Lead Adventure Forum
Miniatures Adventure => Pulp => Topic started by: starkadder on 21 December 2011, 08:15:23 AM
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My friend Blackwolf will laugh, of course, as he knows my little obsession.
I walk around looking for treasure in what I call "tatteries". Their owners calls the antique shops but 99% of it is total rubbish. Occasionally I find wonderful things.
If anyone can possibly identify the inspiration for this model I would be very grateful.
It's a metre tall, it's made of bamboo and I suspect it's an architectural model of a radio or television tower somewhere in Asia. The photos do not give justice to the details. The intricacy of the gantry work is amazing. General Gordon is inspecting (28mm)
And it cost me the princely sum of thirty Australian dollars (around the same in $US).
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-_Yhs5WLISiY/TvGMkqdnUgI/AAAAAAAAGpo/QQP8Uv-KsjY/s640/IMGP0593.JPG)
(https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-X8-IK6pRzU4/TvGMoCpcKwI/AAAAAAAAGps/F6djVJHDqjk/s640/IMGP0594.JPG)
(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-eCmisV_4LrM/TvGMudJypxI/AAAAAAAAGp0/jNBc9bnTG9w/s400/IMGP0596.JPG)
(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-YO9x886ayZs/TvGMq7Kk8nI/AAAAAAAAGpw/G7By0eTpjaQ/s640/IMGP0595.JPG)
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No idea what it's based on but I love it!
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Obviously an insidious plot by the fiendish Dr Fu Manchu to broadcast mind controling waves to the West lol lol
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I look forward to seeing the uses to which you put it.
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Interesting old boy ;) I think this find is somewhat of a coup: what plans shall we see........?
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There's a bit of an ethical dilemma, Blackwolf.
I suspect this thing dates from the 60's and and it seems wrong to overpaint the structure as it may cover the attention to detail on the gantry lattice. Each crosspiece is varies by less than a millimetre each time as it tapers to a point. There may be over a thousand individually glued pieces. It must have taken weeks to assemble, let alone draft and design.
If I were to paint it, I'd make it steel and iron. It can stand service as a broadcast tower, a Tesla device (a la Wardenclyffe), a dirigible docking station or just something sinister.Who knows?
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Great Find! 8)
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I'm not sure it means anything, but my grandfather brought back some structures very similar to this from when he was stationed in Thailand. One was a tower and the other was a windmill type thing. They were made with the same sort of base and bamboo structure.
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Looks brilliant! In a sense it would be a shame to paint it but then it would also be a shame not to.....a conundrum indeed! I can imagine some observation points around the higher corners.......possibly along with a zeppelin entry/exit section???
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Airship mooring mast is definitely a possibility with that!
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Airship mooring mast is definitely a possibility with that!
And I noticed a couple of airships in progress when I was last at Starkadder Station too ;)
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And I noticed a couple of airships in progress when I was last at Starkadder Station too ;)
Ah, but did you notice the big one? My two metre project. I'm looking at Christmas for some construction time.
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Random internet stranger says: Paint it.
Airbrushing it should help immensely with the headache of coverage. Still won't be a trivial job by any stretch, but I guess with all the care that's gone into the assembly, it deserves to be a hassle to paint.
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I'm not sure it means anything, but my grandfather brought back some structures very similar to this from when he was stationed in Thailand. One was a tower and the other was a windmill type thing. They were made with the same sort of base and bamboo structure.
Thanks Dd. I went wandering around on some Thai architecture sites and definitely found some similarities, particularly on the base mounts.
I love this model. I really feel for whoever put it together.
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It's as if the Eiffel Tower and a the Iron Pagoda had a love child.
I think it's nifty as it is and I'd probably move it into the living room rather than use it for gaming... but of course, that's heresy.
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Radical thought: Leave it as bamboo. Using mystical means, lots of labor, and super-pseudo-science Fu Manchu has built it out of (gasp!) a rare super-strain of bamboo for his own Evil designs.
Gracias,
Glenn
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My wife thinks it might be an hor d'ouvre display for parties. It's quite a find, and I'll echo the idea of using it for an airship mooring mast. There's no real reason why it shouldn't be represented as a wooden structure. Maybe you could work on it with dry-brush and ink.
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Radical thought: Leave it as bamboo.
My wife thinks it might be an hor d'ouvre display for parties.
I'm coming to the same idea, Conquistador. I think that I'll attempt the dry brush or wash project from hell and raise the detail by emphasising the bamboo-ness of it all.
And may I thank your wife, TM. That's an inspired suggestion and she's an evil food presentation genius. It would be perfect for that purpose except for the baize cloth at the base which may soak up the odd unfortunate dropped canape. I love the idea though.
It's Christmas Day in Oz. I have the Countess, our horses, dogs and chickens and Starkadder Station. A hot quiet day as Christmas almost always is down here.
To everyone in LAF, we'd like to wish you the Best of all Christmases and the hope that the future is excellent for you all - Chthulhu still sleeps, Dr Bizarro's Malignant Mechanical Men have run of fuel and CNN has revealed the Berzerkistani revolution was simply an out-of-control block party. Enjoy what you have, everyone.
Rex Starkadder
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Thank you very much!
Merry Christmas to you, too!