real Brown were each applied as wash coats. A heavy brushing of Linen produced a dusty appearance. If I do another project like this, I might use a Silver Sharpie to add some chipped paint and other details before applying the washes and drybrushing.


Base Clean Up

FolkArt 231 Real Brown
FolkArt 420 Linen

I needed to cover up some of the red paint that ended up on the base. This step also ties the ground colors to the weathering colors.

Wire

Adding a wire to connect a couple of the parts together was always part of the plan. Unfortunately, I forgot about it until everything was painted, but before I started weathering the model. Fortunately, the wire color works with the rest of the model and the wash coats help to tie it in.

Heads Up Display

The final step was to attach one of the Warsenal Fluorescent Scifi Screens I purchased way back in 2020 to the part representing a holographic projector.

Rosie: "Now where did I pack that screwdriver?"

Fictional Background

Let's wrap up with another Kessler's Catalog entry. I often think of how elements of a model would fit into a fictional setting while working on it. Writing these thoughts up into a backstory gets them out of my head.

This monowheel vehicle is representative of those used in remote regions of thinly settled worlds throughout the frontier sectors. Such vehicles serve a variety of operators such as couriers, surveyors, salvagers, and scouts. Packs of similar vehicles see use in conflict zones as raiders.

The chassis is built on the remains of a planetary survey probe. The wheel was salvaged from the landing gear of a heavy interplanetary transport. The other components originated from sources to varied to be listed here. Reliability is surprisingly high, but some maintenance tasks are described as "a bit tricky" by our technical staff. Performance is good, but handling "takes some getting used to" according to our test drivers.

The wheel is a plastic drum with a synthetic rubber coating and a metallic core. It is electromagnetically suspended and rotated when the vehicle is in operation. Stability and control are provided by a variety of counter gravity and mass manipulation systems. While these systems reduce the effective mass of the vehicle while operating, true flight is not possible due to their limited output.

Energy storage is provided by a series of repurposed power packs distributed throughout the vehicle. These packs are tied into a single system and can be replenished at any standard recharging station. The large solar energy collection arrays standard for planetary survey missions are missing - likely removed and repurposed long ago.

Auxiliary power is supplied by an internal combustion engine designed for planetary exploration and colonial applications. The engine can burn a variety of hydrocarbon fuels, but is most efficient when using high octane synthetic gasoline or alcohol. There is evidence of another auxiliary power system based on a nuclear generator, but most of the components are absent.

- Kessler's Upcycling Sales Catalog