State of the Blog Address (2019 in Review)

I have to say that this year passed by quickly!  It's basically a blog tradition that I go over what I did and didn't accomplish over the past 12 months and this year is yet again a bit of a mixed bag.  I'm the traditional hobby front, 2019 wasn't unfortunately much different than the prior year.  I managed to finish what I thought would be my final Winged Hussar (link here) as well as four figs for basically the same rpg character idea.  Why so many?  Well, the character changed as well as my ideas of how to portray him.   The first fig (link here) was printed on shapeways for a previous defunct campaign attempt whereas the others were done at home on my only big hobby project purchase, the Elegoo Mars 3d printer.

I had previously thought I was done with my hussar project but the upcoming release of Master Lazarus for 40k as well as a free 3d model from Artel W might convince me to dip my toes back into that pool later this year.  In the meantime, I've taken a stab at samurai inspired space marines instead with some success (link here) that I have yet to paint as well as a Space Wolf that at least I finished (link here).

Too big...too small...just right!

On the Star Trek front, I made a few entries to my SHIELD UP! house rules section.  While I didn't end up revising my Fasa STSTCS ship manual, I revised the existing D-15 FASA ship (link here) as well as added the Atlas dreadnought to my STA house rules (link here).  I also decided to test out a theory regarding whether you could noticeably improve prepainted heroclix minis with a quick wash and/or drybrush (link here).    Finally, I  came up with some more nuanced rules for playing STA in the Enterprise/NX era of trek (link here).  In that same update, I previewed a 3d version of my old NXL ship design which later got a test print or two (link here) but I never did more with them.  It's not alot but I suppose an optimistic way to look at it would be that I put out at least quarterly trek updates if averaged out for the year.  I don't have any ambitious plans for the trek side of the hobby but I do hope to revisit printing my NXL design now that I'm more experienced with supporting prints as well as coming out with a short Klingon D-7 update for FASA.  I generally need a direct motivation for my hobby work and the lack of any real chance of playing anything trek related locally unfortunately hampers that.

 Cactus Trek!

Ending the recap on a positive note, I was finally able to find a relatively stable rpg group this past year.  While I'm not enamored particularly with the ruleset (review link), it works for me as a player and we've been managing a monthly game since the summer.  It's because of that campaign that I've been focused more on my Krogan miniatures than the others.  I'd love it if we were playing longer than the 3-4 hours per session we average as well as playing every two weeks as originally planned instead of monthly but it's a good group of easy going players and I'm glad to have them.  With that, my yearly TL;DR hobby therapy session post is over and I wish everyone a happy 2020!

 

Another upcoming Krogan RPG character mini!

Now I just need an RPG group...

A while back I finished my first of the 3D printed Mass Effect figures but never got around to photographing him.  I'm happy to report that in person the facets from the 3D model printing aren't visible at all at any normal distance and I dare say that their visibility is also reduced even in the zoomed in flash photography below as well.

As with my previous fig pictured next to him, I decided to embellish the paint job with the closest things I could find to Blood Pack markings, 40k Ork decals.  I'm about half way done with the sniper figure as well from my second batch but I just can't get the paint job to look how I want.  The fine details evident on the printing really are shallow and I'm not happy with how they're turning out so will probably be stripping the fig and restarting it sometime this week.

I've also stumbled accidentally across an RPG conversion that is exactly what I was looking for in the first place... a Mass Effect total conversion of the 5e D&D ruleset.  I had been considering doing something less ambitious myself with either the Shadowrun or Eclipse Phase rules (and in the past had even done some preliminary work in that regard) but nothing on the scale that the folks at the link below have been working on.  If you're interested in Mass Effect and like the 5e ruleset, definitely check them out as they've got gear, biotics, aliens, and almost everything else worked into playable rules!

