Lead Adventure Forum
Miniatures Adventure => Future Wars => Topic started by: YPU on January 03, 2022, 08:19:45 PM
-
I've been struck with very little time but a great inspiration to work on some classic anime style alien invader mecha. Think Macross Zentradi/invid + the zeon from gundam with a dollop of Cobra for design sensibility.
While Silly, I'm sure these will work nicely for anything from dirtside II, to Full spectrum Dominance from our own Sangenaru, and nordic weasels new weaseltech solo game.
Here is the first design, a classic chicken walker. I've tried to keep the weapon space modular, intended for magnetization.
(https://i.imgur.com/GvvzTqV.png)
And along with the second design, a even sillier tripod walker. Scenery in the background is from the lazy forger. (also sangenaru, talented git)
(https://i.imgur.com/yaKEF7z.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/GzMxw2r.jpg)
here are the first prints next to some random 6mm infantry, not easy to photograph unpainted 3d resin let me tell you.
And after a very shoddy prime and wash (bad custom mix) an action shot with a 1/400 gundam gashapon and a smattering of scenery.
(https://i.imgur.com/G8j4HIG.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/oJR4kgG.jpg)
I have buckets of ideas for at least 4 more designs, but no idea if I'll have the time to make them. :?
-
Zaku Zaku Zaku :D
I like them :)
-
Cheers James, and yeah they are meant to be blow to pieces in the dozens by protagonists XD
-
lol
-
Kinda weird vibe, low helmet heads (turtle like) and retractable(?) weapons, but neat none the less. I was going to suggest prime and wash as my experience trying to photograph raw metal 6mm infantry groups (Irregular miniatures) proved that was the way to present them for workable pictures. I like the vide though. Are you going to make the files available? I ask as the last items I bought from you were already printed but found a local(ish) printer who did great work for me of Sangenaru's models.
-
I really like the heavy-lidded look on the first walker, very Invid. I could definitely see swarms of these filling the screen on a Saturday morning.
-
Kinda weird vibe, low helmet heads (turtle like) and retractable(?) weapons, but neat none the less. I was going to suggest prime and wash as my experience trying to photograph raw metal 6mm infantry groups (Irregular miniatures) proved that was the way to present them for workable pictures. I like the vide though. Are you going to make the files available? I ask as the last items I bought from you were already printed but found a local(ish) printer who did great work for me of Sangenaru's models.
Thanks! Yes, strange and alien was the idea I was going for. I have an idea to make the commander figures more humanoid but well see when I get there. I did a zenithal highlight with spray cans and a quick wash, but I think the dusty nature of the zenithal interacted poorly with the wash, live and learn.
I am planning to open a webstore of my 3d files somewhere this year. There's a chance I will also be offering my 6mm dieselpunk vehicles as well so I have a nice catalogue to offer now. I'm still very busy with other boring life stuff though and these can use some refinement still so it will be a good couple of months at least I expect. I'm glad to hear you have found someone to do Sangenaru's models, they are worth being done propper IMHO!
I really like the heavy-lidded look on the first walker, very Invid. I could definitely see swarms of these filling the screen on a Saturday morning.
Exactly the vibe I was going for. Not something we have enough of in the 6mm space I think? And they will do just as nicely as 15mm or 28mm robots even!
-
I did a very very quick paint test. I'm liking the teal and white, but the yellow is making it all a bit toy like I'm thinking? I could do with some feedback on that.
(https://i.imgur.com/dDIuNYF.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/heWCI8l.jpg)
-
I like the look of them. With some more sculpts they'd work pretty good for half scale Gamma Wolves. Anyone selling them?
-
They came out very nice.
Simply use a colour wheel. I have a printed one & refer to
It when painting. Use opposing colours for a striking colour scheme.
Z
(https://pin.it/1SrdJYT)
-
I'd be very tempted to scale them up for 15mm gaming. Particularly the "not Zentradi" walker.
-
Very Cool. Love that look.
-
I like the look of them. With some more sculpts they'd work pretty good for half scale Gamma Wolves. Anyone selling them?
The will be up on some file store at some point, but might take a bit yet.
They came out very nice.
Simply use a colour wheel. I have a printed one & refer to
It when painting. Use opposing colours for a striking colour scheme.
