7TV – After action report

I’ve dusted off my 7TV rules, at last, and we (me, Koen, Thomas and my son David) had two games at the club the other week.

A nice Tatooine village. All scenery is 3D-printed, except the hills, barriers and, obviously, the lichen. (Thank you, Director Koen, for the pics from the Tatooine studio)

We used the Star Wars unofficial programme guide and had a great time.

The heroic defenders of justice, free enterprise and scrap-heaps.

The game is made to emulate typical B-movies, and you shouldn’t be surprised when scenery (i.e. props) suddenly moves a bit, figures change place or a killed character suddenly is back (due to him/her being a favourite of the audience). Everything is possible and you should take it with a laugh, because that is really what the game is all about.

Boba Fett hiding. He will soon switch place with one of my co-stars due to a script error. That will result in much shooting and, eventually, death.

A carnival! Yay! Except this is a Carnival of Horror!

This week-end I had Laffe over for another game, this time it was the Scooby Doo gang (another unofficial supplement) against a bunch of cultist. We used the carnival scenery I used in a Pulp Alley-game a while back, which made it feel just like an episode of the original series. 

Scooby and Shaggy find a plot point much to their liking.

Where do you find plot points? At the information booth, of course

Killer Clowns doing their thing, but Fred's actor plays the diva-card, so they can't fight him for a crucial round.

Except in this episode the gang was more or less obliterated as the cultist took no prisoners (or at least didn’t keep them longer than it takes to say “human sacrifice”). Shaggy and Scooby survived, as the live audience had enough and axed the cast.

Zoinks! Let's run!

The game, a ‘battle’, was a bit uneven, as most of the Scooby-gang weren’t made for fighting, so we’ll have another go with another scenario, one more suited to their characters.

All in all, we had a blast. A great set of rules that will see much action in the future.

A couple of actors dressed as 3D-printed ewoks come over from another set to have a look at the Tatooine studio.

3D-Printing Review: Wailing Tower from Thunder Chrome 3 kickstarter

Thunder Chrome has a kickstarter just now, Thunder Chrome 3: Highway to Castle Painskull, where you’ll get files for modular epic-sized buildings and catwalks between them.

I kindly got some pre-release files for review-purposes before the campaign and when I started looking at them my first thought was “Whatever will I use this for?” I printed some (the top three pieces of the tower) and realized that they look great, the fit between the pieces are perfect and that there are quite a lot of possibilities here.

I painted those while I printed pieces for the lower part of the tower (floor, two arches and two walls with circular windows). Painted those and realised that I really like this set. Now I had to have an even higher tower, so I printed four supports, the legs that lift the tower, and another floor. When I was at it I printed the three-piece stairs also, as our heroes have to be able to reach the upper floors.

I use a really basic paint-scheme: Army Painter Rough Iron as a base, drybrush with AP Plate Mail Metal. Details painted AP True Copper and Vallejo Bronze.

I still haven’t painted the supports or stairs, as I used up all Rough Iron and need to buy more. Got a cold that has floored me for a couple of days now, preventing me from visiting my Friendly Local Gaming Store. 

I am thinking about printing a balcony for the tower and maybe some of the catwalks, connecting this piece to other buildings.

So, what will I use it for? My first thought was Frostgrave, where it will look smashing. From Frostgrave the jump to Ghost Archipelago is a short one. In both, a treasure or two in the top-floor would be suitable.

Then I thought about Pulp Alley, where a scenario around a mad scientist holed up on the top floor during a thunderstorm does have certain attractions. Combine that with an operating table on which a lifeless body lies, connected to the spire (which, by the way, is the front of an Amraam missile from the parts-box) with wires. Hurry before the golem wakes up! Yep, definitely a scenario here.

So, there are all sorts of uses for this, and I have just started exploring them. I’m really happy with this.

© Thunder Chrome and used with permission

The verdict:

It’s different, fit is excellent, it paints up easily and the end-result is eye-catching. What’s not to like?  Great stuff!

© Thunder Chrome and used with permission

Do check it out before the kickstarter ends on May 27 2019. There is a free samples pack on the Kickstarter page if you want to ge a feel of it all before taking the plunge.

See more 3D-printing reviews here.

Look here if you want to explore what 3D-printing crowdfunding projects are live just now.

3D-Printing Review: Death Werewolf from Printed Obsession

Printed Obsession kindly sent a couple of pre-release files from their Hell Hath No Fury kickstarter for me to try out, and here is one of them.

This, a Death Werewolf, is actually a first for me, as it is the first figure I have printed. It looked daunting to say the least. Lots of details.

I sliced it in Sli3r, layer height 0.07 with supports. Printed in a Prusa i3 MK 3 with a generic filament (from Clas Ohlsson).

What came out after two and a half hours looked like a lump of plastic, but after I had removed all the support material something resembling a black werewolf emerged. I hit it with a short blast from a heat-gun to melt flimsy pieces of stray plastic.

After painting it looks like a great playing piece from a normal arms-length (or in the pics here). In a close-up pic (like when you click on these pics to get a full-size one) you can see layering but it’s not too bad, I think. 

I guess I could get better results with some practice, this is after all the first figure I have printed. I would like to try out my high-end Prusa-filament on figures, as I think that will give even better end-results. More experiments with figures will follow, especially things like zombies, as I think there is a lot of potential here.

