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As some of you might remember, I’m playing through a solo pulp-ish campaign (it’s slow going) and because the world I’ve created for myself is quite niche in its aestethic (kinda, sorta weird inter-war with mechs, weird science, and a good serving of occult/folklore), there aren’t that many miniatures on the market that fit within this campaign (especially in my chosen scale – 15mm).
So, I thought I’ll try my hand at designing and 3d printing some units myself. I’m not a great 3d artist by any means, but I have *some* experience with designing for 3d print, and modeling some imaginary vehicles inspired by early 20th century designs doesn’t seem *that* daunting 😉
I plan to use this topic as a catch all for this bit of a hobby: sharing design progress, experiences and files (so you can print it yourself too!). But right now, without a further ado, here’s my first design:
Tumbleweed Tank!
My first design is inspired by a 1936 American concept for a round tank. I’m pretty sure it never got further than the idea and some sketches, but people might know of it because it was featured on a cover of an issue of Popular Science Magazine (see p.37 of that issue for the half page article)!
The idea behind the 1936 design was to act a bit like a mobile bunker and for breaking enemy lines (drive fast at enemy group or trench, shooting everywhere to make a path of friendly infantry to move in) . In my campaign it has another use: as imagine it as being heavily armored, but still being able to reach pretty high speeds (weird science engines) it would act akin to a bowling ball against lighter mechs. I imagine the crew being in kind of rollcage so when this thing rams into a mech they will be (relatively) safe while the target mech would probably fall, if not get totally immobilized letting other units finish it off.
But mainly, I chose this design because it’s relatively simple, and the simpler the better for my first attempt! I hope to do fancier things down the line (including mechs), but right now I am still finding my footing and learning the software.
The design/modelling is done and I am currently printing it in 15mm scale on my FDM printer. I already see some issues – on this scale the smaller details (like the rivets) are all gone. Will see how much I am missing them after putting it together (I am printing it flat and in parts to be glued afterwards, as it is much easier to do so on a FDM printer) and see if I want to mess with it more to make them visible (it might look a bit comical tho). I think it should print fine on a resin printer (but I currently can’t afford to setup one in my apartment) or even at 28mm scale on an FDM printer. I will share the files after confirming that it prints OK.
Stay tuned!
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