26 Reply by starbreaker

(1 replies, posted in Miniatures)

As I've pointed out on other forums, they've also got serious potential for starship kitbashers.  The weapons and solar arrays and fuel tanks have obvious applications, but the biodomes are the ones that really catch my eye.   I've traded emails with the manufacturer - you can fit the domes and corridors of the set together base-to-base, making a spherical pod or a cylindrical hull/station arm.

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27 Reply by starbreaker

(12 replies, posted in Discussion)

There are still major fragments of both the Iron Stars and Starmada SFO ports on the message boards here.  I'm planning on using one or both of those with Space Fleet Kappa, and probably a heavily patched up version of Firestorm Armada as well.  God knows, FS:A needs some patching.   :roll:

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28 Reply by starbreaker

(12 replies, posted in Discussion)

Was, wasn't it?  All the way back to the Yahoo group days.

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29 Reply by starbreaker

(12 replies, posted in Discussion)

It's a conspiracy, I tell you.  A conspiracy!  But they can't make me forget!  Space Fleet Kappa will fly again.  They will get their guest episodes into canon yet.  So what if they only had a minor role in a two-part story in the second season?  So what if they had to have their hides rescued by the heroes of Omega?  After years of searching I've finally found the perfect mini for their flagship the Carpathia, and some lovely Okog renegades to boot.  I shall not be stopped!

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30 Reply by starbreaker

(21 replies, posted in Miniatures)

zircher wrote:

Interesting, I read somewhere that it was 2-3mm thick.  I can hopefully save some more cost with hollow minis.  I uploaded various Shiva BBs to Shapeways, but the costs are brutal.  Kind of like Space Fleet Omega, FASA never created a line of capital ship minis for the Renegade Legion universe.
--
TAZ

Oh, are those yours?  Nice work - and the prices don't look that bad to me until you hit the 5" version.  Actual boardgamer Leviathan types would want the 2" version anyway, and that's a bargain at four bucks.  Even the 4" model is only steep by minis standards, not utterly outrageous.

So, when are you making the rest of the ships from the game so we can build fleets?  There were only what, about 80 official designs all told?  No trouble at all, right?

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31 Topic by starbreaker

(12 replies, posted in Discussion)

I turn my back for a few years and the Omegapedia gets spammed to death, Yahoo trashes the old group, half the files are apparently lost to the void, and search engines only turn up Star Trek drivel under those keywords?  Bah!  Unacceptable!  I have minis painted for the game that was supposed to come out for SFO, I tell you.

Next you'll all be telling me you don't even remember watching the series.   :roll:

Bad enough Iron Stars has no new releases planned for 2010, now I can't even revel in SFO.

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32 Reply by starbreaker

(21 replies, posted in Miniatures)

Hadn't thought about hollowing the hulls.  Might make a pure Shapeways model viable for the smaller ships at least - but that doesn't help out Brigade much, does it?

While we're talking about old 3D render projects, has it occurred to anyone else that Shapeways could make ships for the finest scifi television program (n)ever produced?  I'm talking, of course, about Space Fleet Omega.   wink

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33 Reply by starbreaker

(21 replies, posted in Miniatures)

Trust me, it's physically impossible to cast truly thin sails or open-lattice towers in pewter.  Brigade did about the best you can do with the current versions.  They might (and probably should) cast the hulls (remastered or no) in pewter, but you're going to need the add-ons in plastic for the full effect.

Pure Shapeways SWF would work in theory, but price climbs at a rate that's pretty much the cube of the volumetric increase.  Probably not practical for decent sized ships.

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34 Topic by starbreaker

(3 replies, posted in Iron Stars)

If so, help pester Dan and Tony Francis of Brigade about the concept of doing hybrid minis using 3D printing for the fragile bits.  See the thread on Starship Combat News here:

http://www.star-ranger.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=5599

to get a feel for what I'm talking about.  Detailed, lightweight sails and open-girder towers, with less weight and a chance to design better mounting points.  What's not to love?

Oh, and Dan, consider yourself pestered.

Rich

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35 Reply by starbreaker

(21 replies, posted in Miniatures)

De-lurking with a vengence:

Oh good, this is already on the radar.  I've already started pushing the concept over on Dean's SCN site.  Please look at the thread here:

http://www.star-ranger.com/forum/viewto … amp;t=5599

There's no need to convert the entire mini to printed plastic, and in fact there are probably advantages to not doing so since Shapeways costs rise very rapidly as volume increases.  Using Brigade pewter for the relatively bulky hulls while remaking the towers and sails with better detail and mounting points would be the best of both worlds, although it's unclear what it will do to price points - ought to save on shipping weight, though.  The "spindly bits" are extremely low-volume, which is what you want in 3D printing.

Take a look at the intricate (but small) open-structure ships Afrodi has produced through Shapeways and imagine IS minis with detailed sails and girdered towers.  We need to talk Tony into this, either as a collaborative effort or with him dealing with Shapeways directly.

I've got a tentative commission to paint Afrodi's pieces for his catalog, and will report back as well on the material suitability for minis use, including hybridization.

Rich

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