Well that didn't work (Tripods & Triplanes)

**Biggles downunder** · 10-24-2019 20:10

I had this great idea the other day - why not use my 3D Printer to create some terrain templates specifically, a Martian cylinder part-buried in the ground.

I measured the diameter of the template (about 120mm), fired up Tinkercad and set to work but the result was awful.

Here is a photo of my test print. I happened to have a spool of orange filament already mounted but that ran out part way through the print and so I grabbed a spool of yellow to finish the print:

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I'm pretty sure that the garish colour doesn't help but even so the size of the cylinder is way too large so I reckon I have 2 options:

1. Dramatically decrease the dimensions of the cylinder, smooth out the sides, decrease the height of the base terrain tile.
2. Just forget the whole thing (if you have a hammer does everything look like a nail??)

Maybe I'll just let this sit for a while, suck on a brown bottle of unnamed beverage and think a bit more.

**PKHansma** · 10-24-2019 21:08

To me, it looks like it has some potential. Some more texture and paint will make it look better. Great foundation to a nice visual aid. Now make one with the cover open.

**driph** · 10-24-2019 21:27

I think it's a fun idea, and a large cylinder is actually pretty fitting, considering the tripods emerged from them. What if it was a line of sight blocking objective for a bombing run?

(dunno how familiar you are with tinkercad, but cranking up the sides of your cylinders from 20 to 64 should do the trick re smoothing)

**Biggles downunder** · 10-24-2019 21:44

Hi guys and thanks for your encouraging feedback.

Chris, yep pretty familiar with Tinkercad. This was just a proof of concept print and thus I didn’t bother too much with number of sides, wall thickness etc.

Peter, if I did a final print, I would certainly paint, add grass and other terrain features. I even have another version of the base with spoil, gears and other miscellaneous debri half buried. If I could get my screen capture software working with the Catalina update I would be able to post an image.

**matt56** · 10-25-2019 02:16

This looks very promising, Wayne

I look forward to seeing how you tweak things...

I have materials on hand to begin making a 4-inch diameter cylinder as a centerpiece for a game. I need to get cutting on it...

All the best,
Matt

**zenlizard** · 10-25-2019 05:25

Well, that's why you make prototypes, so you can figure out what went wrong & what you did right. Look at it that way, and it's a success-you can always improve on it.

**miscmini** · 10-25-2019 05:49

Looks like a partially buried cylinder to me. I would paint it and put in on the table.

**camelbeagle** · 10-25-2019 05:59

I agree with miscmini. That prototype looks really good to me. I would use it.

**Jager** · 10-25-2019 12:25

IT certainly looks good to me; if you could post a picture with a tripod next to it for scale?
Karl

**matt56** · 10-25-2019 13:13

GREAT idea, Karl! A tripod next to it would give us a wonderful idea of things...

All the best,
Matt

**BobP** · 10-25-2019 14:54

I have to agree with the others that looks fine. I have to take some photos of the terrain I made over the past week. I did a similar thing with some old CD's and a paper mache product I bought. Again I have to take some photos and post them.

**Teaticket** · 10-25-2019 17:39

It looks the part to me. Definitely paint it up and get it on the table.

**BobP** · 10-26-2019 05:53

Miniature Market has these on their site. Could be something people could use.

https://media.miniaturemarket.com/me.../t/t/tt098.jpg

**Flying Officer Kyte** · 10-26-2019 05:59

Nothing wrong with that Wayne. Those cylinders must have been gargantuan to house all the stuff which came out of them.
Get it painted up lad and make the base look like the mound of earth thrown up in the impact.
Rob.

**BobP** · 10-26-2019 07:22

Wayne here is something I did and I thought it didn't come out right then I painted it. This is a CD covered in a Paper Mache product I bought at Hobby Lobby. It took a few days to dry so I didn't think it looked so good. When I painted it looked different and something that could be used as a bomber target.

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**Biggles downunder** · 10-30-2019 22:35

Hi folks, sorry for the long delay but here is my first prototype and second one (which I’m still not totally happy with) photographed with a Mk 1 tripod for reference.

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Im now working on a third version to refine the cylinder some more plus I need to relevel my printbed by the looks of the skipped layers!

**Baxter** · 10-30-2019 22:41

Coming along nicely. Hats off to all you clever fellows for improving our games.

**driph** · 10-30-2019 23:50

I love how it's coming along.

Question regarding 3d scenery... how do you handle flying over it? Slide plane cards underneath the piece until they've passed over?

**matt56** · 10-31-2019 02:47

Looking great, Wayne! Your second version is much 'rounder' than the first - I like, too, that it's buried at a lesser angle into the earth...

That is one way to handle it, Chris, but I have also made 'scenery cards' similar to plane cards. I have outlined the scenery shape on a manila folder and cut it to shape, and then if needed I have drawn on any key details that might be needed during play. It works pretty well. Those with mad computer skills could likely come up with a color version and print it off, but the manila folder cardboard works fine for me...

All the best,
Matt

**Flying Helmut** · 10-31-2019 03:55

I'm trying to take a top-down photograph of each terrain piece, which then needs to be altered to match the size, then cut out.

Place the photo on the table, then the 3D terrain on top - simply remove the 3D piece and replace, as required.

My problem is getting the photo to print at "actual size" - it always seems to come out a bit different!

**Biggles downunder** · 10-31-2019 04:48

I think if you scan the terrain piece, save the file as a pdf and print that the correct dimensions will be retained.

My printer-scanner won’t work with my Mac since the last system update so I can’t verify this.

When I contacted Fuji Xerox, they said a new driver would not be available until January 2020!

Gotta love technology!

**Flying Officer Kyte** · 10-31-2019 05:34

I have this problem with my printer Tim.
Cards come out correct in width but are about 1 percent small in height which i have to correct manually. This also heppens when I scan them.
Rob.

**Flying Helmut** · 10-31-2019 05:42

Me too!

When I hold a stack of printed plane cards, they feel like a multitude of different sizes, depending on which batch they were printed in...……
Nothing like a deck of manufactured cards.

**Flying Officer Kyte** · 10-31-2019 05:48

Because I sleeve mine Tim, the slight anomalies don't show quite so much.
Rob.

**Shadowcat** · 10-31-2019 10:21

Looking really good, but a bit too much effort for me. Never had a 3D printer so would use a chunk of PVC glued to a base for the same effect. Still, very good job.

**Biggles downunder** · 10-31-2019 13:50

Originally Posted by Shadowcat

Looking really good, but a bit too much effort for me. Never had a 3D printer so would use a chunk of PVC glued to a base for the same effect. Still, very good job.

Yeah, I must confess that often simpler is better! But for me, part of the challenge is messing around with the software and hardware.