Saturday, March 23, 2013

build: x-wing: "asternoids"

Been awhile since I've posted an update here, but I have been busy. I hope to spend the next few weeks trickling in pics of various projects and my thoughts on the games they're for.

First up, some terrain I slapped together for Fantasy Flight Games' Star Wars: X-Wing Miniatures Game. When I was working on them, my 3-year-old son would watch what I was doing and say, "Daddy, I love you asternoids." I've called the that ever since. Unfortunately, I don't have any WIP pics to show, but they're not too difficult to figure out.

SHOPPING LIST
  • Lava rock (10 lb. bag in the gardening section of Home Depot)
  • Bosch BlueGranite Turbo 1/8" drill bit (conveniently fits in a Dremel)
  • 1/8" dowel rod
  • Hex nuts and/or washers with 1/8" holes
  • Wooden discs (wood isle at Hobby Lobby)

I dulled a couple drill bits on the first three rocks before I found the bit specified above. Once I got the Bosch, it went through the other 26 rocks I set aside with no sign of slowing down. Do yourself a favor and just start with that one. Grab it off Amazon if you have to.

If you look past the fighters, you can likely piece together the assembly instructions.

  1. Drill into rock.
  2. Drill into base.
  3. Wood glue dowel into base.
  4. Super-glue washer and/or hex nut to base.
  5. Hot glue rock on top of dowel.

After that, it's a simple matter of painting them however you like. Personally, I primed them white, then split them into two batches. Half got a thorough coating of a deep reddish-brown followed by a heavy drybrush of a lighter brown. The other half got a thorough coating of a dark grey, followed by a heavy drybrush of a mid-grey. Then they all got a zenithal drybrush of a light blonde to tie them all together.

I think they came out pretty well for a weekend's work and look snazzy on the Gale Force 9 Space Game Mat.

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