The Last Starfighter miniatures WIP thread

[Millenniumfalsehood]

Okay, I'm a miniatures junkie. So when I got the TLS combat game and all it had was cardboard counters for ships, so I started making miniatures.

Here's what I've got so far, the Deck Fighter:

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h4/Millennium_Falsehood/Paper%20Models/TLSgamepiecedf.jpg

So what do you think? I think doing this 'manually' works better for something this size.

[ltla9000311]

Millenium you kill me! I have wanted to do that with Patlabor figures and use Battletech rules, slightly modified. That is very cool!

[cdavenport]

People with vision and talent delight me! Most folks would look at the cardboard and see nothing but that. You see possibilities.

[Millenniumfalsehood]

Thanks, guys! :D

I just finished the Deck Fighters:

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h4/Millennium_Falsehood/Paper%20Models/TLSmodel1.jpg

Yeah, I know: lots'n'lotsa itty-bitty little pieces! :eek: But I managed to assemble the prototype in the picture at the top of the page, so I figure at least some of you can build these up. :cool:

I haven't put in the red stripes on the wings or the fighter info on the hex bases yet. I'll be putting in a blank spot on which to mark squadron colors or numbers. The black cone at the top will hold a black-painted toothpick on which to glue the ship model.

[Millenniumfalsehood]

Okay, I uploaded the Deck Fighter PDF in the Downloads section, for those who want to see them. I'll work on the instructions as soon as I finish the other two fighter designs and the asteroids.

[ARMORMAN]

cool....well done!

[jagolden01]

Millenium,

Thank you!
I love the deck fighter. I've tried looking for reference but haven't found any.
This is a welcome miniature.

[Getter 1]

MF,

That's great :D Can't wait to see what you come up with ont he GS and the Swarm ;)

JG1,

I got 3 views of all 3 fighters if you want em PM me.

G1

[Millenniumfalsehood]

I've got them too jagolden01, as well as this excellent page:

The Last Starfighter (http://www.break-in-studios.com/archive/TheLastStarfighter_CG.htm)

I'm working on the Swarmer (aka, Cargo Ship) next. It'll have to be very simple as there were 28 of them in the game.

[Vortex_4200]

This is really cool MF :D

[ThunderChild]

That is way too cool MF! Can't wait to see more!

[Millenniumfalsehood]

You will. ;) I'm almost done with the drawing stage of the Swarmer, and will be drawing it up in Paint.NET soon.

In the mean-time, I'll be test-building the Deck Fighters.

[Millenniumfalsehood]

Alright, test-build complete. I built two of them simultaneously, but in this build diary I only show one, up till the end:

Here's what I started with in both cases:

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h4/Millennium_Falsehood/Paper%20Models/DSC05161.jpg

First off I cut out the base and assembled it, then set it aside.

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h4/Millennium_Falsehood/Paper%20Models/DSC05162.jpg

I then cut out the fuselage and assembled it.

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h4/Millennium_Falsehood/Paper%20Models/DSC05165.jpg

I then began cutting out the little forward turrets and glued them to the fuselage.

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h4/Millennium_Falsehood/Paper%20Models/DSC05167.jpg

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h4/Millennium_Falsehood/Paper%20Models/DSC05168.jpg

After those were dried I cut out and glued together the cockpit and particle beam assembly.

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h4/Millennium_Falsehood/Paper%20Models/DSC05169.jpg

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h4/Millennium_Falsehood/Paper%20Models/DSC05170.jpg

Once that was done I assembled the rear turret.

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h4/Millennium_Falsehood/Paper%20Models/DSC05172.jpg

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h4/Millennium_Falsehood/Paper%20Models/DSC05173.jpg

Kind of like a bee's stinger, isn't it?

Next I began on the underside, starting with the thickening layer.

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h4/Millennium_Falsehood/Paper%20Models/DSC05174.jpg

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h4/Millennium_Falsehood/Paper%20Models/DSC05175.jpg

Then I made the floodlight and anti-grav unit.

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h4/Millennium_Falsehood/Paper%20Models/DSC05177.jpg

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h4/Millennium_Falsehood/Paper%20Models/DSC05178.jpg

I know that there is a lot of blank space, but this is a miniature for gaming, so the underside won't be that visible.

Next I started on the tail engine.

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h4/Millennium_Falsehood/Paper%20Models/DSC05179.jpg

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h4/Millennium_Falsehood/Paper%20Models/DSC05181.jpg

After that I did the VTOL motors on the wings.

