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Author Topic: The other UFO setting - it begins...  (Read 5594 times)

Online Daeothar

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The other UFO setting - it begins...
« on: November 27, 2013, 10:42:24 PM »
Right. Well, for the longest time, I've been a huge fan of Gerry Anderson's UFO series. As a kid, I've only ever seen a couple of partial episodes, but it left quite an impression with me. So much, that I immediately recognized the premise when UFO: Enemy Unknown (or X-COM) was released back in the nineties. (I mean: secret international organisation to stop alien invaders, hidden underground base, funding problems, top of the line interceptors, equipment and personnel, psionic powers, alien autopsies?)

Anyway; I own the series on DVD and have watched it several times already. And it was when watching the series that I realized that the entire setting would make for one cracking skirmish game! And when Crooked Dice released their not-Ed Straker (better known as the 'Man from 2000', although technically, UFO was set in 1980 :D ), I realized I could not postpone it any longer. So I began sourcing the elements I would be needing.

I had Ed Straker, but then what? Once again, Crooked Dice proved to be the go-to: A squad of rifle armed Henchmen will be SHADO operatives in the field. I might need more than these initial four though. The CD Astronauts seemed perfect for use as the nefarious aliens, but once again, I might need more before I'm done.

As an aside, since I also picked up three not-Fembots this year at Crisis, I will probably need even more for use as SHADO astronauts, should I ever get to do up the Moonbase. (Hey, come on; you and I both know I will have to... ::) )

Ainsty makes some really nice drivers to go with their utility vehicles, but they're also useable as SHADO Mobile drivers and even Interceptor pilots! So I got me a bunch of those too.

On the to-get list are still a bunch of unarmed civilians, dressed in what was considered futuristic clothing back in the late sixties. That, of course, means nehru jackets and mini skirts! But I'm also still trying to source the right minis to model Paul Foster, Virginia Lake and doctor Jackson.

I already found a suitable mini to use as a baseis for Alec Freeman; one of Copplestone's KKBB KGB Men. I removed the lapels of the jacket, taking care to model the collar correctly, creating a fashionable nehru jacket for him. I then remodelled the hair, transforming the Russian blockhead hairdo into the somewhat rakish curls of colonel Freeman, paying extra attention to the copious sideburns. Adding a longer barrel to the gun and removing the sights turned the PPK(ish) pistol into a SHADO Accoustic Gun (whatever that was lol ).

But enough babble, on to the pictures.

First, I have for you a collection of bare metals. These are all the miniatures I mentioned before. If you're wondering about the interceptor in the upper right corner; I won that on Ebay a couple of years ago (yes; I've been gathering the essentials for several years now, and have only started up the actual project last week...). It was made by Comet Miniatures in the eighties.

They only made the Interceptor, Skydiver and the Lunar Module, and not in the same scale either! But at the time, owning a 'proper' Interceptor model was too tempting to let it pass. I've not seen one being offered since. Should I ever decide (which I very well might do ;) ) to cover this or that space combat game with a UFO layer, this little guy will be an excellent starting point. (of course I might then be forced to make several, ehm, back-ups of it, in order to get the required three to make a full flight...)



Then, here are the well known Dinky models of Straker's car and the Interceptor. I've also found a very cheap other sports car, which I will try to convert into what has become known as Foster's car (the pink one). Both of the UFO Dinkies are pretty dang expensive to get by the way; a decent looking Straker car (like this one actually; all the visible damage has been inflicted by me :D  I cut out the rear window, removed the wind up mechanism and engraved the gull-wing doors on the roof) can fetch as high as GBP 150,-!

I was lucky and found this one in an on-line store for 'only' GBP 25,-. Things to do are; lowering it to fit its real life stance, source the correct wheels, add an interior and paint the whole thing a chocolate brown metallic...

The Interceptors are easier to get, but here too, I waited till I could score one for cheap. I got this one, on a Dutch auction site, for EUR 10,-. (the trigger mechanism still works like a charm; I tried it once, it careened off two walls and two days later, my wife found the tip of the missile, which had come off. I'm talking full fletched NERF power here in a diecast toy!)



