I have been planning a landing pad as part of my terrain collection for years, but for various reasons painting one up never quite floated to the top of the to-do pile. I'm pleased to say I've rectified that glaring omission and I have a new shuttle to put on it too! Which all means I can do some nice hangar-bay scenic shots like this:
For those of you who enjoy knowing these things, the background is made from three Micro Art Studio barracks on their ends plus one of my habs with my newly painted hotel also upended and balanced on top!
The landing pad is from Ziterdes, and is another hardfoam piece of terrain. I gave it a very quick and relatively basic paintjob with a few markings to liven it up.
As for the big lumpy shuttle shown in the scenic shot, this is a solid piece of resin that I picked up recently from the Penkridge tabletop sale. It was already painted and the seller told me that they believed it was produced by Snapdragon (if anyone can confirm this, I'd love to know!). The only downside was that it was designed to be based in flight, with a hole for what would need to be a very thick supporting rod. As there was no landing gear, it simply toppled unevenly when placed on a surface.
In order to rectify this I built some landing gear out of scraps of plasticard, square plastic tubing and a few pieces from my bits box. After a matching paint job, I think most people wouldn't realise they're not original to the model.
I'm pretty pleased with the resulting shuttle - it really does look like an unloved workhorse!
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| I painted a few extra details such as the blue sensor lenses and the stencilled number on the top. |
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| The paintjob is slightly different from my approach, but I really like the heavy rust streaks. |
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| Hopefully the aftermarket landing gear isn't too obviously a later addition! |
I'm looking forward to getting these new additions onto the tabletop for some games of Stargrave in the not to distant future.
Love that drop ship!
ReplyDeleteIt's a fun-looking lump isn't it?!
DeleteDamned fine work! Never would have thought the landing gear was custom. Like the paint job too, fits in well with the drab look of the other scenic elements you have for this setting
ReplyDeleteThanks Dai! The landing gear did require a lot of brainwork to make it fit both physically and aesthetically. It took me forever to work out how to make it sturdy enough to support the lump of resin. Glad you think it fits in with the other stuff 🙂
DeleteI think everything looks totally in place. The landing pad is great, but the shuttle is surprisingly a show stealer, I really love how it looks!
ReplyDeleteThanks Suber! I think the shuttle stands out because of the unusual colour the original owner painted it. The pale grey-green is completely different from anything I would have chosen.
DeleteGreat stuff there. I like how your buildings and machines look battered but not boring. The landing gear is very convincing.
ReplyDeleteThanks Toby. It's that Star Wars rather than Star Trek aesthetic- everything is worn out and used!
DeleteGreat work on both the landing bay and the shuttle!
ReplyDeleteGlad you like them!
DeleteCool looking ship, but like... how does it "go"? No wings, no propulsion, propellers... it must be a sight to see watching it take off lol. Very cool landing pad! Will add a nice element of scifi to any grungy table.
ReplyDeleteHa! I wondered if anyone would query that glaring oversight. Perhaps those rear doors open to reveal some engines?!
DeleteIt certainly did! It's an old Corgi Buck Rogers toy that I repainted 🙂
ReplyDeleteA shuttle and a landing pad, two things on my list! Thanks for sharing yours. They look great and are sure to give me some inspiration. Particularly how you seamlessly gave it some landing gear.
ReplyDeleteI'm convinced that a landing pad and shuttle are the key to a whole host of narrative games! Looking forward to seeing what you come up with!
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