Posts made by vodot

@IWillNeverGrowUp said in 3D Printers?:

For things like factories, shipyards, etc a simple home 3D printer works fantastic.
For things like infantry, it gets dodgy, though you CAN still make it work ok with the right settings.

I use a Monoprice Mini Select V2 (found at https://www.monoprice.com/product?c_id=107&cp_id=10724&cs_id=1072403&p_id=21711).

Under $200, small buildplate (which is perfectly fine for these uses) and out-of-the-box functionality (no need to put anything together, just plug it in and you’re ready to start printing essentially). You can use basically any PLA 3D printing material for great results.

Finding the settings that work best for what you’re doing takes time, as does either MAKING the 3D files (which requires some level of experience) or finding the ones you want to print (thingiverse.com is the best source I’ve found for free to use files).

@IWillNeverGrowUp would you be willing to post some images of parts you’ve printed on the mini? I would love to see some comparisons to the IM OOB bits.

Incidentally, what the UK navy in Gibraltar is doing (to that transport) is called “blocking”- it’s a very useful tactic to learn and make use of. Great use for destroyers (fling them out in front of enemy transports and naval groups, just to hamper movement, and especially to prevent one group from joining up with another). Don’t try to use or transports for blocking, though, since enemies can choose to either ignore them or simply steamroll through them, respectively (different A&A games differ on the details of how transports/subs work).

@Midnight_Reaper haha, I knew there would be some oddities like that- No, I’m not a sculpt junkie. US/Commonwealth units masquerading as Russian don’t bother me. The Japanese Italians don’t even bother me, except the type 92 artillery; and only because I think it is the puniest artillery sculpt in the whole A&A universe (except, of course, it’s undeployed version in Revised).

@Midnight_Reaper said in Looking for a G40.2 set or all of the unique units:

Re: Looking for a G40.2 set or all of the unique units
For what you want (everything that makes the 1940s games the 1940s games in the first place: mech inf, tac bombers, France, ANZAC, etc…), HBG will be pricy. You aren’t the first person to have this idea. So let me give you some places to look that might be off your radar: Amazon - normally pricy, but now is the time for sales. eBay - a bit of a crap shoot, but bargains to be had. And not just buying game sets - people part out Axis & Allies games all the time on eBay, so with patience and luck you might find just the pieces you want without paying for extras.

Finally, I suggest you look on BoardGameGeek (BGG). Look up Europe 1940 and Pacific 1940, either directly on their marketplace or look up the games and then see if they have one for sale at a price you like. With time and luck, you could walk away with with a set of the second editions for both Europe 1940 and Pacific 1940 for less than $100 for the both.

I wish you all the luck and patience in the world. But: good, fast, cheap - pick two. In this case: cheap, fast, convenient - pick two.

-Midnight_Reaper

P.S. If you run into issues with BGG, send me a PM and I’ll see if I can help.

Thanks, this is great advice- and I may or may not already have the BGG Marketplaces for both games bookmarked… ;) HBG for the Mech Inf and Tacs is easy and cheap enough, for the most part, although there are some stock issues and price oddities; but the cost of a full ANZAC or French military is prohibitive for me.

@Young-Grasshopper said in Looking for a G40.2 set or all of the unique units:

…looks like you’re trying to pimp out your anniversary edition.

That’s exactly what I’m trying to do! I’d like to have the G40 games as well, if only for solo play- my lifestyle doesn’t lend itself well to >5hr games at the moment. :)

@djensen I’m an engineer in the industrial 3D printer business, which is a bit of a different beast (size of a small car) than a desktop or hobbyist printer (size of a microwave; $250K+ vs ~$1k). I think most people here would do just fine buying prints from Shapeways (who have the funds to buy and use my company’s monster hardware or similar).

While there are fun things you can do in the >50k range that are just not possible on consumer hardware (small scales, huge batches, metals, color, support-free undercuts, better materials, etc), you can definitely design for desktop printers with a little extra effort, and still turn out nice things. What makes it hard is the smallness of A&A pieces and fine details. There’s a reason why HBG is one of the few players in aftermarket A&A pieces: in the past you’ve needed injection-molding tooling to get A&A-type resolution and fine detail on a plastic bit that small, and injection-molding tooling is spendy ($10k and up). You also have to coordinate and pay up-front for batched production runs, then manage and plan inventory levels with precision… I mean, one has only to look at the typical complaints leveled against HBG to know this can be a fraught business. No shortcuts.

