Lead Adventure Forum
Other Stuff => Workbench => Topic started by: mikedemana on 05 July 2025, 06:12:09 PM
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(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-AtTlyxwmbgU0j6Kjz3g6g4vEkNMgHG0BR78zFiFGswh4KT5DFPFl86xgV7LNBt2ICB908ePYp36wqMHh37R4NWaAsqdyDnxJiDpYSyJS_pScOM4fLp41xRWgZ68VCTXf_rpsDtIU3dHW2pjNg1sue8kdqBe3qdS7YoP4aaD1pAo4fm9FqHVe3qhQJQA/w640-h286/StarWars02_SetUp08.jpg)
The second scenario in my Star Wars skirmish campaign using Space Weirdos rules will have the rebels attacking a TIE fighter base in the deserts of Tatooine. I was sure one of my friends would have some usable TIE fighter models. Color me surprised that neither Keith nor Wallace had any! I posted on the Lead Adventure Forum, looking for ideas for inexpensive roughly 28mm scale models I could use essentially as terrain in this game. Some good suggestions, but I didn't want to spend $30+ on a just few models. There HAD to be some way to make them, assemble them out of cardstock, or whatever!
(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3SLnf4Z4isasu1V8obDk9LlNBDrrCq0RGEBgSXGr50dB0rL5Mq2yuZ6BCK6reKSCMWZTYRsGqWiQt8T7WRCC9ZHbGU0U9IFoOoYk0bAn4eRiCOqj7ZYBAggDJdGZCKzUs_Bb9c2UPm2nBZ8WyaKhS93IMiRf0euEJYzQONo71Lr6loj6NNSOB2QFabCg/w640-h212/StarWars02_SetUp04.jpg)
I kept waiting for inspiration or an idea to hit me until it got to less than 2 weeks out from the game. No more time to dither, I had to make a decision! I chose to make my own. I found a good image online of the TIE fighter's hexagonal panel "wings." I would print these out at the local office supply store, using the same image for both inside and outside. I'd affix those with spray adhesive to a piece of thin styrene plastic (white glue just peeled off). Now, I would need to source the central ball-shaped pod and the connecting sprues. As I like to do in such scratch-building situations, I headed up to Hobby Lobby. And hit paydirt!
(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgW9KY_IgLNUmUYd9AQL91RcmPVgbhKORrGtJIrsIGDAo70MFlyuRzKCe6oNmW1czYZVnp-ATFrPYv8gSOau5Mn_im4pWulOd-nNMuaSbRCXjIj3jYY7N2JO265D0mUsJXk6aAlU9H5A4TVLu40WREmC2pUwSse5bpqIUVYksy52WMg80gbQAJjr8lGRU/w640-h336/TIEfigherMaterials2.jpg)
First, I found perfect-sized, wooden spheres at clearance prices for the central sections. There were even holes drilled in either side so it could be a "bead," in essence. Then, I found a bag of cylindrical, wooden beads that looked to be a good size to connect to the panels. These were also at a good price! The last stop was at Office Max, where I got two silver Sharpies (one thick point, one thin). The plan would be to spray paint the ball and beads black, and draw panel lines in silver. Here's where I was relying on memory rather than double-checking images. I should have spray painted gray and used black Sharpies to do the darker portions. D'oh!
(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfjPKczATGpyNFQMUtgEzaHL3isSa-fKKoQVUcrVsJCZgQj0tYjCmX7ZVxeSLlDgg4d1Fz8ZCrnXEHyv0SApsHRQPwFmzWFo2Ey7NUIIDDEvrV-qufgJKKZnW3XNUGgObRNVjIR-SmWjt9DyGdeT17wQNW8zwHtjUK2CyFd0B9VhLNXUaDEnPWxWxRjuw/w640-h306/TIEfigherMaterials1.jpg)
The cylindrical beads fit well into the holes on the spherical beads. I had also bought a thin wooden dowel to string all three together so they'd be lined up straight, though. I pre-cut the dowel into the correct lengths, squirted white glue into each bead, and then strung them all together, twisting the cylindrical beads to get them firmly inserted into the holes in the balls.
(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNrFYMny-l5aLlCdG3_vfAXRidHfVTXKF_FcYDE5z4-JN-4y8EUy_zlMpd7CgasmkDcBxIHKQhiUb65EwqFtHbGdTfmDziDaVmzhCuixcjI4aMgUhhEZgECaj8vcrkkURHu82PiZcsxcdzBOZhc1haF0acVUD2srCBfaaO2y9QdNHgHyLnhujGGEJLpVQ/w640-h584/StarWars02_SetUp07.jpg)
I spray painted these black (yeah, yeah, should have been gray!), then spent an hour or so after they had dried going over them with the silver Sharpies, creating panel lines. Honestly, I did a so-so job on this stage. These are definitely terrain items -- not beautiful models recreating a TIE fighter. Lump them in the "should be seen from six feet away category" and they look fine...ha, ha! In my game, the TIE fighters are basically just objectives that the rebel players are trying to blow up. They won't take to the air and I don't imagine I will use them for too many scenarios. They're fine for spending just a tad over $10 for everything.
(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf-GtuLOJY8pSCwS32rXZQx0N57qG6tDb0CSZY5W2R_QLXQ0j06qJsMEOf7ZkHxAY8W3OGGueQQlMsW-TRXSjoufFD7PwJggfBMAaPK2PWRWCJW77JiSrMmDtVAWnOCmXVTUM6xXXXvDp8NChjH0VhZKT8J98IvubXEXm_dQ9IgvZ5RAOjI-hFMgr4IxU/w640-h258/StarWars02_SetUp06.jpg)
I did forget to mention that I bought a box of fancy, silver Furniture Tacks at the local Menards to fasten the hexagonal panels to the wooden central section. I used a pin vice to create a hole in each of the hexagonal panels. Then I drilled out the inside of the cylindrical beads (essentially through the dowel). I squirted in white glue into either side, and then pressed the tack in firmly from the outside, attaching the panels and central section firmly together.
