Dragonfire Produces Traveler Space Ships

[Dragonfire]

We at Dragonfire Laser Crafts got the license to produce ships from the Traveler universe in the proper size for using for miniatures.
Our first two ships, the Scout, Type S and the Free trader can be found here.
http://www.dragonfiresigns.com/store.php?crn=223

The main reason for this post is to start a discussion about the ships and see what people think about them. Also to find out which other ships you would be interested in.

To give a little background, we at Dragonfire Laser Crafts have been making laser engraved and cut accessories for almost three years now. This year we won an Origins Award in the Best Miniature product catagory for our flying ship, Titiana's Fury. We have been nominated for Ennies for both that and our Deluxe Galleon.

Please let me know if you have any questions or comments about us or our products.
Sincerely
Lucas Amodio
Dragonfire Laser Crafts

 

[GypsyComet]

Aside from using the wrong spelling of the game's name, and illustrating nicely why this game should be played in 15mm (29" long!?!), those look quite neat.

 

[EDG]

So... these are basically deckplans on hard plastic sheets that can be stacked? (got a fully assembled one to show us at all?)

Of course I guess the big question is whether you used the old screwy deckplans from the corebook or the updated ones...

Though as a tangent, I am curious to know what you've got in store for EVE Online...

 

[Twi'lekk_Den-keeper]

Excuse my nievette, but aren't thouse a touch expensive? I would buy up both in a flash if they were ninety percent less money. On the design side, some custom ones would be cool. It takes two minutes to make the specs, but the plans take forever to make, and it would be great not to have to bother.

 

[GamerDude]

In the browser's title bar, the game is listed as "Traveler" instead of "Traveller" (the compatible product logo is correct).

They are very pretty, but very expensive. I've picked all six ship blueprints from SJGames brand new for a total of $20 and they each included a sheet of their "Cardboard Heros" for Traveller.

 

[EDG]

Excuse my nievette, but aren't thouse a touch expensive?

To be fair, these do look to be like "luxury deckplans" (well, moreso than any RPG item could be considered a "luxury"). I'd guess they're aimed at the more hardcore collector market than the casual gamer market.

That said, I would have hoped for more interesting detail on the plans than just a straight copy of the book - like, maybe the walls could be embossed, smaller details could be added, etc to make it more worth paying that much extra for.

 

[Dragonfire]

Thanks for the note on the spelling. I have fixed it in the references to it.

The reason that these are priced the way they are is that they are made of 1/8 inch (3mm) thick plastics, that are scratch resistant. Between that and the size that they turned out, this is what they cost based on materials and time to make. They are also designed to be very durable and last longer than paper or cardboard counterparts.

We made them on the 25mm or 1 inch scale so that they would be usable with the majority of miniatures out there.

They are based on the deckplans in the new books. And part of our arrangement with Mongoose is that we don't modify the deckplans without explicit permission.

Thanks for your feedback.
Lucas Amodio
Dragonfire Laser Crafts

 

[Infojunky]

We made them on the 25mm or 1 inch scale so that they would be usable with the majority of miniatures out there.

Well, the none Traveller Miniatures...... The vast majority of figures produced under a Traveller license were in 15mm.

That being said, scaling down to 60% shouldn't much of an issue, as all of your files are digital. (Or so I assume)

They are based on the deckplans in the new books. And part of our arrangement with Mongoose is that we don't modify the deckplans without explicit permission.

Thes ones in the Core Book or the ones that are the correct size that came out in the fix PDF?

Dude, I'm not yanking your chain, I hope your association is profitable and long lived.

And for the record, if you want my custom you will need to support 15mm as I do not purchase anything that cannot be used in that size.

 

[Infojunky]

And for the record, if you want my custom you will need to support 15mm as I do not purchase anything that cannot be used in that size.

Wow, this sounds way harser than it was intended.... Sorry.

I just am a 15mm fanatic, and is sometimes hard to state my position with sufficient tact...

 

[Duroon]

Well not everyone is a 15mm fanatic, nor do we all have tons of old Traveller mini's lying around. 25-28mm all the way for me. I will pick some of these up if I have the spare cash.

 

[EDG]

They are based on the deckplans in the new books. And part of our arrangement with Mongoose is that we don't modify the deckplans without explicit permission.

