I’ve recently launched Martian Models, a digital storefront for my original miniatures designs. This is an idea that’s been rattling around in the back of my head for a number of years. Martian Models goes way back to the late 1970s when I began kitbashing models as a kid after learning about how the studio […]
As I mentioned in my last post, I’m working on a fleet of starships for A Billions Suns, a game of space fleet combat. The post is focused on the design of the carrier, one of the larger ship classes in the game. My initial goal was to create something that was immediately recognizable as […]
It’s been quite a while since my last post and I’ve had some life events that halted my ability to pursue my hobbies for a couple of years. However, having finally been able to get a small hobby and 3D printing area set up, I’m beginning to create again and I hope to be posting […]
I’ve been experimenting with modeling and printing a number of turret designs gleaned from various Traveller illustrations over the years as optional components for my starship models. It’s common to see Traveller illustrations that depict ship’s turrets as hemispheres with an oblong weapon battery with three circular weapon ports. I refer to this as the […]
Last autumn, I began work on a revision to the Scout model to bring it closer in line to some of Bryan Gibson’s later works depicting the Scout. Bryan had taken some elements from the 3D model I created and blended them back into an updated design, one of my favorite examples being shown below. […]
Taking what I learned from the previous model, I created an updated version of the Type S Scout/Courier model with the aim of improving detail in key areas as well as adding features to improve the “paintability”. It’s also the first time that I attempted to create my own water-slide decals. Background for Traveller Fans […]
This is the first in a series about my process of fabricating a sci-fi starship from original concept art through printing and painting a physical model. Concept Art First, a little background: the model I am creating is a “Type S Scout/Courier” from the Traveller Role Playing Game universe. It’s a design that’s been around since […]
I wasn’t able to take many in progress photos, but I do have some notes associated with the photos of the finished model. I’m torn on the design of this ship. My initial reaction was that it looks like a potato-bat, but it’s grown on me. From certain angles, like the first image below, it definitely gives […]
This is another model from Bandai’s Resistance Vehicle Set which includes two 1/144 T-70 X-Wings along with this 1/350 Falcon from the Last Jedi. Few parts but great detail. I’m really impressed by the pipes which run from the hull into the maintenance pits. The parts were all very clean except for the radar dish, which […]
This model is part of a Last Jedi Resistance Vehicles boxed set that includes Poe Dameron’s boosted X-Wing, a Blue Squadron T-70 X-Wing and a 1/350 scale Millenium Falcon. Rather than going for the standard Blue Squadron paint job, I wanted to try to something a little different. I’ve seen a number of people create […]
This is the companion to the previously posted Y-Wing. I started the X-Wing with a base coat of Stynylrez Black Primer followed by a coat of Minitaire Skull White which is the next lightest gray in the Minitaire line from Dusty Ground, which is what I used for the Y-Wing. I used a variety of […]
This is a 1/144 Y-Wing from Bandai’s Star Wars Episode IV, V and VI vehicle range. It came as part of a boxed set with an X-Wing and Y-Wing. The level of detail is remarkable, especially for a model in this small a scale. The kit parts fit together quite snugly without glue and Bandai […]
With the generous use of my brother’s Glowforge, I was able to fabricate three paint racks for my workspace. Two of them are general purpose racks, designed to hold paint bottles from various manufacturers in an upright position for easy identification. The third rack is designed around holding the full set of Badger Minitaire airbrush […]
I went back to the drawing board for another design based on what I learned from revisions 1 through 3. The biggest change is that I’m adding two more shelves and reducing the width from 20″ (50cm) to 16″ (40cm). This will allow me to fit three racks side-by-side in my workspace. Revisions 2 and 3 […]
I finally completed the T-47 Airspeeder model from Star Wars Legion, painted up as one of the iconic Rogue Squadron Snowspeeders from the Battle of Hoth. Since this was a gift for my brother’s birthday, I wanted to create a snow-covered diorama base to show off the speeder. This was my first experience with creating […]
This is the laser-cut version of the paint rack concept. The Glowforge cut it perfectly and the parts fit snugly enough to be dry-fit but with enough margin to allow them to be glued easily. It was also surprisingly sturdy and the central spine gave good support with the shelves only flexing minimally when loaded […]
