Miniature Appreciation Thread

beetle496 · 11-11-2021, 07:55 AM

Now that I am getting closer to being done painting the core dozen miniatures, I thought I would take the time to note a few features I am appreciating about them. These are things which I didn’t pick up on before I started to paint.

Please be encouraged to add to the list!

I like how elements are reused. Maybe the best example is what is obviously a flame weapon on Dragon and Hotshot. There has to be a nearly infinite number of ways to model a gun barrel and stock. It helps my sense of immersion to see small repeated details with the magazines, the receivers, the cooling blades, etc. But it is not just the weapons, as there are other repeated elements as well.
Building on the above, many weapons are such very nice matches to the card graphics. And again, Dragon and Hotshot are great examples of this. That is not just a generic flame weapon, it is very obviously the Fire Lance. The card graphics have informed my painting.
I also appreciate balance between honoring the details of cards and providing players flexibility. Yes, the big guns on Dragon and Hotshot are obviously flame weapons, but they do not have to be the Fire Lance specifically. And if a flame weapon is not in my build, there are 10+ other models to choose from. If lasers are my thing, I can pick a miniature with one of the boxy guns. The large and small bore weapons are appropriate for the full range of Shred and Slug weapons. I don’t think it would ever be the case that a player could not find a good match to their build from the core set. It is purposefull design which helps with immersion, and makes the game more fun.

Sam Mitschke · 11-11-2021, 09:21 AM

We put so much work into that, so I'm very glad you noticed — it means a lot. Thank you for saying that!

beetle496 · 11-12-2021, 04:21 AM

There are other small charming details in the models, but my favorite so far is the pilot light on the Dragon Lance.

beetle496 · 11-13-2021, 08:32 AM

What are the factions / themes people are feeling from the miniatures?

Are the distinctions / classes / family absolutely clear to anyone?

I am seeing a sports car genre, some with retro deliberately anachronistic features, and a space ship esthetic with others.

There are are also models with distinct off-road and construction features.

I had expected that this sort of categorization would have been pretty obvious for me, but now I don’t think I could put more than four cars into any one grouping. I had also expected that there would fewer examples of cars which defy this kind of sorting!

I like it!

One benefit of the miniature sets as they are is that there is this deliberate discordant but complimentary characteristic. I have come to think of them as six sets, with two things going on within each set:

weapon variety (as noted as third numbered bullet in my OP for this thread)
aesthetic variety

The idea of having a number of cars all with a similar paint scheme appeals to me. But I am struggling to work it out: Which cars should be in each set?

Probably I am overthinking this! I doubt any player will be much annoyed at all, should I decide that their pick is limited to one of the five cars in set three — since those are the ones that I happened to have painted with a yellow base coat — and I think the playmat looks better with everyone using transparent bases.

HeatDeath · 11-13-2021, 01:18 PM

The faction packs were going to be three minis each. https://www.tribality.com/2016/08/10...s-6th-edition/

One of the original factions was an A.I. faction. The miniature now known as Spark was one of the earliest pieces of released concept art, showcasing this faction. Sledge is clearly of the same aesthetic. Pillbug may be too.

43Supporter · 11-13-2021, 01:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by beetle496

What are the factions / themes people are feeling from the miniatures?

Haven't had a chance to really deep-dive into that; but I do remember _AutoDuel_ [the video game] had a section on vehicle-design "archetypes", like the "rabbit" (high speed; low armor and weapons), the "turtle" (heavy armor; low speed), etc. I suppose one could come up with similar archetypes for 6E.

baakyocalder · 11-13-2021, 08:57 PM

When I receive my add-ons, which includes a copy of the Vehicle Guide and miniatures sets 2 and 4, I'll have a good idea of the strategies for each vehicle.

Armor is set for each vehicle based on the game size, but the use of structure and upgrades indicates whether a design is built more around 'Speed is my Armor' or 'Structures Are My Armor.'

Based on what I've seen so far, a lot of the cars with Possum as a driver seem to be 'push the edge since Possum + airless tires means you can pretty much drive with no tire issues until the lack of control and poor defense and limited ability to make turns eventually kills you.'

