DTN8 Remote Mine Droids
Sometimes you’re playing your favourite science fiction miniatures game, and the random wargear tables generate a result for which you don’t own the miniatures. EVEN WORSE, the miniatures don’t actually exist. They were never made. Anger sets in. You feel yourself about to explode.
You refuse to reroll the result. You refuse to represent the wargear with a cardboard chit. The only option is to spend a whole year of your life learning how to sculpt so you can design your own version. After that, vacuum cast them in high quality resin so they’re proper playable, paintable miniatures.
I digitally designed these mine-droids as five pieces, so each droid could be assembled a bit differently, with bodies leaning at a jaunty angle, and turning heads.
To direct the trio of droids, I converted a Space Marine Comms Officer from Warhammer 40,000 Rogue Trader, adding a pair of aerials to his backpack with lengths of wire and plastic rod.
Here they are trundling across a battlefield of the far future, bringing their payload of high explosives into the heart of an enemy formation. Their armoured shells protect from light arms fire until they detonate with the power of giant fragmentation grenades. They can be programmed to explode at pre-set co-ordinates, or piloted remotely, allowing them to respond to shifting battlefield conditions, and even sadistically chase a retreating foe.
Right, I can finally get on with my game now. I had to cast a few sets up, so expect to see some painted in other colour schemes soon.
Ninjabread out!
They are so cute and lovely! The inspiration is truly RT, they are simply perfect. Oh, and no doubt you took the only reasonable course of action. Using cardboard would have only brought dishonor! The only reasonable solution, I say!
Seriously, they are fantastic, I love them.
Thanks Suber!
They’re awesome, love the old Bombots. I used them in a game once, you could put any grenade in them & I used Rad grenades to leave areas of radiation forcing my mate to avoid them or suffer wounds. He was so impressed y the tactic, kept saying how genius I was until his turn & somehow he’d stumbled on exactly the same tactic when coming up with his army list. No idea why we chose to do the same thing that game.
Pretty cool. What minis did you use to represent them back in the day?
3D print files?
Wowwww ? these are so great! I love that you designed them from the ground up. By making them multi-part, you managed to make what are essentially tin cans on treads highly poseable. And of course your paint jobs are fantastic; I love that high-contrast green. The super old school Marine is just an added bonus, although of course he’s perfectly painted too…
Thanks Allison! I like to think they can bend forward to look quizically at things, BB8 style.
As others have said, they are really adorable. I’m sure the grinding sound of their tracks as they steadily mosey towards their prey might make them less so. I’ve never seen them before and yet they still give me nostalgia.
Designing a 3d figure like that is a pretty nifty skill. I’m almost inspired enough to go find out how bad I would be at it.
Maybe their tracks make a cute squeak squeak squeak noise as they pootle over …
Wow, these are awesome. I love Rogue Trader style stuff. Is there anyway to get some for myself :)
These are outstanding, perfect Rogue Trader spirit. Is there any way to get hold of a set, I have one of the Comms MaRines now looking very lonely!
Great job on the design! They look great and have the perfect RT vibe!
Good work on the painting too!
Are the files available for purchase or download? Now that I’ve seen them, I feel the need to include some in my next army list!
Any chance you might make these available? I would totally buy some if you did? Even just the 3d file would be amazing.
These look amazing.
That RT model is one of my all time favorites. I was happy to see it brought into the Heresy range – even in Resin.
Do you provide STL files on your Patreon (for the Bombots, for example)?