3D Print: “Counts as” Bombard Field Gun

Update: Two months after the publication of this article, these models started leaking uncured resin. This is bad, and resulted in a full refund from Etsy, rather than the seller, whom was not immediately helpful. I will leave the article as it stands, but make your purchasing decisions as is appropiate.

 

 

 

Added to the Imperial armoury when I wasn't paying much attention, the Field Ordnance Battery was part the 9th edition Astra Militarum line refresh. They slide into niche between Heavy Weapon Teams and stuff like the Basilisk, in that its a crew-served artillery. Like Mek Gunz, but presumably safer to stand near. Ruleswise, the execution of them is a lot like Heavy Weapon Squads. You know, its a big gun, its crew are very squishy, so invariably people choose the indirect fire option, the Bombard Gun, if only to keep them alive. In terms of raw power, these aren’t the best, although they’ve weathered recent rules changes quite well. My experiences with them so far have positive, but not game-winning.

This project represents my first dealings with the Etsy platform, and one of numerous 3D print outfits that lurk there. Etsy functions as a storefront for craft supplies, artwork and such, and much like eBay you get a fair few companies selling bits. The model here was a “Gun Platforms Set 2” as printed by Proxy Wargames, a somewhat anonymous seller with no obvious social media presence. Its not immediately clear if they create thier own STL files, or merely print those by others, but on first impression these were quite nice. The print is at a higher resolution that the Ursa IFV, and did not require the same amount of aggressive sanding and prepping. It did require some preparation though, this being a "spray it with primer, then see what is revealed" sorta situation. Its definitely adequate in the detail, but there were imperfections, notably around the underside of each gun barrel. Also, while the price was right, you have to provide your own crew and bases. In my case this is a mix of Cannon Fodder and Stargrave minis atop a MDF disc. 

 

This would obviously mean that the crew were the most involved part of the build. You know, greenstuff mods, gasmasks, some flesh tones. Its always more steps than you think. The guns by comparison were done mainly via the spraycan method, before going in to pick out key details and exposed metal. As with my vehicles, I see this unit as either unwanted surplus or "acquired via unofficial channels", so a generic green with hints of decay was what I was aiming for. Unfortunately, I was at the point of securing them to base, when one picked a fight with gravity. Twice. Fuck, I'm a clumsy fool. Fortunately, this was a matter of clean breakages, but this revealed a brittleness more akin to Ramshackle Games resin than the aforementioned Ursa by Culverin Models. I feel my inexperience with 3D prints is showing here, but certain tiresome things about the Ursa are a bit more tolerable now. A bitch to sand, yes, but I'm pretty sure that would do better with the drop test, but I digress. Also, I may have overdone it with the mud paint. Everything else came good by the end though.

Job's a good 'un.

Gunpla: The GH-001RB Grimoire Red Beret (HG)

OK, this will take some explaining. What we have here is a mobile suit from an unpopular series, customised to resemble a mecha from another, non-Gundam franchise. And its piloted by someone whom likes the more Wehrmacht aspects of Zeon, whose avatar is a white ferret/stoat/mongoose/something in military uniform, and goes by the name Rommel. Before you file this under "Japan", let me add more detail. Gundam Build Divers takes place in a gunpla themed massively multiplayer online RPG, where players fight with their custom made models. Here, someone has taken the Grimoire, a minor design from Gundam Reconquista in G, and made it into a Scopedog tribute. Yes, that Scopedog, the design I have a minor fixation on. That's why I picked it up. And, as near as I can figure out, Rommel's not actually a Nazi. Possibly a tourist. Possibly a military fanboy ignoring the ugly side. Possibly a tribute to Desert Rommel rather than Erwin Rommel directly, although people can have an unhealthy admiration for the latter. The character in question is, almost certainly, a furry. Now you can file this under "Japan".

I had to go look up the base model Grimoire, as Reconquista is another blindspot for me. It is my understanding that its in the grand tradition of grunt suits, although like a lot of stuff in that series the visual design is a bit distant from the baseline. Rommel's customisation of it, and thus the kit here, is a substantial one, replacing most weaponry with a modular system, adding some very Votoms elements like heelies, and some seemingly creative flair. The design features concealed blade arms on the legs, and notably, spare heads. These function as knife-roombas. During my research, I found myself disagreeing with the fandom wiki. No, it is absolutely a Scopedog tribute, the feet wheels and one red shoulder are a huge giveaway. By the standards of mould re-uses, its an interesting and earnest one. But what's it like as a build?

