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Solaris Sentinel
March 2001 Edition VI

W elcome to another Edition of the Solaris Sentinel! This month’s edition should be just as
exciting as last, with more details of FASA’s by out are being made clear. There will be
an editorial by my self as well as Wes “William Avon” Williams and resin casting techniques by
The Ogre. Also in the news, Warner Doles has released the House Davion Sourcebook on the
FASA web site in the Product Archives section. You must have Adobe Acrobat 4.0 to view this,
so make sure you do or you won’t be able to load the thing up. Hope you enjoy this edition,
‘cause I’m sure there will be plenty more!

-Ross Koga

Future of the Sentinel and Possible Mission Statement

From the beginning, the Solaris Sentinel Newsletter has been mainly about miniatures,
specifically BattleTech miniatures manufactured by Ral Partha. I had hoped to bring in many
secrets of the art of detailing these little things to help better my own skills and give others the
same opportunity as well. After kicking around the idea with Thom Vinson, Ramrod, The Ogre,
Storm, and Blizzard (man, we could be the X-men!) I had a more defined idea of what I wanted
and so I began work on just that. Fusing together information about miniatures, painting
techniques, hex base terrain, casting, decals, BattleTech© tactics, ‘Mech
reviews, and product reviews, the Sentinel was born.
Of course, the first 5 topics listed go together under the term
“painting”, I just thought I’d clarify. So, during the month of September, I
wrote just about the entire first edition of the Solaris Sentinel. Using
newsletter techniques that I had learned in school, I formatted it using
columns and such, going for the look and feel of a newspaper. Add some
pics here, some borders there, and there you have it. During the course of the past six months, I
received feed back from Thom, Tel Hazen, Tthrash, Brian Wolfe, and others; I think this should
be the easiest-to-read edition yet. Now, I am looking into a new change for the magazine.
Although this possible change will have to wait for more than a year, it is possible for the
Sentinel’s forum to change from that of Miniatures, to keeping “Classic” BattleTech alive.
There is a remote possibility that Ral Partha will eventually discontinue the BattleTech line;
meaning that we wouldn’t have as much to discuss as right now. Of course, I would check out a
new version of the game, should one appear from WizKids, and determine if it would be worthy
to cover. I thoroughly enjoy doing what I do now, but if things change so can I. Rest assured
that I am going nowhere this side of a court order, so the Sentinel shall press on regardless of
what happens in the near future to our beloved game. I will try to get inside scopes on anything I
can in the coming months to keep everyone informed on what is happening in this merger/by-
out. Thank you for your patience and understanding. We can come together as a community
and do what we want.

-Ross Koga
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Interview with Ron Smith of Archer’s Miniatures

SS- How long have you been painting miniatures?

Ron- I started painting WW2 Micro Armor in 1977, they did not look much like what I do now,
but it was a start.

SS- What got you started painting BattleTech Miniatures?

Ron- Well, I had already painted WW2, Napoleonics, Naval and other subjects and our local
group, Western Oregon Wargamers was just starting to play
Battletech. That was around 1986. I had also just read the first printing of Thunder Rift and
found it very interesting. I did not want to bring unpainted Miniatures to play with at the Club, so
that’s what got me started.

SS- What’s your most favorite paintjob you have done on a ‘Mech? 7th Ghost Cyclops ↓

Ron- Thats a hard one, I have done so many. I guess

right now I am kind of fond of the 7th Ghost
Miniatures I have been doing lately, though my
favorite units to look at and play with are my Clan
Hells Horses, Gamma and Iota Galaxies..

SS- What is your favorite painting technique and why?

Ron- Drybrushing is what I use most often, though I

do not limit myself to that, I also use Inks and other
techniques as required. Each miniature and paint job
can be different. You can never have enough different
painting tricks; all of them mixed together become a
distinctive style.

I guess this would fall under Technique, and its something I would like to pass on. When I
started painting I had very little idea, how and what
I was supposed to do, so I asked questions. I attended painting groups and learned everything I
could from the best local Artists I could find,
Harold "Scott" Odden, K.R. Rohan (of GeoHex), Mike Talvestie, Robyn
Edwards, Mark Fortner, Andy Cummings, My Wife, Candi, and any one I have forgotten. All of
them had something to teach whether it was Drybrushing, Detail, Speed, Inks or whatever else. I
combined all that I leaned from them, with my own ideas, lots of reading and lots of
experimentation, to get wear I am with my painting today.

SS- Any pointers you could give on your favorite technique?