Mass Effect 5E

As a final tidbit, I posed my Krogan mercenary up with some other figs I've had for a while.  It seems that he was hired to explore some rumors of a Rachni hive and collect an egg for hit patron to sell but has found something much worse!  :)

Adventures in 3D (Re)Printing Update

My initial 2018 review of Shapeways printing for wargaming (link here) ended up with some nice figs for me although there was a misprint on the weapon of the most prominent figure.  I contacted Shapeways over the holidays about a reprint for just that miscast figure and they got back to me fairly quickly.  It turns out that the wall of the fins on the weapon were too thin and this wasn't caught by either their automated systems, the pre-production manual check, or the post printing Q&A.  Their support staff was quite helpful and even sent this picture to show the exact areas that were too thin.

I only hoped for a reprint of the initial figure but apparently, since the error wasn't caught at any of the steps, they instead gave me a full refund as store credit.  They offered to change it to a refund via my credit card but I figured I'd partly redo the figs and reorder them instead so kept the store credit.  I opted this time to "extrude" the models to avoid any potential issues like the one above as well as to give the figures a bit more bulk.  For example, my sniper rifle alien had three very fine head protrusions of equal length but with just normal (and careful!) handling I've already broken off the tips of two of them.  Here is an example of what I mean by "extrusion" with the original model and three additional successive levels.

I incorrectly stated that the process would make the facial details more prominent in my last review based on my memories of ordering back in 2012.  My 2012 model had even more bulk added than the most extreme shown here; this time, I decided to just use the first level as it was enough to thicken fragile areas on both figures and to avoid any automatic "patches" added by Shapeways like with the glob on my miscast model's hammer.

I didn't opt for expedited shipping and it took about a month to get it this time as well so the Christmas rush wasn't responsible for the extended delivery time.   While I didn't get extra detail from the extrusion, I'm definitely happier with the increased overall bulk compared with the previous proportions.  Previously dangerously thin sections are noticeably thicker like the sniper barrel find and there are no misprint errors this time.  I made sure to resize the two new models (in their hard to see clear form below( to the same height scale as the previous prints  despite the variant poses.

I did a quick primer coat (this time in their intended individual base colors) and took a scale pic with some other figs (40k primaris and Star Wars prepaints human).    I hope to finish these two latest figs this upcoming week and will post a quick update when I do.  Just like these models have their individual facets hidden by textures, I hope that the polygons won't be visible once painted as I don't see them on my initial 2012 3d printed model.

State of the Blog Address (2018 in review)

Well, another year has gone by and so it's time for another year in review post.  I'll start with what amounted to the majority of progress on my blog... digital hobby publishing.  Starting with Star Trek tabletop gaming, I worked on over a dozen sheets under my SHIELDS UP! house rules (link here) divided up between the current Star Trek Adventures RPG by Modiphius and the classic FASA Starship Combat games.  This is where the bulk of my updates are for 2018 and, while I myself haven't tried any of them out in actual games, some other players have reported using my fan ship designs in their own campaigns.

Additionally, I tried my hand at some very basic programming and developed some custom ships (link here) for the fan made computer game version of the classic FASA game along with a tutorial for getting it all working (link here).  All in all, I'd say that I was significantly more productive in that virtual realm compared with typical tabletop hobby work albeit with almost no difference in the "games played" metric described above (excluding single player missions).

When it comes to actual hands on traditional hobby work, I frankly didn't accomplish much.  In 2018, the only miniatures that I worked on were the painted Winged Hussar pictured in the center below and another converted/built yet to be painted.  I had hoped to finish off a half painted Tau broadside suit conversion I worked on a few years ago but never got around to it. 

I hope to do better next year but realistically I said the same thing last year in my previous review so I won't hold my breath.  While I did visit the local games store a bit more in 2018 for RPG reasons, I only ended up playing a single miniatures game after an RPG session.  That definitely puts a damper on any larger hobby plans leaving me with the occasional conversion project (like my RAFM minis or Winged Hussars).  In the next month, I do plan on painting some of my 3D printed figures as part of the last phase of my review of them.

Next we have a mix of the two categories above in my Shapeways miniatures printing.  I relearned by brute force trial and error how to pose and modify existing models (although actual modelling is still far beyond my grasp) and mostly successfully printed out physical miniatures.  I did hear back from Shapeways about the misprint in my order and am awaiting my reorder of tweaked figures.  I do plan on covering the reprints as well as painting up several of the figures for use as well.  If time and budget allows, I also hope to place another later on in the year for my first ever custom starship miniatures including hopefully a ship or two featured in my SHIELDS UP! house rules.

