Relic

I wanted to make a relic for my 40K games.  A relic is used in the mission: The Relic.  I used the Joseph the Wonderer by Scibor Monstrous Miniatures, and Groundwerks Base Inserts - 40mm Graveyard (2) from Dark Age, sold on the Cool Mini or Not website. I used cork tile to give the relic some height, and gave the top surface some character by cutting lines into polystyrene to create a stone floor. 



Shapeways

I ordered some custom 3D printer models from Shapeways a while back.  I have to be blunt about my Shapeways adventure.  I placed my order with them and was patient to wait the allotted time of three weeks for my package to arrive.  The three weeks stretched on to a month and a half, at which point I decided to contact Shapeways customer service and inquire about my purchase.  Shapeways apologized for not filling my order on time, and asked me to wait a little longer for the models to be made.  I agreed and waited another two weeks, but unfortunately Shapeways was not able to fill the order.  I contacted them again and asked for my money back.  Shapeways was quick to refund my money via PayPal, and sent me the models I had ordered for free as a way to apologize for being so late in making my models.  I have to thank the Shapeways Customer Service department for turning a bad situation into a positive experience.

 

 

 

I'm writing the second part of this review to answer some of Adrenal Booster's questions about the quality of Shapeways miniatures. 

 

 

To begin with I have to say that Shapeways is not a miniature making company.  They don't work in metal or resin.  They do work in plastic, several different types of plastic.  When you order from Shapeways you can choose what kind of plastic you want their 3D printers to use during the creation of your models.  I used the cheapest plastic available, so the miniatures I received did not retain a crisp edge.  The matterial I ordered has the initials MAT:WSD, this matterial looks and feels like spun plastic.  MAT:WSD will not stick if you use crazy glue, you will need to use plastic glue to make the parts stick together.  I also ordered some clear plastic bits made from MAT:FUD, these bits feel solid and have more detail than the MAT:WSD. 

 

 

 

The bigest item I ordered were cannons made from MAT:WSD, which I use as Kannons for my ork army.  The MAT:WSD wasn't the best matterial to reproduce this kind of complex model.  Some of the model parts did not print out, and the detail of the cannons were dull, with a melted look to them.  I had to use some polystyrene rods to fix the axle, and I used plastic glue to put them together.  I was able to put the cannons together and paint them with my airbrush. 

 

 

Shapeways took a month and a  half to deliver my models.  I called them to complain about how much time they were taking to finish m order.  The Shapeways customer service ladies calmed me down, and hooked me up by refunding my money and sending me my models for free.  I thought that was cool.  I personally will not be buying miniatures from Shapeways again, but I don't discourage other gamers from using their 3D printers to make some pieces for their armies. 

West Coast Podcast Alliance

Every month I download several 40K centric podcasts.  Three of those podcasts Independent Characters, Life After the Cover Save, and Imperial Vox Cast teamed up last year and created the West Coast Podcast Alliance (WCPA).  These three podcasts cross promote the 40K hobby here in Southern California.  They are 40K community leaders in their home towns where they set up tournaments, league nights and local gaming events. This coming weekend the WCPA will be having their first Golden Ticket Event (GTE).  An exclusive invitational taking place in Palmdale, CA at the LAtCS Thunderdome.  Winners were chosen at random and received their GTE invite a week ago.  I'm happy to be one of the recipients of a Golden Ticket.  I'm excited and looking forward to meeting the podcast crews, and thanking them for having brought me closer to my hobby. 

I wanted to make a T-Shirt to commemorate the event, so I went to Uberprints.com and made a custom shirt.  This is an unofficial WCPA shirt, and the only one ever made.  I plan on getting it signed by the podcast crews.  Later on I'll frame the shirt, and hang it up in my garage as a momento of the event.   

 

 

I came back from the West Coast Podcast Alliance Golden Ticket Event with my shirt signed.  Mission accomplished.