Peregrine - ???

Thankfully my updates on the Peregrine have been healthily outstripped by my work on it. It made it's debut in a Pulp Alley day at my club a week ago. Before I post up about that I thought I should stick up a few shots of the Peregrine.

It's far from finished: I still have most of the interior to go. But it looks good enough from the outside! 

The exterior was spray painted grey, then I sponged on the white paint. It could probably do with some weathering, but I'm a bit afraid I'll make a mess of it. I might try it on the underside first.

Peregrine - 350

A quick update this time. You make some quick progress when every one of these pillars is eleven pieces!

And a couple of bigger views.

Next time will be much more interesting: most of the roof will be done.

Peregrine - 300

Lots more detail stuff this time! The sensor array at the front.

You can also see interior walls and compartments.

Probably the coolest part of the build so far is the toilet! (The blurry bit to the right is the sink.)

Sadly, most of it gets hidden away.

Peregrine - 250

It's been a while since I've posted any progress on the Peregrine, but I have been chipping away slowly. The main reason for the gap in posting is that painting has begun: at least a bit of it.

We now have sides well underway.

And a decent amount of work on the bottom.

But the main thing is the completed cockpit.

Love all the little details: screens, cables, switches.

Peregrine - 200

The last fifty pieces for the Peregrine have all gone into the seats.

And they're still not (quite) finished!

The detail is amazing though - padded seats, footrests, screens for the pilots. I find myself caught between two thoughts. "What am I doing?! If this was a plastic kit, this would be about three pieces." And, "This is amazing what you can do with flat pieces of cardboard!" The second way of thinking is still winning!

The next update will take us past the seats (yay!). It might be a while coming, because I'm going to have to take a deep breath and start painting.

Peregrine - 150

The work focuses down even more. Still all in the cockpit, and a large slab of it just on seats!

Peregrine - 100

One hundred bits. The next fifty were all in the cockpit.

The detail is fantastic. Window frames, banks of switches. All a bit fiddly to do, but I'm loving it.

Peregrine - 50

I'm on holidays at the moment, so I had the chance to get stuck into the Y2K Peregrine: here's the first wip photos.

Because I'm a bit weird, I thought I'd post some progress shots each time I put together fifty parts. Yes it's strange, it's a bit obsessive, but you're talking to someone who just bought a thousand piece kit! So, here it is at fifty. Photos are a little rushed and blurry, sorry.

At the moment, it's a floor with the rear engine compartments and front and back hatches.

Front cargo hatch.

Rear hatch.

You can see how long it is.

A good chunk of the first fifty parts were these little pads for the doors! The'd all be moulded on in a plastic kit, but where's the fun in that?

New Toy - Y2K Peregrine

It's been a while since I've posted anything that isn't a game report. Lack of time, lack of motivation. But thinking about the inspiration and encouragement I get from seeing what other people are working on, maybe I should have a go again. And here's something people might be interested in seeing.

For a while now, I've been keeping tabs on the design process for Miniature Scenery's not Millenium Falcon. Well, it was released last week and even though it cost silly money I took the plunge.

It's completely over the top with all the interior detail (even a unisex toilet!) But that's the kind of thing I love, so I figure this will be a labour of love.

There's plenty to it - six mdf sheets and six cardboard sheets: over one thousand pieces!

I'll try to post semi-regular updates with how it's going.

Review: Large Base Detail Kit by Games Workshop

I was in my local comics and games shop the other day when I spotted this kit.

I decided to pick it up: I make all the details for my own sci fi bases, but the inspiration has been flagging lately. And A$50 for over seventy bits didn't seem to bad, compared to what I'd pay if I picked up other random bits from resellers.

Here's what you get, two of each of these two sprues.

But can I just say, don't do what I did! Do not buy this kit!

When I opened the box and pulled out the first sprue, my first thought was, "This must be upside down. The detail is pretty soft, this must be the back of the casting." Well, if only! Most of the stuff in the kit looks as if it's been recast in Outer Mongolia using aeroplane jelly for the mould! Grrr! Soft detail everywhere. It's tricky to pick up in the pictures, but have a look at these.

Checkerplate pattern, compared to a plasticard sheet from the local hobby shop. A heavy undercoat on the GW bit, and you wouldn't even know it was there.

A streetlamp, compared to the same model from one of GW's building kits. Notice the soft, rounded edges.

Compare the detail on the skulls and the lights. This kit looks like the stuff you'd get on a kid's toy.

Needless to say, I'm not at all impressed. Say what you like about GW's style, their business model, their pricing; normally their models are technically top-line. Definitely not here.

Do not buy this kit (unless you'd like to get it second hand - I know someone trying to get rid of one)!

How to Make Sci Fi Tables

I wanted some sci fi tables for an upcoming scenario. I didn't want something super high-tech, but definitely something more than your average dining table. And I wanted to be able to make it myself. A dig around the bits box gave me some inspiration: a heroscape glyph and the lid from an asthma inhaler.

Cut out the insides of the lid, get rid of the sticker on the glyph, glue, paint.

"I could let you have it for a mere 480 credits".

Communications Tower

I needed a communications tower for a scenario. I'd been trying to pick up the GW one on ebay for a while, but with no luck (possibly because I could never work out what they call it!) Anyway, I decided I'd better build my own.

Unfortunately, I forgot to take WIP shots. The box is a breath mints box, with a touchpad from Miniature Scenery. The aerial is an old pacer inner, topped with a flag pole top from an old kit. Various plastic and MDF oddments give some texture to the rest of the box.

I need to make this call, but I don't think I've got the right change.