Art Project Articles

This page contains links to articles on some of my more recent art projects. I may describe some art techniques and provide “making of” information, more more often than not I shall just make stuff up and spin the bullshit (a bit like writing Artist Statements). Hopefully this extreme level of complete bollocks will not cast doubt in your minds about the veracity of the other stuff on my website.

Make Little Planets with the GIMP

I took part in a local competition to design a planet as part of Astronomy Month. Actually I’m sure the competition was aimed at 6 year olds, but never mind. What i decided to do was create a “Little Planet” using local iconic scenes. It was a heap of fun gathering material for it. I used the GIMP to manipulate the component images and produce the final “Little Planet” image. This article describes teh techniques I used to create the image.

The Most Bad-Arse Mountain Dulcimer in the World

I take great pride in presenting to you the Most Bad-Arse (That’s “Badass” for you North Americans) Appalachian Mountain Dulcimer in the World. The article describes the semi-safe use of the instrument to avoid unwanted time distortions, and fluctuations in posigravitrino flux (which would be bad).

Paint Selection for 3D Printed Miniatures

So you have made a fantastic 3D printed miniature and the single colour it is printed in is a bit boring. This article briefly describes a selection of cheap paints that will produce a robust finish with good strong colours.

A 3D Printed Flying Saucer

In a sudden fit of creativity, I decided I needed a flying saucer. A little one. This page describes the model and provides links to the model files for anyone wishing to 3d print their own version of this.

A 3D Printed Mine Trolley Prop for Stop Motion

Think Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Hoodwinked, and maybe some Spy vs Spy and you have an idea of what I have in mind for this model.

A 3D Printed Mine Truck to go with the Mine Trolley Prop

Maybe this is getting a little obsessive, but here is a cute little wagon to go with the Mine Trolley Prop described in the article above.

An improved 3D Printed Mine Truck

OK, so I admit it. I am getting obsessed with this project. Here is an improved version of the mine truck described in the article above. This looks the same, smells the same, tastes the same, but is different. It has been designed to make assembly easier and somewhat less tedious.

3D Printed Railway Bogie Sets

I figure if I’m going to go overboard with these projects I may as well do it properly. This project is two different Railway Bogie sets destined to be part of some kit-bash projects. one set is designed for 1:24 size models while the other is a narrow gauge designed to be compatible with the Mine Trolley and Mine Truck models described above.

3D Printed Railbike

Yep. It is a monstrosity that would probably never work in reality, but hey this is a fantasy piece. This article describes this Articulated Railbike project and provides the 3D printed model files for the chassis. The motorbike body is a Maisto model with the wheels removed and a bit of paint splashed on it.

3D Printed Go-Motion Mine Trolley

Not wanting to let go of the theme, I decided that before I started any serious animation I must build myself a Go-Motion Mine Trolley. At about this point I decided I was also kidding myself if I thought I was ever going to do any animation. I was having much to much fun building the props. Anyone want any props built? Anyway, here it is complete with Arduino motion control and cute little chain drives. To be honest though, it doesn’t run as smoothly as I would have liked. Maybe you’ll have better luck with yours.

3D Printed Vintage RailCar

You may have spotted a theme here with these 3D printing projects. This one is a Vintage Car / Locomotive hybrid. This was a very quick project and a lot of fun. It is also compatible with the Mine Trolleys, Trucks, and Railbike designs linked above.

3D Printed Chassis for 1:24 Scale Railcar Hybrid Models

This project is another development in a very long interest in models (and real vehicles) that are a hybrid between cars and locomotives. This 3D printed model is a chassis that can be fitted to 1:24 scale car models.

28mm Scale Tabletop Gaming Mine Trolley

I wanted to experiment with the potential to make money from designing and selling 3D printed game piece designs. As a test I designed a 28mm scale version of the mine trolleys above for tabletop games. It was also designed to be compatible with HO gauge rails and wheel sets. After a couple of years, the designs had earned a whole $5 (less fees) and so the experiment was concluded. So the effort is not entirely wasted, I’ve released the models for free, and are available through this page.

Sadly, this further reinforced the message that the only way to avoid starving was to get a real job. Ho hum.

Narrow Gauge Brakevan

Continuing with my theme (obsession maybe) of narrow gauge rolling stock I decided what I really needed was a brake van. I was keen to make the wooden panelling and roof from coffee stirrers seeing as I had an unlimited supply of used ones from the cafeteria at work. I also had a generic truck chassis waiting for something to go on it. All that I needed to do was do a bit more design for some features to go inside the brakevan as well as details such as the window bits and door assembly. Okay, so maybe I got a little carried away with the detailing. Here’s the models and assembly info.

If you feel the need for tracks to go with it, check out these articles; here and here.

All material presented in these artwork articles and pages are the copyright of Hamish Trolove, unless otherwise stated.