"IDEA: 15mm Monolithic Dome Dwellings" Topic

I would love for someone to make and produce low-profile dwellings like these, for either ice or desert planets, where the wind is a major problem:

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lhasafoundation.org

They could also work for structures on moons. Who knows? Maybe even the fantasy crowd could purchase them as hobbit holes, which would be about 15mm in a 28mm game setting!

What do you guys think?

Dan

Those would be great. I really don't care for "packing crate" scifi buildings, except that they would be more easily transported. Now buildings like these could be transported and blown up and then oversprayed with some sort of self hardening material.

The next time you get home and have some free time, get some Sculpy or Fimo clay and give yourself an hour of "creative" time.

Cheers,

Jim

I like that idea, Jim.

If I had an actual oven in my hotel room, I'd start right now.

Dan

Very cool idea!!

All you need is some acrylic half spheres from the hobby store, sandpaper, plastic primer and textured spray paint

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scuff all over with some 150grit paper, spray with a "plastic primer" and then with some textured paint.

you could add details with plasticard or model train building parts.

These would be easy to make.

Looks like you need to find some product that is packaged in a hemisphere plastic blister, or haunt the Japanese toy vending machines to pick up the capsule halves for your raw materials. Some cutting and a coat of paint and you are away. If you don't the structures to be hollow, then any dollar store should have small balls that you can cut in half.

Styrofoam balls can be used as well.

CC, they do sell air drying clay as well.

La La Dipsy link

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Hmmm.

Well, I was hoping to only have to sculpt them once, and then just make a latex mould, so I can get multiples later.

Dan

Try to find some Tibetan singing bowls and see if they will give the desired mould shape for you.

Dan, I'm tempted to do some paper models of stuff like this. If I can recover it I have a reactor dome that I did for a sci-fi power plant.

Looks like you need to find some product that is packaged in a hemisphere plastic blister, or haunt the Japanese toy vending machines to pick up the capsule halves for your raw materials. Some cutting and a coat of paint and you are away. If you don't the structures to be hollow, then any dollar store should have small balls that you can cut in half.

In the UK you used to be able to get plastic hemispheres from the model materials workshop. As far as i am aware, they are still available, and probably from other ABS plastic suppliers too.

In the UK you used to be able to get plastic hemispheres from the model materials workshop. As far as i am aware, they are still available, and probably from other ABS plastic suppliers too.

Actually, i meant EMA model supplies. Some of the plastic domes are flourescent colours. These might work quite well for an appropriate scenarion (i.e. a blue shade to screen out harmful u.v. rays/excess heat on a desert world)

And interesting source of curious and non-standard domed structures are the bottom of one and two litre soda bottles. You can get dome of a good size but you can also get domes with several peaks on them.

I am considering the ones with multiple peaks as residential domes with each peak being a heater chimney for small stoves inside.

-Eli

TMP link

Grabula,

Love that look!

Dan

We actually have some similar dwellings here in town. 'The Domes', or 'Bag End' is an experimental student housing commune. The buildings are fairly small, designed for two occupants, but are reasonably cozy. For hippies. Serious hippy-dom there. Rumor has it the best weed in town comes from there.

daviswiki.org/The_Domes

They're single-sphere, and VERY small, but for those living there, it's heaven.

Not sure if this is what you're after but I used Sculptamold and some plastic packaging to make this:
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It was designed for 6mm but works well in 15mm as well.

"Amaco Sculptamold"?

I've gotta try it. Thanks Dave!

Dan

These Cal-Earth pics look nice:

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I can just imagine a bunch of post apocalyptic hippies building a commune of those. :)

Dan

Dan to many pictures, to many options.

Which style would you prefer ?
I can not make them all.

Mike

Have you seen link

Andrew
blog.kings-sleep.me.uk
2mmwars.blogspot.com

They look great, very effective.

Mike

Mike,

I really like this particular style and layout (called the "Moon Cocoon"):

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As the links above show, for a small dwelling you would want it more egg-like than just a circular dome.

What do you think of it?

Dan

They look great.
Do you want to be able to put figures inside?
They may look a little different with a removable roof.

My next lot of desert dwellings are finshed.

The shanty town buildings are well on their way.
I hope to get these released by the end of the month.
So they will be next.

Mike

Do you want the doors and windows similar to the pictures or more Sci/Fi looking.

Mike

Q: "Do you want to be able to put figures inside? They may look a little different with a removable roof."

Let me give that some thought. I would prefer removable over fixed, but not if it morphs the design to the extreme.

Q: "Do you want the doors and windows similar to the pictures or more Sci/Fi looking."

More SF, without going overboard. Even a simple smooth window, like this, might do the job:

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That way you can't pin down if they are for human or alien use (or for fantasy customers, for that matter). Maximize your sales potential that way.

Dan

OK
I am working on 30 buiding accessories at the moment, vents Sci / fi doors and windows, lots of little bits.
As soon as they are finished and in production I will do a couple of buildings.

Mike

I really like the smoothed-out mud/stucco texture on that small domed dwelling:

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It's a lot smoother than what I did here:

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But, of course, I was aiming for a "chewed pulp" look of a wasp (or chewed mud of a termite) nest.

Dan

They do the Job,

I will make a couple of smaller dwellings with a couple of domes and a larger one with 4 domes.

See what people think and how they sell.

I will try to get started on them in about a week.

Mike

The main windows could be done just like the small ones in this picture here – very simple and versatile:

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Dan

Or, as in the case of the domed dwellings on Tatooine, you can keep windows to a minimum:

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Dan

I do a lot of 'dollar store' and charity-thrift shop browsing and have found bowls I make into 'master molds' for casting needed dome shapes or structures.

Another quick and dirty source is fast food-takeaway containers, well worth a visit to your local sandwich-salad venue to see what's 'available'.

Good Hunting !

The local hobby shop carries hollow paper mache balls, cylinders and boxes in various sizes for a dollar or two. By some gratuitous cutting you could assemble a large complex then just coat/paint.

-Binhan

Also "POM" pomegranate juice bottles have a nice bulbous shape. I've also seen the bottom ends of some tennis ball cans that seem particularly bulbous. For that matter, some old tennis balls cut in half might do the trick.

Cheap plastic toy balls (often found in the dollar bin) make good masters to make molds from or even as originals (although the plastic they use is rather slick and hard to paint).

-Binhan