Sunday, 30 January 2022

From TamsinP: Starship Wreckage (67 points)

Caution for the faint of heart - there are a LOT of photos in this post!


The Adventures Of Oscar: Time Traveler, Slayer of Squirrels and Very, Very Good Boy

Chapter Five

In which our hero faces one of his pet hates...


Rooww! Rooww! Desert! I hate desert! It's all hot, dry and dusty. And no squirrels! Rooww! I'd better see if I can find some shade - let's take a look over this hill...


What's this? Looks like lots of scrap metal...


I wonder if there's more? Better keep exploring...

There is more! 





This looks very futuristic! Am I in the future? I think I must be! Row-row! Felix will be ever so jealous!




There's more bits over this way, and they're getting bigger...







Wowser! This would be a great playground if it wasn't so hot, dry and dusty!



There must be more, but I can't see anything. Maybe if I go through this canyon...







There is! There is! Row-row!





I bet I haven't found it all yet. I think I've got the scent of it now and there seems to be something over that way...



There is indeed! I've got such a great nose!





I think I'll stay here a while and explore this playground! Lots to find...maybe some food? Food! Oh, my, food! It must be ages since I've eaten...



The Crashed Starship

I hadn't originally planned to do this lot this week, but I somehow got it into my head that those 15mm cavalry were only 72 points and thought I needed to get something else done.

Here's a photo of all the terrain pieces:

They're 28mm MDF kits (also available in 15mm) from Blotz. The basic kits didn't have any "relief" between the surfaces and the gridded subststructure, so I photocopied the wall pieces onto white card, cut away the substructure parts and then glued them onto the MDF before priming everything (the card facings were "primed" with varnish).

I did consider basing the pieces, but decided against it so that I can use them in a variety of settings. I wouldn't want to have wreckage draped with jungle vegetation in the middle of a desert, after all!

The hills and rock formation were made over the past two years. The orange hue seems to have intensified quite a bit since they were made - I might have to tone them down a bit.

Here are some decent photos, with a 28mm figure for scale.

The Airlock






The Hatch





The Engine Section









The Nose







The Bulkhead



"Barricades"



Scatter Pieces




And everything scrunched up tight:


That's about as tight as I can get things. The footprint is 11" x 11" and the average height is 6". that gives a volume of 726 cubic inches which is 3.36 terrain cubes. That comes out as 67 points.




<<<<INTERMISSION>>>>


Extract from the journal of TamsinP, Time Traveler, Society Girl and Adventuress

It's been almost a week since I spoke to Dave. I wonder how he is getting on with things? He should have called by now. 

As I think this, the phone rings - the caller display shows it's Dave, right on time.

"Hi, Dave! How are you getting on with the device modifications?

"Well, I think I know what needs to be done, but it will take me a couple of weeks to put it all together."

"That's great news. You got the equations sorted out, then?"

"Yes. I asked Peter first, but he said he deals in real-world probabilities, not far-fetched time-travel rubbish. He suggested that I needed to speak to someone who engages in the dark arts of Mathaumaturgy to get the answers I'd need."

"No, not him, surely?"

"Yup. Miles."

"And was he able to help?"

"Yeess. But there was a consultation fee that I said you'd sort out."

"A consultation fee?"

"Indeed. He wants seventeen puppies and thirty-one kittens. He muttered something like "The spreadsheet demands them!" then started cackling dementedly before ringing off."

"Well, it's Curt's problem so he'll have to stump up. Anything else I should know?

"Well, the device is going to be a bit bigger than the original..."

"How much bigger? Backpack size?"

"Errrr, no. You're going to need to vehicle-mount it"

"That big? Anything else?" 

"It'll be a two-person job. One to work the device and one to drive the vehicle."

"OK. Well, Oscar is Curt's hound, so he can come along with me. Two to three weeks do you reckon, to get it put together?"

"Yup, I'll let you know when it's ready."

"Thanks again! Toodles!"

I lean back in my chair, relieved to know that things are in hand. Puppies and kittens? What on Earth does Miles want them for? Surely he knows that the spreadsheet runs on a computer and only needs electricity to run?

I make a mental note to call Curt with a progress report and to let him know that he will be accompanying me on the rescue mission.


I think that's enough silliness from me for one weekend!



For Scoring:

3.36 terrain cubes @ 20 = 67 points

Total =67 points


__________________________________________

Oscar has been making the most of his time away, I see.  The scamp is right, all of this time-travel adventuring is going to make Felix absolutely mad with jealously.

You've been very industrious this week Tamsin! That wreckage scatter terrain looks terrific, especially with the card modifications you did to spice them up a bit. I also really like those desert hills from a few years ago. Excellent stuff. 

3.36 cubes?! Sounds good to me. ;P

- Curt

31 comments:

  1. Nice work on the crashed space ship. Lots of uses for that.

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    1. Cheers! It certainly does have plenty of uses! :)

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  2. Aah I am in the story . Huzzah . Good terrain bits

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    1. Thanks! You are also in the previous one! :)

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  3. Not only do the starship bits look really good but the background terrain looks fantastic as well - I assume that's home made?

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  4. I love this kit and have been tempted myself. Great job

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  5. Another outstanding post! So well done!

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  6. That's a good fix with the card. I do like the terrain; it is very inspiring.

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    1. Cheers! It would have been even better with thicker card, but I didn't have any and it might not have gone through my printer! :)

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  7. Great terrain building - very atmospheric and love the dog in the photos!

    Cheers Jez

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    1. Thanks! The dog is Oscar and he has to be in the pics of his adventures! :)

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  8. I absolutely love this post - this scenery was designed by one of my best mates who has sadly now passed away. He used to design stuff for fun for Blotz and it’s amazing to see his work painted so well - exactly how he’d have envisaged it being used, excellent work indeed!

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    1. Thanks! Glad to have done your mate proud! :)

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  9. where's my consulting fee. You don't want the spreadsheet to send out it's collection agents - for the love of God, you don't want that.....

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  10. Good looking terrain, I didn't realize it was MDF! Very nice life hack from you, I'll forget it when I next time work with MDF, I'm sure... :D

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    1. Cheers! If you do something similar, I'd suggest photocopying against a black background - it will probably make the edges easier to see than white. :)

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  11. That hound gets around! Useful wreckage, reminds me of The Expanse.
    Cheers, MikeP

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    1. He's definitely having a whale of a time! The terrain will be useful for a few games - Strontium Dog, Judge Dredd, Stargrave...

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  12. Great stuff! I love crashed space ship bits!!! So great for so many tables. Well done.

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  13. Great job on those scenics, Tamsin! The rust looks fantastic.

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  14. Amazing work Tamsin! And a nice little story to go with the great paintjobs ;)

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    1. Thanks! Writing the stories is more fun than the painting! :)

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  15. Very much enjoying the story, but wow the terrain bits are the star! Some very sharp derelict ruins ,Tamsin! Excellent color and weathering! I'd be leary to walk across that rusted metal!

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