Quick 'How To' for a Star Wars TIE Fighter Scenery Piece

    My scratch-built TIE fighter 'objective markers' for our 2nd skirmish in our Star Wars campaign

The second scenario in my Star Wars skirmish campaign using Space Weirdos rules will have the rebels attacking a TIE fighter base in the deserts of Tatooine. I was sure one of my friends would have some usable TIE fighter models. Color me surprised that neither Keith nor Wallace had any! I posted on the Lead Adventure Forum, looking for ideas for inexpensive roughly 28mm scale models I could use essentially as terrain in this game. Some good suggestions, but I didn't want to spend $30+ on a just few models. There HAD to be some way to make them, assemble them out of cardstock, or whatever!

    Somewhere in the Tatooine desert, a flight line and base for six imperial TIE fighters

I kept waiting for inspiration or an idea to hit me until it got to less than 2 weeks out from the game. No more time to dither, I had to make a decision! I chose to make my own. I found a good image online of the TIE fighter's hexagonal panel "wings." I would print these out at the local office supply store, using the same image for both inside and outside. I'd affix those with spray adhesive to a piece of thin styrene plastic (white glue just peeled off). Now, I would need to source the central ball-shaped pod and the connecting sprues. As I like to do in such scratch-building situations, I headed up to Hobby Lobby. And hit paydirt!

    The image I found online of a TIE fighter side panel and the styrene sheet I affixed them onto

First, I found perfect-sized, wooden spheres at clearance prices for the central sections. There were even holes drilled in either side so it could be a "bead," in essence. Then, I found a bag of cylindrical, wooden beads that looked to be a good size to connect to the panels. These were also at a good price! The last stop was at Office Max, where I got two silver Sharpies (one thick point, one thin). The plan would be to spray paint the ball and beads black, and draw panel lines in silver. Here's where I was relying on memory rather than double-checking images. I should have spray painted gray and used black Sharpies to do the darker portions. D'oh!

    Wooden beads from the local craft store made up the central section of the TIE fighters

The cylindrical beads fit well into the holes on the spherical beads. I had also bought a thin wooden dowel to string all three together so they'd be lined up straight, though. I pre-cut the dowel into the correct lengths, squirted white glue into each bead, and then strung them all together, twisting the cylindrical beads to get them firmly inserted into the holes in the balls.

    Close up of the panel lines drawn on with silver Sharpie onto the ship's central sections 

I spray painted these black (yeah, yeah, should have been gray!), then spent an hour or so after they had dried going over them with the silver Sharpies, creating panel lines. Honestly, I did a so-so job on this stage. These are definitely terrain items -- not beautiful models recreating a TIE fighter. Lump them in the "should be seen from six feet away category" and they look fine...ha, ha! In my game, the TIE fighters are basically just objectives that the rebel players are trying to blow up. They won't take to the air and I don't imagine I will use them for too many scenarios. They're fine for spending just a tad over $10 for everything.

    Side view with a look at the fancy furniture tacks that (along with Tacky glue) hold them together

I did forget to mention that I bought a box of fancy, silver Furniture Tacks at the local Menards to fasten the hexagonal panels to the wooden central section. I used a pin vice to create a hole in each of the hexagonal panels. Then I drilled out the inside of the cylindrical beads (essentially through the dowel). I squirted in white glue into either side, and then pressed the tack in firmly from the outside, attaching the panels and central section firmly together.

    Stormtroopers guard the flight line -- will they be able to hold off the rebel raid & protect the ships?

All in all, they look okay as scenery. So, if you have a need for a half a dozen parked TIE fighters that you can source for less than $20 total, maybe my post here will inspire you. If not, now you know what lengths I will go to in giving my games that little extra bit of eye candy...ha, ha! Oh, and despite all of what I just said, in my totals below, I am counting these TIE fighters in the "MINIATURES" category...! 

    Final look at my 'terrain pieces' -- TIE fighters built for $10+ so my players could blow them up!

