Dr. Offset's Creature Laboratorium

Uniherd Concept art

noreply@blogger.com (drOffset) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 00:27:40 PST

Uniherd Concept art
Originally uploaded by drOffset

Way back in 2010 Privateer Press released some playtest rules for a new faction in their game Warmachine. I did these sketches that week but never shared them. It's a new year so here you go, some Uniherd proxy minis.

Here's the original post so you know where this all comes from.
privateerpress.com/community/privateer-insider/insider-4/...

Adding grass

noreply@blogger.com (drOffset) — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 17:52:11 PST

Just playing it by ear at this point. I've gone through two things of green static grass making some irregular patches of grass, and then you can see on the left where I've gone over it with a spray bottle of watered down blue-green paint and then a darker shade of it. There's still some space to add more, so I'll do that and then spray the rest, then after it dries reapply the original grass to bits here and there to bring it back up a bit.

Game mat WIP

noreply@blogger.com (drOffset) — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 16:59:59 PST

Working a bit more, I got a fleece blanket from the big box store for $4, perfect to try to make a game mat out of it. Here's where it is so far. It will get some grass added to it but I'm not sure whether to paint it on like a drybrush or to actually glue patches of static grass onto it. Some of the grey patches will be painted up to look more like stone or clay.

Untitled by drOffset, on Flickr

Untitled by drOffset, on Flickr

Building some new terrain bits

noreply@blogger.com (drOffset) — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 19:02:57 PST

I've started building terrain again in preparation for SR2012. I'd like to design some terrain specifically for scenarios so to get into the feel of it I'm starting with some bits and pieces.

Here are some boulders for the recent Domination release events. Aluminium foil plastered and painted. They came out so-so, I'm happy with them. Some standing stone monuments would be good to do this way for obstructions.

Untitled by drOffset, on Flickr

Here are some crates and barrels, the crates are 3/4 inch tall. The barrels will look better when painted(I hope.) Cardboard and sculpey.

Untitled by drOffset, on Flickr

Finally a building made out of foamcore board. I peeled off the paper on the front and sculpted in the detail into the foam. I like it but might try a different approach. It's based off of a picture in Prime MKII.

Untitled by drOffset, on Flickr

So yeah, i'll eventually do a sort of urban styled table with an eye towards the scenario measurements. So if there's an 8" circle as part of the scenario I'll have some terrain bits modeled up on an 8" circular base of a fountain or oil derrek or something.

Here's what the SR2011 field looks like all together. I see sidewalks and fountains in it, maybe some park areas, still thinking about it.

Warmachine Steamroller 2011 scenario thing by drOffset, on Flickr

Free Download - 15mm Corridor Tiles!

noreply@blogger.com (drOffset) — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 21:31:20 PST

Because I'd love to see the 15mm scale sci-fi community grow I decided to go ahead and share this file for free.

Here is the eps file that you can use to laser cut the full set of 15mm scale corridors.

The file is in their system and it's all ready to send to cut, just set your preferred cutting location in your account settings and material and it's ready to go. Cutting/material/shipping/tax comes to about 100 US dollars.

I've optimized the file as much as possible but it's quite a lot of cutting lines and it attempts to make use of all of the real estate. I couldn't make it any cheaper but the file is there if you have your own way to do it.

Here's a video about it!
...

...

I'm releasing this file with a Creative Commons licence in the hope that people will customize the design and share it along for everyone. The file lives on the Ponoko website because they have a great service that is availlable in the US, Europe, and here in New Zealand. No I don't work for them.

I'll repost the previous images so that you can see what you get.

The door stand-ups are constructed from three easy bits.

Here's a layout using almost all of the tiles except a few of the straight ones.

Let me know what you think!

If you have it in your heart to donate minis or moneys to me I'd appreciate it.

http://www.ponoko.com/design-your-own/products/15mm-scale-corridor-tiles-full-set-nz-6718

Enjoy!

The miniature shown in these images are by Rebel Minis. I did not create this miniature, no IP infringement is intended.

Flip Lip

noreply@blogger.com (drOffset) — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 16:28:06 PDT

Flip Lip
Originally uploaded by drOffset

Flip Lip

Siren

noreply@blogger.com (drOffset) — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 00:45:18 PDT

Siren
Originally uploaded by drOffset

Siren

XL Star + 8 bit A/D Converter Part 1 of 3

noreply@blogger.com (drOffset) — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 19:29:24 PDT

I found this really nifty device on a local auction site and decided to integrate it into my larger synth setup.

The box has 8 analog inputs that run through an ADC0809 chip. This is an analog-digital converter that will send its output, an 8-bit digital word, to a serial port on the other end.