 

Well, as far as the raw material goes, the Grimoire seems a pretty decent grunt kit, if somewhat numerous in sprue count thanks to the retooling. Like the Dagger L, its a latter-day polycap design with a few plastic/friction joints. A noticeable design flair are the thrusters on the front skirt armour. These are colour separated and rotate, which is very nice on a high grade, and like many a kit, you snip a piece so each segment can move independently. The pair on the buttplate are however fixed and not colour correct, with some hollowness on other areas, like in the inside of the shield. Stickers are also present, and while never obnoxious, are a bit varied in appearance and convenience. You get several that go behind transparent parts in the heads, and these look great, but you have a few that need to be placed in recessed but curved areas, and they don't stick too well. There's also the white star marking for one leg, which you just have to eyeball, but at least you get spares. I sealed the stickers with some mod podge to be sure, but honestly these are fine as stickers go. The new components are also nice. Those leg blades use a clip system which put me mind of some 30MM parts. While the original weapons have been omitted, the new ones get another thumbs up. These have the air of tacticool gimmickry, but I do like a modular assault rifle where the shoulder stock is also a pistol for emergencies. The slight disappointment here is the knives, which store variously about the model, but are cast in the same plastic as the heads, so you're gonna want to paint those blades. Meanwhile, the Minimoires, the knife roombas, are fun bits of fluff, not especially complicated, but characterful. One slight word of warning though. There's a lot attached to this stocky frame, and between the waist design and the foot wheels, you may find balance issues long term. It seems fine just now though. So, generally a good time here, with some minor flaws, but nothing you couldn't handle if you've built a model before.

Now for this I did, guess what? Yes, another weathering job. I know that this is kinda dumb. Build Divers is a video game, and thus weather doesn't happen. And given that Rommel is quite militaristic, maybe he'd like his machine to be parade ready. Then again, he invokes tank warfare, he's probably not afraid of a bit of dirt. Sorry, it's what I like.

Job’s a good ’un.

TFNation August 2024 Report

Well, I just got back, and have yet to pass out from exhaustion, so here’s a write-up while its fresh.

Now, more so than usual, this was a bit of a blur. It was good to see the friends that could make it, but the amount of actual socialising I managed to fit in was a bit light. Part of that was logistics; I was staying at a Premier Inn rather than the venue in an attempt to save money, so I couldn't enjoy the atmosphere as much. Unfortunately the inn abruptly closed its restaurant in the run up to that weekend, which meant I went to Starbucks instead. That wasn't bad by any means, but it was the first several unexpected things that put me a bit off-kilter, culminating in some intense digestive discomfort that I shall spare you the details of. I had the ill. On the plus side, I did have the honour of working on the Toy-Fu charity stall/ailse and doing some good. They passed a big milestone this year. Things picked up on Sunday too, so a good time overall. As for acquisitions? Well, it was a bit lighter this time, but then I got Tidal Wave two months back, so swings and roundabouts, I suppose. Things of interest to this blog include:

Legacy Cannonball: Yes, its the Skids mould again, in a Gordian Knot of retooling and pretooling.

Legacy Vector Prime: Possibly better than the original, possibly worse than what its retooled from.

Kingdom Wheeljack: I missed this first time around. And the second time around.

Kingdom Inferno: No, not that one. Its Hauler’s less memetic mouldmate.

Assorted G1 Candy Models: A gift from one ‪Jake LaBombarbe, whom also kindly gave me some badges that are not pictured. Thanks Jake.

New Continent Machines Adventure: My first “what the hell is this?” purchase. Its an artist-led model kit. Something gunpla-adjacent, but you need paint.

A 3D printed head from a lucky dip: Self-explanatory.

A small robot that turns into the number 1: Also self-explanatory.

Tomica Rescue Commander and Hyper Rescue: A big and chunky robot combiner, whom I need to do more research on.

I’ll probably do articles on several of these over the coming months, although I currently have a 3 week buffer, so it may be a while before I post anything. Normal service resumes on Sunday. I may also want to reconsider my hotel for next year.

In the meantime, rest.

Transformers: Legacy United Gears is Something That Exists

Right, its TFNation weekend... Have a Transformers review!