Z
Yup that's where the yellow came from, it's striking but a bit plasticky I feel.
I'd be very tempted to scale them up for 15mm gaming. Particularly the "not Zentradi" walker.
They started of about 30% larger but I like my mechs small. They should stand up to the scaling just fine.
Very Cool. Love that look.
Cheers!
-
It should work then but it depends entirely on the shade.
Which shade of yellow are you using.?
https://www.123rf.com/photo_125296108_yellow-color-codes-and-names-selection-of-colors-for-design-interior-and-illustration-poster.html
This reminds me of the old pantone system we used to use.
You could highlight more.
Z
-
The yellow works for me, gives them an anime feel :)
-
teal is cyan-green, which is blue-green-green, so a lot of green :D
Red-orange is the complement of blue-green, that may be worth a try. The split complement would be both red and orange.
Yellow's complement is purple (violet), which only really gets involved in a triad colour scheme with blue-green, and even then as yellow-orange. You'd also need some red-violet if you go down the triad route.
Note, this is coming from someone who never gets much more adventurous than brown, but I can dream :D
-
I've been struck with very little time but a great inspiration to work on some classic anime style alien invader mecha. Think Macross Zentradi/invid + the zeon from gundam with a dollop of Cobra for design sensibility.
I think you've achieved your design goals. Definitely getting those influences, with a dash of War of the Worlds if it was done in anime, too :D
-
Very very cool looking, great to see our buildings in the background too! :)
-
Oh gosh, I do like those! :-* Splendid work, my friend!
-
Very very cool looking, great to see our buildings in the background too! :)
Nothing but the best ;D
Oh gosh, I do like those! :-* Splendid work, my friend!
Thanks, Martin, Figured these would be right up your alley!
Small update today, I've quickly bashed together a railgun laser beam ish weapon for the invaders, something a bit more sci-fi and substantial looking.
(https://i.imgur.com/Str411N.png)
They go nicely on the chickens, about the max size for them I think, larger will get a bit top-heavy. (I'm planning to do rocket pods as well, could get tricky that)
(https://i.imgur.com/kI9TQrU.png)
And they work just as well upside down on the tripods!
(https://i.imgur.com/fWGEcBU.png)
-
Hope you don't mind some feedback on the designs. I really like the concept and want to see where you can take them.
The high heels on the chicken walkers look weird and seem like a good point of failure while printing. Maybe fallen them into more of an elephant's foot?
The ankle "vents" are really cool. Maybe add one vertical to the leg piece below the knee so they're not so plain? Just on the outsides would make vents ideal to paint different colours for unit recognition.
The shields are a bit small and immobile for the rest of the body. Maybe increase them for a more defensive walker able to bring them together to form a larger shield (would be cool to have them all form together as a massive shield wall too..). Would go well with another unit which switches them out for 2 guns then you could have the current small shields as scouts, the double shield as defense and triple guns as offense. Would be cool to see them with square missle pods to wear as hats.. Maybe I just want a big shield wall with a bunch of missle spamming chickens behind it though..
The Koopa Troopa shell on the head's style doesn't match the rest of the design. It's all smooth edges and then it has that rim. The head's eye catching and looks good where it is, but maybe other style "Hats" would suit it better? Probably annoying to paint and get a good print off on such a small scale.
-
Hope you don't mind some feedback on the designs. I really like the concept and want to see where you can take them.
The high heels on the chicken walkers look weird and seem like a good point of failure while printing. Maybe fallen them into more of an elephant's foot?
The ankle "vents" are really cool. Maybe add one vertical to the leg piece below the knee so they're not so plain? Just on the outsides would make vents ideal to paint different colours for unit recognition.
The shields are a bit small and immobile for the rest of the body. Maybe increase them for a more defensive walker able to bring them together to form a larger shield (would be cool to have them all form together as a massive shield wall too..). Would go well with another unit which switches them out for 2 guns then you could have the current small shields as scouts, the double shield as defense and triple guns as offense. Would be cool to see them with square missle pods to wear as hats.. Maybe I just want a big shield wall with a bunch of missle spamming chickens behind it though..
The Koopa Troopa shell on the head's style doesn't match the rest of the design. It's all smooth edges and then it has that rim. The head's eye catching and looks good where it is, but maybe other style "Hats" would suit it better? Probably annoying to paint and get a good print off on such a small scale.
loads of things here so I'll go trough them in order.