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Ron- Use quality natural brushes (The Games Workshop brushes are a favorite) and acrylic
paints (We use a brand called Ceramcoat by Delta, it’s a craft paint). This may seem simple, but
so many people still use Enamel paints or Synthetic Brushes. I have never had much luck with
either, and natural brushes last much longer, so they pay for themselves.

SS- How do you regard some of the other “master” painters out on the net, such as Dave Fanjoy
or J. Frazier (or any one else)?

Ron- Both Dave and Frazier have some excellent Talents, Dave's Airbrushing is
some of the best out there, Frazier has excellent line work and benefits for Jennette's Fantastic
Camera Work.

The Artists that I would add to this list though

are Calvin Keith "Piggy
Poop Soup", Calvin can just blow me away
with some of his work;
"Sal-Crump", who's current Ghost Regiment
Mechs are simply amazing;
Brian Plunkitt "Piranha", my student and maker
of some of the best decals out there; and Mark
Welegala "Marko", my battletech gaming
partner. Marko works in oils and takes roughly
a month to do one miniature, he also drills the
Gun Barrels, Missile Tubes and does very
serious modifications and reposes as required
to produce some of the finest miniatures I have
ever seen.

SS- Any interesting stories you might want to relate?

Ron- Yes, and it applies to what is happening with the closing of FASA, and the "great sell off"
going on now too.

When The Clans Came, I quit playing and said I'll never play again. I took my collection to Gen
Con '91, went into the Miniatures room and said "SALE"; the feeding frenzy was amazing. It
was not long before I realized how bad I had screwed up and unfortunately some of that stuff I
will never be able to replace, my collection was huge...

Wizkids will do right by all of us, that’s my gut feeling. They honestly need time to make a plan,
and get the right people in place and the ball rolling.
Selling off now is a mistake to be regretted later. Even if another
battletech product is never released, we still have enough sourcebooks and miniatures to keep the
game going forever.
(Next months Interview(s) will be with both Blaine Pardoe and SalCrump, provided I
can get them!)
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Makin’ Your Own

Or, casting your own parts

Resin casting is a hobbyist’s or model-builder’s best method of creating many copies of the same
item. It’s fairly inexpensive, very simple to do, and allows extremely precise copies of the same
thing, over and over, for the life of the mold.

Resin is a two-part material that when mixed together will harden into a plastic. When resin is
poured into a mold, it’ll take the shape of the original molded object when it is cured. The three
main types of resins are Epoxy, Polyester, and Poly-Urethane based. Each type of material
requires a base and then an activator to be mixed to cause a chemical reaction. When the reaction
is complete the casting can be removed from the mold for clean-up and use according to your
needs. Most resins give off an odor that can be pretty offensive, even if it’s used in open, well-
ventilated spaces. In the case of the Epoxy and Polyester resins the mixture can be tricky because
the percent of activator is usually different from the amount of the base. Also it’s not unusual for
these resins to take hours to set-up and sometimes a full 24 hours is necessary for complete
curing. Polyester resins have the bad habit of staying quite sticky until the last possible moment
during the cure process. One advantage of these materials is that they can allow longer working
times after pouring the resin into a mold.

RTV is an acronym which stands for Room Temperature Vulcanizing Rubber. Most RTV
molding materials have a silicone base (pulverized sand) and consist of two parts, the base and
the activator. When mixed, the material will chemically bond to form a rubber mold of an object.
This process is done without giving off any heat, although a warm, moist atmosphere encourages
the curing of the RTV itself. Different RTV’s will have different set-up times according to the
needs of the user. For example, a dentist and patient require a quick-setting material when taking
an impression of the teeth and jaw line. Other users require more reproductions from the RTV
mold and therefor use a material that takes longer to set-up.

Another feature that can vary is the hardness and flexibility of the RTV. The material can be very
hard for heavy production, or very soft and flexible for easy use when removing the cast part out
of the mold. The largest amount of difficulty in working with RTV isn’t the material itself, but in
the design of the mold. Most RTV’s will pour easily over the master, allow 15 minutes to half an
hour of working time, and then fully cure within 24 hours.

The RTV rubber I use is very easy to use, and has qualities that make it the best choice (in my
opinion) for the modeler. It’s very flexible, and has high tear strength so that the mold can be
bent and manipulated to remove the cast copies. The material usually sets up within 24 hours but
will cure faster on warmer days. The molds will reflect the finest and smallest details of the
master (which means if you leave a fingerprint on it, that fingerprint will be faithfully reproduced
clearly on every copy!)