 

The 1984 Transformers Gears toy

 

As I’ve oft mentioned in the past, there's an awful lot of 80's characters that once ya check, haven't done much of note. Or indeed have a distinct personality. Gears is definitely one. His role is to be a bit grumpy, and at the risk of being unkind, we have Huffer too, and do we need both? And yet, somehow, this was the guy they selected to do the Spider-Man crossover. To attempt a young person's comparison: this is like pairing Taylor Swift with the least popular member of the K-Pop boyband SEVENTEEN (emphasis theirs). You know, the lads at Glastonbury? Its not like that crossover was actually bad, but there had be at least a dozen better choices. Gears has always been a guy whom has been around, he was almost in Kingdom, but he's been overshadowed by his mouldmates. He pales in comparison with Swerve, the Autobot barman, and this toy just got turned into a Gobot. So, much like Beachcomber, I got this chap basically because he was marked-down on a day when I fancied a new indulgence.

Now, as it turns out, Legacy United Gears is actually a low-key kind of good. Is he flawless? No. Is he doing anything markedly clever or interesting? Also no. Is he addressing the continuing value question raised by putting minibots in the deluxe slot? A further no, he's rather small and simple. But what the toy is doing is hand candy. A transformer with a fun/engaging actual transformation is usually on the right track. When that transformation adds to already good articulation, that's even better. And when the toy is generally well-presented too? Well, it becomes rather difficult to dislike. Even with the truck mode. That isn't great, objectively. Its fine from the front, that's nicely painted, but things come undone at the back. His chest plate is just there, as are his lower legs. His gun stores in one of six usefully placed ports, and there's paint on the wheels. Those are clip wheels though, and due to the transformation its easy for them to be misaligned. Initial stock photography got that wrong; I will admit to that colouring my perceptions of this toy. There's a feel of awkwardness to it, as there isn't a fixed wheelbase. Finally, there's a mild case of Visible Head Syndrome, so remember to turn his face around, lest he look disapprovingly at you. Its not Needlenose bad, or Skullgrin mould bad, but its not hard to find better truck mode. But it is vaguely adorable I suppose, so that counts for something.

Putting Gears into robot mode is, as mentioned above, hand candy. It does inherit some elements from the 80's toy, but otherwise it seems innovative. The wheelbase is independent of the limbs, so all four end up stowed in the chest. This is honestly kinda fun. As a happy side-effect, this conversion takes the toy a bit above the Legacy articulation standard. The shoulders have a butterfly joint so they move forwards and back, while both the elbows and knees are double jointed. His feet are simple ankle tilts, which is maybe disappointing in context, but its otherwise there, and that big head is on a balljoint. He poses just that little bit better than he needed to, certainly enough to use that modest blaster. Visually, its not bad either. The styling is obviously Sunbow based, but I honestly don't mind it this time. He's not got some accessories he only ever used once on screen, you just open up his chest to see some (sadly) unpainted gubbins referencing the episode Changing Gears. Contrasting with that however is a very toy-centric Easter Egg. There's an M sculpted on the back of his head, which honestly has far too much history for me to do the subject justice here. Look up the Mysterians, its a fascinating area of research. I do like his expression, it hints at grumpiness without overselling it, while his proportions give him what young people supposedly call "he's just a little guy energy". There is a backpack, but it doesn't do him any great harm. So generally, a good robot mode.

 

As it stands, Gears is the sixth mould of the modern deluxe minibots, and thats both a good thing and a bad thing. There's definitely an element of lessons learned here, he's not got the problems that Huffer had, but I feel they didn't try as hard to justify a deluxe pricetag. There's only the one accessory, a simple gun, a somewhat flawed altmode and nothing that I can immediately point to as where the budget went. maybe inflation? That said, I find myself charmed by this toy. The truck mode is charming mainly because of its flaws, rather than in spite of them, while the transformation and robot mode are conventionally good. I can't say with a straight face that Gears is a classic or anything, but I can certainly see him as an Honourable Mention when folk do their Best of 2024 lists.

He's just a little guy.

Transformers: Classics Jetfire is Something That Exists

OK, here's a bonus article. I've had this one on the buffer for a while, and it's TFNation week! So why not?

 

The 1985 Jetfire Toy

An increasingly common irony in Transformers is how nostalgia lines have aged into retro themselves. Classics is probably the best example. Its the forerunner to the modern collectors line, and the capital C of the inelegant fandom term CHUG. Its near enough where geewunner pandering started, a filler line designed to fill the gap between the Unicron Trilogy and the first Bayverse film. Following on from efforts like the first Universe line, and the somewhat obscure Robotmasters line, Classics sought to do the G1 cast with then-modern engineering, but these were more reinventions than direct updates. These toys confirmed the demand for such things, with a lot of these these seeing much reuse in coming years, but such releases remained the exception, not the rule. Bayverse would dominate for a time, but G1 characters were back on rotation, and decade later we were swimming in such items. Well, sometimes its more like drowning, but I've already talked about that too much as it is. This places the Classics toyline in a bit of an odd position where it is well-loved, but pretty much everything it ever did has been supplanted several times over, but Generations has been so Sunbow G1 of late these early attempts have become interesting again. Jetfire can be considered a case study. In addition to being a go-to name for Autobot jetformers, Jetfire tends to pop up as a big box release, like as the first of the modern Commander class, and a Japanese Masterpiece release. The latter is rather funny given that Takara absolutely did not sell that character in the 80's, because a different Japanese company made the toy.