I'm kind of fond of the strange look of the feet, they lead up with a nice arch making them easy to support as well when printed, just a large support under each toe.
The tiny vents on the sides of the legs really need enlarging, they kind of get lost under print and paint fuzyness. I do try to keep some blank ish spots where I can add decals and the like on models, not many left on the chicken already. I do really like my big number decals for mechs though I'm contemplating something a bit more alien for these, would a Tau decal be too recognizable?
Yeah the shields were almost where I started and they stand out a bit. They have the potential for more mobility with the arms that are behind them but most poses just don't look great, I do enjoy the chicken wing vibe they have. A version with weapon mounting points would be a simple option though indeed. I experimented with interlocking shields but they did not interact nicely with the head.
The head started out without the rim and it looked unfished to me, it needed something to "catch" the flow of the model from sliding off? it paints quite easy with washes and drybrushes. I also tried to make it as a homage to zaku shoulder pads, but as it shape evolved that got kind of lost.
Meanwhile I have added a missile pod to the lineup!
(https://i.imgur.com/FJwT2iT.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/GRA1udn.png)
-
Lovely work ....
I think the head of the 3 legged mech will look good in a horizontal position also.
Z
-
Lovely work ....
I think the head of the 3 legged mech will look good in a horizontal position also.
Z
Thanks!
I have a basic skets for the next one that has more of a sturgeon head forwards with the weapon under it as well, mind I have plans for another 4 mechs, some elite humanoid ones and infantry no idea how far I'll actually get XD
Meanwhile, I'm trying out a very opposite colour scheme, hard sci-fi dirty camo warmachines instead of bright toys. Really torn here! I feel the camo actually shows the shapes of the model better due to the washes and weathering?
(https://i.imgur.com/JIKrfYR.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/vCTfLYC.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/QYbN5iy.jpg)
-
It is kind of a toss-up - the models look excellent in both colour schemes…
For me, a lot would depend on what army I was using the figures in. If it is a 1980s Robotech inspired force, it has to be the brightly coloured scheme - nothing says Zentraedi or Robotech Masters like complete disregard for camouflage! On the other hand, the figures in the more military colours would fit right into a Machinen Krieger-style ‘weird future’ force.
-
It is kind of a toss-up - the models look excellent in both colour schemes…
For me, a lot would depend on what army I was using the figures in. If it is a 1980s Robotech inspired force, it has to be the brightly coloured scheme - nothing says Zentraedi or Robotech Masters like complete disregard for camouflage! On the other hand, the figures in the more military colours would fit right into a Machinen Krieger-style ‘weird future’ force.
Yep that is kind of what I'm stuck on as well. The camo is faster to paint so that's a plus on that side. Over on twitter a cry has come out for bright toy colours with extra weathering to combine the 2 which does sound good but would be the slowest painting of all options.
-
It is kind of a toss-up - the models look excellent in both colour schemes…
For me, a lot would depend on what army I was using the figures in. If it is a 1980s Robotech inspired force, it has to be the brightly coloured scheme - nothing says Zentraedi or Robotech Masters like complete disregard for camouflage! On the other hand, the figures in the more military colours would fit right into a Machinen Krieger-style ‘weird future’ force.
Camos not much use when you're the size of a mountain and giving off enough heat to warm a mansion..
How did you paint the blue? That colour scheme pops more and fits the style better than the off yellow. The off yellow with more highlight would also look pretty great though. No reason you couldn't do a squad of different terrain schemes.
When are you going to release these to the public? I wouldn't mind throwing some paint at them.
-
Camos not much use when you're the size of a mountain and giving off enough heat to warm a mansion..
How did you paint the blue? That colour scheme pops more and fits the style better than the off yellow. The off yellow with more highlight would also look pretty great though. No reason you couldn't do a squad of different terrain schemes.
When are you going to release these to the public? I wouldn't mind throwing some paint at them.
This is true, but then walking warmachines don't make sense either way.
Easiest thing, vallejo game colour turquoise over a zenithal highlight, army painter dark shade wash over that.
Some refining left to do but honestly the big hurdle at the moment is deciding on a shop name and logo, develop a consistent style and the like.