Finally we have the miscellaneous updates.  In between the above, I've recounted my truthful experience in backing the failed Robotech Tactics miniatures kickstarter (link here), reviewed Artel W's series of boutique 40k themed miniatures (link here) as well as the Star Trek Discovery Season 1 (link here), reviewed the Starfinder RPG and my unsuccessful attempt at starting a local group (link here), and even covered the history of my blog's title (link here).

All in all that makes 26 updates for 2018 or roughly one every two weeks or so on average.  In reality, they came more in fits and spurts with May being a month without any update.  In addition to hopefully doing a bit more hands on painting in 2019, I do also hope to post a bit more regularly or, at a minimum, not completely miss any months on the blog.  As stated above, I do hope to finish off some existing miniatures on my painting table (like my 40k Tau broadside linked here as well as my recent 3D printed figs).  On the digital front, I don't see myself coming out with too many ships but I am considering publishing an updated 2019 edition of my TOS Recognition Manual (link here) if I can come up with a suitable Romulan ship to add to the roster.

I don't know if this type of review is informative to any potential readers but I do feel that it (at least temporarily) helps to focus my efforts for the upcoming months.  Regardless, see you all in a few weeks with my next 3D printing update and thanks again for reading!

Adventures in 3d Printing (2018 Edition)

Back in 2012, I printed my first ever 3d model via Shapeways.com and reviewed the results in the 2017 blog post linked here.  With the proliferation of home 3d printing in the years since and the introduction of the first truly affordable (<$500 USD) quality resin printer this year, I decided it was time to re-evaluate the Shapeways options.  I tweaked some 3d files (relearning the process by brute force trial and error yet again!) including a model similar but not exactly the same as the previous one and printed it out at the current highest quality possible which is one step above the 2012 equivalent.  I apologize in advance for the long article but I felt that it would be best to post this in one go instead of breaking it up.

As you can see, I upscaled the model as my original scaling was meant to match the old WOTC Star Wars prepaint on the far right.  I was surprised by how small the original 2012 fig actually ended up so this time I increased the height from 37mm to 49mm thinking that it would be too big.  Instead, it's a comfortable size that fits most other scif I miniatures instead of dwarfing them like I expected.  Whereas before I exaggerated most features by extruding them out, I hoped that this time the larger size plus smaller printing layer height would allow exactly modelled is printing.  The large alien turned out just fine but the two others are very frail (especially the female alien shown below) and I wish I had "thickened" them a bit for durability .  Additionally, my tweaking this time around let me actually pose and combine the miniature with the weapons instead of using a clumsy sprue/base system to (unsuccessfully) keep it all together.

The Good

The most noticeable change since 2012 is the decrease in price likely largely brought about by the downward pressure caused by affordable home printers.  A friend of mine, Albertorius, got the Anycubic Photon earlier this year and his results exceed the highest Shapeways quality possible back in 2012 (Frosted Ultra Detail with a layer height of 29 microns).  I paid $10 more for 3 figs at a higher quality (16 micron layer height) than I did for the previous order of a single smaller figure.  The quality also is notably improved with individual polygon facets visible in the printing this time around as shown below on the chest with flash photography.  The facial features are recognizable but shallow so in retrospect I do wish I had extruded them out as I suspect some of the features will disappear with even thin succesive primer/paint/wash layers.

The tools on the website have also improved and you can now specify the model orientation in the print bed whereas before it was determined by the company not for max printing quality but rather for the most densely packed/efficient print run.  Unlike with home printers that use a scaffolding system to prevent failure (as shown here in my friend's Photon home printer), the fine plastic detail quality utilizes a solid bed of waxy support material that is then melted off with a solvent.  While it doesn't require any clipping, it does mar the surface somewhat leaving a rougher texture.  Last time, my model had the support border line run literally straight down the front of the model (shown below) leaving one side smooth and the other rough.  Admittedly, it didn't end up showing through after some careful sanding and painting but I was still concerned about it this time around.  I'm pleased to report that I was able to both successfully orient my model to minimize it and that the surface effect was less prominent this time where it did appear.  I apologize for the quality of the pictures but the opaque resin was difficult to photograph as it was too dark with no flash and the model would largely disappear with flash.