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h4/Millennium_Falsehood/Paper%20Models/DSC05182.jpg

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h4/Millennium_Falsehood/Paper%20Models/DSC05184.jpg

Finally, I created some sockets for the mounting posts.

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h4/Millennium_Falsehood/Paper%20Models/DSC05185.jpg

And here's the result. Compare to the original cardboard counter. It's quite a profound difference, no?

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h4/Millennium_Falsehood/Paper%20Models/DSC05186.jpg

Yes . . . I am that good. :cool: So what do you think?

[ThunderChild]

Yes, you are that good! :D

That looks awesome!

[pahorace]

Really nice, thanks for sharing.
---
Greetings Starfighter, you have been recruited by the Star League to defend the frontier against Zur and the Kodan armada.
....Prepare for target light practice, Starfighter.
---
Here is the synapse site:
RogueSynapse (http://www.roguesynapse.com/games/last_starfighter.php)
Look at Starfighter Resources Page.

Orazio

[Millenniumfalsehood]

Thanks, Thunderchild! :D

Hey Orazio, I tried getting Starfighter to work on my computer, but Vista doesn't play nice with it. :mad:

Too bad, it really is a great game.

I'm going to finish up the rest of the Deck Fighter pack, then I'll get back to the swarmer.

[Vortex_4200]

Wow :eek:... nice work, I'm not sure my fingers could do all that. :D

[Getter 1]

MF,

Those are beautimus :D

Can't wait to see the others now :D

G1

[Davitch]

It looks good MF!

[Millenniumfalsehood]

Well this stupid little cargo ship just won't work with the manual method. I'm going to re-install Metasequoia and use it; this little ship is a deceptively complex geometric shape.

I would do the Gunstar instead, but I want to get the Ko-Dan ships out of the way before I do the fun stuff.

[Millenniumfalsehood]

Wow :eek:... nice work, I'm not sure my fingers could do all that. :D

Actually, I did most of it with my Exacto and a toothpick, using the pointed ends of both to hold onto the tiny pieces, fold them, and maneuver them into position. I scored them *before* I cut them out, and used 110 lb card to give them enough strength to resist crushing as I pressed the pieces together. I also used a pair of forceps to hold them while I glued them and then to put them on the model.

[kjev]

Sweet!!! Now conversion junkies will have Gunstars for Battlefleet Gothic, Battlespace, Starfleet Battles. . . Off to the downloads section for me!

K'Jev the Thrilled
:cool:

A Short While Later . . .

OK, so I need to learn to read. The above mentioned games will have KO-DAN fighters, not Gunstars. So . . . . is a wee midget-type Gunstar in the works then?

[Millenniumfalsehood]

Yes, as well as the Cargo Ship and some Asteroids. :) I would do the Ko-Dan command ship, but

a) I don't have any references

b) The ship isn't in the TLS Combat Game.

I *may* do a Starcar, however. It would be an interesting shuttle, and would instigate interesting conversations at the gaming table:

"Dude! That's a car! A car ain't a spaceship!"

"Its a Starcar, man."

". . . oh."

:D

EDIT: I forgot to mention that I'm also doing a set of Target-Lights along with the Gunstar, which includes automatic rules as to their use (basically, at the beginning of every turn, you roll the dice, the number determines their heading, and you move them three spaces that way).

[Millenniumfalsehood]

Okay, I've got the basic shape of the Cargo Ship finished. Now all I need to do is print, scale, and draw the textures, engines, and turret. I'll copy and paste the base pieces from the Deck Fighter.

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h4/Millennium_Falsehood/Paper%20Models/CargoShip.jpg

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h4/Millennium_Falsehood/Paper%20Models/CargoShipbeginning.jpg

The main pieces will look a bit shallow, but with the engines and turret attached the shape will balance out.

[Getter 1]

Lookin good MF :D Can't wait to see more.

G1

[Millenniumfalsehood]

Yeah, me niether! :D Actually, I'm dreading having to cut 28 of these out. And yes, I will have to because:

a) I'm printing out all 28 when I'm done because they will be on one PDF file and it would be a waste of ink not to build all of them,

b) I'm a completist, so I need all 28, and

c) There will be a storage case created for these minis after the ships and asteroids are finished.

[gothicincarnation]

I don't mean to resurrect the dead here... But whatever happened to this project? It was what brought me to this site in the first place.

[Olantigh]

Being a big fan of the film, there must be other models out there some where- first time ive seen any baddie ships, especially the cargo ship! gothic is right- what happened to the original project? as i would be very interested in making all the ships in that film- not just the available ones at the moment on this site...