-
Camos not much use when you're the size of a mountain and giving off enough heat to warm a mansion..
Agreed to a point. In general camo on large vehicle is more to break the profile and make it harder to gauge its size and distance (like they did with old battleships). Of course, with modern and futuristic technologies camos are less and less useful.
Even more, if the only ones without tech are the civilians it's good to have your vehicles to stand out as much as possible!
-
yeah, I tried to keep an element of razzle camo in there, breaking up the profile without making the miniature actually hard to understand. I imagine though I'm sure Sangennaru will correct me if I'm wrong, doing something like that with paint materials that have different radar/sensor reading properties would not digitally hide the machine, but make accurate reading and identification harder.
-
This is true, but then walking warmachines don't make sense either way.
Easiest thing, vallejo game colour turquoise over a zenithal highlight, army painter dark shade wash over that.
Some refining left to do but honestly the big hurdle at the moment is deciding on a shop name and logo, develop a consistent style and the like.
You're planning to do them commercial? Newer studios usually do pretty well releasing a few sample models free and throwing them at mini blogs/forums to get attention going. The market has become quite crowded this year though. Last year boomed 3D printing and even smaller youtuber types are getting in on it while the bigger ones get free printers every other month. Patreons do better than stores and have become the defacto way to sell prints with the stores being there for people missing a months models or wanting something older. Kind of a crappy business model but that's what people want so that's the way it goes.
If you can make them scale up to larger sizes. 6mm can be rough on some printers and resins can be fragile for smaller scale minis. If you can make them scale to 15 or so it opens the market up quite a bit from what I've seen. 28mm is the biggest market but that seems like a huge undertaking and difficult to make multiple sizes unless they're unique models. Weeaboo Eldar probably has some potential..
I don't know if it's worth suggesting but if you're into mecha and a talented 3D sculptor (which you are). There is a huge gap in the market for Gundam add on prints. Suits like the Zudah F, GM Juggler and Gyan Marine are never going to see a kit, but are ideal candidates for a 3D printed add on pack. A new backpack, a gun and a set of shoulders here and there to add to existing HGUC/MG kits would be an afternoons work with a large potential market. Resin add on kits self printed would be a really good way to drive traffic to your 6mm stuff since the market for Japanese mechas going to be the exact same crowd.
I'll have to try that paint recipe later. Got some Infinity stuff looking for a paint job and I think I've just found the one.
-
snipped for size
ah, you got that the wrong way round I think. I sculpt miniatures professionally for a number of manufacturers, I'm branching out to offering some designs as .stl for some of the lines (like the dieselkrieg tanks) as shipping and manufacturing costs have skyrocketed and currently are less viable for especially the smaller scales that require many small casts. I've considered Patreon but it requires a steady consistent output tailored to whatever audience happens to gravitate to you, and sets up a steady expectation of ever increasing models per month as the number of patrons keeps growing. I'm seeing a lot of burnout among my peers and people clustering into groups to keep up with number of figures they need to produce each time and honestly, I'm happy to dodge that bullet. I'll still have months where I'm working exclusively on a boardgame or specific manufacturers line so a monthly output is not for me, and I prefer the feedback with a single customer or small group over trying to negotiate the hivemind most days.
I see the opposite, the 28mm market is flooded already, but many of the designs don't scale well anything smaller than 15mm. I do think these models will do decently at larger scales, again up to 15mm as you say and its not like you can stop people from doing so. Look at Sangennaru/the lazy forgers models getting printed in all scales besides 6mm they were designed in.
I'd rather fill a few niches in a scale I enjoy gaming in rather than competing in an already crowded market, but as my person interests shift and bounce around I'm sure I'll do other scale focused work as well.
There is a big legality question with gunpla addition parts, as anything entirely based existing designs is IP infringement and that's something I'd prefer to stay away from. Inspired by or homaging is one thing, direct copying is another. I do have a few gunpla bits I've made over the years, but the tolerances on bandai's kits so so amazingly tight that the level of prototyping and iteration needed is quite heavy, definitely not a afternoons work. (I can't stand doing a slapdash job on such amazingly engineered kits) that being said I do really want to do some gundam like robots to fight these alien invaders as I don't think there are many not gundams (nondams?) on the market for home printing in smaller scales. For now I might actually game these against 1/400 gashapon gundam kits.