As my collection of paints has grown I’ve purchased a number of paint rack solutions such as Vallejo’s Front Module Paint Stand and Angel Giraldez’s Custom Paint Rack. They are both well constructed out of laser-cut MDF and relatively inexpensive. However, there are a number of things I don’t like about most of the laser-cut […]
While I haven’t gotten into the Star Wars Legion game quite yet, I picked up a model of the T-47 Airspeeder, best known as the iconic Snowspeeder from the Battle of Hoth from Episode IV. This model is from Fantasy Flight Games Star Wars Legion line of miniatures and is scaled for 25mm humans, roughly […]
This 15mm scale Nemesis is from Clearhorizon Miniatures. It’s a multi-part resin kit of a stealthy, light armored recon vehicle. The original 3D model sculpt is by Steve “Coolhand” Tyler. The model has an aggressive, “crouched” stance that looks like a cat ready to pounce. It looks like it would be able to handle pretty rough […]
This is a pack of Talos heavy armored infantry from White Dragon Miniatures Marine Tactical Unit line. The pack comes with four troopers and one drone. According to the flavor text from White Dragon, two of the troopers are escorts armed with carbines, one being magazine fed and the other belt-fed. One heavy weapon trooper […]
This is my second Proteus Frontline Battle Mech from White Dragon Miniatures. This model is the chaingun variant and has a more active stance than the cannon version. The mech’s torso is rotated to the left with the chaingun clearly being aimed rather than held at rest. As with my last Proteus model, I added […]
This is the third set of White Dragon Miniatures depicting Marine Tactical Unit troopers. Fire Team Charlie is a heavy weapons unit equipped with missile launchers called MIPAWs. MAIN INDIVIDUAL PORTABLE ASSAULT WEAPON: Another weapon which can be utilised by the Fireteams is the MIPAW. This is a large shoulder fired weapon able to launch an […]
This is one of my first vehicle purchases from Khurasan Miniatures, a Challenger Hover APC. The model is cast from resin and was remarkably clean and required very little patching or trimming of flash. I really like the bulky, utilitarian design of this model and the details such as hull panels, smoke launchers, tow rings […]
Another great model from White Dragon Miniatures, the Armadillo is an “automated pack-mule” robot that acts as a transport and fire support unit attached to a platoon of Marines. The model comes with a large armored shield that attaches to the right side of the mech but is not shown in the photos. The shield […]
I finally had a chance to apply some water slide decals to the Proteus Battle Mech. Definitely not a level of detail I could have achieved by painting. I’m having some problems with glare on the water slide decal material from certain angles. The model is coated with Testors Dullcote Flat Spray Lacquer but I […]
This is one of the larger models from White Dragon’s line of Marine Tactical Unit 15mm miniatures. There are currently three weapon variants: cannon, chaingun and railgun. The version pictured below is the cannon variant. The model is cast from resin and is very accurate with minimal mold lines and flash. Assembly is a bit […]
I recently discovered the Marine Tactical Unit (MTU) 15mm miniatures line by White Dragon Miniatures. Theses are fantastic sculpts with an incredible amount of detail and really nice designs. The MTU infantry are available as three fire teams, Alpha, Bravo and Charlie, each of which contains six troopers, all with different poses. The troopers are […]
As a kid, my first encounter with 15mm miniatures was at the local Swap Meet, where a local gaming store, Comic Castle, had a spot where they sold games and miniatures. My first purchase was a set of 15mm adventurers from the Traveller Sci-Fi RPG universe manufactured by Martian Metals. Due to the small scale […]
I’ve been experimenting with my brother’s Glowforge laser cutter and this is my first design: a sci-fi themed dice tower cut from 1/8″ (3.17mm) MDF. For those not steeped in RPG or tabletop game culture, a dice tower is a device for preventing rolled dice from scattering all over the place. A dice tower usually […]
Once again, Apple surprises us with their entry into wearable technology. There’s been a ton of coverage on what little we know about the Apple Watch and you can’t go wrong reading this overview from Benjamin Clymer of Hodinkee. I’m surprised that they were able to cram so much technology into such a tiny package. I had […]
I’ve been thinking about the rumored iWatch and what the design and user experience might be like. This led me to create a concept based on what I’d like to see in the device. This concept is influenced by the sleek design of the Nike+ FuelBand. This type of band could provide space for the battery […]