What I'm planning to do is use the XL-Star as a control device for the A/D converter by attaching LDRs to each of the 8 legs of the star. Hopefully this will produce an interesting data stream for my shift registers to chew on.

15mm Sci-Fi corridor system

noreply@blogger.com (drOffset) — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 20:30:26 PDT

I was happy with the results I got from Ponoko with the laser cut gaming proxies and decided to take it a step further.

This is a set of modular corridor tiles for 15mm scale gaming. The tiles are transparent with 20mm squares laser etched into the surface creating just enough contrast and texture to set the spaces apart. Fantasy, scifi, doesn't matter. You can adapt these pieces to any setting.

I plan to adapt the Gruntz rules into a close quarters sci-fi exploration game where brave Grunty dudes have to defend themselves against rogue robots and aggressive aliens.

This set contains all the tiles you need to recreate your favorite game scenarios with plenty of extras.

The tiles can be painted but you can see that I need a bit of practice!

The door stand-ups are constructed from three easy bits.

Here's a layout using almost all of the tiles except a few of the straight ones.

Let me know what you think! Is this something you would find fun to use for gaming? I already have a plan for an expansion set based on wider hallways.

The Cult of Done Manifesto

noreply@blogger.com (drOffset) — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 20:45:22 PDT

From http://www.brepettis.com/blog/2009/3/3/the-cult-of-done-manifesto.html

The Cult of Done Manifesto

There are three states of being. Not knowing, action and completion.
Accept that everything is a draft. It helps to get it done.
There is no editing stage.
Pretending you know what you're doing is almost the same as knowing what you are doing, so just accept that you know what you're doing even if you don't and do it.
Banish procrastination. If you wait more than a week to get an idea done, abandon it.
The point of being done is not to finish but to get other things done.
Once you're done you can throw it away.
Laugh at perfection. It's boring and keeps you from being done.
People without dirty hands are wrong. Doing something makes you right.
Failure counts as done. So do mistakes.
Destruction is a variant of done.
If you have an idea and publish it on the internet, that counts as a ghost of done.
Done is the engine of more.

From http://www.brepettis.com/blog/2009/3/3/the-cult-of-done-manifesto.html

What's your best Mac&Cheese recipe?

noreply@blogger.com (drOffset) — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 17:30:02 PDT

We've all seen it, a restaraunt serving up what they CLAIM to be mac&cheese but is actually some kind of bland alfredo mess. Something they CLAIM to be a tasty cheesy sauce but is instead a pale pasty beshamel, more flour than creme, who's only connection to cheese is that it might have sat next to some as it coagulated in the fridge.

Well I say NO to this injustice. Here's the challenge I place before you and myself: Help me right this wrong. Share your best Mac&Cheese recipe with he world. Make it tasty, cheesy, creamy, ooey and gooey.

Thank you.

Void Seer Mordikaar

noreply@blogger.com (drOffset) — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 22:28:02 PDT

mordikaar
Originally uploaded by drOffset

I'm doing a challenge with http://thrallblacks.blogspot.com . It's simple, just paint one mini a week and send in a picture. Here's last week's.

Bronzeback Titan

noreply@blogger.com (drOffset) — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 22:27:32 PDT

bronzeback
Originally uploaded by drOffset

I'm doing a challenge with http://thrallblacks.blogspot.com . It's simple, just paint one mini a week and send in a picture. Here's this week's.

XL_Star demo board Road Test

noreply@blogger.com (drOffset) — Sun, 10 Jul 2011 12:16:04 PDT

Please rate and comment!

Element14 and Freescale Semiconductor bring you an exciting new microcontroller board called the XL_Star and I managed to get a review copy to show to you. This board has a lot of potential for the DIY synth community when it comes to motion based control interfaces because of the pre-configured accelerometer right on board.

element14
Freescale
Semiconductor
XL_Star Demo Board

Not only that but you have a chance to get a free board yourself by entering in their Summer of Design contest that runs until September. Check out http://www.element14.com/community/groups/summerofdesign for more information.

Laser cut wargaming proxies

noreply@blogger.com (drOffset) — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 15:00:19 PDT

I'm playing around with some laser cut materials from Ponoko, a service based here in New Zealand. Today we look at some proxy card standups I made for a 15mm sci-fi game called Gruntz. I whipped these up to try out the laser cutting service and have some minis to try the game on for size.

I'm someone who likes to use proxies, and this is a great way to create very tidy cutouts without slaving over a cutting mat at home.

