Carlson793

Today, I'm waiting on the rain to stop so I can hopefully get some models at least primed for this weekend.

Today in Titanicus, I'm... • preparing a 3D printed epic-scale Spartan for basing (something to stick under a Reaver's foot) • printing some "Interplanetary Empires" tiles for the campaign we've got starting this weekend • getting weapons for my titans painted • and if time allows, reading up on the rules for a game I've played one time so far ;)

Generally for infantry and vehicles (depending on size), you'll want a resin (SLA) printer. There are many brands out there, and the differences between most are poTAYto/poTAHto. Prices are quickly falling on RGB resin printers since mono printers are becoming more affordable. I'd recommend checking out reviews on All3DP. You'll need a curing station, either a purpose-built one like the Elegoo Mercury, or a homemade one using UV lights, a turn table, and reflective material. Decide if you want to go the cheap-but-caustic standard resin route (which requires cleaning the model with IPA) or water washable resin (more expensive, but you can clean up with tap water). For both options, you'll need a separate bin or bucket for washing - don't want that stuff going down the drain. Also, for a resin printer, I'd recommend getting a magnetic flex-steel plate system. Though you lose a few millimeters of build height, they make removing models printed directly on the build plate a breeze. The Sovol 3D plates I bought a couple months ago have been getting almost constant use (there are other brands out there, but Sovol had the best prices I could find). All that sounds like a lot to absorb, but once you get started, it's a breeze. The Elegoo Mars I bought last summer has been in almost constant use, with the RGB LCD screen being replaced once (burned out from heavy use) and five FEPs replaced (the film the lines the resin tank) from my own stupidity in handling - and both those issues amounted to about $50. Considering all the models I've printed for pennies... well, I've printed up armies and fleets that would have run me a hundred times as much purchasing models. Good luck!

Meanwhile, here in Kentucky (especially right next to the Ohio River), you have to wait till about midday for the humidity to "burn off" to about 50%-60% primer weather... if it burns off that day. It's gotten to the point I'm turning to brush-on primers, and those just don't give optimal coverage. Luckily, I've got an unfinished shower in the basement, and if I get desperate can primer down there. Here's an example of what happens when the weather goes from perfect to 60%+ humidity with zero wind in a matter of minutes. Everything else I primered came out with smooth surfaces; this guy ended up rough.

Start with a white base coat, and use washes to build up to the hair color you want. Since the wash mostly settles in the recesses, it has the advantage of highlighting the surface at the same time. Did these gorillas for another game, and using washes allowed me to give a proper silverback look.

• Slice them while they're still on the sheet, before soaking in water. • Soft slices with a sharp hobby knife - you want to go through the decal, but not the underlying paper. • Cut no more than a third of the diameter on each side - basically slice North-South-East-West. • You might want to make sure the decal soaks a little longer than normal to make sure it floats freely on the paper. • Be careful the decal doesn't fold at your cuts when applying. • Apply as normal using your WinterDyne instructions.

As long as the decal you're using is 8mm or less in diameter, it should work fine. If it's below 6mm diameter, however, it might start looking a bit too small. For comparison, Mk VII knees usually take a 5mm diameter decal.

With a very-little bit of 3D modeling/printing, you could easily modify the end of the lightning gun into a rad cleanser. Just need to model the conical tip with fins. If you know your TinkerCad, it'd take about 10-15 minutes to design.

Oh, and forgot to mention the work around for having color clear decals show up on your model in the correct color without a white underpainting printer: double decaling. • When prepping your decals, you make two versions of each - one full color and the other just a black outline. • Affix the black outline version to your model (see Winterdyne's tutorial in my sig for best practices). • Carefully paint the outline version with white paint (stay inside the lines, children!). • Start the decal application process again, this time using the color decal. With a white background, the colors on the clear paper decal will appear the way you want.

In addition to the link Axineton shared (loads of good info there) let me add this. There are two big things to consider with decal paper: • Select the right paper for your printer (inkjet or laser) • Select the right opacity for your application (clear or white) With the clear or white paper, there are other considerations. • CLEAR PAPER: Since it's unlikely you have a white underpainting printer (they're pricey), when applying decals on clear paper, be aware that the color of the underlying background will show through. Black images will be fine on any background (the background will just make it a bit darker). If you apply a color decal to a white background, you'll be fine, but applying a color decal (say blue) on a different colored background (say yellow) will add the two colors together (green). At the same time, lighter decals on darker backgrounds will become almost invisible. • WHITE PAPER: Printing to white decal paper, your image will look exactly like you want... except that wherever your image doesn't print will be white. You can get around this by printing your image with a background color that's a close match to your painted surface, then carefully blending the decal edges into your model with your background paint.