Here are the contents of the box of UFO model kits I've been hoarding so far. There are two Mobiles and a Sky-1 in there. Plus cutesy little versions of Straker's Car, a Mobile and 2x Sky-1, which came with the kits. One of the Mobiles is brand new, still on the sprue, but the other one, and Sky-1 (both in the same buy) were (badly) glued together in the past. Luckily not with styrene cement, so all parts popped loose with a bit of flexing and bending. If you notice the one (previously) assembled MObile to be green, you're correct. It was not painted though, that's the bare plastic. It has discoloured, probably in the sun. My guess is, it was previously based on some boy's window sill...



In other threads, I've seen concerns raised about the scale of the Imai and Product Enterprise Mobiles, with most people thinking they are too large. Mobiles were supposed to be pretty dang large vehicles though, capable of carrying a command center or a combat squad of troops, plus its crew. Here you can see the original driver form the Imai model I disassembled, next to an Ainsty driver. Perfect match I'd say!



And finally, the moment you've all been waiting for, ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce to you, Ed Straker and his good friend, Colonel Freeman!



I'm pretty happy with the way they came out. Especially Straker's face; some lucky brush strokes added to Crooked Dice's sculpt and actually captured the essence of Ed Bishop's Straker! 8) Well, to my eye at least... I'm also quite chuffed with the buttons and holes on Freeman's jacket; those are all painted on. Ignore Freeman's base btw; it still requires finishing. Also, he is still shy of a good coat of matt varnish, so he's a bit too shiny for his own good right now...

Next up will be some of the aliens I guess, followed by some SHADO operatives. Then it's on to some of the vehicles.

One thing I'm still unsure about though, are the actual UFOs! I suppose I will have to scratchbuild them, as models are either insanely expensive (S.H.E.D.; I'm looking at you!) or not scaled correctly. They are also never properly referenced in the series in regard to actual size; they could measure anywhere from 5 to 20 meters in diameter. We never were able to see, thanks to mr. Anderson's clever filming techniques...

I have a friend who has just started a new job with a laser cutting company, so that might be worth exploiting. But what to use for the clear parts? Plastic bottles? Snow globes? I'll be back on that one...
« Last Edit: December 06, 2013, 08:43:26 AM by Daeothar »
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Offline Svennn

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Re: The other UFO setting - it begins...
« Reply #1 on: November 28, 2013, 06:58:57 AM »
Some interesting thoughts and bits there.  I built a UFO as a commisssion some years ago.  I remember using guitar picks for the shields around the middle, should still have the Meddings blueprints somewhere if you need a copy.
"A jewelled sceptre plucked by order to serve their cause"

Offline Mako

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Re: The other UFO setting - it begins...
« Reply #2 on: December 06, 2013, 06:53:53 AM »
Ahhhh, I'd like to do that as well.

Just wish there were some more, and better figure proxies, but some of those you have look quite good.

I'd be interested in your plans for the UFO, if you care to share.

Those do sound like a good basis for the interior.  I suspect the harder part will be finding appropriately shaped clear sections, for the top and bottom, but perhaps some plastic Easter eggs can be used to make molds of them, in order to cast or vacc form up clear shells.  If that proves too difficult, I suspect they could always just be painted silver.

I've toyed with FUBAR, or other similar skirmish rules for the human to alien fights in the woods, and in other areas.

Offline uti long smile

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Re: The other UFO setting - it begins...
« Reply #3 on: December 06, 2013, 07:55:09 AM »
Excellent stuff!
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Wargaming in the world of Cult TV

Offline Doomsdave

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Re: The other UFO setting - it begins...
« Reply #4 on: December 06, 2013, 07:56:02 AM »
These are going to be good.  Have you checked out Matakishi's extensive UFO project here on the LAF?

http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=13668.15 

Also I managed to score one of the Dinky SHADO mobiles a long time ago.  Is the Imai one similar size?  How do they compare?
« Last Edit: December 06, 2013, 07:59:00 AM by Doomsdave »
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Online Daeothar

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Re: The other UFO setting - it begins...
« Reply #5 on: December 06, 2013, 08:34:31 AM »
@ Mako: Yes; that will probably prove to be the biggest challenge when building the UFOs. The easter egg idea is a good one; I will have to look into that option as well.

