Traveller Minatures, a new project

[Bishop Odo]

Not sure if anyone is interested, but this is from my blog:


Traveller Miniatures Project

While sculpting miniatures appears to out of my grasp at the moment, the conversion and molding of existing miniatures, appears to be more attuned with my current skill set. In a two phase plan, I plan on converting WOTCs Star Wars figures to Traveller miniatures, and then experiment on enlarging the old 28 to 25mm to a scale equal to the 30mm of the Star Wars line.

First the conversion of the SW miniatures may seem simple. However, I demand a certain level quality in my miniatures that the current SW collectables cannot provide. They are made of a soft plastic with a strong elastic memory; this makes flashing the miniatures and other standard paint preparation actions time consuming, making said action relatively impractical. In addition, the relative standard conversion of heads and extremities as well GS conversion is equally difficult and futile considering the durability needed in gaming. As pre-painted collectable figures they are painted so poorly, that most would be compelled to repaint them, yet ironically they are painted using a paint that is difficult, if not impossible, to remove without destroying detail.

With a mind toward gaming durability and longevity, I’m forced to take radical action. To recast the best figures for Traveller in resin then modify them accordingly. This is a relatively expensive and time consuming process, but for my own use this is the best solution. Resin is a superior for conversion work, then flexible plastic, allowing for details to be re-sculpted and enlarged. The rigidity gives GS a better hold, as well as cements. Some will accuse me of piracy, but these are for my own use and are conversions, I have just elevated the art of the Green Stuff molds to the next level.

The enlarging of older figures to match the newer scales will be more of an experiment. There are resins that are used for prototyping, that enlarge in water, to there quality I cannot attest to at this time, but It will be interesting to see the results and judge it practicality.

I hope to have some pictures posted soon and discuss miniature scale, and why I’m using 30mm as a bench mark, unless life gets in the way.

 

[Ran]

Recasting is real time consuming. Keep us posted on how it goes!

 

[Bishop Odo]

update: scratchbuilding a ship

Been a busy week and the Holidays are putting a crimp in my timeline, so It looks like, I won’t be making much progress on the Traveller miniatures conversions until I get some supplies, and that won’t be before the end of the year. However, I did an inventory of modeling supplies and I was able to get started on ship miniatures I have been think of for some time. White Dwarf 70, see first link, has a sweet diagram of a Hunter class ship and I really liked it so I decided to try to make my own. This is my first ship scratch build and below is the first stage rough in. Using tracing paper, I traced the out line of the ship on some plastic sheets and cut them out. Spaced them out to represent the rough scale and used plastic model glue to hold it together. I will use Green Stuff to fill in the deck spaces and make the plates; finial skin will be Pro Create since it’s can be sanded. Currently it’s generally symmetrical, with a few errors, but I believe there are correctable. I will most likely glue a vertical strip on the rear with some engine ports.

Scale wise it’s just a tad bigger then the RAFM Traveller ships of old, it’s a little big, but hey, it’s my first try. I will get a comparison shot on the next update and most of my pictures where out of focus and did not turn out.

 

[robject]

Hey, very nice.

Your initial post made me think you wanted to re-create molds for existing minis. How difficult is this for lead/pewter spacecraft miniatures?

 

[Bishop Odo]

Generally speaking, casting miniatures in metal is problematic and a little complicated. The Rubber needed for the molds are more expensive than for resin, temperamental, the platinum cure RVT can have problems with cure inhibition, and that makes a mess. You can drop cast, just poor the metal into molds like tradition toy soldiers, but without some way to force the metal into the small cavities and undercuts you have loss of detail. That’s why commercial makers use spin casters.

I have tried it, drop casting, and did not think the quality equaled the time, expensive, and effort in the long run. The metal becomes a problem as well, lead is toxic and has a lower boiling point then safer metals, so it’s easier on your molds, but once you use lead, it is there, and you really can’t get rid of it. Equipment, almost forgot this one, you need a vacuum chamber, and pump, a good scale, pressure pot, and all that stuff can be expensive. Can you get away with it on the cheap, sure but your product will suffer and it will cost you money in the end.


For me it’s all about quality, even my recasting of cheap shi#t figures is merely an attempt at getting better quality and variety for my own use. Not to pirate them, I know there is level of hierocracy there, and even financial insanity. I would rather buy new figures, it’s a lot work and it’s not fun, and cheaper in the end. There are source of information all over the web that, that can explain and give examples of resin and metal casting,

 

[Scarecrow]

OH! OH! OH! MY GOD!

The Type H Hunter (drawn) by Nic Weeks. For years that was the benchmark for all my deckplans. Stunning, stunning set of plans!

I'm looking forward to seeing this model develop.

Crow

 

[saundby]

Hey, very nice.

Your initial post made me think you wanted to re-create molds for existing minis. How difficult is this for lead/pewter spacecraft miniatures?

As mentioned by Bishop Odo, getting good results in metal without something to force the metal into the fine details of the mold is a pain. I have a number of links to both resin casting and foundry among my Delicious bookmarks at:
http://delicious.com/saundby/Casting/Modelling

Some nice starter sites on resin casting include:
Scratchbuilding a Starship using Resin Casting
Molding and Casting...For Beginners
Moldmaking & Casting Materials

For small numbers of items and one-offs I usually use polymer clay.

 

[aramis]

one thing a friend of mine (who casts silver, pewter, and copper) mentioned: she uses her "personal massager" on the mold to get better flow and reduce bubbles., both when making the mold and when casting in that mold.

For small molds, borrowing the wife/GF's will work. For large ones, make an off-center weight bit for your drill: Take a bolt, two nuts, and a matching pair of washers, and then some larger washers. On the bolt, mount one fo the matched washers, then all the larger ones, then the other matched washer, then the first nut, loosely. Slide all the oversize just a bit off-center, then tighten down nut 1. Add nut 2, and tighten. use protruding bit of bold in the chuck of the drill, and hold the drill body to the side of the mold while reving up. Be wary of repetitive stress injury.

 

[robject]

And now for the kicker question. What would it take to get a discontinued line of minis re-started? And the answer is: it all depends on the status of the license and/or molds, and the intended result, of course.

So a more pointed question, in order to get a better answer. Supposing I won the lottery, and wanted to buy the rights to produce resin versions of the old Grenadier Space Squadron minis. I imagine if this were lucrative, it would have been done; therefore, it's a resource sink. But what sort of numbers are we talking about?

 

[Bishop Odo]

The one advantage, you can avoid this. The picture below is from an online auction and if they where metal you could just reuse them.

 

[Darkhstarr]

My interest is in 15mm minis. That said, your is fascinating & I look forward to seeing the results. Good Luck.

 

[Gray Lensman]

one thing a friend of mine (who casts silver, pewter, and copper) mentioned: she uses her "personal massager" on the mold to get better flow and reduce bubbles., both when making the mold and when casting in that mold.

When Concrete is poured into forms it is "vibrated" as well so that it fills all the voids in the form. Same Principle.

 

[aramis]

When Concrete is poured into forms it is "vibrated" as well so that it fills all the voids in the form. Same Principle.

yup. Sure is.

 

[saundby]

I guess my technique is more "macho" than the "personal massager". I made a jig to hold the molds on my vibratory case cleaner:
http://www.dillonprecision.com/cont..._s_CV_500_Vibratory_Case_Cleaner__220_v_Euro_

Preheated molds helps a lot, too. The "shake table" is good for resin casting as well, though a bit of a reservoir on a "squish mold" and a little finger work does the job without any accessories needed.