You can find info about Gruntz at http://www.gruntz.biz/

I also made some simple 20mm bases for my 6mm light vehicles.

Unboxing some new Skorne models

noreply@blogger.com (drOffset) — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 16:23:50 PDT

Just having some fun with new models for Hordes by Privateer Press. I play the Skorne faction. Hordes and Warmachine are compatible and can be played against each other.

Friday Night Noise 03

noreply@blogger.com (drOffset) — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 16:07:06 PDT

I tore out the brain of an old cheapo keyboard and managed to make it loop. The guitar is a custom SG clone through a Roland Cube 30x.

Hakko 936 Unboxing

noreply@blogger.com (drOffset) — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 16:24:07 PDT

Found a great deal online for this much-loved soldering iron. It's a discontinued item but it has a great reputation and the tips are abundant, so we're going for it.

Friday Night Noise 02

noreply@blogger.com (drOffset) — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 16:01:10 PDT

Raw output from the lab. Tonight it's the experimental RFeng voice driven by my 16 step up/down sequencer of doom.

This module is a blast to play with. It has plenty of character and is a great project for people who need a good voice to make their sequencer go.

Check out RF's great channel at: http://www.youtube.com/user/bchris1776

Review: Pixco 43mm Wide Angle Conversion Lens for the Canon Vixia HV30

noreply@blogger.com (drOffset) — Mon, 23 May 2011 18:46:43 PDT

I'm trying to up my game a bit so I bought this wide angle lens for the camera I already have. The gain in coverage is minimal but the quality of the picture is nice for such a low price. Where this lens really shines is the macro setting. I'm able to zoom way into a miniature to see tiny details. Without the macro lens that same zoom setting would be very blurry.

I'm assisted today by Hakaar the Destroyer, a model from the Skorne faction by Privateer Press.

555 Contest results, Warmachine news, fingerboard funbox mini project.

noreply@blogger.com (drOffset) — Tue, 03 May 2011 04:18:25 PDT

News for May 2011.

The results are in for the 555 contest. I won second place in the Artistic category! see http://www.555contest.com for a full list of winners.

I'm building a mini synth voice that a friend is designing. See the progress inside.,

There's a new blog on the scene for Warmachine and Hordes players! http://thrallblacks.blogspot.com features the players of New Zealand.

I took fourth in a Warmachine tournament recently running Epic Morghoul. Good times, except for the epic beating I took in the third game.

My friend and I bought some Tech Deck fingerboards to learn some tricks on while on vacation. Instead of practicing I've been building nice sturdy ramps, a pole bank, and a big funbox. I'm also starting to do some custom painted decks.

555 Contest Entry

noreply@blogger.com (drOffset) — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 18:45:19 PST

Update: Big thanks to Hack A Day and Matrixsynth for writing this up. :)

This post will serve as my official entry into the 555 timer design contest. More info on the contest can be found at 555contest.com.

The project is a sculpture of a creature with the circuit components embedded into the body.

In a post apocalyptic world life takes on new meaning. In an effort to compensate for the lack of food and nutrients some living things integrate electronic components into their organs and tissue. Hearts are replaced with oscillators, eyes with phototransistors, etc.

This is an artifact brought back from an exploratory mission to the blasted planet. It's a kid toy! What you do is capture one of these little bugs, keep it in the dome, then ZAP it with various frequencies to see what it does.

Here is a sampling of images documenting the circuit and build process.

More images are available in the Flickr Set.

555 project hardware fitting.

noreply@blogger.com (drOffset) — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 16:01:10 PDT

555 project hardware fitting.
Originally uploaded by drOffset

Latest 555 contest progress shot.

The hardware fits!
The custom knobs are made from rubber grommets and green stuff.

Next stop, nest and habitat building.

See more info at www.555contest.com

555 dome progress

noreply@blogger.com (drOffset) — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 00:48:56 PST

555 dome progress
Originally uploaded by drOffset

I'm happy with this one. I cut off more of the stem and found a cap for it. My wife said it looks like an aquarium without the water or a snow globe without the globe. Perfect, my plan is coming together.

After this I need to:
Paint the cap to match the body,
Build the nest that she'll live in,
Do the wiring, test the circuit,
Build the knobs
Finish the bug sculpt
Paint the bug.

All before March... Can it be done? Stay tuned

555 dome test

noreply@blogger.com (drOffset) — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 00:48:56 PST

555 dome test
Originally uploaded by drOffset

Finally found a clear dome for the 555 bug to live in. I'm worried that it might look too much like a wine glass turned upside down with the stem cut off.... which is what it is. I'll need to come up with some kind of cap for it.