[15mm] Ockman's Sci-fi, update 240203: Why 15mm gaming is best

[Billchuck]

This is the way. 

Also, a teleporter (and two crew free to use it) is nice to be able to take out the weapons without having to shoot down the shields.  Kill as many crew members as you can in the first fight so they can't repair the shields and engines, except for the guy in the laser cannons.  Leave that poor guy alone, because if you kill all the crew the AI takes over and auto-repairs systems like the robot ships. 

That's how I can most reliably beat the flagship.  It still goes wrong a lot, but it works best for me.

[Ockman]

Also, a teleporter (and two crew free to use it) is nice to be able to take out the weapons without having to shoot down the shields.  Kill as many crew members as you can in the first fight so they can't repair the shields and engines, except for the guy in the laser cannons.  Leave that poor guy alone, because if you kill all the crew the AI takes over and auto-repairs systems like the robot ships. 

That's how I can most reliably beat the flagship.  It still goes wrong a lot, but it works best for me.

This is the way!

Also, you will gain more scrap if you kill the crew instead of destroying the enemy ships (not during the last battles, but before). I love taking the Man of War slug cruiser and biobeam the hell out of the competition!

Glad to see your are Back!

It is still a great little flyer. It's not too big and yet not too small. and with in a hanger can be it's own terrain scatter. You could have a flight of them in a hanger or on the ground much like in the show "Battlestar Galactica" as to how they use their "Vipers".

I should really breakdown and make a couple myself however currently I am working on another project.

Thank you, Doug!

I'd love to see what you are working on!

[Ockman]

Overall dimensions are easy! Every segment is made from an 8x10 sheet of foam board.

Here is the link to the product I used: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07944652H/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

While some segments are shorter than 10" (Bridge 1 and engine room 1 are 10" in length combined, but both are 8" wide as they are cut from the same sheet), this is the max possible size. From there I work out floor plans, cut, and place walls. Moving forward, I think I have some other plans as a 2.0 version of this, but that will be unveiled once I get closer to being done 

What size do you use at the connection points? 8"?

What height are the walls?

I've got some 12x8" plasticard sheets, that I plan to use. Is there anything you learned along the way that you want to share?

[CookAndrewB]

My connections are 4", so there is a feeling that each section has a bulkhead. I have not tried to make 4" wide doors though. The 4" connections are centered on the forward/aft edge of the ship segments.

I selected walls that are 15mm tall. I didn't want a lot of height so that I could reach in and play. I also tried to make any hallways wide enough so that figures could pass by each other. Some halls are wider than others, but I think they tend to be about 35-40mm in width. Since a hallway only exists on a single tile, I didn't try to be too exact about it. They didn't have to match anything on an adjacent tile, so unique dimensions were fine.

My outside wall sits flush with the table, so outside walls were cut 20mm tall to account for 5mm foam board thickness. I did learn that interior walls were good for preventing warp of the board once painting started. If I had to do it again, I'd probably tackle the project with material that was less likely to bow once painted. It wasn't impossible to counter/fix, but it would have been easy enough to just get it right the first time and not spend so much time trying to undo what has been done.

I also learned that since I orient my ships one of two ways (bridge pointed left, or right. Mid sections pointed left/right, engine sections pointed left/right) I could either completely skip adding greeblies to the outside of one section OR I could decorate the outside of each side in a different way to give a different look. Paint one side of the hull red, the other grey. One side with organic shapes, the other with hard-edged squares and rectangles, etc. I didn't need to make both sides the same because I couldn't see the outside of a ship that was faced away from the edge of the table I play from.

[Ockman]

My connections are 4", so there is a feeling that each section has a bulkhead. I have not tried to make 4" wide doors though. The 4" connections are centered on the forward/aft edge of the ship segments.

