Tamiya 1/20 Scale Model - 4of4 - 1983 Porsche 928S - Diorama Complete!

 Diorama complete!

I am very pleased on how it all came out. Respect to dedicated model car builders. It was certainly a learning process. For sure there are aspects that my eye goes right too as things that could be improved. But overall I am happy.

My father was blown away with the gift. He didn't know I was working on it, and it came as a great surprise. 

 

 

Tamiya 1/20 Scale Model - 3of4 - 1983 Porsche 928S - Diorama

For the diorama, I picked up a cheap black picture frame to set the stage. Grabbed some pink foam and drew on the layout for the placement of things. It will be a portion of a paved road, the dirt edge, along with a cattle guard and road sign.

Cattle guard frame built and placed. Trimmed down foam for the earth slope away from the road.

Trimmed think sheet metal to place under the road bed, so the car tires can be magnetized for secure placement.

 

Made up some barbed wire from twisting thin wire and adding small twists to simulate the barbed parts

Barb wire fence installed along with the cattle guard.

Basecoat of paint added.

Road lines added along with some pigment powders.

Grass flock and tuffs, and highway sign added.
 

Detail shot of the barbed wire fence.

Tamiya 1/20 Scale Model - 2of4 - 1983 Porsche 928S - Painting

Painting time for the car. Everything got a black primer coat, then a slight grey edge highlight. Metal received silver paint and a black wash.

Engine, cooling, dash, and seats added to chassis. Small hits of yellow color where some of the engines stickers are.

Build complete. Gloss black body paint. Windows, lights, and wheels added.

 

I am happy with how it turned out. Although I can see areas that could have been improved, such as sanding the body to get smoother paint. Also the glass could use some work to get more transparent.

Tamiya 1/20 Scale Model - 1of4 - 1983 Porsche 928S - Assembly

 

Inspired to make a gift for my father based on a 1983 Porsche 928S car he owned, tuned, and raced for years. I purchased this vintage Tamiya 1/20 scale model from eBay. 

The idea was to build the car to match as close as possible to his car that he had customized over the years. For the diorama portion, my goal was to represent the car during a specific race we participated in together called the Pony Express. Held in Nevada, this race was held along a closed two lane 83 mile stretch of State Route 305 between Battle Mountain and Austin. During the race we averaged over 150 mph. Certainly one of the most exciting things I have done in my life, and I figured this would be a nostalgic project as well as a memorable keepsake for him.
 

V8 water cooled engine assembled.

Customizing the stock exhaust to a dual tipped Flowmaster.

Shaved off the door bumper that ran down the side of the car body. And the side mirrors.

Relocated the exhaust exit to the back. Added custom venting in license plate area.

Under carriage getting assembled.

Stargrave Ship: VaporWave

Stargrave is kind of the new kid on the block, but not really. It is really the sci-fi brother of Frostgrave that we have all been looking forward too. Modeled after Frostgrave 2.0 rules and adapted to science fiction.

Part of the fun is the idea of having a ship to shuttle your crew to the planet surface to do battle. I selected mine from Dragon's Rest. They offer a 3D printed Dragonfly drop ship model. I found mine through an Etsy reseller called RealityAtWork. The PLA print came disassembled and unpainted. It included clips to join the modules together.

I replaced the printed hoses on the legs with rolled green stuff hoses. Added plastic windows to the front. Pilot model added to the empty seat. I painted everything separately and then assembled. Most were glued into position, but the tail and smaller hull section I kept unglued. I used the clips to allow the ship to change to a smaller size by omitting the smaller hull section. The two roof panels were magnetized for easy access to the inside.

Test assembly

Happy how it turned out. Used Vallejo Game Color Bronze Fleshtone for the ship base color. Stippled dark brown paint by sponge along the edges for battle damage. Then added gunmetal within the larger damaged sections.

The model is a PLA print, so the print lines are very visible on some surfaces. Being an industrial non-organic ship, some of the lines were fine. The print had more difficulty with gradual slopes. I did my best to sand the surface to even it out. I didn't try gap filler, but it could of helped even out some of the more offending areas.

