"My first crack at 15mm rucksacks & jetpacks" Topic

One of the background projects I've had going for a while is converting some FOW Soviets to mid-tech sci-fi infantry, mostly by adding face visors, backpacks, etc. However, there is a distinct lack of sci-fi backpacks available for kitbashers (for my current project, I've been using 2-pin jumpers from old motherboards). Therefore, I whipped up a few designs of my own this weekend.

By the way, a common feature of all three of these pack styles is the sprue they are mounted on. Rather than plain round or squarish sprues, I decided to make the sprue itself a useful modelling part, so I created a six-barreled Gatling gun cross-section that is roughly 1.1mm across, just about the right size to convert a crew-served weapon to a Gatling/Vulcan/whatever gun. The upshot is that the Gatling cross-section uses less material than a circle of the same diameter, so the buyer is paying less for the sprue, as well.

1. Hardshell Rucks

This first design was intended to be a hardshell ruck that has access doors all over it. I figure it could be used with body armor or not, but in either case, it definitely imparts a sci-fi air to a model. It might also make a decent powerpack for infantry using energy weapons that require an umbilical line to a pack-mounted power source.

2. ALICE-Style Soft Rucks

These are more of the traditional ALICE-style rucksacks used by contemporary military units (yes, I know -- MOLLE has replaced ALICE, but the concept is what counts). I'm still learning how to create organic shapes and surfaces in Sketchup, and these turned out to be way boxier than I would prefer, but I think they will look okay on the tabletop.

3. Turbofan Jump Packs

I decided to go for a jump pack instead of another rucksack. I'll probably end up doing a second one that is a true "jet" pack, but for this one, I wanted to make something remotely possible in the near future. This pack features two ducted turbofan housings at shoulder height and was inspired by the real-life Martin Aircraft Company jetpack, which is currently under development and has made a number of successful demonstration flights (http://martinjetpack.com/).

So, that's for starters. If there are other types of packs folks would want to see, let me know and I can take a crack at them.

Thanks,
jav98

Wow! Nicely done. A quick way to convert figures for sure.

-Eli

Clever idea on the sprue piece. :) I'll definitely buy a set of those jump packs when they're available.

What about a backpack with some type of over-the-shoulder rocket launcher? Something like that might be enough to "finish" infantry lines that don't have heavy weapon figures. Rebel Minis' Droptroopers and Magistrates come to mind as examples.

-Chris K.

I'll second that :) nice one !

Cheers Matt

Hmmm… good suggestion, Chris! In fact, I can probably just modify the hardshell pack to feature a shoulder-mounted weapon. Thanks, all!

Definitely want some backpacks… always felt that some figures with bare backs would just look better with a simply backpack. Makes me wish that the backpacks that come with Khurasan's DEVGRU/Seal Team Six pack were available separately.

I third that suggestion for over shoulder rocket launchers.

Don't forget this style of maneuvering pack for Zero G:

Damn, I missed the useful sprue part. That's inspired.

-Eli

What can I say? Satisfaction is job #1!

Even if you did not use the sprue as Gatling barrels you could use it for detailing structures or something. It has a nice industrial shape to it.

-Eli

I kind of figured that if you're paying for the material of the sprue itself, it might as well not be a throw-away piece.

<ka-thump!>

<Picks jaw up from floor>
Day-yum, son! Those are awesome!

I like those alot!

Real nice ideas there. Real nice.

John T

You know… I think I might make up another jetpack that looks like this one:

Reason being, is that it can be used for a jetpack or mounted on a flight base and used as a UAV! Maybe I'll make one that looks like the one Iran "shot down":

link

I love the idea of backpack with some type of over-the-shoulder rocket launcher.

I also admire the gatling-rods. Briliant!

You know… I think I might make up another jetpack that looks like this one:

Maybe just a bit smaller, like this 1991 General Hawk figure:

That's the third or fourth time this week I've found inspiration in GI Joe toys. :)

-Chris K.

Cool, thanks, Chris! That's good inspiration, right there.

Another question for our studio audience: I had thought about having a 1mm diameter rod coming out of each pack so that the modeller could drill out the back of the mini and pin the pack to the mini (sort of like those old GI Joes had holes in their backs for the nubs on their backpacks, in fact!). Would that be something that would be helpful to people, or just annoying? Should I provide anything other than a flat surface in the first place, since that may require trimming by the hobbyist who is putting the packs on the sides of a vehicle, for instance?

Thanks,
jav98

Actually Iranians didn't 'shoot down' the RQ-170, they hacked into its CPU feeding it false information making it 'think' it was back in Kandahar and it was about time to land, that's why it shows no trace of damage.

I like the hard shell ruck sack idea as then you can convert a standard trooper figure into a specialist such as a medic, mechanic, tech engineer or even a sniper with the edition of a pinned on weapon to be mounted over the shoulder from your bits box.