So I haven't been around for a while for one reason or another. Mainly because of technical school and trying to find a really good job now that I'm a fully qualified electrical technician! But also because I've been doing other projects. Among them is something I think at least some of you will find a must-have for your games: a Xizor Transport Systems XQ-6 Space Platform model kit! Not a resin or plastic, but paper kit, so it won't break the bank (even if inkjet ink is basically made from unicorn blood).

Here's a link to download it:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/q3jyjkmkw721yvu/XQ6%20Platform.pdf?dl=0

And here are four albums with detailed instructions on how to build it:

http://imgur.com/a/h0Xt9

http://imgur.com/a/Fglq8

http://imgur.com/a/PAXLf

http://imgur.com/a/fPGlg

I haven't used it in any games, but it's probably best for Epic scale games due to sheer size. However, since it's well above the height of most miniatures, it should be fine as dressing for regular games as well. Let me know what you think.

Awesome man! Don't suppose it's similar sized to the HotAC platform such that it could be used instead?

Thanks and very cool

This.....is super cool! I love building stuff for the game. I guess it comes from my Warhammer background and always making something. I'm very impressed! I built a space station out of a large plastic cup, 2 plastic plates, and a yogurt container. I think I might have to "borrow" some of these prints and bits to flesh mine out some more. That is...even if I do build out your station.

So...I have some questions and requests. I did look through the instructions, but I wasn't sure on one part. Can you take it apart? Or is it all glued in together? If you can take it apart, can you take a picture or two of it in pieces? It almost looked like the arms can slide into the middle section. I wasn't sure.

I'm also wondering if it might be OK to not use a stand and have it sit on the table. It might be easier if I'm trying to put ships on top of the station and all that. It would be easier to measure distances and such.

Have you tried other material? MDF board will be pretty solid and it will probably hold together better. I've sometimes used cardstock. Well...I buy cheap FOR RENT signs from Walmart that are thick plastic and work well enough. I don't know if it would be as solid as what you have. I just don't have all the tools you do.

Overall, I love it! I'm going to mention it on my podcast this week!

Here's my space station that is looking a little sad when compared to yours!

Where can I buy one?

Great job. Very well done.

This.....is super cool! I love building stuff for the game. I guess it comes from my Warhammer background and always making something. I'm very impressed! I built a space station out of a large plastic cup, 2 plastic plates, and a yogurt container. I think I might have to "borrow" some of these prints and bits to flesh mine out some more. That is...even if I do build out your station.

So...I have some questions and requests. I did look through the instructions, but I wasn't sure on one part. Can you take it apart? Or is it all glued in together? If you can take it apart, can you take a picture or two of it in pieces? It almost looked like the arms can slide into the middle section. I wasn't sure.

I'm also wondering if it might be OK to not use a stand and have it sit on the table. It might be easier if I'm trying to put ships on top of the station and all that. It would be easier to measure distances and such.

Have you tried other material? MDF board will be pretty solid and it will probably hold together better. I've sometimes used cardstock. Well...I buy cheap FOR RENT signs from Walmart that are thick plastic and work well enough. I don't know if it would be as solid as what you have. I just don't have all the tools you do.

Overall, I love it! I'm going to mention it on my podcast this week!

Here's my space station that is looking a little sad when compared to yours!

This could be a good time to invest in those tiny neo magnets.

serious skillz

Wow. I was impressed by the picture, but after glancing through the instructions I am floored! You have some amazing skill! Excellent work designing and creating this. I think it's a little above my level But it's good enough just getting to see pictures of this beauty.

This.....is super cool! I love building stuff for the game. I guess it comes from my Warhammer background and always making something. I'm very impressed! I built a space station out of a large plastic cup, 2 plastic plates, and a yogurt container. I think I might have to "borrow" some of these prints and bits to flesh mine out some more. That is...even if I do build out your station.

So...I have some questions and requests. I did look through the instructions, but I wasn't sure on one part. Can you take it apart? Or is it all glued in together? If you can take it apart, can you take a picture or two of it in pieces? It almost looked like the arms can slide into the middle section. I wasn't sure.

I'm also wondering if it might be OK to not use a stand and have it sit on the table. It might be easier if I'm trying to put ships on top of the station and all that. It would be easier to measure distances and such.

Have you tried other material? MDF board will be pretty solid and it will probably hold together better. I've sometimes used cardstock. Well...I buy cheap FOR RENT signs from Walmart that are thick plastic and work well enough. I don't know if it would be as solid as what you have. I just don't have all the tools you do.

Overall, I love it! I'm going to mention it on my podcast this week!

Here's my space station that is looking a little sad when compared to yours!

