Wirelizard's BS2017 Entry - Der Bloodyear Blomp (Crew conversions, 8 Feb)

[Wirelizard]

The "flight" theme fits in nicely with a pair of ideas I've had taking up space in my skull for far too long!

The first, smaller, and saner idea is a goblin-run camera blimp/balloon as sideline decoration for a Blood Bowl. I might tag it as a Reroll Marker so it has some actual game purpose. Probably start with a styrofoam sphere for the balloon, with an insanely dangerous gondola/camera platform, that sort of thing. Goblins hanging off it with clockwork cameras strapped to them, etc... the Bloodyear Blimp?

The much more ambitious project is a 28/30mm cargo shuttle as Infinity scenery, sized to just fit in a banker's box, so footprint somewhere around 12" wide, 15" long... this one has been occupying serious mental processing power recently but might be too much for the contest timeline. On the other paw, a tight timeline might be the kick in the arse I need to get this thing built!

[Mason]

Whichever you choose it does not matter as they both sound great!
 

[OSHIROmodels]

Intriguing 

cheers

James

[AKULA]

Both are great ideas - it's a shame you can't do both - Bloodyear Blimp sounds a lot of fun, but I can relate to using a deadline to get things done.

 

[von Lucky]

Speaking from limited experience (one entry) I'd go with the blimp. It's not six weeks to build, it's six weeks to build and paint and photograph.

Also, I play Blood Bowl and not Infinity, so I'm showing my bias

[Wirelizard]

So after sleeping on the issue I've decided to do the goblin-crewed Bloodyear Blomp for BS2017.

Nobody - least of all her half-crazed goblin crew - was quite sure how the Bloodyear Blomp stayed airborne, but the lumpy airship was a common sight over the Blood Bowl stadiums of the world. All her crew would say when asked was to repeat the cryptic motto, "Blomping Ain't Easy"...

I'm thinking a couple of styrofoam craft spheres covered in cloth or paper for the lumpy balloon part, and a goblin-engineered (ie, terrifyingly ramshackle) gondola with loudspeakers, a play-by-play announcer's desk, and magically-run cameras hanging off it - in some cases, literally...

I'll probably put a pair of Reroll trackers on the base, one for each team, so it has some actual in-game sideline function as well as being absurd.

The crew will be cut and converted Reaper goblins from their various goblins available in their Bones material - http://www.reapermini.com/OnlineStore/bones%20goblin - I've already converted a gobbo BB team from them and have a bunch of gobbo leftovers. I love how easy it is to convert and re-pose Bones figures, and you can't beat the price.

The Infinity cargo shuttle will undoubtedly resurface in some form eventually, possibly later this year, because I've long wanted to do a shuttle/dropship of some sort!

[Supercollider]

Sounds like a great project.  Might it also be used as a scoreboard, maybe a couple of gobbos clutching score cards?

[Wirelizard]

Sounds like a great project.  Might it also be used as a scoreboard, maybe a couple of gobbos clutching score cards?

I've got a goblin themed scoreboard already, actually. Built it last year.

Started building the blimp envelope this afternoon!



2.5" foam craft spheres, three of them so far. I might add a fourth to the tail end, but I don't think so. I didn't get any photos during assembly, but each sphere is held to the other two by a trio of toothpicks pushed halfway into each one, and generous blobs of white glue all around. Couple of toothpicks for a bowspririt and another on the third sphere for a flagstaff.

The white figures in front are Reaper Bones goblins. I used these figures as the basis for a goblin Blood Bowl team and they're also going to be the basis of my Bloodyear Blomp crew.

I have to admit I don't know what the gondola is going to look like at this point! I'm thinking vaguely boat-like, with some sort of engine midships, random piping up into the balloons (which will mostly serve to keep everything physically attached), a couple of camera stations, and some sort of announcer's station/desk - Blood Bowl Night In Der Olde Worlde with Gobb Cherry, maybe, to borrow a very Canadian joke!

The fabric on the envelope is from a pair of old stained linen napkins that my girlfriend was about to throw away. It'll take a few sessions with fabric and glue to get the whole envelope covered.

The barrel in the middle of the central sphere is going to be a lookout, with a goblin stuffed into it, probably converted with a telescope or just goggles.

Onward!

[LordOdo]

..and he's off!

Looks promising already! 

[AKULA]

A great idea - sounds like loads of fun

 

[von Lucky]

Yeah - an excellent start.

[Wirelizard]

Decided to add a fourth sphere to the back end of the Blomp's envelope, because, well, why not? (goblin engineering 'standards' make for a fairly relaxed design process...)

I cut this one down a bit so it's not quite full size, and it's even more off-centre and lumpy than some of the others. There's a bit more fabric on the envelope, too.



The goal for this week is to get most of the envelope fabric glued down, and to actually figure out the layout and design of the gondola, of which I have to confess I don't have a firm vision yet...

Incidentally, the goblin BB scoreboard I mentioned upthread is here, from late 2015.
Part One: http://www.warbard.ca/2015/11/17/a-goblin-scoreboard-part-one/
Part Two: http://www.warbard.ca/2015/11/19/a-goblin-scoreboard-part-two/

[Wirelizard]

Blompin' along, in proper goblin engineering fashion, that is to say, making sh*t up as we go out of crude and basic materials!

Started on the gondola of the Blomp. It's slightly shorter than the balloons but a lot skinnier.

Here it is with a few of the Reaper Bones goblins who will eventually be the crew of the thing:


From bow to stern the plan is to have a camera station, then the "studio" with another camera and Gobb Cherry, Famous BB Announcer. Forming the rear wall of Gobb's announcer's desk is the flying bridge; immediately behind the flying bridge is the Improved Non-Exploding Flautulator Furnace, which furnishes lift gas and propulsion for the Blomp through terrifyingly dangerous goblin alchemical processes best left unexplained. At the stern end of the gondola is one last camera station.

The skeleton of the thing is two or three hardwood tongue depressors, some basswood scrap, and loads of superglue. Over that is going a skin of styrene plastic.

Here's the start of the Improved Non-Exploding Flautulator Furnace. The pipes coming off it are going to hide the structure that will connect the envelope to the gondola, eventually.



More to come, I should have more time tomorrow to work on this thing after not getting a whole lot done during the week last week.

Onward!

[AKULA]

A great start on the gondola - nothing wrong with "making sh*t up".

As its goblins, will at least one of the crew be hanging off the side, holding on for dear life?


 

[Wirelizard]

A great start on the gondola - nothing wrong with "making sh*t up".

As its goblins, will at least one of the crew be hanging off the side, holding on for dear life?


 

Almost certainly. Or tied off by an ankle dangling over the side with one of the Cabalvision cameras for a better angle on the Blood Bowl action far below!

Progress last night. Got the front half of the hull and the flying bridge skinned with styrene sheet.


Then I added a pair of steel bases (40x20mm) to the underside of the gondola, used more styrene sheet to level the underside again, and added the keel. Behind the superglue bottle you can see a piece of basswood with notches cut out of it - that will get a pair (at least) of rare earth magnets to hold it into that slot in the keel, and there will be a steel wire running down to the base to make this thing actually "fly".


Finally, I added the first pieces of the lift & propulsion machinery with a pair of tanks midships alongside the hull.


It's looking awfully clean, steampunky, and non-goblin-ish at the moment (at least to me!) but the detailing rounds should get over that particular hurdle! I'll do the aft camera station right at the back of the gondola next, probably, then the rest of the midships tankage and machinery, part of which will also be the main mounting point(s) for the balloon envelope overhead.

Onward!