The Bad

The main complaint that I have is that I could have gotten a slightly better quality model for a bit lower price had I ordered over the summer when I finished the model instead of waiting for a free shipping sale that never actually came.  Over the summer, they switched the materials classification from Frosted Extreme Detail previously available to the Smoothest Fine Detail Plastic that I ordered.  Whereas the layer height (which they stopped listing at all on their website!) is still the same at 16 microns, the listed accuracy is 2-3x worse.  Now, to put that in perspective, the new worse accuracy still amounts to at most a 0.25mm deviation for my model size but it's still technically worse than before.  Additionally, they raised the price of my model by about 10% in October meaning that I paid more for that slightly worse model.  I'm still quite happy with what I got and it is a noticeable improvement since 2012 but it deserved mention for completeness' sake.

While the online tools are improved as mentioned above, the nitty gritty details on the website have decreased leading to worse transparency for the consumer as quality settings can be quietly changed behind the scenes without most users ever knowing.  Simply finding out the layer height of the highest quality setting involved me posting to their forum (no response), tweeting at them (also ignored), and then emailing customer service to actually get the information.

Finally, it did take a almost an entire month to get my order after paying.  This year, they introduced priority printing in addition to the expedited shipping that previously existed, neither of which I paid extra for.  Some of the delay is in all likelihood attributable to me ordering during the Christmas rush but the long lead time might deter some folks from ordering.  For me, I was comfortable getting a good deal while letting others pay for the faster service as I consider that a comfortable middle ground if not taken to the extreme.

The Ugly

Again, not too much to report here other than one miscast on the large alien figure.  As shown in the picture below, his gun is supposed to have multiple extended protrusions around the barrel.  Those apparently did not print out or attach correctly despite passing the automated and manual checks.  The automatic check did add a few gobs of extra material here (for example visible on the front surface of the hammer) but they're not as obvious in person as I initially feared.  The other two aliens printed out flawlessly with razor thin protrusions like weapon fins and head spikes surviving intact (although we'll see if they last long in use or storage!).  I've contacted the support team about reprinting just the large alien due to the miscast weapon and will update this post when that process eventually concludes.  As it is currently between Christmas and New Year's at the time of writing this post, I suspect it may take more than a few days to sort it all out.

 The Verdict

Overall, I'd say that 3d Printing has definitely reached the point where it is doable both from an ease of use as well as quality standard.  Whereas previously I rated the quality at about board game plastics quality, I'd say it has reached roughly the same quality as well done mass produced plastic kits from about a decade or so ago.  If you're not interested or able to invest in the new generation of $400-500 high quality resin home printers, Shapeways is a viable alternative for sculpts that you just can't get elsewhere (as long as the detail depth is adjusted for 3d printing and you're not in a rush) and the price is also lower than some of the more recent GW kits per model.  A friend let me know about another service that uses home 3d print farms so an evaluation of that option will hopefully be the next article in this series at some point next year.

As always, I'm keen to hear any questions or comments so feel free to leave them below.   I hope everyone had a merry Christmas in 2018 and will have a happy New Year as well in a few days!

Adventures in 3D Printing

This is a bit of a retroreview of my initial (and only so far!) foray into 3D printing from about 5 years ago.  After playing through the first two Mass Effect games, I was thoroughly captivated by the universe they created and wanted it to cross over a bit into my tabletop gaming hobby (both minis and RPGs).   The Krogans interested me most (although the Turians weren't far behind!) and I decided to dip my toes into the new waters of 3D model design and printing.  Not being a 3D artist myself, I decided to instead make a "conversion" of my favorite existing Krogan in game model, the Krogan Blood Pact Warlord Garm.  I downloaded the 30 day trial version of 3dsmax and combed various forums and website devoted to pc game modding in order to figure out how to import and then alter the models to my tastes.  Here is the original inspiration for my model (additionally GIMP'ed by myself to incorporate the weapon I added on the model):