[gothicincarnation]

Yeah I just re-purchased the movie on Blu-Ray and found all 3 of the FASA board games last month, and went looking to see if I could find any paper or metal/plastic minis for them... found this, got excited, then only found the one ship in scale to use with the games...

But this is an old thread. So it maybe a dead project altogether. Oh well...

[Millenniumfalsehood]

Um . . . I completely forgot about this project. :oops:

Since I'm in the mood for creating miniatures, like the Seaduck a few threads down, I'll pick this back up.

[gothicincarnation]

*Gets excited again* :D

[Olantigh]

Last time i asked for something to be relisted- firefox model- well over 200+ downloads in three days! HELLO! there are fans out there! and unfort- the blue ray version of the film is not available in mainland Europe- bugger! (could be wrong havent seen a region 2 version as yet for sale..)
Oh if someone does decide to relist anything on here for download- please do it on pdo format without passwords so that one can resize it! the one listed at the moment is a pdf file and is a real tough one to resize up! (hate tiny fiddly models!)-either that or ive got fat hands?- joke.

[Millenniumfalsehood]

Seeing as how the Gunstar and Cargo Ship will be made manually, there won't be a PDO model to scale. But you should be able to scale them up by printing at a large percent.

[Olantigh]

Yes i had to invent a whole new way of enlarging pdf files using microsoft word- however i only have vista- oh joy-joke! and using that has disadvantages in printing it out as it automatically resizes it to the printers requirements despite changing all the settings!- and the fact some pieces of the gunstar design are restrictive in resizing anyway- i found the side panels done in one piece actually a bugger to enlarge and that sets the size for the whole model- i suppose i could break that part in two but it would make the rest of the skin of the model messy? and wasteful on cutting out too- at least with pdo files one can resize, break up and replace pieces within the file itself making it easier to printout at the end- either that or making a molehill out of a mountain-joke.
i also found the colour scheme was unlike the actual ship as seen in the film- many ofthe stills ive seen, see the ship as metalic and shiny, not white and grey
as in the model? perhaps this is a limitation of what one can achieve with plain white card/paper? still i should be greatful that someone cares enough to make these models in the first place and that i should stop moaning and start printing and glueing instead-
i thank anybody at all for making these models available- as i enjoy making them- i just wish i had a bigger bedroom to show them off?

[Millenniumfalsehood]

You can buy silver cardstock, so Thunderchild made the Gunstar gray and white to facilitate that.

[Olantigh]

great idea! but would the printer be able to print out the design like it would on plain card? would the detail be the same or would colours be slightly different?
And do you have any advice on enlarging pdf doc's? i read somewhere that one could do it with GIMP? however i have no idea how to use the software properly- i did find a publisher that had a book on gimp but was out of print... and online versions are bitty and unhelpful- any ideas?

[Millenniumfalsehood]

Yes, it prints alright on the silver. Just make sure you're getting silver paper and not the chrome stuff. The Gunstar is metallic, not shiny. ;)

For enlarging the PDF, I'd just zoom in to 200-300% or so and copy every piece on each page using the PrintScreen button and reassemble them in Paint, Paint.NET, or whatever image editing program you're comfortable with, and then print them out. You may want to rearrange them before you print, in order to save paper.

On the other hand, TC had a Big Bertha version that's about 1:48 or so. It's HUGE, and if you desire a big Gunstar, you can't go wrong with that one.

[Olantigh]

Yes ive used that method too but in vista-word, print screen- paste-format-size ratio etc- however the printer sometimes without telling you resizes it to normal settings and makes it smaller than the original- real pain in the bottom!and i'll have to lookout for some chrome paper not shiny as you suggested- expensive stuff as i seem to remember- not cheap....as for the 1:48 version- where the hell did you see that knocking about? i'd love to see the plans for that one! i think i saw a photo of that big ono on here somewhere? the detail on the guns was more accurate and more rounded than the little one.... dread to think where i'd put it though...all these models and limited bedroom size- what is the world coming to?...(-joke)

[imcold]

Open the pdf in Inkscape and enlarge it there; it's more comfortable and gives you more control of the print size.

[gothicincarnation]

Any news on this project??

[Olantigh]

Yeah? any news anyone? i bought the metalic paper and then my old printer died- so i bought a new one, however im reluctant to use it too much as i cant find any cheap ink cartridges for it as yet- £25 a time is no laughing joke-compared to my old printer of £4 a time- however the image is much more crisp this time round...i bought a canon mg5250 hopefully it will last more than 3 years!