High-tech Machines:
Machines
These are typical tall machines, commonly found near rural or urban buildings. Don't ask me what they do. They were inspired by the appearance of the moisture evaporators on Tatooine and by some of the other machines seen in the streets of Mos Eisley, but I was not trying to copy any one particular piece of movie set scenery.

In game terms a figure standing partially behind one of these vertical machines should benefit from medium cover (+2 difficulty), just as if he was half-hidden by a low horizontal wall.

Both models are scratch-built from bits of trash that caught my eye. I wanted something tall and thin, to which I could add details that look like pipes, tubing, and wires. I like the proportions of machines that are about twice as tall as a miniature but thin enough to fit on the same sized base. That "Star Wars look" comes from a combination of the vertical shape, the balanced use of small details, and the selection of colors (harsh grey, white, and black, contrasted with the earth tone bases).

The machine on the left was made from the long nozzle that came with a large tube of glue. I drilled small holes near the top and bottom on opposite sides and added a twisted pair of electrical wires. The pipe on the side is a small bit of leftover plastic model sprue (the frames and runners around model parts--one of the most useful raw materials to have around). I cut 2 small plastic rectangles and glued one to each side to serve as control panels. The whole thing was painted light grey and drybrushed white, which gives it a slightly weathered look. The rings around the tower and the grooves in the base were picked out with black. The wiring was painted black then the loops were picked out in tan. The control panels were painted white with fine black lines and dots to suggest controls.

The piece on the right was made from a flourescent orange plastic bit that (I think) used to be some part of a kid's bicycle. I added 3 pipes made from sprue, leaving the little raised numbers that identify the model parts on the sprue near the tops. While slicing the sprue down to the right length, I cut off four little disks that I glued to the sides of the tower, two on each side at different heights. The whole thing was painted grey and drybrushed white, with a few details picked out in black and dark grey.

Both models are mounted on 1" wide steel washers, finished with fine sand and painted tan to match the bases of my Star Wars miniatures. The total cost for a piece like this is the cost of the washer plus a few drops of glue and paint.

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Last updated 1-7-99.