Most of all, the RTV works well without the use of any other equipment. The RTV is mixed by
adding the activator at the ratio of 1 part activator to 10 parts base, and the stirring until the color
is consistent throughout the material. The next step is to pour the RTV carefully over your
master, work out the air bubbles, and wait for the rubber to cure. Once cured, it’s time to make
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the perfect copies of your master. I’ve made, or seen made, molds for model parts, wargaming
miniatures, ID plaques, computer mouse balls, electronics parts and insulators, drawer pulls,
trophies, and plaques! About the only real limitation to the possible uses for it is your
imagination.

Frankly, it’s more difficult to bake a cake than it is to start making molds and casting items. The
design of the mold is the most critical part of the process, so we’ll now take the time to show
how this is done….

I’m going to run through the process for a simple one-piece mold, usually used for an item where
you’ll only see one side of the finished product. For demonstration purposes, and something
you’ll see lots of with my miniatures, are my bases. Since you can obtain 4 bases for about $7, I
found it lots more efficient to cast my own, for perhaps 12 cents a piece, with a little time and
work.

Step 1: Find something to hold the RTV when it’s poured over the master. I’ve used anything
from cardboard tube sections, to PVC pipe, to small card boxes, to the clear Crystal boxes you
get at craft stores, to Lego blocks. Cardboard boxes can be constructed easily using a hot glue
gun, but my favorite method is using the Lego blocks, which I’ll detail.

I assemble blocks into a frame that will fit around the master item, leaving about ½ an inch all
the way around it, and about half an inch over the uppermost part of the master. After ensuring
that the blocks are tightly joined, I run a double layer of double-sided tape around the flat side,
and set that on top a plate of tempered glass.

Step 2: Next I lay down strips of double-sided tape, edge to edge, from side to side. These
provide the holding layer for the bases, which I set in leaving a good amount of space between
them. I leave those for a short time for the tape adhesive to take hold, then get out the RTV,
activator, a paper cup, and a craft stick (or Popsicle stick). At this point, just to make sure there’s
no leakage, I also coat the outside of the mold Lego’s with clear tape, for extra sealing.

I make an approximate measure of how much RTV I’ll need, pour that into the cup, then add the
activator. The 10-to-1 measure isn’t essential, but too little and the RTV may never set-up, while
a touch over is actually a good idea. I start mixing until the color is consistent throughout the
material in the cup, and once mixed, I pour it evenly over the tops of the bases. I find it’s best to
pour into the bases first, then allow the RTV to flow out and around them. Once the items are
totally covered, you’ll start seeing air bubbles forming on the surface of the RTV layer.

These air bubbles are normal, as the air pockets are forced out of around all the areas of the
master item. They’ll keep popping to the surface for a good couple of hours, and I just take a
straight pin and pop those, until they start slowing. I also bounce the glass plate (gently!!) to
force the RTV down into the surface details, thus forcing the air out. I then leave it sit without
disturbance for a good 24 to 36 hours, to ensure it’s totally set up.

Step 3: Once the RTV is set, then it’s time to take apart the Lego mold. Strip the tape from
around it, then use an X-Acto knife to trim the blocks from the double-sided tape layer, and lift
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the whole thing off of the glass plate. Disassemble the Lego blocks, and use the X-Acto knife to
trim the little sprigs of RTV that were between the blocks.

Once the mold is all cleaned up, turn it over so that the master items are visible. It’s not unusual
for some of the RTV to have forced it’s way between the masters and the glass plate, so simply
trace along the edge of the master to trim away that leakage, clean away any leftover pieces, then
just bend the mold a bit to force the masters out of the mold. Don’t be afraid that the mold will
tear, it’s more than flexible enough to bend that much.

Step 4: Now it’s time for casting with the resin. Mix up the base and activator in a
one to one basis, allowing just enough material to slightly overfill the mold recesses. One tip I
find useful for mixing cups are to use sealing caps for plumbing pipes. Two of each size give a
convenient measuring cup method, without careful measures.

Pour the ‘A’ and ‘B’ materials together in a mixing cup, and mix with a toothpick or bamboo
skewer. Mix well, but not enough to cause air bubbles in the mixture. Once it’s mixed, pour
gently into each mold cavity until the resin is slightly ‘humped’ in the center. Once all recesses
are filled, use a long needle to pick out any air bubbles that are visible down in small recesses in
the mold area. Work quick, as the resin will begin to thicken and set almost immediately; you’ll
have maybe 2 minutes to get those bubbles out. Then just set the mold aside on a level surface
and let the chemical process complete.