Now, I’ve written indirectly about Jetfire before. Specifically, he was the Transformers version of the Takutoku Valkyrie toy, a truly ahead of its time toy I gushed about. It looms large over this toy, both figuratively and literally. The legal minefield around that, much too lengthy to go into here, meant that Jetfire aka Skyfire had a substantially different character model from the toy, which presented a problem for any remake. Character-wise, Jetfire is a rare flying Autobot, a scientist whom hung around with Starscream in the before-times, tending to be depicted as both large and heavily armed. While he does better in comics, especially post-2000s releases, Jetfire has a relatively small number of fictional appearances. Legal issues again, plus Takara not wanting to promote a competitor's product, although the specifics aren’t entirely clear. I swear his popularity has more to do with the toy being awesome and the Macross connection. The version created for Classics then would split the difference having elements of both toy and animation, but also its own innovations. As far as jet mode goes, the balance is largely in favour of the 80s toy, the angular nose being the most obviously animation inspired bit. How sleek or convincing it is kinda scales with how much of the armour bits you put on it. As a basic jet, its not doing a bad job with respects to surface detailing and paint. Its very nicely presented, with landing gear, but the arms are just kinda hanging out in the underside. His rifle mitigates this somewhat, splitting in half to conceal the fists, but there are the obvious bare clips where the other bits go. Its not that disrupting to the deco, but I'd imagine the designers would just use 5mm ports these days. There's also a set of blasters on either side of the cockpit, which pivot vertically for dogfights, although my example is slightly damaged and missing one barrel. The cockpit window is translucent, and certainly nice in context, although there's not much in there to see other than the top of his head. Plonking on the assorted armour parts completes the look, completely disregarding aerodynamics, but gaining much credibility as a spaceship. it gains two sets of spring loaded gimmicks, two nowadays-rare firing missile launchers, and two flip-out cannons reminiscent of the VF1's Strike variant. The new parts downplay the weaknesses of the base jet with more guns, and even posable thrusters on the upper engines. Its big, its fun, its a swing-wing, and has no small amount of dakka. Its a great altmode, and bar the rifle, all the accessories can remain where they are during transformation, the missile launchers even having specifically shaped pegs for that. Its the mode that has aged the best, definitely.

Said transformation is maybe a touch unconventional? Maybe? It might just be my imagination. As noted with the arms in jet form, its not doing anything clever. And nor is it taking notes from the original toy, its engineering still outclassing our subject even when accounting for vintage and mass. But it does place the shoulders on some heavy duty ratcheting assemblies. This feels a bit like over engineering the whole matter, as you could have done a slider arrangement as with the legs. There is a bit of flair with how the nose of the plane forms the chest too, by splitting apart and folding to the sides. It adds a bit character to the process.

Upon putting Jetfire into robot mode, the first impression is that he's a big chap. Even if your strip off the myriad accessories, he still ends up a big chap due to the proportions and the wings. This guy looks like someone whom would put Starscream in a headlock and call him a nerd. And possibly looks like a giant, heavily-armed, butterfly. So, is this more toy or more Sunbow? Well, that's on you, there's a removable toy style helmet that conceals a cartoony head! This is a great way of doing it; they brought it back for the Siege And Thrilling Thirty versions, but I digress. It looks great, and the accessory game is excellent. The missile launchers are well-placed on the forearms, the rifle has a functioning sight on it, and you can fold the cannons over the shoulder. There's also gun ears, if you leave the battlemask on. So, massive presence, striking white & red colour scheme, enough dakka to please an Ork, what's not to like? Well, we have an extremely unusual situation here. When it comes to G1 updates and articulation, usually the only way is up, but with this toy its sidegrade as the original was so ahead of its time. The legs and neck are better, but the arms are worse, and this is annoying the arms don't have an excuse as they do nothing for the transformation. The limbs have their swivels in the wrong place, like below the elbow rather than above. As a result, Jetfire is limited to basic standing poses, not unreasonable given his chonkiness, but still a missed opportunity. In fairness though, this does also mean that the toy is very stable despite the pointy feet and the substantial backpack. There’s an awful lot of ratcheting joints, and very little in the way of hollowness, so assuming that the springs are good on your example, it feels quite solid in hand.

