VSF Asteroid Game

[Mansworth]

Hi all

This is a project Ive been working on and off for about two years now. I will post some pics as soon as ive taken some.

Im creating a VSF armegeddon game where the martians are taking revenge on the failed invasion by sending an asteroid to wipe out london. And the brits have dispatched a task force to stop it. I'm planning this game using GASLIGHT and using 18mm martian empire figures

The novel feature of this is that the Asteroid is not a flat wargames table but a actual model asteroide. I have managed to find a metallic coating that allows the models to stick to the surface using magnets and thus the entire asteroid surface becomes the battle ground.

I hope to have the basic game done in early June. Im gonna post stuff here to log my progress.

The status so far is im just finishing up on modeling the asteroid and about to add the magnetic coating to the asteroid. Got some test 18mm figgs partly painted up and waiting for the magnets to arrive.

Rich

[Mansworth]

While i sort some pics of the current asteroid, heres a pic of the first one i made. It worked well, but was not very playible for various reasons. The new ones a bit more smoother and has a intergrated stand.

[Steve F]

The novel feature of this is that the Asteroid is not a flat wargames table but a actual model asteroide. I have managed to find a metallic coating that allows the models to stick to the surface using magnets and thus the entire asteroid surface becomes the battle ground.

I hope to have the basic game done in early June. Im gonna post stuff here to log my progress.

Sound marvellous.  I'm looking forward to the progress reports.

[Hauptgefreiter]

Great idea! Can you give us some more insight on this magnetic coating? Are you using a "standard" magnetic paint or have you mixed up something yourself?

[Mansworth]

Of course

The magnetic coating is made up of three compnents:

Sintered Iron powder (used in casting to add weight. It is a 50% mix of resin and iron)

PVA glue

Water

I simply water down the PVA a bit, then mix in the sintered Iron to form a paste.

The metal content is not as great as say a fridge door, so the magnet wont grip as strong

Previous experements used the ultrastong Neodinium magnets. But for the VSF game im gonna try use fridge magnets, just a bit easyer to handle.

[Mansworth]

Here is the current Asteroid im working on:



Its smaller and a bit more compact, and smother for easyer playing.

Still got to sculpt a bit more terrain to the bottom hemisphere, then i will cover it with a few layers of plaster bandages.

The first asteroid was sculpted polystyrene.

For this one is used a swiss ball as a form to build up a plaster bandage sphere. When this dried i cut it in half and filled the insides with expanding foam. I then used glue and plaster bandage to fuse the two halfs together. Durign tis i set one half of a tri guitar stand into the lower half, this slots into the stand you see.

Origanly i used flowerpaster to scult the craters, but later i removed that and moved to a mix of watered down PVA and cheep toliet tissue. The differing colour steams from my local Wilkingson not having the cheap white

Like I said needs finishing sculpting and the tissue locked in with a few layers of bandage, then I will add the Iron powder coating.

The final thing will be read or green, as a grey asteroid is a bit dull.

[OSHIROmodels]

What a bonkers idea   

I really hope the figures don't fall off the bottom, I assume you've tested the coating for 'sticking' figures to it upside down?

Keep us posted on this one 

cheers

James

[Mr.Marx]

Thats such an original idea....utterly fantastic!

[Modhail]

Brilliant, absolutely brilliant! 
You say the grip isn't as strong as a fridge door, but precisely how strong is it then? (I've done some experiments with magnetic paint, but it would never be strong enough to hang pewter miniatures upside down from.... If your mix can, it's pretty darn amazing stuff!)

[Mansworth]

Experements with the stuff suggest that the amount of attraction is relative to the thickness of the coating layer. Two coats of the paste had no problem holding a 28mm plastic space marine upsidown or even sideways (oddley enough sideways is worse as theres a ripping action on the magnet).

Now a 28m pewter figure weights considribley more than plastic, which is why ive scale dropped to 18mm (also, because the craters would not provide cover for 28mm models). I also intend to try for four coats of the mix to add more Iron to the surface. Im hoping this will let me use weaker magnets, which would avoid problems with magnet to magnet sticking.

I intend to have British landing craft in the game made from something like a ping pong ball, and I also hope to give the martians some tripods to scuttle over the surface.

Sizing up the asteroid and models, i think this game will be very close quaters, with any advantage high ground gives being essential.

[Argonor]

Seems that photobucket pics won't show up in my browser... 

[rob_the_robgoblin]

Excellent stuff Rich, great to see you here. 

[YPU]

the idea here is awesome. So original and it opens up so much unexplored game play. (am am thinking of Mario galaxy on the wii now, but that’s not a bad thing)

Its a bit of a guess but you might be able to find iron dust or “sand” around somewhere. If you apply that along the lines you would flocking or sanding and then seal it in with the iron coat paint it might work better.

In any case we need game play pictures once available!

[Mansworth]

I shall consider it.

Just letting the thing dry a little. Got a bit more sculpting of craters to do this weekend, but hope to have updates and pics then.

in the mean time, heres a pic of a Martian and a Englishman upside down:



This is stuck to beam of my bed which is steel. Hopefully I can achive the same attraction on the stroid but if not i will just swap the mags out for more powerfull ones.

[Gluteus Maximus]

Full marks for imagination and problem solving!

I really hope this idea works as a game 

The possibilities for fighting on the outside of spaceships etc (as in Star Trek First Contact) are very intriguing. It would make a great "boarding action" game. Have your assaulting forces fight their way in with both external and internal areas of the ship modelled.

It would take a far better modeller than me though