Step 5: Once the resin has set and gotten fairly stiff, bend the mold to pop out each cast base,
and set asisde on a level surface. You’ll find that the bases are somewhat flexible just out of the
mold, so they’ll need to sit for an hour or two to fully harden. Once that happens, wash the base
gently in isopropyl alcohol to remove surface oils, let dry, then run it briskly back and forth on
moderate-grit sandpaper (I use about 60-100 grit) on the underside surface. This flattens the base
so that it sits level, and gives you a stable platform.

Using a fine needle file, round off any edges from the bottom to the side surfaces, get rid of any
other casting ‘flash’, and get ready to glue your miniature into it. This you handle just as you
would a metal base, facing the mini to one side, and filling the base in. My methods here are a bit
different, in that I fill the base around the feet of the miniature with CA (cyano-acrylate, or super
glue) and then sprinkle on a layer of baking soda. I then set the miniature and base aside for 24
hours, allowing the CA to fully set, then blow and brush away the baking soda. This gives me a
nice texture to the fill, which will hold paint and glue for ‘grass’ and such very nicely.

One thing to keep in mind, the resin will continue to exude oils for a couple of weeks after the
cast is done, so don’t set the base onto any polystyrene plastic or the oils will melt that plastic.
Best bet is to seal the base with spray-on matte coat (Dullcote by Testors) after a week or two to
keep this from happening. Another method is to cut out a circle or hex of self-adhesive felt and
stick that to the underside of the base. This keeps it from leaking any oils, and also makes it less
likely to slide that easy while it’s in use.

Useful Tips and Tools:

Measuring cups, from plumbing pipe caps, in many sizes (two of each)
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Short piece of dowel, with a long needle stuck into it (eye-end in, keep the point out)
Flat needle file
60 to 100-grit sandpaper
X-Acto knife – use a #11 blade, it’s the best all-round blade to use
Clear tape, double-sided tape, masking tape
12-inch square plate of tempered glass
Lego Blocks – have enough to be able to make molds 6” square, and 3” deep
Bamboo skewers – handy for mixing sticks, and other uses
Craft sticks – most folks know them as Popsicle sticks

Materials Sources: I have two main sources for materials, one for the RTV and the other for the
resin.
I obtain my RTV materials from Ace Resin, in Tucson, AZ. Their RTV is the simplest to use,
makes excellent molds with great useful life, and fairly inexpensive. Ace also sells resin, but I
find theirs somewhat goofy to work with, and it’s shelf-life isn’t that great. However, you can get
excellent results too, casting parts that are pure white and very inert. I’ve found their formula to
be useful in many areas, and almost totally inert to UV light, as well as being almost flameproof.
Ace Resin
7481 E. 30th St.
Tucson, AZ 85710
(520) 886-8051

My resin materials I obtain from Vagabond Corp. out of California. Their formula is a touch
simpler to work with than the Ace compound, is quite odorless, and sets up very quickly. It
comes from the mold in a light tan color which accepts all types of paint very well, and has a
very long shelf-life (I’ve been using the same bottles I bought three years ago, and it’s still
working great.)

Vagabond Corporation
P.O. Box 39
Warner Springs, CA 92086
(760) 782-3136 FAX: (760)782-3138

This is a basic approach to the whole deal of resin-casting, which allows all kinds of new
approaches to model-building and wargaming. Create your own miniatures, whomp up some
buildings, do anything you like, and now you can pump out multiple copies of the same item. If
this article is well-received, then the next one will get further in-depth into mold-making secrets,
and how to make multi-piece molds.

Till next time, Good Gaming to you.

The Ogre
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‘Mech of the Month

PLG-3Z Pillager
Mass: 100 tons
Chassis: HildCo Heavy Type VIIQT
Power Plant: Vlar 300 XL
Cruising Speed: 32 kph
Maximum Speed: 54 kph
Jump Jets: HildCo Model 13
Jump Capacity: 90 meters
Armor: Star Slab/9.5 Mk II
Armament:
2 Poland Main Model A Gauss Rifle
4 Ceres Arms Medium Laser
1 Defiance B3L Large Laser
Manufacturer: HildCo Interplanetary Inc.
Primary Factory: St. Ives
Communications System: CeresCom Recon Model 12x
Targeting and Tracking System: C-Apple Churchill

Internal Structure: 10
Engine: 300XL 9.5
Walking MP: 3
Running MP: 5
Jumping MP: 3
Heat Sinks: 14[28] 4
Gyro: 3
Cockpit: 3
Armor Factor: 307 19.5
Head: 3 9
Center Torso 31 52
C/T (R) 10
R/L Toros 21 32
R/L Torso 10
R/L Arm 17 34
R/L Leg 21 42

Weapons and Ammo:

Gauss Rifle RT 7 15
Gauss Rifle LT 7 15
Medium Laser LA 1 1
Medium Laser LA 1 1
Medium Laser H 1 1
Medium Laser CT 1 1
Large Laser RA 2 5
Ammo (Gauss) 16 RT 2 2
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Ammo (Gauss) 16 LT 2 2
Ammo (Gauss) 8 RL 1 1
Ammo (Gauss) 8 LL 1 1
Jump Jet CT 1 2
Jump Jet RL 1 2
Jump Jet LL 1 2

Well, you are probably wondering why I picked the Pillager for the ‘Mech of the Month
right about now, especially with all of the other ‘Mechs out there that I could have covered for
the upcoming FedCom civil war. Well, to tell you the truth, I was just painting up my new
Pillager and it got me thinkin’ about a conversation that went on the ISN forum a month or two
ago. Someone asked what was everyone’s “personal” ‘Mech, as in what ‘Mech would you
yourself pilot. I think it’s a toss up for the Inner Sphere assault category between the Devastator
and the Pillager. Both have been kind to me, as I have only lost one Devastator and no
Pillagers.
Now, for you Mechwarrior jocks out there that don’t know what the Pillager is: this is a
heavy hitting, hard charging ‘Mech that won’t take no for an answer. The twin Gauss Rifles
dispense death out to 22 hexs, giving this ‘Mech the grim title of “Headhunter.” The large
complement of energy weapons and double heat sinks makes this ‘Mech a Ghost on the IR scans.
It can jump, fire ALL of its weapons and not gain a degree of heat. Oh, did I mention that only
two other ‘Mechs have as much armor, and only
one has more? The Fafnir (FM: Lyran
Alliance) and the Thunder Hawk mount the
same amount, while the Sirocco mounts even
more points! That’s 19.5 tons of standard armor
to try and crack! Most of this armor is mounted
in the forward sections, giving the Pillager the
ability to weather any assault.
I’ve probably used it six or seven times,
each time the thing would not die. It laid a
Devastator out flat, taking abuse from that
monster and dishing it right back. It’s rather
pointless for the opposing assault ‘Mech when
you work the Pillager in close. The jump jets
give you the distinct advantage in a
confrontation like that. Screw the minimum
range of the Gauss Rifle, I’m chargin’ in full
bore!

Be Easy, or Lose a Player

I was playing in a mercenary unit one day in Battletech. It was going along fine (In other
words, I was winning) when all of the sudden by best friend’s younger brother decides he
doesn’t like my Summoner. “Boom,” He says, with a twinkle in his eye,” I use my Hyper Gauss
rifle on you. 40 damage to your left leg.” He then ran around the room screaming,” I win!” as if
his pants were on fire and just wouldn’t be put out.
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Now, aside from being beaten by a snot nosed kid all of, like, four and a half years old
rounded up, I faced a dilemma. Do I bring the kid back to reality, namely by kicking him in the
pants hard enough to extinguish the flames, or do I be the bigger man and let him continue to rub
his victory in my face.
Decisions, decisions.
Though this story had a happy ending (I was the bigger loser) I still had to voice my
opinion…

KID: “I win!, I win! I Win…”

ME: “THERE’S NO SUCH THING AS A HYPER GAUSS RIFLE!”

So I had one of many encounters with the ever-present problem of Munchkinism. Now,
don’t get me wrong. I have been known to use a little rule-bending myself for the sake of the
story. And heck, it’s fun to wipe out a Dire Wolf with a Fire Moth. Try it some time.
But I have a problem when it comes to the use of Super-Never-Overheat-MegaUltra-
Autocannons and I- Can-Have-400-Points-of –Armor-Mechs. After all, what is the point of the
game if you make it so you never get hurt or put yourself in danger?
Still, some people swear by their wonder-‘mechs. They say it makes the game fun and
exciting. Though I think this is down right daffy (Sorry, Ive been wanting to use that word for a
while), I respect their decision. Sort of.
So the next time you are playing a game and someone decides they just have to use their
quadruple heat sinks with their XXL-pulse lasers, don’t trash them by pointing out their lack of
rules-ness. Who knows, maybe they know something we don’t.

Thank you for putting up with another pointless rant.

William Avon

Well, thanks again for picking up a copy of the Solaris Sentinel. Hope you enjoyed it as much as
I have putting it together! Next month should be pretty cool with interviews with SalCrump and
hopefully Blaine Lee Pardoe, author of Highlander Gambit and Impetus of War. Then, I’ll have
a little something on the new techniques that I have picked up from actually running this thing!
Ogre will have some more on his resin casting techniques which I might add, you might keep an
eye on! Till next time!

Ross Koga