For now, I'm waiting to get my hands on the plans. I once saw a small picture of it on the web and if I recall correctly, there was a diameter mentioned on it. So depending on that, I will be able to work out the required diameter of the clear parts and start scouring the shops for appropriate materials.

Luckily it's almost christmas and I know the elderly lady crowd is big on stuffing all kinds of decorations into clear balls this season. Well, over here anyway. And how do I know that? My mother is one of them... lol

@ Doomsdave: I sure did. It was the first time I saw one of those Takara UFOs next to 28mm miniatures, convincing me that, whilst they are excellent and match the series models perfectly, they are also too small to my liking.

I don't know about the Dinky Mobiles though; I've got two of the Imai ones, and they seem to scale pretty well. I'm suspecting they were going for 1/48. The Imai Sky1 kit has a (very) small scale Straker's Car and Mobile included, and when comparing those tiny models next to eachother, with the Dinky Straker's Car and the Imai Mobile, they seem to match the proportions perfectly. I should mention though, that I think that the Dinky Straker's Car is on the large side for use with 28mm miniatures, but nothing a bit of lowering could not fix...


By now, I've converted the first henchman into a SHADO security operative. basically, I switched out the head with one of the Ainsty valley Forge heads, to give him a more disciplined look (most of those SHADO guys had very serious hairdo's) and filed away the patches on the shoulders. I also did some work on the rifle.

It originally was a pretty good rendition of an FAL rifle, but since SHADO uses advanced accoustic weaponry, I had to modify it. I cut off the sights and the front end of the barrel. Then I pinned a new metal barrel in its place and shaped a piece of plastic rod to fit over it (tapered one end and drilled out the other end, which slid over the pin). Then I used a bit of plasticard and rod to make the oversized sight. I tried to do it all with pieces of rod (to be as true to the design as possible), but this proved too fiddly and fragile, so I replaced the standing triangle with a piece of plasticard instead.

But unless you know what I'm talking about, you will have to wait for the pictures to get an idea... ;)

That's one done, three more to go. I believe that, in one of the earlier episodes, they had a squad of 4 guys deploy from a Mobile, so that would make this a complete unit. If it was five per squad though, I will have to acquire some more. No problem there; I still have another squad to do for the second Mobile too.

It might be a good idea to do some research and watch that episode again... :D

Offline dampfpanzerwagon

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Re: The other UFO setting - it begins...
« Reply #6 on: December 06, 2013, 09:14:42 AM »
Looking good.

I will follow your progress with interest.

Tony

Offline dampfpanzerwagon

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Re: The other UFO setting - it begins...
« Reply #7 on: December 06, 2013, 09:47:53 AM »


I thought you may like to see this image. Taken at the IPMS Scale Model World, Telford earlier this year.

Tony

Online Daeothar

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Re: The other UFO setting - it begins...
« Reply #8 on: December 06, 2013, 12:37:51 PM »
That's a perdy Interceptor indeed!

By the looks of it, it's not a Dinky, but either an Aoshima or a Bandai plastic kit instead.

If you thought the Dinkies are overpriced, don't even consider those puppies. There's an Aoshima on Ebay now for GBP 249,99 and a Bandai one for a smooth GBP 100,00... ::)

The bandai one is even a solid 1/48 scale. I'd say it's about time for some re-issues!

Offline Mako

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Re: The other UFO setting - it begins...
« Reply #9 on: December 08, 2013, 01:23:48 AM »
Yep, that Interceptor looks superb!

Here's a blueprint of the UFO:










And, the link to other blueprints from the series:

http://ufoseries.com/blueprints/

And, finally, to the TV series:

http://ufoseries.com/

Based upon the plan scale shown, the UFO is about 20 meters across, or 65.6 feet, which works out to about 8", or so, in 15mm scale (1/100th, using 3mms per foot, as a guide).  
« Last Edit: December 08, 2013, 01:29:08 AM by Mako »

 

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