I selected walls that are 15mm tall. I didn't want a lot of height so that I could reach in and play. I also tried to make any hallways wide enough so that figures could pass by each other. Some halls are wider than others, but I think they tend to be about 35-40mm in width. Since a hallway only exists on a single tile, I didn't try to be too exact about it. They didn't have to match anything on an adjacent tile, so unique dimensions were fine.

My outside wall sits flush with the table, so outside walls were cut 20mm tall to account for 5mm foam board thickness. I did learn that interior walls were good for preventing warp of the board once painting started. If I had to do it again, I'd probably tackle the project with material that was less likely to bow once painted. It wasn't impossible to counter/fix, but it would have been easy enough to just get it right the first time and not spend so much time trying to undo what has been done.

I also learned that since I orient my ships one of two ways (bridge pointed left, or right. Mid sections pointed left/right, engine sections pointed left/right) I could either completely skip adding greeblies to the outside of one section OR I could decorate the outside of each side in a different way to give a different look. Paint one side of the hull red, the other grey. One side with organic shapes, the other with hard-edged squares and rectangles, etc. I didn't need to make both sides the same because I couldn't see the outside of a ship that was faced away from the edge of the table I play from.

Thank you, Andrew! This is really helpful!

I've been working with foamcore earlier and did not like its tendency to warp. I rather splurge a little on 2mm styrene sheets at $3 each, using plastic glue to weld everything together. I'm using plastic bases, which add a bit of height to my minis, so 20mm outside walls will probably work well.

If I'm going to use module inserts, I will have to choose a size for them. Perhaps 40x50mm? Big enough to stand a mini on it and have some details. I'm really impressed with your work, Andrew. Hopefully I will be able to build something similar...

[Ockman]

Five Parsecs from Home crew by Oscar Falk, on Flickr

Got a day of hobbying, where I managed to paint 4/5 minis for my antagonistic criminal (?) crew, to be used in my upcoming Five Parsecs from Home campaign.

[Oldben1]

I like the purple!

[War Monkey]

I agree the purple and grey go really well together. Nice Work!

[capthugeca]

Nice
Who makes the insect character?

[CookAndrewB]

Good to see you back and doing stuff! I love the bigger face-hugger-looking figure. I may have to try and sculpt something similar.

[Ockman]

I like the purple!

Thanks, Michael!

I agree the purple and grey go really well together. Nice Work!

Thank you, Doug!

Nice
Who makes the insect character?

Thanks! The left one is a Khurasan Miniatures Jasmine Throne mini, the one in the middle is an Alternative Armies mini.

Good to see you back and doing stuff! I love the bigger face-hugger-looking figure. I may have to try and sculpt something similar.

Thank you, Andrew!

[Dicetales]

Oscar falk ? Is that a painter sculpter or shop..

[Skullhamma]

Five Parsecs from Home crew by Oscar Falk, on Flickr

Got a day of hobbying, where I managed to paint 4/5 minis for my antagonistic criminal (?) crew, to be used in my upcoming Five Parsecs from Home campaign.

It still intrigues me how fast you can paint up whatever you need in 15mm. Great Job, Ock! 

[CookAndrewB]

Oscar falk ? Is that a painter sculpter or shop..

It's Ockman. Painter for sure, sometimes sculptor, and I believe there have been threats of stealing his stuff because he won't sell willingly?

[Ockman]

Oscar falk ? Is that a painter sculpter or shop..

It's Ockman. Painter for sure, sometimes sculptor, and I believe there have been threats of stealing his stuff because he won't sell willingly?

It's-a-me! Ockman/Oscar Falk!

As you can see in this thread, I build a lot of terrain, sculpt (but not very often) and paint (but not very fast).

The minis are from Khurasan Miniatures (the first is a Jasmine Throne mini, the fourth a Cyberpunk mini) and Alternative Armies (the second is a Ion Age adventurer, the third is from their SHM line).

It still intrigues me how fast you can paint up whatever you need in 15mm. Great Job, Ock! 

Thank you, Skully. It's faster than 28mm for sure, especially when one wants them to be visually similar (= use the same colours).