Yes, the instructions are designed to show you how to make the station in such a way that you can disassemble it and reassemble it. But if you want to make it all one piece, you can skip the parts that show you how to make the tabs that slide into the hub and the sockets and just glue everything together. However, I chose to make it so I could take it apart in order to store it and transport it. The finished model is about 24" in diameter I think (I haven't measured it), so it's pretty large and you might not have space for it. Plus, this way if you want to, you can build another copy of one of the docking arms but with tremendous battle damage, or maybe one that's under construction, to switch things up a bit. Here's a pic of everything taken apart:

Yes, even as built, it sits nicely on the table:

I wouldn't do this, however, unless you also add more reinforcement on the sockets (if you're making them removable), or seriously reinforcing the glue joints on the arms. They'll be under a lot a stress, and in that picture, the only thing keeping the whole thing from collapsing under its own weight is the bigger of the two antennas. Obviously not a good solution, especially if things are sat on top of the model. I only have structures above the tabs holding them in place; the docking arms can swing freely upwards, because I decided that mine would be on a stand, so there's no need to add more card to the bottom of the socket. If I were to build this for sitting flat on the table, I'd definitely leave out the large triangular bits on the bottom as well as the lower dome and antennas. That way you can easily fly your ships over the base.

Honestly, the only tools I used when building this were:

An eXacto knife

A ruler

White glue

Superglue

BIC markers (light gray and dark gray)

A black Sharpie

A cutting board

That's it. It's not a matter of tools; it's a matter of looking at the pictures and following along with me. There's no need to feel intimidated by a project like this. This is the beauty of working in paper: you can print more copies of the parts if you royally screw something up!

Also, there are a lot of steps you can skip if you don't want a complicated build. It can easily be built just from the templates alone, with no structural reinforcement. I only did that so that it would stand up to punishment, as this model will be used in X-wing and Edge of the Empire games that I run, and it'll have to take a lot of abuse. You also don't have to take the time to add detail like I did, as the model's textures look fine without the extra work.

I didn't use other materials because, well, these were on-hand. I printed out the model, then raided the basement for anything I thought I might use. I have a LOT of sheet plastic, but I didn't want to use that as I'd have to use superglue or epoxy to bond the paper to it, and that would make the finished model look absolutely terrible because of the blotchy, translucent look that would result.

Thanks for the mention in your podcast!

You. Are. AWESOME.

thank you for doing this

Awesome man! Don't suppose it's similar sized to the HotAC platform such that it could be used instead?

It is a bit bigger than the HotAC platform, but it should work. The only issue I can see is that there is only one way to assemble the model kit as-is, so the different layouts of the stations in the game probably won't be possible without some serious scratchbuilding. What you can do, however, is cut out the shield generators, turbolasers, etc. and then set the tokens on the station model to indicate its function.

Wow. I was impressed by the picture, but after glancing through the instructions I am floored! You have some amazing skill! Excellent work designing and creating this. I think it's a little above my level But it's good enough just getting to see pictures of this beauty.

That's actually related to why I wrote the instructions as I did. I wanted to be as thorough as I could so that anyone who wanted to learn the skills I have can easily do so. I worked a long time to develop them, but I feel like it would be selfish of me to hog my talents and make others learn the same hard way I did. So I tried to be detailed enough that anyone who was motivated enough to try and become a great modeler could easily see how to do it. Hopefully I did a good enough job as far as that goes.

This is incredible! Dumb question. what did you use as the sturdy material?

I used two materials for the stiffer stuff:

1/8" thick High-density fiberboard (aka HDF) and chipboard. Both can be bought very cheaply on Amazon.

How did you cut the HDF board, though? Did you use an X-acto for it?

OH, and thanks again!

Yep. You just need to be sure to have a box of blades on hand. That stuff will dull your blades like nobody's business... luckily a box of 100 blades is only $30 or so, heh.

It looks so 90's space sim boxy. Great job capturing that.

Wanna know how? It's because this is actually based off the original CGI model from X-wing Alliance.

Yep. You just need to be sure to have a box of blades on hand. That stuff will dull your blades like nobody's business... luckily a box of 100 blades is only $30 or so, heh.

I've thought about getting a wet stone just to sharpen my X-acto blades whenever I need it. It seemed easier and cheaper.

I want to try something besides pressboard, but it might be the sturdiest. I really like what you did, though.

On my best days when I even make dividers from my game they come out all lop-sided. I suppose with practice I could get better but it isn't something I'm very good at.

So I went out and bough the Star Trek Attack Wing DS9. It is fairly big and could, if I had players, serve as a sensor node that need guarding.

I've seen the attack wing one. I've been wondering if Attack Wing will die hard and I can pick it up cheap.

It would be better to just get the AMT kit and assemble and paint it.

I've seen the attack wing one. I've been wondering if Attack Wing will die hard and I can pick it up cheap.

I was able to get it while on sale, half price at Sci-Fi City. But that was some time ago.

[P.S. it is quite large. Bigger than I thought until I actually got it. Scale wise it really don't look like it would make a good station with the docking arms way out and all. But it reminds me is a Sensor Node from Empire at War. Like I said it is big so you could have hard points all over, docking in the central area or even separate areas like Epic/Huge ships]

It could be a great frame to start adding crap on, though!

Is it more Armada scale? I imagine it could be a freakin' giant space station for Armada.

Since the station model is about 1km in diameter, I don't think it's armada scale.