(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5UkEA3h-u6lpo1HqG4EaAI_T9RYGX8qQ0Fm1ofhoUUvsF7WzOVzNxQccTYEpslCsC0qMYWRlEQs9oFP72svHt8E0ZTMyN5yalr-HFxpzmjJ7fUG5M5y8luxNm_C479t8tHCKJSeVAO35YtHrtQfbgz-AFavIT6nGrbwPfyImGomqDyqkVkGoUlTH6_-U/w640-h270/StarWars02_SetUp05.jpg)
All in all, they look okay as scenery. So, if you have a need for a half a dozen parked TIE fighters that you can source for less than $20 total, maybe my post here will inspire you. If not, now you know what lengths I will go to in giving my games that little extra bit of eye candy...ha, ha!
Thanks in advance for any comments...
Mike Demana
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Very nice — citizens of Tatooine, join the Academy and learn to fly!
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A good result and very creative.
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Only scenery? Put them on stands and you can dogfight them! A balsa and card x wing might be a bit trickier but I bet it would work for opponents.
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Yeah, those are better than adequate! Very cool that you figured out a solution (and shared it with the rest of us!). Your friends are lucky fellows to play on that table.
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Nice work Mike, and very creative!
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Perfectly serviceable and inexpensive terrain. There is no doubt what they are and they look great.
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Effective. Good work.
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That is brilliant.
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If it looks like a Tie and howls like a Tie, it's a Tie. Well done Mike, very creative :)
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Wooden TIEs for toddlers! That's something what will most certainly be commercially successful!!! :D The cooling panels should be plywood rather than plastic and Bob is your uncle. Sell the idea to Dingsey and you'll be a rich man soon! Great idea and perfectly the spirit of wargaming - I love it!
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That is brilliant. Clever concept, and they look way more than adequate.
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Amazing stuff - sadly looks at his ongoing conversion attempt on a single plastic tie fighter kit lol
AT-AT’s next please sir!
Andrew
BeneathALeadMountain
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The down side of Mike's project - those round wooden beads on clearance means they will no longer be carried by the chain (so I've been told by staff regarding clearance items), but they carry an extensive range of beads so probably not too hard to replicate.
An upside, and to take nothing away from Mike's awesome efforts, for those who want such fighters without having to scratch build is Wal-Mart or similar stores toy sections, a couple of different brand of TIE fighters out there, the Matchbox being closest for 15 mm, the other brand better for 25/28 mm. Of course, a bit more than Mike spent, especially if you buy a half dozen.
As to AT-ATs, if in 15 mm, Disney has a great model in the Star Wars stores inside the parks, maybe can also be found online (???), might work in larger scales as well just as a 'smaller' model. Mine were around $20 US a few years ago. Got two.
And, yeah, Hobby Lobby, is a cornucopia of modeling goodness.
Now, Mike, what we really need, is a fuller description of the rest of your Star Wars set up! ;)
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Thanks everyone! I really appreciate the kind comments and enthusiasm. Even if you don't find the exact packs that I bought, large round beads and cylindrical ones are common finds in craft stores. As is styrene plastic, so I think my recipe can be easily replicated by other cheapskates not willing to pay the commercial prices like me... :D
Now, Mike, what we really need, is a fuller description of the rest of your Star Wars set up!
Well, the "flight line" is simply a textured silver scrap booking paper from Hobby Lobby, with panel lines and rivets done in Sharpie. The blue and silver things lining the runway are 3-D printed pieces I picked up from Garrison3D. The evaporators and barricades are from Star Wars Legion. The buildings are from either Diabolical Terrain, RRB Minis & More, or Acheson Creations -- a combination of resin or 3-D printed.
Game is tonight, so you'll be seeing more of it soon!
Mike Demana
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You are very resourceful.
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Wow, cool idea!
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Nice stuff. Good use of printing and scratch building.
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Absolutely brilliant! It took me a while to figure out you scratch-built them -- I was just enjoying the images of the finished models, before I finally scrolled down. lol When I learned you built them, and how, I was blown away.
If you didn't tell me they were made by you, it would have taken me several minutes to figure that out. Not a Star Wars gamer, so it would take me a while to notice ambiguities.
I am a huge fan of crafting terrain, figures, and such. This is fantastic stuff! Really well done. I would happily game with these TIE Fighters on sticks. I would particularly enjoy them because they are scratch-built, not something you bought, and unboxed, and put onto the tabletop -- anyone can do that... Building such effective models, takes imagination, skill, and gumption. That means more to me, than Daddy Warbuck's table covered in models he bought, paid someone else to paint and base for him. Seeing a game and models someone poured their heart into, making genuine effort with, means far more to me, than just playing a good looking game.
Looking forward to photos and a bat-rep from the game... Cheers!
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That is superb work, Mike. :-* :-*
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Thanks, guys -- I really appreciate everyone's comments. I was very close to not attempting these and am glad that I did. I supposed the odd TIE fighter may make a strafing run or something in one of our games. So, who knows? Maybe you will see them on sticks one day... :D
Mike Demana
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looks a lot like the TIE's as depicted in SWRebels (which had smaller panels), as does the base. so great job!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2dSJRKB8x9E