• 3D printing - Blog - Tabletop gaming

    Jamaica, mon!

    Our family enjoys board games especially slightly out of the ordinary board games not made by the typical sources such as Hasbro and Milton Bradley.  Most are titles you won’t find at your local discount department store like Target. Heck we’ve even played a game that was totally in German. We borrowed the game from a hobby shop owner who gave us a rough translation of the rules. But I digress…

    Recently we played a game from our collection called Jamaica.

    Jamaica mon | Halle's Hobbies

    It’s basically a racing game that you manage your cargo and occasionally get to battle another player. Strategy and luck both play into the equation.

    Jamaica mon | Halle's Hobbies

    You keep track of who is “captain” for the turn with this compass piece.

    Jamaica mon | Halle's Hobbies

    Mr. G found this model of a ships wheel on Thingiverse and thought it might make a great custom edition to the game in place of the chipboard compass. Looks cool but not exactly the right color.

    Jamaica mon | Halle's Hobbies

    Here’s the wheel in progress, extremely wet with paint. After this completely dried, I sprayed it with walnut ink. I wasn’t sure this was a good choice but what the heck…I live dangerously.

    Jamaica mon | Halle's Hobbies

    Here’s the completed wheel in play. I sprayed it with a matte spray sealer to protect it from chips and scratches. I tested the durability of it by rubbing it together with the Hand of the King piece I had previously completed. There is no way either object will be as roughly abused as that during regular game play and storage so I think we are good.

    Jamaica mon | Halle's Hobbies

    I love how the walnut ink settled into the layers of the print giving the appearance of wood grain.  So fun!

    Currently I’m working on another board game. I had always wanted to make a set of custom tiles for this game but assumed that I’d be scratch building each tiles like I do for miniature terrain pieces. Since the game has 19 tiles…the task was a little daunting. Mr. G is printing the board pieces from files shared on Thingiverse. I am adding custom paint jobs to each piece. More on that project to come…

  • Art - Blog

    Never doubt your instinct

    My focus as of late has shifted from art journals and papercraft to 3D items such as button stack pendants and of course, all the 3D printed goodies that just keep on coming.  As much as this variety feeds my art ADD, I find myself missing paper and mixed-media.  I start to second guess myself…will I still be able to create? What if I fall out of practice? Self doubt is an evil thing.

    Never doubt your instinct | Halle's Hobbies

    So a few weeks ago I dropped in at one of the bigger libraries in the system and got myself an armload of inspiration.  Nope still didn’t do it for me. My altered books, journals and one off paper crafts sat idle.  I even enlisted Mini-me to help clean and organize our art space. Notice I said our art space. She is taking 2 art classes this trimester. One required and one elective.

    After finishing painting a couple 3D printed models, I had extra paint brown and gold on the palette. Not being wasteful I grabbed a journal and wiped it on to a random page. I guess that was all it took. The simple act of doing and not thinking to much about it.

    Never doubt your instinct | Halle's Hobbies

    The page quickly came together.  As I went looking for words I found this series that really spoke to what I felt at that moment.

    Never doubt your instinct | Halle's Hobbies

     Do you hear or listen to that little voice inside? Is it the evil one or the one that lifts you up? Or do you just try to shut her up with cookies?

  • 3D printing - Blog - Crafts

    T Tuesday: no name edition

    T stands for TuesdayIt’s Tuesday again…time for T stands for Tuesday hosted by Elizabeth. Grab a cup and stay awhile.

    hot tea

    The past week is one of those I’d like to forget ever happened. Instead I’m going to talk about some pleasant things like what I’ve been doing with the 3D printed items Mr. G has been creating. There is a fantastic resource out there called Thingiverse. It has CAD files for 3D printing for an ever growing number of things anyone can imagine.

    Anyone familiar with Game of Thrones??

    Hand of the King

    Hand of the King…just after I started the sanding process.

    Hand of the King

    a little more smooth…nearly ready to paint.

    Hand of the King

    Did you know that a red base layer makes gold deeper and richer?

    Hand of the King | Halle's Hobbies

    What do you think? I think it looks pretty awesome…aw crud… except….

    Hand of the King | Halle's Hobbies

    that the photo should have been taken in this orientation. Such as this. DUH!

    Oh well…no one is perfect. I blame my everlasting cold virus for my lapse of clear thought.

    That’s it for today…more projects to come.

    What are you doing today?