It took me a few weeks of hobby free time but eventually I learned how to pose the model to an acceptable degree (it started in the Da Vinci "anatomical" pose), hollow it out to save on 3D printing costs, exaggerate the features for 3D printing's resolution, and most importantly "fix" the model for 3D printing.   I was both playing in and running RPG campaigns at the time using 25-28mm miniatures so I decided to scale the Krogan to match the existing line of Star Wars prepainted miniatures we were using for one of the campaigns.  The alternative, matching a space marine terminator, for the other campaign was cost prohibitive as well especially for a project that I considered a hobby gamble like 3D printing.  That was a few years ago but the reason I'm bringing it up now again is because I converted the miniature further this past week (along with another five year old unfinished 40k conversion!) and realized that it might make an interesting blog post.  Here are the results of printing the model at FUD (frosted ultra detail) on shapeways at the cost at the time of $26 including shipping (minus the left hand that I just converted from a normal fist).

 First, the good news... it worked and I had a 25mm Krogan model!  The bad news was that, even at the then max quality of FUD, I wasn't quite happy with the detail.  The face especially had alot more detail than the resolution of the printing supported and all I could do was put down a primer, thin base color coat, and some thin washes to not obliterate the shallow detail.  I had anticipated that it might be an issue due to my research and had even already "thickened" into acromegalic proportions the face of the 3D model.  Additionally, Shapeways unfortunately printed it "sideways" in the vat leading to half the model having a coarse sandpaper surface texture due to a known side effect of their 3d printing method.   Sadly, I didn't take a picture myself and am unable to find one of the issue online after five years but it was distinctively different from the typical "stepping" you see with large 3D printed models.  The rough texture was, like the Batman villain Two Face, over almost half the model and the result of Shapeways reorienting my model in their bin to fit in with others for maximum profit/models per batch print run.  The sandpaper roughness is a known issue with the process that they use but it typically mitigated by orienting the model so that the "underside" surfaces are the ones that are affected. When they reoriented my model sidesways laying down on his side in their tray, that roughness instead covered half the visible surfaces instead.

Overall, I'd say that the detail at FUD was equal to mid range board game quality.  As you can see next to a 40k (also converted this week!) plastic figure from the same era, there is a notable difference in sharpness and detail.  The edges of the model are a bit soft and rounded instead of the sharp corners modelled and most of the intricate facial detail is gone.  I was able to clean up most of the roughness over large surfaces without losing any appreciable detail so didn't ask/inquire about a replacement.  That said.. at the time on their forums... Shapeways was denying customers replacements for this issue despite the cause being their poor choice of RE-orientation of models printed at their highest quality so I probably wouldn't have gotten a replacement even if I had raised the issue.  This past weekend, I converted the left hand to include a "omnitool blade" from an old D&D prepainted minis model as well as touched up the paint a bit.

In doing updated research for this post, it looks like some of the above has improved in the years since.  When I test added the same model to my cart this week, it actually gave me an option for confirming the model's orientation so the sand paper texture I got should be avoided nowadays.  Additionally, it looks like they've incorporated both a higher resolution material (Frosted Extreme Detail) as well as one that is specifically smother (High Def Acrylate) albeit at a higher price than what I originally paid.   Unlike with other technologies and services that improve over time, it doesn't look like Shapeways has lowered the price of older offerings by passing on the value to consumers but instead just offers improvements at constantly higher prices.  I paid $20 before without shipping and a resized (25% larger so 4.8cm tall instead of 3.8cm) model would cost me $33 at the same quality or $54 at the higher quality.  Dropping the size down and using a slightly less bulky (without the edge thickening I used) and not as upscaled (only 22% larger) earlier version of the model I uploaded without any base or gun, the price drops down to $26 and $42 without shipping.  Unfortunately, I don't see any of those as a reasonable alternative even with the free shipping they now occasionally offer that I previously wasn't an option.  If the pricing changes in the near future, I'll reassess the situation periodically.  With the new video game coming out with higher detail 3d models, I'll be on the lookout for the next Krogan I'd like to potentially add to my collection.