Tutorial - Asteroid Markers

[Stitch_Reloaded]

Greetings!

Recently the question of asteroid markers was brought up and where quality ones could be found.  However, it seems Google has let us down on this, as searches come up short.  Probably not, as Google is quite good at its job of hunting down wayward subjects. 

The short fall this time seems to be the terms that are used that make finding the rocky hazards hard to find. With millions of articles on Asteroids gracing the World Wide Web it

[Landlubber]

Stitch--those look great!  A couple of questions:

Where did you get the lava rocks?  Having never bought them before, I wouldn't know where to find them.

I was thinking about using Dystopian Wars flying bases to hold them up--so I would need to be able to make them a little smaller maybe than the ones you've made.  Do you think the lava rocks are too heavy for DW acrylic flying bases to support?

Thanks a ton for the tutorial, and again, those rocks look great.  Exactly what I'm looking for to go along with the X-wing game.

[Stitch_Reloaded]

Thanks,

The lava rocks can be found at Lowes or Walmart around the grills in lawn and garden.  They're used in Gas grills to maintain heat.  7 lbs bags are pretty much the smallest you can get but the price is normally low on them.  As for weight, they're practically rock sponges so a flight base would have no problems holding them.  Especially since you plan on breaking them apart more.  For a single post base, balance will be the thing you'll want to look for and you may want to drill into the rock some to add stability.

Why flying bases?  I haven't purchased any separately, but if they are around the same price as GW's ones then wood is much..much cheaper.


Stitch

[Landlubber]

Ah, yeah, ok.  I thought they looked familiar--I know exactly what you're talking about.

I had thought to use the DW flying bases because they are completely clear acrylic--trying to see if I can get closer to the illusion of the rocks hovering above the board.  They're also the right height, i think, for the X-wing game.  Good tip on the balance--will have to keep an eye on that. I actually did purchase a pack of 10 standard-sized flying bases for DW awhile back, and they were cheap--I want to say $15 for the pack of 10.  I still have several left over.  I've used some of them to mount tiny flyer squadrons.

Thanks again, those look great, hopefully I'll be able to get my own together here soon!  Will post pics when I do.

[Stitch_Reloaded]

Looking forward to them!

Nothing wrong with utilizing what you have on hand.  Seems like I'm doing it all the time.

Stitch

[Pendrake]

...I was thinking about using Dystopian Wars flying bases to hold them up--so I would need to be able to make them a little smaller maybe than the ones you've made.  Do you think the lava rocks are too heavy for DW acrylic flying bases to support?...

@LL
I have lava rocks and Dystopian Wars flying models. The models are heavier than the rocks.

Bases: I would be very tempted to spray paint 6 penny nails jet black with auto primer for the posts. If I just had to have clear acrylic bases (to match what the models are on..?..I suppose) an outfit like Litko might be an option. The link goes to square acrylic stands. Litko can also do custom jobs. I have had two custom orders from them that turned out great. You could order round or hexagonal bases for asteroids with large diameter center holes to match whatever wooden dowel you wanted to use (just as an example).

[Ruckdog]

Since I've switched over to the Corsec Engineering omni stand system, I've found mysel with a ton of spare Spartan flying bases! I have experimented with making asteroid terrain using them, and they work quite well. As for the base color, I prefer black over clear as I feel it blends in better, but YMMV .

[Pendrake]

Gotta vote with Ruckdog on this:

...As for the base color, I prefer black over clear as I feel it blends in better, but YMMV .

+1

Black bases & black posts for asteroids. Litko could provide black acrylic bases but when I do my asteroid field I will probably just cut up some MDF or something.

[Landlubber]

Thanks all for the advice.  I have some spare time this weekend, so I believe I'll go out hunting lava rocks and see what I can do.

[Landlubber]

Well, I finally found some lava rocks at Home Depot.  You weren't kidding, Stitch--paid $5 for I think a five pound bag.  There's enough lava rocks in there for me to make the whole asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter...

Anyway, got home, opened the bag, and decided (being the lazy modeler that I am) that they looked fine without any painting.  So I washed a few of them off, let them dry, then started drilling.  My lovely wife was kind enough to hold the rocks for me while I drilled, to prevent them from skidding off the table.  I then cut a few of the DW flight stands to different heights for mounting.  Here is the end result:











There is enough natural color variation in the rocks without me having to paint anything.  Overall, I'm pretty pleased with how they turned out.  Stitch, thanks a ton for the idea to use lava rocks, I probably wouldn't have thought of that on my own.

Can't wait to use these in my next game!

[Stitch_Reloaded]

Thanks Landlubber, Glad you posted a few pics.

With all of those asteroids you can just sit back and watch the Imps bounce off a few.   I wouldn't worry about the paint, looks good as is and not to mention not everyone has inexpensive paint to spare.  Using GW or reaper paints on a project like this feels like a waste to me anyway.  The bases look good too.  I can see why you wanted to use them.

Stitch