Industrial 3D printing is finally disrupting this market (or, at least, my company hopes that it is) but competing with injection molding on level footing is going to be restricted to the big machines with similar pricepoints for some time, unless some great leaps forward occur in the desktop space.

Of course, the promise of 3D printing is an A&A hobbyist’s dream: custom parts, on demand, immediately, for cheap: and it is always getting better, albeit slower than some of us would like. To get good A&A parts out of a desktop 3D printer (<$1k), I think you’d need:

1. Intentional Design (minimum detail size = layer size (~0.2mm typ) , no overhangs or thin bits, etc.)
2. Low(er) expecations re: super-fine details, surface finish, etc.
3. Patience for test-printing and post-processing (cleaning, sanding, treatments) if you wanted to paint or show the parts.

3D is definitely a killer app, but I think the consumer-level units have a ways to go yet before you’ll be cranking out A&A pieces that rival OOB injection-molding (to say nothing of custom, injection-molded premium products like HBG’s). My company has some fascinating things up it’s sleeve, but the pricepoint is high. I think the Shapeways model is how it’s going to be, for at least a few years more. (No, I’m not a shapeways shareholder :) )

Speaking personally, my 3D models are currently in the queue to be printed internally on my company’s hardware, and none of it is really optimized for desktop printers (I have really small features, lots of overhangs, and I’m trying out some of my pieces in color). I’m curious to see how they turn out. I’m going to experimentally load the models up on Shapeways to offer it for print/purchase once I test print and hone them locally.

All just my $0.02. I’d be fascinated to hear someone pipe up with more experience actually trying to get A&A sized things to look good coming out of a desktop 3D printer.

@Midnight_Reaper said in Custom 3D Miniatures: Major & Minor Industrial Complexes, Recruitment Center, Airbase, and Naval Base:

You’ve got some really great pieces here. Thanks for taking feedback and turning it into awesome pieces. You rock!

-Midnight_Reaper

Thanks!

Here’s everything so far:

@rickygraham as @DouchemanMacgee points out, the issue isn’t just the interfering Cruiser, but also the mandatory simultaneity of all combat moves. You can’t clear SZ 12 and then move the transport to SZ 7, because you have to make all combat moves simultaneously. Only combat resolution (rolling dice) happens sequentially, after all combat moves have been completed. Once the dice start rolling the combat move phase of your turn is over.

So, the mediterranean transport cannot pass through SZ 12 on its way to SZ 7 until Germany’s non-combat move, at which time it is too late to conduct an amphibious invasion there.

Your analysis is absolutely correct in that, were this possible, it would be game-breaking.

UPDATE #1: I found a copy of Pacific in the price range I was looking for ($45). Only Europe remains…
UPDATE #2: Found a copy of Europe- that’s a wrap!

Not that I necessarily expect this to be an easy find on this forum, but I’m looking to buy Europe G40 2nd Ed., either the full game or at least a set of the unique units Are there any of you guys with multiple copies looking to offload? Please send me a PM or reply if interested.

Thanks for looking!

@taamvan said in German mass tank build - how to counter?:

If your buddies don’t like the bid, tell them that’s fine–they can play the Allies OOB no bid until they win, you get Axis by default (and will only surrender control of Axis for one case of premium beer delivered at each game start)

Alternatively, your buddies may play the axis against a zero Allied bid, but only if they drink the majority of said case of beer within an hour or two of the game start.

:smirk:

Shipyard!
Shipyard (Thingiverse Link)

Airfield!
Airfield (Thingiverse Link)

size comparison on the ICs (the middle is OOB):

Recruitment Center complete!

Recruitment Center (Thingiverse Link)

@Quirky-Turtle said in Custom Major & Minor Industrial Complexes, Airbase, and Naval Base (3D Models):

Awesome, I’m looking for a way to create 3d versions of the air & navalbase together with @Tjoek. These are definitely along the lines of what we were thinking as well.

For the recruitment center, what about using a 3d model of an army tent? Something like

yeah, that’s what I was thinking, a collection of rectangular low lying buildings. I was going to add an old watch tower just to make them easier to see and physically move around on the table.

this is all kinds of awesome, awaiting the PDF of doom, not to mention your other units and rules

@Midnight_Reaper good idea…

@Midnight_Reaper said in Custom 3D Major Industrial Complex, Airbase, and Naval Base markers:

The plane for the Air Base and the anchor for the Naval Base work fine.