So far my favorite 10-point build is the Superflash. The lasers are meant to win at range and light ceramic plates on 3 sides buys you time to position yourself. Sadly, the lack of a rear weapon and a lousy driver and no accessories can be limiting if the defenders roll well on defense. The Dragon also seems to be pretty good, since Ghost can change speeds by 2 for 1 Control and Whiplash has a Hand Cannon which averages 1.5 damage before Defense rolls beyond 2 car lengths and gets about 2 damage within 2 car lengths (extra blue is extra half damage) and can be fired from any arc.

I'm trying to make some ramcar designs like the Omega series from Vehicle Guide 3 but it's a lot harder to do in this version of the game.

beetle496 · 11-14-2021, 09:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HeatDeath

The faction packs were going to be three minis each…

Thanks for that! I missed it or didn’t care so much back in 2016.

Quote:

One of the original factions was an A.I. faction. The miniature now known as Spark was one of the earliest pieces of released concept art, showcasing this faction. Sledge is clearly of the same aesthetic. Pillbug may be too.

Wow, yes! I agree about Sledge, but that might not have occurred to me, had you not mentioned it. Pillbug sort of fits the aesthetic, but clearly has windows that accommodate human crew. Kodiak in Set 4 is not quite the same aesthetic, but might not have humans. (But is that is a hatch on the roof?) I would also be inclined to put Avalanche in this grouping, since the spherical cockpit could be a sensor array, and there are no obvious doors.

For my “space ship aesthetic”, I was also thinking of Hydra and Stilletto, but I like the AI faction idea better.

Sam Mitschke · 11-14-2021, 10:07 AM

Avalanche was definitely intended to fit the AI aesthetic, and though it wasn't intentional when I drew it, I always thought that Kodiak fit in well, too.

On the production side of things, letting the car designs wander outside of strict faction aesthetics helped immensely with completing the minis sculpts without a lot of time-consuming revisions. I could sketch up weirder/more fun cars, and the sculptors had more freedom to make changes on the fly to facilitate mold release and parts durability.

HeatDeath · 11-14-2021, 12:21 PM

I'd love to see an Illuminator post (or series thereof) highlighting those old B/W 3/4 view concept arts. Even/especially the weird ones, like the half tracks, or the one on the second link here, which I don't recall ever having seen, even back in the day. Were these you, Sam, or Brandon Moore, or a mix?

http://www.sjgames.com/img/newsq/illq/2016/CarWars1.png

http://www.sjgames.com/img/newsq/illq/2016/CarWars2.png

The miniature currently know as Spike is in there somewhere too, essentially unmodified.

11-11-2021, 07:55 AM	#1
beetle496 Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Frederick, MD	Miniature Appreciation Thread Now that I am getting closer to being done painting the core dozen miniatures, I thought I would take the time to note a few features I am appreciating about them. These are things which I didn’t pick up on before I started to paint. Please be encouraged to add to the list! I like how elements are reused. Maybe the best example is what is obviously a flame weapon on Dragon and Hotshot. There has to be a nearly infinite number of ways to model a gun barrel and stock. It helps my sense of immersion to see small repeated details with the magazines, the receivers, the cooling blades, etc. But it is not just the weapons, as there are other repeated elements as well. Building on the above, many weapons are such very nice matches to the card graphics. And again, Dragon and Hotshot are great examples of this. That is not just a generic flame weapon, it is very obviously the Fire Lance. The card graphics have informed my painting. I also appreciate balance between honoring the details of cards and providing players flexibility. Yes, the big guns on Dragon and Hotshot are obviously flame weapons, but they do not have to be the Fire Lance specifically. And if a flame weapon is not in my build, there are 10+ other models to choose from. If lasers are my thing, I can pick a miniature with one of the boxy guns. The large and small bore weapons are appropriate for the full range of Shred and Slug weapons. I don’t think it would ever be the case that a player could not find a good match to their build from the core set. It is purposefull design which helps with immersion, and makes the game more fun. Last edited by beetle496; 11-11-2021 at 10:13 AM.

11-11-2021, 09:21 AM	#2
Sam Mitschke Chief Creative Officer Join Date: Dec 2014 Location: Austin, TX	Re: Miniature Appreciation Thread We put so much work into that, so I'm very glad you noticed — it means a lot. Thank you for saying that!

11-12-2021, 04:21 AM	#3
beetle496 Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Frederick, MD	Re: Miniature Appreciation Thread There are other small charming details in the models, but my favorite so far is the pilot light on the Dragon Lance.