It looks like they're based on the updated deckplans, which is good .

I have spotted a couple of (probably accidental) differences though, one minor and one a bit more major.

On the Scout, you've moved an Iris Valve - the one on the central corridor near the Ships Locker is one square closer to the back of the ship from where should be (that's the minor difference).

The bigger difference is on the Free Trader - the proportions of the ship are slightly different. On the corrected deckplans, the distance between the back wall of the crew quarters at the front of the ship and the back wall of the cargo bay is 15 squares. That's the same on your deckplans, so all good so far. But count the distance between the front of the fuel scoops on the side and the back wall of the cargo bay - it's 7 squares on the corrected deckplans, and 6 squares on your deckplan. And the distance between the front of the fuel scoops and the the back wall of the crew quarters on the corrected deckplans is 8 squares, but on your deckplans the same distance is 9 squares.

 

[Bishop Odo]

Why? That’s the first thing I thought of. Sorry, to be a wet blanket, but there are no licensed Traveller miniatures being produced, so why produce licensed expensive ship layouts for miniatures? Please tell me there are going to be new licensed miniatures?

 

[EDG]

Wow, we're a constructive bunch aren't we...

I don't think the "Why?" is important. I guess they got a license because they already do deckplans for other things and wanted to do Traveller ones - that's reason enough. I suppose that whether anyone buys them or not will be up to the Traveller market.

One thing I am curious about though is how often does combat occur on these ships? After all, I can't really see anyone using miniatures for any other purpose (unless you really want to use miniatures to show John sitting on the loo, Mike sitting on his chair at the engineering console, and Fred reading a book on his bunk).

 

[GypsyComet]

One thing I am curious about though is how often does combat occur on these ships?

Obviously Snapshot has been out of print for far too long if someone can ask that question with a straight face.

 

[EDG]

Obviously Snapshot has been out of print for far too long if someone can ask that question with a straight face.

Well I guess in Firefly they had a few fights on the ship . I just would have thought that most combats would have happened planetside.

 

[Pagan priest]

And for the record, if you want my custom you will need to support 15mm as I do not purchase anything that cannot be used in that size.

Wow, this sounds way harser than it was intended.... Sorry.

I just am a 15mm fanatic, and is sometimes hard to state my position with sufficient tact...

DEATH TO ALL FANATICS!

:lol:

 

[Pagan priest]

And now for a more relavent comment...

Deck plans are a good thing. While most adventures may never use them, should that one adventure that calls for shipboard combat to occur, well, then it's too late.

On the other hand, this is not D&D, where seamonsters will be clambering over the rail every gaming session. If and when I run an Undead Pirates of the Caribbean campaign for D&D, I really want to have one of the uber-nifty ships for the party to sail. But for those times when they would be needed in a Traveller game, I personally will just look longingly at these and then make do with a plain old paper based deck plan.

Well, unless I win the lottery...

 

[Emryys]

Deck plans are a good thing. While most adventures may never use them, should that one adventure that calls for shipboard combat to occur, well, then it's too late...

They sure are nice...

I think for Traveller, deckplans need to be tied into a game like Snapshot or AHL. This gives reason for investing in such a product.

 

[MongooseMatt]

Well I guess in Firefly they had a few fights on the ship . I just would have thought that most combats would have happened planetside.

Depends on who the players annoy

 

[Dragonfire]

Based on the responses that I got I will be offering a 15mm version for all of you fanatics, and not so fanatics. This will be in addition to keeping the larger scale.

The Iris valve change is an accident, and I will fix it the next time we make Scouts. The proportions of the Free Trader were changed, with permission, for production reasons to keep the costs down.

We have made deck plans in the past, and one of the biggest comments I kept on getting was that people wanted space ships. So I looked around for the best ones that I could find and afford, and asked the folks at Mongoose for permission to make the ones for Traveller.

I am hoping to sell them to people for multiple reasons. First for campagins that have a need for boarding actions. Second, for people that just think that they look cool. And Third, for those players that want a copy of "their" ship.

Now I do have another question for you all. (And I do appreciate this discussion.) Would you rather I label the different areas on the ship, like we did with the Scout, or leave it to your imagination, like on the Free Trader?

Lucas Amodio
Dragonfire Laser Crafts