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Miniatures acquired in 2025: 237
  
• Miniatures painted in 2025: 138

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Terrain acquired in 2025: 21
  
• Terrain painted in 2025: 43

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Scatter acquired in 2025: 115
  
• Scatter painted in 2025: 112

Miniature Building Authority Vietnamese Farm Buildings & Scatter

   A patrol stocks up in a VC-friendly hamlet including my 2 MBA Farmer's House & Barn buildings

Now that I am finished with the miniatures for my 28mm Vietnam project, it is time to slip into "terrain mode." First up in the buildings I will be readying for the tabletop are from Miniature Building Authority. I purchased these from Kirk at Buckeye Game Fest this past May. When I unpacked them, they looked oddly familiar. Turns out, these were originally created by Acheson Creations and now are stocked by MBA. They are ACH-TC85 Vietnamese Farmer's House and ACH-TC88 Vietnamese Farmer's Barn.

    Originally produced by Acheson Creations, these MBA buildings were easy to ready for the tabletop

Unfortunately, I didn't realize they were originally Acheson ones until after I spray primed them and added the 50/50 mixture of acrylic black paint and water. It was then that I noticed some of the paint pulling away from the more raised areas. Uh-oh. I hadn't done my usual first step with Acheson products and run them through the dishwasher to get rid of the residue from Acheson's mold release. Once I realized it, I had two choices: strip them and start over or pile on the paint and sealant heavy enough that the paint does not wear away. I chose the latter, as I had no idea how to strip the Krylon Fusion Matte primer off without marring the surface of the buildings. These are great buildings, but I highly recommend you do the dishwasher thing before painting them, as for all Acheson's excellent products.

    The rear of the two buildings -- all it takes to paint these is prime, wet brush, & dry brush...easy!

I decided to do the interiors first. I gave them a thick Leather Brown base coat. I let them dry overnight and then dry brushed the interiors khaki. I painted the window trim and door frames a darker brown, then similarly dry brushed them khaki. The exteriors were painted dark brown first. I let the buildings dry overnight again, then I followed up with my typical "wood pattern." I applied a Camo brown wet brush followed the next day by a Khaki dry brush. I really like the look of the aged wood it gives, but still retaining a brown tone rather than a (probably more realistic) gray. 

    The interiors of the two resin buildings with their mud walls and wooden floors

The floors were done like the outside walls, skipping the khaki dry brush. I wanted them to be darker, figuring the farmer's family regularly tracked in dirt into their home. In fact, I was surprised the home and barn were modeled with wood flooring. I wonder if dirt would be more accurate? Perhaps in some areas and not others? I can't claim to be an expert on farmer home construction during the Vietnam War! Finally, I did the thatch roofing. This began with Camo Brown, followed by a Dun Yellow wet brush, and finally a very light gray dry brush highlighting. Once dry, I gave the thatch a black vehicle wash. 

    My larger jungle scatter pieces I created, with a patrol of Viet Cong marching past

Since I was worried about the paint not adhering to the resin properly, I gave the buildings a brush on clear coat using Liquitex matte varnish instead of spray. To hold the flocking in place on the base, I used a coating of white glue and water. So far, I don't see any signs of paint scraping off, but I guess I will find out for sure once I start using them in game.

    I used circular wooden bases, palm trees, and a variety of plastic plants from the craft store for these

The other terrain I finished this week for Vietnam were larger jungle scatter bases. I picked up two packs of six 3" round wooden discs at Hobby Lobby to supplement the smaller ones I had done previously. In the center of each of the large bases, I epoxied in a plastic palm tree. I dry brushed the trunk khaki and then added a dark brown vehicle wash over it. The plain green plastic palm fronds were dry brushed here and there a light olive drab. Next, I painted the edges of the bases and flocked them with my usual method I used for miniatures. I let them flocking dry completely for a day before beginning the next step.

