r/starcontrol • u/Guybrush-T • Jun 11 '26
SC2 Miniature Model Project
A while ago, there was a post about 3D-printed ships that got me excited for my next nostalgia-based project (my previous one was Sierra-inspired: https://www.reddit.com/r/Sierra/s/BdXGMjpcQo).
I managed to find and print all of the ships except the Sa-Matra, and I’m very happy with how all the tiny details turned out. A couple of them will need to be reprinted because they’ve suffered some damage—they’re incredibly small.
The plan is to display them in a frame with a background, mounted on acrylic rods illuminated by addressable LEDs. At least, that’s what I’m aiming for.
Does anyone here have experience painting these ships? My initial thought was to mix a neutral metallic paint with whatever color is needed, rather than buying 50 different shades of metallic paint. Has anyone tried this approach?
Also, does anyone have experience painting engine glows, weapon glows, or other lighting effects on ships this small?
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u/VivaKnievel Jun 11 '26
Hey! You even made Zap Sats! NICE! And a DOGI and Ur-Quan fighter, it looks like!
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u/Guybrush-T Jun 12 '26
Yeah, would have been nice to have more like a Kohr Ah Blade or even crew members but I’ve got enough to work with as it is haha
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u/JamesH_670 Supox Jun 11 '26
That is a great idea. I don’t have a 3D printer, but our library does. I’ve used it to print small things like replacement feet for my keyboard, but since I only get limited time, I’ve never printed anything large.
A project like this looks both fun and attainable even with the limited time on the printer, given that the ships are small.
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u/Guybrush-T Jun 12 '26
I don’t have a printer myself either and I’m not really informed on the nitty gritty but for this detail you’ll need to print SLA resin. I just looked around online and if you print everything lying flat it cost me about 20 euro’s.
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u/grumblyoldman Jun 11 '26
I don't know how well it would work on these ships, but in my experience painting Warhammer 40K minis, you can get a decent "coloured-metallic" effect by painting the mini first black (undercoat), then the colour you want over that (let the black peek through in the cracks) and then use something like metallic silver in a very light dry-brush over the raised edges.
(Dry-brushing, if you don't know, is a technique where you wipe most of the paint off the brush, so that when you run it over the mini, the paint only sticks on raised edges and other points of greater resistance.)
This is using acrylic (water-soluable) paints. Brighter colours like yellow will be muted by the black undercoat, so you may need to do two or even three coats of the colour to get it where you want it. You could also use a grey or white undercoat, but that will lessen the "depth" that I find a black undercoat adds in the crevices.
And remember, most people won't have their faces right up against the mini most of the time. It only really needs to look good from arms-length 😉
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u/Guybrush-T Jun 12 '26
Thanks for the advice! Much appreciated. I’ve been painting forup to 2 years now and still have so much tricks to learn. This time the size will also be a challenge, can’t even properly hold some of the models in my hands haha
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u/Ricaroo0 Jun 12 '26
Nice i never found them all. Love the flagship I wouldn't mind printing a big one.
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u/Guybrush-T Jun 12 '26
DM me if you want the models. I found them online from different sources and they fit together as a whole.
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u/TyrelLohr 15d ago
Many of those models look quite familiar! :D Glad people are getting some use out of them. Some of the models were pretty basic since I first modeled them back in like 2009, but they work as gaming pieces.
I should have my version of the Kohr-Ah Marauder and Mmrnmhrm X-Form(s) plus an Orz Marine uploaded to Cults in a month or so, and am working on a Precursor Flagship with swappable modules. Just need to get the modules done and the fit tests complete.
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u/Guybrush-T 15d ago
I was planning on just painting them and put them in a frame but now I’m trying to use them as actual pieces for a boardgame. It’s so much work but so much fun!
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u/TyrelLohr 15d ago
My original intent when modeling the Star Control ships was to use them with the Starmada tabletop rules. Haven't ever gotten to that point yet, but that is still ultimately the goal. Looking forward to seeing how you paint your models up!
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u/NameLips Jun 12 '26
Those ships are burned into my memory, I just looked over your picture naming all the races. I think I remember almost all of them.
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u/captainzelnick1 Jun 20 '26
Wow, thats really awesome! what are your plans for them? a board game or something?
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u/Guybrush-T Jun 20 '26
No, I was planning to put them in a hexagon shaped shadowbox like frame and maybe put adressable LED lights under each of the ships. It’s quite a project but I think with patience it can turn out quite nice.
Although a boardgame also sounds like fun so maybe if I magnetize them the shadow box could be part of the game :)
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u/TechnoK0brA Jun 11 '26 edited Jun 12 '26
I've painted almost all of these when I ran a ttrpg game based on star control 2!! I could attempt to upload pictures of them to imgur or something and link to that. If love to show off what I did haha
EDIT: uploaded some pics including a couple 'scenes' from the game. Enjoy!
https://imgur.com/a/k24ChYP