Nice build, SD. As usual.

Don't you love the AW walls and stairs? They are so flexible. Definitely among my favorite elements.

Beautiful work Shatterdragon. I love the way you mount items to matboard, looks really sharp. One thing I really appreciate regarding your builds is that you mix so many elements from other sets into areas as needed. This really shows users how the sets are intended to be used. Please don't hesitate to put up more "in-game" pictures either. I really enjoy seeing the models in practical use. I'll have to contact DKD about fixing the expanded thumbnails issue. It's a little hard to browse the images at that size.

Anyway great work!

Very impressive builds SD.

I've started to use foamcore for all my wall builds. It sure works much better to prevent warping. I had not thought of using mat board for the furniture. That is a fantastic idea. I'm going to have to work that one out.

Very impressive (although hard to view the pics at that site - they're huge!).

Great work.

Been awhile since I posted in this topic, but I have some new things to show . The following links will take you to pictures from a variety of sets. Enjoy .

First is the crypt from "Gothic Realms". I have based this one on matboard, and added a little feature to keep the lid stable when closed, overall, it has a nice effect.




Next is the crane from "Skull Cove". The more I work with Pauls designs, the more I appreciate the effort and time he puts into these props. They really liven up the sets and make them all that much more fun to build and play with. I fully reinforced this build with matboard, that includes the swivel joint between the boom and base. It was quite time consuming doing this piece, especially hollowing out the dark parts to give it a more 3D effect. It should be noted that I even left in the Pauls bird, happy at home in his nest in the crane. I almost missed him Paul, but I decided he was a piece of the set and kept him in . Currently I am redesigning this piece to be larger for use with the "Maiden", and to have a working winch system.

, my favorite feature.
, to show the peice unassembled.

Next up are some the tables and captains desk from the "Maiden". These were fun to do, especially the legs, though I'm overall happy with the final result.







Finally are some pics of the 2" & 3" catapults, and the balista from "SiegeWorks". For the catapults I only reinforced the wheels and the supporting side braces with matboard, the rest is original cardstock. I was really impressed that even though neither of these pieces had moving parts, the arm design for the catapult allowed it to be placed without gluing and altered as needed through gameplay, same with the balista. This set is truly better than it looks from an overview of the pics. The balista are completely cardstock, except for the base which has been reinforced with matboard.
, the 2", and 3" catapults side by side
, this pic and the next show how the arm is placeable.

, a shot of two finished balistas with the swivel point adjusted to different angles, I really like that this was incorporated into the design, though not really needed, it adds a certain aspect to the overall gameplay, though these pieces were finicky to build .

Excellent stuff, SD! Have you tried to work out a functional catapult?

Those are very nice builds! Very clean.

I have upgraded the cranes size as I mentioned I would be. I have to say it was a mistake to modify it after it was built, rather than thinking it out before I built it, oh well, live and learn.

I used a beam from the "SiegeWorks" battering ram for the extended boom, a winch from the "CWUltimate" Gatehouse for the crane winch, and three transparancy chains. Here is the for those who just want a quick look, though not the best of the pics, the weight tests are better lighting.

This is a showing the crane lifting the small weight of a cardstock netted crate from Skull Cove, originally designed for use with the crane.

When I first went to test the transparency chain it jammed, and with very little pull, snapped the extended boom right off , you should have heard me curse, made my roomate jump right out of his skin . After I fixed it, I added to stabilize and support the boom, worked like a charm. To test the new weight I used my 18" aluminum ruler as a test lift, here is the ruler in the , and here I have using the winch. Note that with this extreme weight I had to hold the crane in place with my hand.

While I am not entirely pleased with how this piece turned out it is still very useable, the crane lifts just fine, but without weight the chain has to be pulled out by hand when I want it to be lowered, this was because I didn't think the movement process through before I did the kitbash, a minor mistake, but causes too much friction along the length of the chain to allow for a smooth lowering without weight, sigh, I'll probably fix it later. To fix the majority of the jamming points, I added very small cut pieces of a flexible metal wire I used to use when I was still doing concrete work, this allowed the transparency chain to flow smoothly over the areas it was jamming, I will try to take a better picture to illustrate this later, but the ones I have tried to take just aren't clear eneogh (I also used this wire to make the hook). The metal wire allows for rounded edges for the chain to flow over, rather than the square cut edges of the matboard or cardstock.
I will also have to add a much sturdier brake as the cardstock one just isn't cutting it anymore. Though you can't see them I also glued several small rocks into the back of the model for added counterweight (amusingly underneath the printed rock portion).

I plan on building a permanent base using stone printouts from one of the WW's sets (not sure which yet), that will allow me to fix problems such as tipping (the rocks only counterweight so much), and to raise the height of the crane to a place where it would make sense (just doesn't look right when based on one of the stone piers, not high eneogh, lol).

Just one more additional, here is a picture showing proof that I kept safely nested in the base of the crane, I didn't have the heart to cut the little one out .

So impressive.. but that has come to be expected from you SD!

Do you think that it might be worth while replaceing the printed chain with a toy chain? Just for the fact that it might give a slightly bulker presents?


Lord Abaddon of Wormwood

I was actually going to use a heavy string I have, or rather had handy, but I couldn't find it. So I broke down and used the transparency chain instead. I do plan on changing that to a small fine chain, or heavy string later though .

That is a thing of industrial beauty, SD!

I would recommend against the chain, though, as it would slowly rub the cardstock away, and might eat into the matboard, too.

A variety of Matboard Props including the crane mentioned in this thread can now be found here.

How expensive is matboard? The bridge pic really makes me want some.

What a bummer!!!! I couldn't see any of the pictures of your mat builds .... kept getting a page error screen. Geez ... maybe next time.

I'm pretty sure it was on my end. This computer has been doing some odd things. Weeks ago the dvd drive tray kept opening on its own ... did it for a few days and then just stopped, go figure.

I think the internet explorer isn't working to well with ATT's DSL setup. At least not on this computer.