    A close up of one of the bases with a VC soldier - note the effect of the brown wash/varnish

I assembled my ziploc bags of various plastic plants that I'd picked up from the local craft store. I snipped off ends of various plants for vegetation to surround the palm tree. Once I felt I had enough (I didn't -- I went back and snipped more), I drilled holes into the base with a pin vice so I could insert the plastic stems. I dabbed each hole with two-part epoxy and forced the stems about a quarter of an inch through. I also added individual fallen leaves and fronds from the plastic plants to the ground. Once done with this stage, I set them atop some old dice I use so they were raised off the surface of my desk. I didn't want the stems being pushed one way or another and messing up the way I had the plants sticking up.

    Another look at one of the bases surrounded by others, with two VC stalking through the vegetation

The next morning, I turned the bases over and trimmed off the stems with a carpet knife. Finally, I added the tiny leaves that I've been adding to the base of my Vietnam figures. There was one more important step to go, though! As I mentioned in the post for the smaller jungle pieces, I think that plastic plants on their own have too shiny of a look. I mixed up a batch of Liquitex matte varnish with a few drops of brown paint. Then I painted it over all of the plants and also the fronds of the central palm tree. Not only did this dull down the sheen and make it look more natural, it also added a brownish look of dying vegetation. 

    I like the combination of palm trees with miscellaneous craft store plastic plants -- very "irregular"

I really like how these larger scatter pieces came out. I am planning on doing one more batch of the smaller ones and another of these larger ones before I'm done. When added to my fairly decent collection of palm trees, I feel they should give a nice jungle-like look. They are time consuming to build, with all the trimming of the plastic plants and drilling holes for the stems. However, they add variety to the tabletop. I'm really looking forward to what my Vietnam battle board will look like. The little vignettes I set up to photograph to display the miniatures or terrain I've painted look nice, I think. A whole table in that fashion should look great!

    A final look at my most recent additions to my Vietnam terrain -- will the VC take the chickens, too?

So, what's next on my painting desk? For miniatures, I've started a batch of 28mm resin Fishfolk that I also purchased from MBA. I wanted to practice on them before doing the more expensive Beldolor Studies ones I got at Origins. I've also primed three more buildings for the Vietnam project. So, I guess I am keeping up with my strategy of juggling of a batch of miniatures with a batch of terrain at all times. So, look for these in future posts!

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Miniatures acquired in 2025: 237
  
• Miniatures painted in 2025: 132

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Terrain acquired in 2025: 21
  
• Terrain painted in 2025: 43

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Scatter acquired in 2025: 115
  
• Scatter painted in 2025: 112

28mm Vietnam Figures -- DONE! (for now...)

    The last of my 25 Viet Cong miniatures from the 'Black Sun' range all painted up

My 28mm Vietnam figures that I bought from Crucible Crush are done...all of them! I feel I finished them fairly quickly. The first test figures were done in late April, and the whole lot by the end of June. I purchased 35 U.S. figures and 25 Viet Cong from the Black Sun range, so 60 figures done in a little more than two months. I'll take that! Before I begin celebrating too much, though, I will have to purchase some more Viet Cong, as I mentioned in an earlier post. I need more light machine guns, for sure, and probably should buy a handful of civilians for scenarios, as well. Likely, I will pick those up at Historicon in less than a month.

    Last 10 U.S. infantry figures completed for my Vietnam project - the Big Red One ready for battle!

The bad news is that the monsoon season started here in Columbus, OH, just as I was getting to these last three batches of figures. I got impatient waiting for a day that wasn't too humid to spray clear coat them. I sprayed on iffy days and I think two batches have a slight bit of fogging on them. Not so much as to make me repaint them or hurl them against the wall or anything. However, I think you will notice it in the photos. I may try to go back and salvage them with a brush on varnish, but we'll see. The final batch I gave up on spraying entirely. I used brush on matte varnish for the figure and watered down white glue to seal in the flocking material. It has been really ridiculous here, weather-wise, lately. I feel like Forrest Gump: "One day it started raining, and it didn't quit for four months!" 

