Train Tuesday Part 134: Hard Reset

Greetings, fellow steampunkers! Train Tuesday is happy to be rolling into your devices this fine day, so let’s snap to it!

One of our favorite 3D-printing “spinoffs” of Aether Studios’ hell-yeah Hovertrains has been building a robust Construct library of miniatures. The draw is real, as some of our favorite movies featured these robotic machines, including Flash Gordon, Total Recall, I, Robot, and of course, any Star Wars flick, just to name a few. Plus, expanding the role of steampunk in our campaign has been a breath of fresh air.

DM Ben wanted to introduce a new campaign setting element to The Forgotten Rails. Like, what happens when a Construct goes off the deep end and snaps? We already have our Hunter squads whose sole job it is to retain maniac-ish machines that have completely stalled out in the wild, suddenly gone off the grid, or aren’t following commands. What happens when these failed units are back at home base, though? They’re way too pricey to simply be melted down for scrap.

To answer that question, we turn to our favorite steampunk creator, EC3D Designs. They’ve got a great mix of Kickstarters to fill all your gear-turning needs. Our miniature, The Monk, comes from their Ghost City series, while this industrial machine is from their Bolts and Brimstone KS.

We’re using this miniature to serve as one of The Forgotten Rails’ reprogramming units. This robot’s sole job is to fix any mech unit’s bad arcane wiring and get it back into the field ASAP. A stalled unit loses gold, and 3M simply hates when that happens. DM Ben is calling this latest 3D print a Re-coder Unit.

He enjoyed painting this one as the steps were a snap:

• Prime Flat Black | Slapchop Base.
• Helmet/Feet/Arms: FAN Gun Metal + Dark Wash.
• Visor: WAR Elven Armour.
• Hose: FAN Uniform Grey.
• Beads: Citadel Contrast Flesh Tearer’s Red.
• Ponytail: FAN True Brass.
• Draped Cloth: ASP Charming Chartreuse.
• Clothing: GSW Komodo Khaki + Soft Tone Wash.
• “Socks:” White.

Remember, Constructs are made to look like breathing beings as much as possible to minimize public freakouts. No one is thrilled about their presence in Waterdeep, so Omin Dran instituted this dress requirement as part of his Public Relations efforts for The Forgotten Rails.

The Bolts and Brimstone Kickstarter has every sort of tech console and industrial machine in all shapes and sizes that you could ever need. This little contraption caught our eye because at 1 x 3 d20 squares, it will rest nicely into any of our Hovertrain cars. This DnD 3D print also has a lot of reusability and scenario compatibility.

Here’s a quick shot of both STLs from the other side so you can see more details. Our scatter terrain piece was just a mix of different Army Painter metallics and the classic ASP Dark Wood + Vallejo Ochre drybrush. We’re really stoked on how both of these turned out. Our re-coder’s ponytail is actually a powerful communication antenna btw.

Until next time!