Train Tuesday Part 113: Wheel Service

Greetings, fellow gearheads! Another Train Tuesday rolling through a screen near you, and this time it’s all about service with a switch smile. Let’s see what new robots are reporting for duty!

DM Ben wants to pepper our Forgotten Rails campaign setting with a plethora of different Constructs. Why? Well, first off, it’s really fun to 3D print and create those sorta DnD miniatures. Also, the more unique minis we have, the more unique one-shots and characters we can create! Besides, you can’t grow up being a massive Star Wars fan and not absolutely love droids…you just can’t!

Speaking of Star Wars, that’s where our inspiration came from for today’s DnD post. There’s a great scene in Return of the Jedi where poor R2D2 is put to work on Jabba the Hutt’s sail barge, and remembering that scene brings all the right feels. That got us to thinking that we need a few more service-style Constructs in our game…especially one that is secretly on the good guys’ side.

Enter Brite Minis and their joyous, ever-expanding line of supportless (and base included) 3D-printed miniatures. A mere $5-ish a month gets you two small set releases and access to most of their library. We decided to slice and dice this humorous Pigbot. He’s definitely memorable and simply belongs in our campaign. So much so that DM Ben wants to make him a recurring NPC.

Sunrise Sven was our colorist here, and he kept it clean and simple. Sometimes that’s the kind of easy-going paint job your 3D prints need. You don’t always have to slave over your RPG hobby desk for an entire weekend. Less can absolutely be more. This Army Painter Speedpaint light gray highlights every metal detail and, of course, those wicked-good wheel treads.

Our second featured Construct is by EC3D Designs. They’ve done several fun Sci-fi-esque Kickstarters, and this Industrial Drone is from their Novus Landing set. DM Ben has wanted the team to 3D print this lil’ fella for quite some time, and we finally obliged. Besides being absolutely adorbs, our hovering robotic buddy can fulfill a key role for The Forgotten Rails!

DM Ben didn’t mind coloring up this mini zoomer. He kept the paint steps very simple.

• Prime Flat Black | Slapchop Base.
• Boyd: ASP Enchanted Steel (and FAN Softtone Wash).
• Front: FAN Dark Emerald.
• Eyes: Army Painter Elven Armour.
• Rivots: Citadel Stormhost Silver.
• Fan Housing and Blades: FAN True Brass.
• Air Grates: ASP Hoard Bronze.

Nothing to it, right? We didn’t even have to apply a clear base to this one.

Let’s finish this TTRPG post off by defining their specific roles in our campaign, as DM Ben has some initial thought starters.

Pigbot (also known as “Snout”): serves as both a delivery bot (think DoorDash and its googly-eye prototypes) and a server bot. He typically works a Hovertrain route, satisfying thirsty passengers, but then also delivers precious cargo in his secure steel hull. DM Ben is going to put him in as an NPC who despises The Forgotten Rails and wants to crush their slavery ways. The players will first meet him during an initial high-value escort security mission.

Recon Drones: These are exploratory in nature and have no weaponry (as that adds unnecessary weight and reduces maneuverability). The Forgotten Rails sends these machines in to check out tight quarters or extremely uneven terrain. Omin Dran doesn’t like losing his Constructs outright, as that’s bad for the bottom line. These semi-fast recon drones are a dime a dozen compared to the rest of their pricey arsenal.

Until next time!