Meiczyslaw | 04 Oct 2013 1:52 p.m. PST |
I'm currently writing a spaceship game, and I've just realized that my 2-D rules will port to 3-D with only one change. (I'd need to adjust the firing arcs.) This has got me wondering about telescoping flight stands — I'm looking for stands that max out at four feet (1.2 meters if I'm remembering the conversion). Ideally, the ships mounted on them can be turned to various flight angles, including inverted flight. So given what I'm looking for, does anybody have any recommendations? EDIT: I'm in the U.S., if that makes a difference. |
Raptoruk369 | 04 Oct 2013 2:08 p.m. PST |
Talk to Corsec Engineering, they will have exactly what you need, or will consider bespoke work. corseceng.com
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gameorpaint | 04 Oct 2013 2:30 p.m. PST |
4'? Sounds awesome, but are you considering that you'd need wider bases or a very solid table in order to keep them stable at that height? Make sure whoever you go with is thinking about that. |
John the OFM | 04 Oct 2013 2:39 p.m. PST |
I used telescopic magnetic pickup tools. Google them. There is a wide variety, and you can even get them with the other end threaded. Get the right type screw and you can glue a long screw with JB Weld to a metal base. I would avoid 4' lengths. With a mini on one end, they will be very prone to falling over. |
CorSecEng | 04 Oct 2013 4:15 p.m. PST |
Your going to have a lot of stability problems at 4'. Well unless you have an 8" wooden base. Our stands are about 2' max and work great. We have 5 different types. In short, our system will let you build the best stand to meet your needs. Edit: Well unless you need is 4' long telescoping rods :) |
John the OFM | 04 Oct 2013 4:50 p.m. PST |
I would go with CorSecEng's stuff. Mine are made from scratch, and took forever to get right. It involved thread gages and all that engineering crap you do not really need to know or worry about. One thing I DO recommend, and that is to use nail heads on your minis instead of magnets. The flight stands will be magnetic, and strong enough to hold on to iron or steel. Use a nail head, and all polarities will be OK. No need to carefully match flight stand polarity with model polarity. A cheap wire cutting pliers will snap off the nail shaft. Nails are "soft" iron, but do not waste your sprue nippers on them. The results will be brutal on your expensive tool. Use cheap wire cutters. |
jimklein1966 | 04 Oct 2013 6:05 p.m. PST |
I would recommend Corsec as well. If they dont have what you need in their catalog they can often do custom work. Why do you need 4' ? How big are the models you are going use? |
Meiczyslaw | 04 Oct 2013 8:15 p.m. PST |
John, that's a really good tip about the magnets. As for 4', that's predicated on the current ranges. Given that 3-D gives you more space, I might be able to get away with a smaller footprint. I will ponder. |
Parzival | 05 Oct 2013 7:34 a.m. PST |
4' is longer than my kitchen table is wide, and generally the width of most playing spaces that I know of. At that point, it appears to me that you're basically saying the entire battlefield is at least at extreme range of some class of weapon. So for weapons that have a 4' range, why not simply changed their extreme range to "unlimited." Then your vertical displacement need be only as tall as your next range level down (presumably 3'); so 3'+1" on the rod. |
Hondo911 | 05 Oct 2013 9:36 p.m. PST |
Well, if 4' is the table width, then what's wrong with using it for table height as well? Sorry, Parzival, but I have to disagree with your assessment. Regardless, when can I see the rules? |
Meiczyslaw | 05 Oct 2013 11:16 p.m. PST |
The battlefield is set up so that the fleets are just outside each other's measure, so there is the possibility of some small amount of pre-battle manuever. (The fleets start 30" apart, and max beam weapon range is 24" — but typical deadly range is 18" and in.) For 2-D, this has worked great. Honestly, the biggest thing troubling me about a four-foot-high table is reaching the peak of the center of the board. A 3-D version of the game should probably use shorter ranges and smaller minis, just so that the players can easily reach everything. As for "when", I'm hoping the 2-D rules will be ready for the local Con, which is usually in April. I'll need to recruit blind play-testers before then, but I'm not ready yet. |
TheBeast | 06 Oct 2013 7:20 a.m. PST |
Two ideas: One) you switch to centimeters, as each measurement is only two fifths as big, and it's more wordly, and scientific. ;->= Two) reduce tippyness by lightweight, scratch-built ships. I know those you've shown are darn pretty, but you're obviously gifted with adept hands. ;->= Doug |
Meiczyslaw | 06 Oct 2013 9:10 a.m. PST |
1: I started with centimeters. My players hated them. We're 'merkins, dangit! 2: My vision of spaceships is very mechanical, and not organic at all. I do have some 3-D modeling software on my iPad, but have't put in the time to generate my own. Also — not all spaceship mini manufacturers use lead. Ravenstar casts in resin. (Yeah, I know they're flakes, but the only complaint I have with their actual product is that their mounting holes are too small.) |
Aldroud | 09 Oct 2013 9:46 a.m. PST |
Why do you call Ravenstar flakes? I rather am taken by their models. I would love to do some 3d gaming. The telescoping mirror arm suggestion from John is genius, check out his tutorial sometime. Although I get the 4' desire, perhaps for gaming purposes you might consider all z-axis measurements has half those of x-y plane measurements. That gives a good visual representation of 3d combat without asking players to stand on tip toes to reach the top of the battlespace. |
TheBeast | 09 Oct 2013 10:41 a.m. PST |
Yeah, but you can always mark sticks in half inches. As for 2), do it yourself can look very mechanical, and even be pretty easy. I'm currently taking cheap plastic squirt guns (sorry to our British friends, 'water pistols'), cutting off the pistol grips, throwing away the ones that crack too severely, and putting them on sticks for outdoors. I should have more trouble with wind than the weight. I've made some that never gamed out of cardboard tubes. Doug |
Meiczyslaw | 09 Oct 2013 7:50 p.m. PST |
Why do you call Ravenstar flakes? Because they are. Go check out the Cold Navy forum over at Star Ranger, and you'll see all sorts of unkept promises, including line expansion and getting a shopping site set up. That said, I have NEVER heard of them taking anyone's money and not delivering. |
tkdguy | 09 Oct 2013 7:59 p.m. PST |
I recently ordered some Cold Navy stuff from Ravenstar, and I'm pleased with my product. |
Private Matter | 26 Nov 2013 7:33 a.m. PST |
Sorry I'm late to the dance but I highly recommend these flight stands: link They may not go to four feet but they sure are stable. |
Dexter Ward | 13 Dec 2013 3:11 a.m. PST |
For a spaceship game, how much does 3D actually add? It make a big difference for air games, cos the third dimension involves gravity, but in space one direction is much like another. I used telescopic magnetic pickup tools (which extend to about 15 inches) for my 1:72 WW1 planes. These are glued into 18mm thick MDF hexes about 3 inches across. |
Meiczyslaw | 16 Dec 2013 7:37 p.m. PST |
For a spaceship game, how much does 3D actually add? Are the rings of Saturn an obstacle? However you model them in 2D is incomplete.
cos the third dimension involves gravity
Lower tech spaceship games also involve gravity. And possibly magnetic fields. And plasma flow.
I'll let you know when I finally get around to trying it out. It'll probably be after I get the 2D version of the rules squared away, so after April. |