 

 

 

 

 

Door hatches that open

 

Smaller hull removed for a smaller dropship

 

Details of battle damage

 

 

All the pieces mostly painted before assembly 

Axles & Alloys 2 at KublaCon 2012

KublaCon 2012 has come and gone, and with it much gaming was had. On Saturday, Spooktalker hosted a story telling based RPG, then our Op-For Overlord ran an awesome Necromunda scenario game in the evening. I hope he posts some shots and the low down on the game. I placed second of the starting 8 players. (so close, it came down to a couple last shots that could have turned the tide) Be sure to chalk it up to my noob status. This post will cover the game I ran on Sunday.

Axles & Alloys 2
@ KublaCon May 27, 2012

Download Quick Rules Sheet | Download Car Sheets

Download Full Rule Set (I changed up & removed some of the rules for the con)

We had a full turnout with 8 players signed up. I setup the board with terrain and briefly gave a run down of the rules. Everyone seemed ready, grabbed a car and we were off. (Mental note for next time, bring a tan/brown sheet to lay over the white table for better visuals)

Game 1
Scenario: Speed Bumps

I picked a scenario called "Speed Bumps" pitching everyone against each other with pedestrians that randomly spawned around the table each turn that awarded bonus points for killing. One point for each car kill and 2 points for each pedestrian taken out. At the beginning of each round, I rolled and randomly spawned 3 new pedestrians at 6 different possible points around the board. It was great fun to watch everyones plans adjust to were the people showed up. A few times right in front of an oncoming car. Once the game got underway, everyone quickly realized that it was best to go after the pedestrians than the other cars. But we did have, I think, 2 cars destroyed during the 8 round game. Victor picked a winner Kubla Pin and second place got $10 KublaBucks. After the game wrapped, we still had plenty of time and everyone wanted to go again (cool!), so we took a break and got ready for another game.

The rules are light, but tactics are still king

Cars dance around the table

Game 2
Scenario: Ambush!

For change of pace, I picked a scenario that would form 2 teams and pit them against each other. One team was in charge of escorting a semi truck (Semi with two escort vehicles), their victory condition was to drive the semi from one end of the table to the other. The attacking team of 4 cars drove in with the sole purpose of destroying the semi. Each team deliberated over tactics, then charged into the fight. With the escorting team being alittle too aggressive and over taking the semi and driving to the other side of the board, leaving the truck to fend for itself. With a huge deluge of well placed dropped weapons (spikes, mines and napalm) the semi was left in a pickle of a situation. It narrowly avoided the deadly path left by their adversaries, but was plinked away round after round until it eventually was destroyed before reaching the half way mark on the table. Victory and $5 KublaBucks went to the attackers. All to easy.

2nd turn of game 2

Escorting vehicle drives by semi

Witness the impending path of this semi through napalm, spike stripes, and then mines to finish the job!

By luck (or terrain adjustment) the semi cranks the wheel enough to detour from disaster

Final Thoughts

All but two players had never played the game before. Everyone unanimously agreed that it was a great game to run at the con, with easy to learn rules and quick turns, plus fun cars. From the feedback, the truck was both underarmed and should have used the same targeting method as the cars for taking fire. I personally had a great time running the games. I can also say that the game ran very smoothly because we had a great group of people at the table. Thanks for those who came to play!

Be sure to visit the creator of this rule set at axlesalloys2.blogspot.com

Axles & Alloys 2 at KublaCon

I am running a demo game of the Axles & Alloys 2 game at KublaCon.

Sunday, May 29
@ KublaCon, Burlingame, CA
10:00 AM and last 6 hours
For up to 6 people

Some come and try it out.

Come focus your pent up road rage in our radioactive desert landscape. Axles & Alloys 2 is fast paced and easy to learn car combat miniatures game. Rules are free online at axlesalloys2.blogspot.com, and are a homebrew adaptation of Full Thrust cars rather than Spacecraft. Quick to learn (fit on 1 page) and they don’t take themselves too seriously, and are designed for jumping in and playing.

Custom modified hotwheels/matchbox car miniatures will be provided to play with. Players need only bring D6 dice, and a measuring tape!



This will be both my first con to attend and first game to demo. Drop a note below if you have any ideas on scenarios or tips for running the game.