Sci-Fi Pipes

As you know I play Mantic's Deadzone, a game that requires a lot of scenery.  I have some of the new industrial stuff, but I'm always looking out for new ways to fill that table (and stop T'other One's Plague munching on my Enforcers).  Browsing Poundworld the other day I found these;

... and thought 'pipelines'.  

Now there are already some very nice pipes in the Industrial stuff, but at only 50p a pack I had to give them a go.

My main worry was that the bends and joins would be too soft to take paint properly, so I gave everything a light rub down with a wire brush before washing well in warm soapy water.

I cut the two longer pipes down slightly so that the whole structure would fit within 2 cubes.  The straws cut easily, just score round with a razor saw, then they snap cleanly.

Then I undercoated with Rust-oleum Surface primer, which promises 'superior adhesion'.

This is just a simple gunmetal and black colour scheme to see how they look.

And with some Pathfinders for scale.

I think they do the job, and I will be using more, some on the outside of buildings and others as ground structures like this.  I will be on the look out for something to use as a valve, as I think a big wheel on the 'T' junction above would be great.  I might even build some chemical storage tanks and have pipes like this connecting them, or running down into the ground.

DIY Blade Barrier

Firstly, this is not one of my most successful builds.  It kind of works, but if I had had longer I would have approached it a bit differently.
I was trying to make monster minis for the Monday night D&D group.  In this case undead wraiths who spin loads of sword blades around, creating a whirlwind of steel.
I went for card 'blades' stuck in lumps of hot glue.  In the end I think they look a bit messy, but they did the job and chopped the heroes up nicely.

Initially I struggled to cut blades that looked right, then I though, nail clippers.  They make ideal curved blades.  You'll need a lot more of these than you think.

A blob of hot glue on a clear base to give the model some bulk.

 

Start sticking the blades into more hot glue

Carry on adding blades and hot glue, giving time for each lot to cool before adding more glue.

I made four of differing heights.

In play; the red rings indicated 'bloodied'.

In retrospect I would have been better using thin plastic rather than card as some of he blades are starting to bend at the tips.  It would be perfectly possible to use spare weapons from models, but thsi was quicker than finding enough and cheaper too.

Looking at them they would make good markers for the cleric spell Blade Barrier.

Flying Constructs

Yesterday's flying stands seem to have gone down well, so here's what I designed them for.
The current D&D adventure is set in an ancient catacomb.  It's been an age since anyone living has been in here, but the ancient safeguards may still be working.
For this construct I was thinking about a crystal, or a mass of crystals that can float in the air.  The base was the easy bit; I know how I was going to build those right at the beginning.
I looked around various craft shops for something to use for the crystal, but nothing, until I found a toy necklace.  (in fact a Frozen necklace) with nice plastic 'crystals' in three colours.  Bingo.

You've already seen how to make the stands, it was then literally a case of sticking the beads on in a more or less random pattern.  I used Evostick Serious glue, which seems to give a good strong bond on most surfaces.  it helps to glue a few beads together as sub assemblies, and take a bit of time.

 And here they are, all ready to give the heroes all sorts of pain.

Budget Flying Stands (or use the forks)

I am in the process of making some flying constructs for the Monday night D&D game.  They aren't finished yet (4 hours to go), but I thought you might like to see the stands I made for them.
I have been putting most of my minis on clear bases recently, and I wanted something similar for these flying monsters. I could hunt through my box of bases for old GW flying stands, but I had an idea.

I bought a bag of plastic forks, (100 for £1).  Straightened the tines of one after dunking in very hot water (usual cautions about working with high temperature stuff), then snipped off a couple of the right length.
I then filed a peg on the broad end and drilled an equivalent hole in a clear acrylic base. Then simply glued the tine into the base.

It's not fancy, but it works.

Next time i'll show you what goes on top.