Thread: Questioning chirine ba kal

Originally Posted by Gronan of Simmerya

Well, I know you can get hollow plastic spheres. The trick would be to get one about the right size that was sturdy enough to be worked on (something that's only four or five mils thick simply wouldn't stand up to ordinary handling), and also make sure that it is a sort of plastic that takes glue. Styrene is the easiest to work with and ABS next, and both are readily available in the hobby market. But there are a shitload of different plastics, some of which styrene or ABS can't be glued to. Yes, you could use hotmelt glue, but for delicate work it has its problems.

I'm not even sure where you would find a sphere the right size. I did a quick search and the only 6" spheres I could find were made of polypro, and this crap is impossible to glue properly. ABS is not easy to blow-mould, as these spheres would have to be out of necessity, and if you could get one it would probably be really expensive. I just picked up a hot melt glue gun a few weeks ago and I'm still trying to get used to it, so that's out as well, for now.

Shemek

Originally Posted by Hrugga

Yes, Lord Shemek. I could soundly trounce him...Though I feel I would be doing my namesake little honor...Not too much of a challenge!!!

H;0)

Shemek

From Shemek hiTankolel:

That looks amazing. Until you gave me the dimensions of a tubeway car I really had no idea how big they were. This model really makes a visual impact when you see the minis in the bottom left of the picture.

Thank you! They have to hold a party of player characters in 25 - 28mm, so this is a decent size that isn't too crowded for those long trips. I used my notes from Phil's games, where we spent a lot of time in these things, and also his texts about them.

Are you going for internal lighting, or some type of external lights?

No. This is a very basic 'solid body' model, intended to be as easy to use in games as possible. I usually do not do interiors in models, unless the game scenario requires them; taking the models apart during the game is usually kind of disruptive, so I normally provide separate paper plans to players when they go into a building or something else with an interior. It keep the game moving smartly, and also forces the other players to send somebody in to see what's there - adventures ensue. If I was doing a display model, I would indeed put in all the lights; it's pretty easy to do, these days.

What brand of acrylic filler did you use to prep the surface?

Elmer's Carpenters' Wood Filler, available in any hardware store. I love this stuff; it thins with water, and can be mixed down to be applied with a brush. I use it a lot - Castle Tiketl's adobe walls were done with this stuff, over an extruded polystyrene foam base.

I'm not sure how feasible this is, but would you consider making a tubeway car with a detailed internal passenger compartment?
I can't wait to see this model in a station.

Sure; it's doable, if there was a need for it. This model is a simple open-cell styrene foam sphere from the crafts store - a whopping $3.00, if I recall - and a little work. If I was going to one with an interior - see more replies as this topic is discussed - I'd do it in any number of several ways, depending on the 'job specs' for what was needed. I tend to do models based on the needs of the game campaign, and there has been a need for one of these cars for literally decades - we just never got around to making one, when we were out at Phil's.

I'm looking forward to seeing it in action, too!

Originally Posted by Gronan of Simmerya

Well, I know you can get hollow plastic spheres. The trick would be to get one about the right size that was sturdy enough to be worked on (something that's only four or five mils thick simply wouldn't stand up to ordinary handling), and also make sure that it is a sort of plastic that takes glue. Styrene is the easiest to work with and ABS next, and both are readily available in the hobby market. But there are a shitload of different plastics, some of which styrene or ABS can't be glued to. Yes, you could use hotmelt glue, but for delicate work it has its problems.

This. Getting something sturdy enough to be handled would be my biggest worry. I'll have more about this in a minute, too.

Originally Posted by Greentongue

Wouldn't a styro-foam ball cut in half work well? You could carve out shapes of seating and consoles.
All the parts that were not accessible could be solid.
=

Styrofoam is really hard to work with, actually. It's easy to mold in shape, but once molded it's very fragile if you try to cut on it.

Originally Posted by Greentongue

Wouldn't a styro-foam ball cut in half work well? You could carve out shapes of seating and consoles.
All the parts that were not accessible could be solid.
=

Lost my first pass at a reply to a 'time-out request'...

I did this for the Pe Choi domes I did for my little Pe Choi village. Open-cell foam spheres like this one - crafts store, $3.00 - cut in half, glued to thin plywood for a base, slathered with filler and painted to look like the chitin that they use for their homes. The car is the same thing. This foam, as well as the expanded foam spheres - the white 'beadboard' stuff - is not very string, and the beadboard is a royal pain to work. If I was going to use foam, I'd use extruded foam - the pink or blue stuff - and rough out a sphere on the bandsaw, then turn it to true on the lathe. Cut in half, then mount it on the XZY table in the milling stand, and mill out the compartments - and room for the lights and stuff, of course. Glue the seats and console to a styrene deck plate, screw it all together, and there you are.

I'd also seriously consider doing a wood sphere, basswood most likely, as it'd be stronger. And there's getting a plastic sphere - two domes, really, from a specialist plastics fabricator.

These days, there's an even better way - see a later reply...

From Big Andy:
Actually, trying to gin up an underworld. Got a new crop of Tekumel fans, all about 12-13, that just realized that there are creepy crawlies right under their feet and they are itching to get down there!

Very cool!

Eight surprises me, though having nothing to compare against, I don't know why. Is that counting all of those in the necropolis as 1? Are they kind of like the weird manhole covered fire pole in Egg Shen's basement in Big Trouble in Little China? Are there any clanhouse's with basement doors that you should not open?

Sorry; should have been more clear. There are eight that I know of in the city proper; I didn't count the ones in the necropolis. There's maybe six to nine there, that I know of and have used over the years.

Yes!!! Yes!!! Rick Bjugen introduced Phil to this wonderful movie, and Phil loved it as he thought that Underworld adventures would be like this.
And yes, you do find sealed doorways in basements; it's a byproduct of the Ditlana ritual.

I am trying to "size" the underworld I am building properly. I was guessing that the underworld would be a bit smaller than the city above. 5x5 miles is really big!

Understood, but the big one is Jakalla - the City Half As Old As The World. I think you have a good grasp of the size of your 'usual' Underworld.

As always you are a fountain of knowledge! And much appreciated!

Always happy to help!

Love the new models! They are sharp! The young uns I have playing say you should do a stop action movie for your YouTube channel using your minis and models!

Thank you! Never thought of that - I'll see what we can do. Bought the chassis for the aircar today; with tax, $2.17.

Originally Posted by Shemek hiTankolel

That sounds interesting, and might work. You certainly could put the LED's in quite easily. Even if you didn't want to to carve out the seats or consoles adding scratch built ones would be easy enough a well.

Shemek

The cool way to do this:

Contact Howard Fielding, he of The Tekumel Project. Ask him very nicely to contact his and my friend, who is a long-time Tekumel fan who does three-dee printing; he works for a prototyping company, and has been doing some very - and I mean very!!! - cool models for Tekumel. he is one of Howard's suppliers, and maybe they'd be able to do something. (I'd do the design for free, in trade for one of the models!)

The process is amazing; it can do hollow objects, and the resin is quite strong.

Originally Posted by Shemek hiTankolel

I'm not even sure where you would find a sphere the right size. I did a quick search and the only 6" spheres I could find were made of polypro, and this crap is impossible to glue properly. ABS is not easy to blow-mould, as these spheres would have to be out of necessity, and if you could get one it would probably be really expensive. I just picked up a hot melt glue gun a few weeks ago and I'm still trying to get used to it, so that's out as well, for now.

Shemek

Specialist plastics fabricators. You'll pay for it; this is not cheap.

I like my hot-melt guns, but you do have to be very careful!!!