11-13-2021, 08:32 AM	#4
beetle496 Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Frederick, MD	Re: Miniature Appreciation Thread What are the factions / themes people are feeling from the miniatures? Are the distinctions / classes / family absolutely clear to anyone? I am seeing a sports car genre, some with retro deliberately anachronistic features, and a space ship esthetic with others. There are are also models with distinct off-road and construction features. I had expected that this sort of categorization would have been pretty obvious for me, but now I don’t think I could put more than four cars into any one grouping. I had also expected that there would fewer examples of cars which defy this kind of sorting! *I like it!* One benefit of the miniature sets as they are is that there is this deliberate discordant but complimentary characteristic. I have come to think of them as six sets, with two things going on within each set: weapon variety (as noted as third numbered bullet in my OP for this thread) aesthetic variety The idea of having a number of cars all with a similar paint scheme appeals to me. But I am struggling to work it out: Which cars should be in each set? Probably I am overthinking this! I doubt any player will be much annoyed at all, should I decide that their pick is limited to one of the five cars in set three — since those are the ones that I happened to have painted with a yellow base coat — and I think the playmat looks better with everyone using transparent bases. Last edited by beetle496; 11-21-2021 at 10:46 AM. Reason: match tense

11-13-2021, 01:18 PM	#5
HeatDeath Join Date: May 2012	Re: Miniature Appreciation Thread The faction packs were going to be three minis each. https://www.tribality.com/2016/08/10...s-6th-edition/ One of the original factions was an A.I. faction. The miniature now known as Spark was one of the earliest pieces of released concept art, showcasing this faction. Sledge is clearly of the same aesthetic. Pillbug may be too.

11-13-2021, 08:57 PM	#7
baakyocalder Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Sacramento metro, California	Re: Miniature Appreciation Thread When I receive my add-ons, which includes a copy of the Vehicle Guide and miniatures sets 2 and 4, I'll have a good idea of the strategies for each vehicle. Armor is set for each vehicle based on the game size, but the use of structure and upgrades indicates whether a design is built more around 'Speed is my Armor' or 'Structures Are My Armor.' Based on what I've seen so far, a lot of the cars with Possum as a driver seem to be 'push the edge since Possum + airless tires means you can pretty much drive with no tire issues until the lack of control and poor defense and limited ability to make turns eventually kills you.' So far my favorite 10-point build is the Superflash. The lasers are meant to win at range and light ceramic plates on 3 sides buys you time to position yourself. Sadly, the lack of a rear weapon and a lousy driver and no accessories can be limiting if the defenders roll well on defense. The Dragon also seems to be pretty good, since Ghost can change speeds by 2 for 1 Control and Whiplash has a Hand Cannon which averages 1.5 damage before Defense rolls beyond 2 car lengths and gets about 2 damage within 2 car lengths (extra blue is extra half damage) and can be fired from any arc. I'm trying to make some ramcar designs like the Omega series from Vehicle Guide 3 but it's a lot harder to do in this version of the game. __________________ Currently Running: Without Number family games which use a lot of GURPS material for details when the players start asking(online, sporadically) Waiting For: Schedule Sanity to Play Car Wars and my Fnordcon special alt Car Wars cards!

11-14-2021, 10:07 AM	#9
Sam Mitschke Chief Creative Officer Join Date: Dec 2014 Location: Austin, TX	Re: Miniature Appreciation Thread Avalanche was definitely intended to fit the AI aesthetic, and though it wasn't intentional when I drew it, I always thought that Kodiak fit in well, too. On the production side of things, letting the car designs wander outside of strict faction aesthetics helped immensely with completing the minis sculpts without a lot of time-consuming revisions. I could sketch up weirder/more fun cars, and the sculptors had more freedom to make changes on the fly to facilitate mold release and parts durability.

11-14-2021, 12:21 PM	#10
HeatDeath Join Date: May 2012	Re: Miniature Appreciation Thread I'd love to see an Illuminator post (or series thereof) highlighting those old B/W 3/4 view concept arts. Even/especially the weird ones, like the half tracks, or the one on the second link here, which I don't recall ever having seen, even back in the day. Were these you, Sam, or Brandon Moore, or a mix? http://www.sjgames.com/img/newsq/illq/2016/CarWars1.png http://www.sjgames.com/img/newsq/illq/2016/CarWars2.png The miniature currently know as Spike is in there somewhere too, essentially unmodified.