So, the painfully obvious question is, is Classics Jetfire an actual classic? Hmm, tricky. There's no disputing that it does several things very well. As a visual update of Jetfire its great, its fun to mess with in hand, and it does the whole fast-pack thing better than more recent toys. On the other hand, the articulation is frustratingly limited by modern standards, if not terrible by the standards of the day. Posing isn’t everything, but it is a thing, and its not like this is an Armada toy where articulation is the exception, not the rule. It doesn’t help that this toy is also following one of the all-time greats either. Then again, I find myself enjoying this toy in-spite of that weakness. As a reinterpretation, its pretty great, and it feels different enough from more recent releases to justify itself. Classic? Maybe not, but if you're smoking this kind of nostalgia, Classics Jetfire is worth tracking down.

Plamo: Wargames Atlantic Bulldogs

Back when I started Project Chemdogs one of the options I considered was Wargames Atlantic's Bulldogs. Part of their Death Fields range, these were British themed sci-fi troopers, with a variety of heads, and in one memorable example, a cup of tea. Now, I am not immune to the occasional spark of patriotism, but I am somewhat aware of the history of the British Empire, so I eventually went for the less nationalistic angle of prison conscripts. I did however have a lingering idea of prison guards, or possibly another regiment or two mixed in. The Astra Militarum does not have to be uniform, in fact I'd argue in favour of variety. Too many damn Cadians these days. Meanwhile, the Tempestus Scions were coming up a lot in competitive play discussions. These are fairly inexpensive in game, somewhat more elite than my usual fair, and very mobile. I'd been having trouble with the whole claiming objective thing, so I was tempted. Then I had the idea I could do them up like British policemen, thus contrasting with my orange prison troops, and things flowed from there.

 

These are somewhat simpler of a  project than my usual infantry, as these are meant to be a well-equipped and professional force, not prisoners in jumpsuits and tattered rags. The main thing would be modifying them to visually suggest a Scion profile. This meant sculpting on a chestplate to justify a 4+ save, and adding cabling to the guns. While effective, the chest plates would interfere with some of the arms, most noticeably the grenade launchers. In my defence, they're coppers, even without the stabproof vests on, they tend to look a bit portly. This also resulted in me using the "single" arms, and being confused by them. I eventually came to the conclusion that these featured bionics and/or heavy gauntlets, but I mistook them as regular hands at first, and painted them as such. Maybe I should have looked at some painted examples, you know, actual preparation before charging in, but it was an easy fix. Meanwhile the stereotypical "tit helmet" was achieved via the use of pith helmet heads and some adhesive gems painted silver to suggest the elaborate badges such things have. I'm sure there's better solutions out there, but the desired effect was achieved.

The equipment of these chaps (and presumed chappettes,) was largely driven by the composition of the Bulldogs sprue versus the current Scion data sheet. I'd wanted to do these up with multiple plasma guns, I had spares, but this isn't actually legal. Fortunately the grenade launchers were a convenient alternative and vaguely sensible in game. Less useful was the limited number of backpacks, prompting the use of spares from the Cannon Fodder sprue, which makes them less cohesive as a unit, but I gave those to the weapon specialists to compensate. Sarge types were done up with power swords and "counts as" plasma pistols, which probably isn't optimal, but I honestly couldn't be bothered with making power fists when the sword option was right there. Its not like you expect guard units of 5 guys to do much in a melee as it is. Speaking of unit sizes, while I made these as two squads of 5, I also made a spare bobbie so I could field a legal squad of 10 by swapping out a sarge. Its a squad compostion thing, look it up. I did not make a vox operator at this time, as he would be downgraded to a pistol and that looked bad, but I have the bits should I change my mind.

Painting was matter of rummaging for a suitable blue and ink wash, and then aiming for a slightly less drab look than my other infantry. The "Flying Squad" has a dirty job, but they get decent kit and are vaguely professional about it. Uniforms were done in Vallejo Medium Blue, with a careful application of old Drakenhof Nightshade. Details like skin and backpacks were done in my usual way, although I went lighter for some of the metallics. While I briefly considered doing the gasmask lenses in orange, I felt that was too Helghast, so I did them in Soulstone Technical instead, atop an off-white to brighten them. I then proceeded to muddy up the bases and boots.

 

Perhaps not my best work, but certainly table-worthy.