Mechs from the lens of a War Correspondent (28mm)

[Cypher226]

I wish I could have squeezed Mech attack into my adepticon schedule but I'm all booked up - looks lovely though, hope I get a chance to see it in action!

[Parrot]

I've always liked battletech stuff, but the scale is a little small for me and I never knew that it existed in 28mm.  Wingnut, where did you get those great looking mechs from? 

[eilif]

I've always liked battletech stuff, but the scale is a little small for me and I never knew that it existed in 28mm.  Wingnut, where did you get those great looking mechs from? 

I can't speak for Wingnut (Thor's mechworks maybe?), but if you're a bit flexible in terms of scale and universe, here's examples of the many toys and models that we use.
http://chicagoskirmish.blogspot.com/2014/07/robotech-battletech-and-mechwarrior.html

[Wingnut]

I've always liked battletech stuff, but the scale is a little small for me and I never knew that it existed in 28mm.  Wingnut, where did you get those great looking mechs from? 

I've been getting them from a guy who does garage kit's with a 3D-Printer. He produces them to order along with scale mod's if you want. The 28mm stuff is really priced reasonable and he's legit. https://thorsmechworks.wordpress.com 
I was noticing that his catalog is a bit behind, if it is previewed on http://wingnutscockpit.blogspot.com/search?updated-min=2015-01-01T00:00:00-08:00&updated-max=2016-01-01T00:00:00-08:00&max-results=2
It's still order-able, although it takes a few days to produce a kit. The models are extremely articulate and light weight.

Wingnut   

[Wingnut]

going metro....

[eilif]

Looks pretty awesome.  The stepping on top of the dumpster is a nice touch.

I found myself a bit distracted by what I assume are the lateral gradations of the 3d printing process though, especially on the head and torso Is that the kind of thing that can be sanded off, or is it inherent until finer grade printers are affordably available?

Not that it would be too noticeable in a gaming context where the sheer coolness of giant robots would grab most of the attention.

[eilif]

too funny by far.

The actual wargame at adepticon was amazing, but it's almost as great that it allows me to post things like that from time to time.

Fistful of Seamen.  The gift that keeps on giving...

[Wingnut]

Looks pretty awesome.  The stepping on top of the dumpster is a nice touch.

I found myself a bit distracted by what I assume are the lateral gradations of the 3d printing process though, especially on the head and torso Is that the kind of thing that can be sanded off, or is it inherent until finer grade printers are affordably available?

Not that it would be too noticeable in a gaming context where the sheer coolness of giant robots would grab most of the attention.

The gradients are sand-able, Less so on round objects and spheres. No matter how fine the resolution is they're still made of dots. Some pix-elation can be removed with an acetone wash. It stands out on the pictures here but is relatively unnoticeable on the table.     

[Wingnut]

oh anyone who can come up with funny stuff like that would be fun to game with for sure.

Thanks Scurv. Please Join us at Adepticon this year.
The reason we use bawdy titles and double-entendre, other than the look we get when delivering them, is to lighten the mood for new gamers and make our convention games approachable. Strolling up to a tennis court sized game can be intermediating to potential players so if we can get them laughing at the start all the better. Check out the web site: http://fistfullofseamen.blogspot.com/2015_03_01_archive.html 

Wingnut

[eilif]

Its an 18 hour plane trip = transfer flight time so I might pass.

That being said I can give you some advice with the mecha. I use a set of files and a spectrum of fine grit sandpaper to smooth my 3d prints. Also worth noting you can buy squillions of polycap joints and other mecha stuff cheap as chips from hobbylink japan. I just ordered a ton of various articulation joins and things like sensor sets which will kick 3d prints up to the next level shit.

combining this accessory stuff with 3d printing I suspect will deliver jaw dropping awesome results.

That's a fascinating idea!  I've also seen the sprues of articulation joints and they really are quite cheap.  I'm still impressed when I see the articulation of Japanese models and toys.  The uber-cheap Votoms fatties that I recently picked up have a ton of articulation packed into 86mm!

They are intended for supporting plastic injection models, do you think they could handle what I assume are heavier 3d printed models?  Of course if you are going just thinking about initial pose-ability and are to glue them in place then it probably doesn't matter as much.

[eilif]

3d printing is not really weighty as most of it is a hollow shell filled with a mesh of little support strands. A gundam and a 3d print should be about the same weight.

That makes sense.  I've not got much experience with 3D prints. If they are hollow then the articulation should work just fine.

[Predatorpt]

Any update on this project? And I hope Thor's Mechworks is still churning out mechs, since I'm thinking about getting one for me.

[Gabbi]

For the ones who like this kind of pics, I would suggest one book:

 

[Burnin Coal]

Have only just caught up with this great thread...the photography and mechs themselves look superb with some excellent paintwork going on....do any of the old Bandai kits work scale wise with the rule set you are using ? All very inspiring...more photos whenever possible please