 

    I used more other colors on this final batch of Viet Cong -- mixing in more grays, greens, & khaki

For the Viet Cong, I mixed in more colors besides the standard black pajamas in this final group. I wanted them to look more like an irregular force, so I mixed in some faded olive drab, grays, and khakis. I really like how they turned out with the variety of colors in there. It's probably a good thing I did that, considering how my spray coat fogged them. If these had been all black like some of my other batches, the fogging would be more noticeable and maybe I would have hurled them against the wall. And by the way, I keep mentioning that because one of my friends did do that in frustration once...!

    I really like how these 'Black Sun' Viet Cong figures look -- lots of personality and individuality

Of my last two batches of U.S. troops, one was a standard infantry pack and the other was the support infantry. Interestingly, I started the project with the support weapons pack and ended with it, as well. That wasn't intentional, but it seems appropriate. With each new batch of Americans, I have been going back and looking at how I painted a particular pose before. If I painted it Caucasian the first time, I would typically paint the same pose black or Hispanic the second time around. I felt this would give my force just a little bit more variety in the cases where I bought two of the same pack. The Black Sun range is not huge, by any means. The games I intend to play will be small, though, with each player controlling a U.S. fire team or squad, at most. 

    Two figures from the last two batches of U.S infantry patrol through a ruined temple area

I'm sure looking at the figures you can tell which batch was "frosted" by the humidity. I wasn't careless. I was watching the humidity and didn't spray when it was above 60%, but it was also really hot, too. So, I obviously exceeded the weather settings, and paid the price for it. The good news, though, is now I can begin to do some play test games! Woo-hoo!! I am a little bit nervous that I will find that I vastly underestimated the number of VC that I'll need for my Americans to fight, though. I guess I'll be recycling the dead figures through pretty regularly! At least, I hope there will be enough casualties to recycle...if not, the Big Red One is in trouble!

    I like how the Black Sun range includes guys who have belts of M-60 ammo strapped to their packs

One of the things I like about the poses is that some have belts of M-60 ammunition strapped to their packs. In my reading of accounts of the Vietnam War, that seemed to be a fairly common occurrence. Even if you weren't the assistant gunner, they may load you up with extra machine gun ammo, knowing it would be needed. The guy on the left in the above picture has some of that ammo.

    Although you can't always see them under their helmets, I like how the eyes came out on these figs

With their helmets pulled down over their heads, you can't always see the eyes of these figures. However, I made the decision early on to paint them in. I know the debate rages whether you should (or need) to paint eyes on 28mm figures, but unless it is a figure wearing a medieval helmet with only eye slit openings, I tend to paint them. Something about this range of figures seemed to make it easier, too. It was a rare thing when I was unhappy with how a pose's eyes came out. I would like to think that I am becoming more skilled at painting them, but I also realize eyes are easier with some poses than others. There were a couple in this group of 60 miniatures that were more difficult, but most made it easier on me.

    The radio man was one of the first two poses I painted up, and it was one of the last as well!

So, what am I going to paint now that my Vietnam project is done, for the most part? For one, I will continue working on terrain for the project. I gave a sneak peak in the first photo of my next blog post, which will detail two resin Vietnamese farm buildings. I'm also finishing up six larger jungle scatter pieces, so I'll do a post on the two of them together. Yesterday, I primed another set of buildings for Vietnamese villages that I picked up from Miniature Building Authority. Looks like a lot of terrain in my future! I'm also working on some props for this coming Sunday's Star Wars skirmish using Space Weirdos. Obviously, those need to be done by Sunday!

    Another look at the final 10 'Black Sun' U.S. infantry for my Vietnam project

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Miniatures acquired in 2025: 237
  
• Miniatures painted in 2025: 132 < -- I'm almost within 100 of pulling even...ha, ha!

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Terrain acquired in 2025: 21
  
• Terrain painted in 2025: 41

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Scatter acquired in 2025: 115
  
• Scatter painted in 2025: 106