Your Major IC looks factory-like, but I recommend having 1 or 3 smokestacks on your MIC. If you have 2, a careless player may think they have a standard IC. You may not have room for 3, I understand. But putting a “10” on it somewhere, or having 1 smokestack on both the Major and minor IC, and differentiating them in another manner, might be preferable.

Just my 2 IPCs,

-Midnight_Reaper

Good idea… how about 4 smokestacks? Thingiverse Link

Note that the Major IC piece is already 24mm tall (vs 17mm OOB) and has a much larger footprint (17x17 vs 17x10) and two extra little buildings.

Here’s the little Minor IC, with a single smokestack:
Minor IC (Thingiverse Link)

Hi all, here are a few things I’m tinkering with to replace the OOB chits, for those of you with access to a 3D printer.

Download them (for free!) from Thingiverse and print them yourself, or support the designer by ordering them printed on Shapeways! I’m still testing, so Shapeways orders should be considered ‘beta’ orders to help me work out the kinks.

Completed so far:

• Minor IC (single, smaller smokestack; smaller building) (Thingiverse Link)
  – New: Order these printed on Shapeways! QTY 10, QTY 20
• Major IC (four taller-than-OOB smokestacks, larger footprint with small buildings) (Thingiverse Link)
  – New: Order these printed on Shapeways! QTY 10
• Major ICs (same as above with two smokestacks) (Thingiverse Link)
• Naval Base token (reversible) (Thingiverse Link)
• Shipyard miniature (Thingiverse Link)
• Airbase token (reversible) (Thingiverse Link)
• Airfield miniature (Thingiverse Link)
  – New: Order these printed on Shapeways! QTY 10
• Recruitment Center token (reversible) (Thingiverse Link)
• Recruitment Center miniature (Thingiverse Link)

Prototype Image:

Minor IC (Thingiverse Link)
14x8x17mm (vs 17x9x17 IC OOB)
New: Buy on Shapeways! QTY 10, QTY 20

Major IC (Thingiverse Link)
17x17x24mm (vs 17x9x17 IC OOB)

Major IC (v2, climate change edition) (Thingiverse Link)
17x17x24mm (vs 17x9x17 IC OOB)
New: Buy on Shapeways! QTY 10

Naval Base Token (Thingiverse Link)
These are reversible (same relief on bottom side)

Shipyard Miniature (Thingiverse Link)

Airbase Token (Thingiverse Link)
These are reversible (same relief on bottom side)

Airfield Miniature (Thingiverse Link)
Order these printed on Shapeways! QTY 10

Recruitment Center Token Thingiverse Link
These are reversible (same relief on bottom side)

Recruitment Center (Thingiverse Link)

Here’s a size comparison on the ICs (middle one is OOB, for comparison):

@djensen said in Customizers: which A&A games do you own?:

Somebody out there seems to think customizers and people using them don’t own A&A games. :rolling_on_the_floor_laughing:

:rolling_on_the_floor_laughing: :rolling_on_the_floor_laughing: :rolling_on_the_floor_laughing:

One copy each: Revised, Spring 1942, Spring 1942 2nd Ed., and Anniversary (2017) [UPDATE: And Europe '99. And Pacific '01. And Europe 1940.2. And Pacific 1940.2]
Two or three copies: 1941. I was just completely unable to resist a $10 Amazon deal…

…and I 'm actively hunting for deals on Europe & Pacific 1940.2 just bought E&P40.2 along with Europe '99 and Pacific '99. As customizers go, I expect that I am on the lowish side for financial investment at something like $200 $320. While I would expect that most customizers are indeed bargain-hunters that love the idea of fan-made, royalty-free expansions… that doesn’t in any way mean we aren’t simultaneously the most devoted user-base and market for the OOB games themselves. I can’t wait to see the numbers put up by some of the heavyweights here…

@Tjoek said in Tjoek's custom roundels and tokens:

sample prints that my kids had hidden somewhere… but all’s good now except for the spare time at the moment.

haha dude I feel your pain. The look on my four year old’s face when she opened the door and saw Anniversary setup on the floor… I had a subsequent week or so of “Let’s play axis and allies” requests every morning and evening. I gave her the 1941 board and some '41 bits to play with. :)

@Imperious-Leader wow that second thread, in particular, is fascinating- I can’t believe nobody replied. Now that @Dagon81 has donated this aweseome card art, I think it’s time to incarnate @Mr-Andersson’s work…