Ricks' Ramblings

[Rick Lowe]

Thanks, everyone. 

@Kit - yeah, they didn't have to re-draw them for this one; or not every bit, anyway.

@Phill - thanks, glad you appreciate it.

@scooter & Wombat - engine & drive train are Leopard; shoehorned in, but that was part of the proof-of-concept.

[Rick Lowe]

Statue

I have a couple of 20mm metal minis I would like in 54mm, so I got them scanned and resin printed.
It didn't go so well, as the detail just wasn't picked up and transferred.

What to do? They went into the 'Box of Disappointments'.
Maybe if the library gets a more grunty scanner, in time...

Then I thought of making some wargaming-style scenery (I don't wargame, but it was a valid theory nonetheless).
This figure would work as a wind- and time-worn statue.

I started with a disc of offcut ply, and a spool from the middle of a roll of tape, cut down in height.
This was clad in cardboard and lines drawn on with a ballpoint pen to depict stonework.

The figure was pinned to the dais, into a block of plastic underneath to hold it securely.

A Grey undercoat and then drybrushed with other greys.

I glued on some green sawdust and flock, to depict moss and greenery growing in dirt that had been trapped in crevices over time.
A couple of bits of lichen and it was done.

Not a silk purse, but it made something out of a junked model, so a result.

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[NARSES2]

Guarding the entrance to a temple on one of the smaller Greek islands perhaps 

With a 15mm scale Alex the Great staring up at it ? 

[Rick Lowe]

Hadn't thought that far, but I see where you're coming from. 

There is another, different figure from the same failed scan & print run, so we'll see how that goes.

[Wardukw]

Rick mate this aint the first time i've seen this happen ,,,the problem is the details dont expand when enlarged and they kinda just disappear when printed ,,,strangely the exact same problem happened when you try to take 1/1 scale paint and think its fine for say 35th scale ..it doesn't work ,,so the paint maker dudes have to scale down the paint 
How the hell they do that is way above my pay grade 
Also from what i was told by a mate whos pretty up on this ,,the type of printer can be a problem too ..resin seems to be the best for real hard core details but the filament  printers are getting really good at detail for fine detail printing but they aint quite there yet .
I saw a pic of to identical propellors ,,one was filament printed and the other resin ..mate the difference between the two was night and day ,,the resin print had wood grain detail which was epic ,,the filament printer couldn't do the super fine details the grain demanded ,,it was close-ish but still no cigar .

[Rick Lowe]

Even the age/generation of the filament printer can do that, too - some of the stuff I first had printed is a good bit cruder than some of the current stuff.
I'm not about to redo the whole lot, but it's tempting.

Apparently the new scanner the Wellington Library's' Make-a-Space will have, when they get it up and running, is far above the current one in the local.

Like being able to scan down to about .2mm; less than cotton thread.

[Rick Lowe]

Steampunk Pistol 2

A friend wanted something for his LARPing, and asked me if I had anything suitable that might be able to be modified.
I laughed.
Well, of course I had something; after all, I'd pillaged a friends' collection after he died. And this would be a working prop, not something that had vanished into my horde, so all of us would be happy.

I started with a partially disassembled NERF Maverick, but realized too late that I should have sprayed it before I reassembled the cylinders.
There would have been a lot more bits to replace as well, so I started again...

I found another NERF Maverick and modified it so the cylinder could be swung out completely, for the 'Open-Spin-Flick Shut' posing sequence.
I added some cylinders under the forepart, made from tubes with putty ends as I couldn't find anything suitable at the time.
I mounted them to a scratch frame and used knitting needles for the tubing from the rear, into larger tubes in the body of the gun.

I found some stickers at a craft store, and used modified bits of them to depict Victorian-style filigree detailing.

Sprayed in typical Steampunk Brass, with other colours for bits and bobs. Black/brown wash.

I also made a slip-on sight, from a scratch-built frame and I used the centre ring from a kit tree runner, with thread for the crosshairs. Also Brass.

An interesting diversion, and useful experience.
And it still fires!

The recipient was happy, so a good result.

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[Rick Lowe]

More pics of the sight, and wips of the Mavericks v.1 and v.2.

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I also did a Strongarm for him in a more modern, Judge Dredd-style look, but that was just a paintjob; nothing much more to record there. And that one still fires, too...

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[zenrat]

  

[NARSES2]

 

Very much so 

[Old Wombat]

Nerf guns of various sorts have often tempted me to buy them for transition into sci-fi or steam punk weapons. 

So far I have resisted, manfully! 

[Rick Lowe]

Thanks, fellas    .

Guy - yeah, I was the same, but it's a slippery slope..

[scooter]

Nerf guns of various sorts have often tempted me to buy them for transition into sci-fi or steam punk weapons. 

So far I have resisted, manfully! 

cackles in Nerf
Sadly, I haven't although our purchasing of Nerf has tailed off.  And, as an aside, the 6 round Nerf magazines fit M-14 20 round pouches beautifully.

[scooter]

Steampunk Pistol 2

A friend wanted something for his LARPing, and asked me if I had anything suitable that might be able to be modified.
I laughed.
Well, of course I had something; after all, I'd pillaged a friends' collection after he died. And this would be a working prop, not something that had vanished into my horde, so all of us would be happy.

I started with a partially disassembled NERF Maverick, but realized too late that I should have sprayed it before I reassembled the cylinders.
There would have been a lot more bits to replace as well, so I started again...

I found another NERF Maverick and modified it so the cylinder could be swung out completely, for the 'Open-Spin-Flick Shut' posing sequence.
I added some cylinders under the forepart, made from tubes with putty ends as I couldn't find anything suitable at the time.
I mounted them to a scratch frame and used knitting needles for the tubing from the rear, into larger tubes in the body of the gun.

I found some stickers at a craft store, and used modified bits of them to depict Victorian-style filigree detailing.

Sprayed in typical Steampunk Brass, with other colours for bits and bobs. Black/brown wash.

I also made a slip-on sight, from a scratch-built frame and I used the centre ring from a kit tree runner, with thread for the crosshairs. Also Brass.

An interesting diversion, and useful experience.
And it still fires!

The recipient was happy, so a good result.

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The Maverick is the go-to for Steampunk firearms.

[zenrat]

I went through a phase.  I would go to war against assorted Nephews and Great-Nephews.  I have a Longstrike i've removed the restricter from and boosted the spring in.  I would hole up behind Mrs z's garden shed and snipe at them before they could get in range.