The verdict: A beautiful mini that turned out rather well for a novice. If you have a SLA-printer you will get an excellent mini full of details, and with a FDM-printer (like mine) you’ll get at least a decent result, and probably rather good with some practice.

© Printed obsession and used with permission

Do pop over to their kickstarter, as the great-looking minis there are well worth a look, and there are some really nice terrain-pieces, too. Hurry, as the campaign closes on May 4 2019.

See more 3D-printing reviews here.

Look here if you want to explore what 3D-printing crowdfunding projects are live just now.

3D-Printing Review: Comms Dish from M3Studios

I got review pre-release files for this Comms Dish from M3 Studios latest Kickstarter: Hangar and Bulwark - Wargaming & Skirmish Printable Terrain.

It’s a rather huge beast, but I printed it in 60% scale as I wanted to use it in pulp games and maybe 7TV and something a bit smaller would suit me better. I think I see a secret beam-weapon here.

Everything is printed with 0.10 mm layer height and no supports. Total print time was around 8.5 hours and 33 grams of filament was used.

It turned out absolutely great, if I may say so. Detailing is very sharp, even on this reduced scale.

The only thing that didn’t look great was the cables between the generator and the base. When I removed the generator and cables piece the cable broke away, probably because of the reduced scale. It also looks a bit strange, which is probably due to this being pre-release and I got the files before M3Studios had printed these parts (except the dish). So I expect this to be rectified on release.

All in all, I’m very happy with this. A useful scenery-piece, great detailing and everything fits together really well.

Do check out the kickstarter if this looks interesting, as there are lots of other very nice stuff in it. It ends on May 4 2019.

Also, take the opportunity to download a free model of a sandbag emplacement.

See more 3D-printing reviews here.

3D-Printing Review: Roadside Sandwich Shop from LOOT Games

I had some contact with Loot Games when they ran their Sci-fi/PostApocalyptic 3d printable playsets for wargames kickstarter in March. They kindly sent files for their Road-Side Sandwich Shop for a review, but my printer was out at the moment, and when I had fixed it the campaign was over.

Now they have revisited the old campaign in a new kickstarter and that was a great reason to make a review of the shop.

I printed it on my Prusa i3 MK3 with PLA filament. Sliced with Slic3er Prusa Edition. Layer height 0.10 mm, which is preferable if you want reasonably smooth walls. Print time was 3,5 hours for the pillar, 25 hours for the house body and 21 hours for the ceiling. If your fine with rougher walls you could go for 0.2 mm, which will halve the printing time. 0.05 or 0.07 would probably give even smoother walls but printing-time will obviously be longer. The construction weigh about 270 grams.

I does look a little too big for my minis, so if I make another one I'll probably print it in 80% scale or so.

I will use the shop in our upcoming zombie-games of Hjärnor, and as that is set in Sweden in the 80’s I wanted the shop to look pre-apocalypse (or rather in-the-beginning-of-the-apocalypse), that is, not a wreck and without the big sign on the roof (I will probably design one of my own). My idea is a local burger-shop, a bit run-down. We had a chain of burger joints called Clock in the 70s and 80s, that fit the bill rather well, and a quick Google-check turned out a few useful menues and stuff.

I do need some suitable furniture for it. Faux leather sofas, plastic chairs and easy to wipe tables...

This is a great little shop that is unique in the way it looks. I really like it and the print turned out great. What’s not to like?

Pic of the shop and sign from the kickstarter, printed with 0.2mm layer height. © LOOTgames and used with permisson.

If you’re interested in this building you can pledge for it in the new kickstarter, as just the building or as part of a bundle. Check it out before it ends on April 23 2019.

3D-printed Barracks from 3D-Print-Terrain

Less than a week left before Gothcon, and we’re working furiously to finish terrain and soldiers for our Storm over Haag Chain of Command game.

I'm working with houses and canals.

Here are two barracks from 3D-Print-Terrain and their World at War part II kickstarter, which you can still get at Jens’ webshop.

Several barracks were under construction at the Ypenburg Airport when Germany invaded in May 1940. These two are erected, and one isn’t quite finished yet, as the paint is still wet.

These Commander Barracks were printed with 130% size, 0.15mm layer height on my Prusa i3 MK3. Printing time around 20 hours for each body and slightly less for the roofs.

I had to fix the chimneys as they ended quite abruptly in a flat surface, but that was easily fixed with some green-stuff and a piece of plastic tube.

3D-printed windmill from 3D-Print-Terrain

An old lady on a 25mm base, as size comparison.

I’m furiously building, printing and painting terrain for our Storm over Haag Chain of Command participation game for Gothcon this Easter.

It will be Fallshirmjäger trying to secure the airport of Ypenburg. We have checked maps and after-action reports in an effort to build the north-eastern part of the defences.

On my lot fell printing of this windmill and a couple of barracks (on the painting table now), as well as building all the canals.

So, here’s the first finished piece, a windmill that pumped water just outside the perimeter. It comes from the World at War II kickstarter, and can be bought from Jens’ webshop as part of a bundle. It is originally scaled for 20mm gaming, but easily upscaled to 28mm.

Unpainted on the painting table.

I’m also building a small hill with culverts to put it on. But that’s not finished yet.