Go for it painting wise, if you are a little less lazy than me a few highlights in there would probably look great. I'm planning to make a horde of these buggers so I try to keep it simple and repeatable.
-
I thought you were someone dabbling into 3D printing not a pro. I'm sure you know more than me and probably have some good connections to get stuff off the ground.
Looking forward to seeing your store open and getting my grubby mitts on some STL files.
-
Just blindly flailing and hoping nobody notices it mate. :D
-
here are some quickly painted versions of the railgun and rocket pack, happy with how these work out in the resin. I think I've concluded that while the bright scheme is cooler, the camo scheme is a lot more likely to get me to finish a force of these at some point.
(https://i.imgur.com/7FUQsRH.png)
Not sure if I've mentioned it before, but I'm designing for magnetized weapons from the ground up here.
(https://i.imgur.com/j1gSfTL.png)
-
Just blindly flailing and hoping nobody notices it mate. :D
Funny coincidence, that's what I do... ;)
Liking how they're looking in these pics, although I can't help thinking the tripod looks, erm... over-endowed... with that railgun twixt its legs. :D
-
Funny coincidence, that's what I do... ;)
Liking how they're looking in these pics, although I can't help thinking the tripod looks, erm... over-endowed... with that railgun twixt its legs. :D
Yeah I decided I was going to do 6 designs. 2 bipeds, tripod, quad, Spider and roller. I figured I'd go for 2 top mounted weapons, 2 side and 2 bottom. Making a long story short, here is the quad "legged" bottom mount. I was hoping to evoke a gunship chin mount weapon but again not sure I got that vibe so much as... well a different kind of weapon.
(https://i.imgur.com/BR8HiTs.png)
-
I failed to notice a smudge on my camera so pictures turned out crap, but I grabbed some mech files of thingyverse to use as opposition for these invaders.
(https://i.imgur.com/xrnqkJI.jpg)
-
Those look really sharp! Great figures and terrain- that’s the kind of collection it would be great to game with.
-
Those look really sharp! Great figures and terrain- that’s the kind of collection it would be great to game with.
Thanks!
Sadly that is in the picture is almost all there is to the "collection" at the moment. Now comes the task of printing and painting bucket loads of everything so its actually a war!
-
Time to start painting! I've printed a batch of tripods and the chickens are in the oven as we speak.
(https://i.imgur.com/nmKQUr6.jpg)
Meanwhile, the tank has been detailed and grown a pair of ears.
(https://i.imgur.com/Q8iXYvG.png)
-
Oh man did I crunch out a whole new design instead of sleeping the past week.
(https://i.imgur.com/aAk8efx.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/BONMvHA.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/bP1styf.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/NiWRfAC.jpg)
Floaty creepy elite enemy with a big head/hat? checks the boxes I hope!
-
Very cool mate 8)
-
Great work indeed. Ypu.
That's a strange in a nice way design.
Z
-
Cheers chaps! I'm hoping to get some stuff on the table for my first game of weaseltech, lets's see how they all look in the field!
-
but I grabbed some mech files of thingyverse to use as opposition for these invaders.
Would love the link if you got it.
Grimm
-
Would love the link if you got it.
Grimm
No problem. It's these:
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3047097/ (https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3047097/)
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2879517 (https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2879517)
-
Thanks for the links Ypu.
You can never have enough mechs ;) :D :D
Z
-
It's high time I make another robot for this group!
This time another 2 legger, but low and chubby instead of tall and lanky like the first one.
(https://i.imgur.com/uuLiJRL.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/mIrBT34.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/5nAAgHf.jpg)
Also along with a friend I´ve cooked up a cheesy logo for these lags.
(https://i.imgur.com/qzV2OXZ.jpg)
-
Those look super cool, and the cheesy logo totally fits the genre. Love it!
-
From the rear it looks like it is squatting taking a dump!
-
I like it. All about that base are belong to us.
-
Cheers gents!
From the rear it looks like it is squatting taking a dump!
Its how the pilot bails out, its not dignified but its fast lol
-
Chubby!!
-
Oooh, that chubby mech is excellent. I love it, and the six-legged one too.
-
Legger looks like a crocodile mixed with a duck - cute, especially in this scale.