Welcome back to part two of my interview with Darren “Spaceman Spiff” Teigen. This time we’re getting into the hows and whys of some of what he does, the virtues of 3D printing machines, and some links modeling hobbyists might find useful.

Ron: Your work is professional quality. Has anyone approached you online or in person regarding making professional miniature displays, perhaps for a museum or marketing campaign? I know new buildings and equipment often have models made to impress prospective investors.

DT: Jon Paulson of Paulson Games has contacted me about some work. I don’t want to give out too much info yet because this project is still in the early stages. I have indirectly helped a lot of the garage kit builders by posting pics of my work on their minis. A well-painted mini is a powerful selling tool!

Star Wars and BattleTech and Aliens, oh my.

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This time I have Darrin Teigen, known as “Spaceman Spiff” in some forums and modeling circles. He has a long time passion for making models and modifying miniatures for fun and profit. And as you will see, he’s exceptionally good at what he does. For those of you out there that like to alter, or ‘kitbash’ models and minis, stick around. You may learn a thing or two.

Ron: Tell me a bit about yourself. How long have you been into modeling? Do you play the table top games as well?

DT: My first model was a Tyrannosaurus Rex- I was probably 10 years old. I am 43 now. I didn’t really get into model building until I discovered table-top gaming miniatures. Then things kinda took off. My first miniatures were a box of Grenadier fighters to go with my Dungeons & Dragons role playing days. When I was 18, I was the resident painter at my local game shop in Des Moines, IA where I would set up a table on the weekends and paint minis where the customers could see the magic happening. Then along came two games specifically created for miniature wargaming- BattleTech and Warhammer 40K. I have long since grown out of Warhammer, and I have tried several other games, but BattleTech has and always will be my true love.. even if I don’t get to play much. I guess you could say I am more of a miniature collector and painter than I am a player. My favorite scale is 10mm (N scale) , which is what 95% of my collection is, but 15mm is also a preferred scale.

Salamander Battle Armor VS Hunter-Killer Tanks from Terminator. I LIKE the way this man thinks.

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This time I’m interviewing Chris Gotcher; aspiring prop artist with a room full of homemade goodies and just now venturing into N-scale production of MechWarrior IV and MechWarrior Online versions of popular Battlemechs.

Ron: Tell me a bit about your background, what got you into doing this. How long have you been into BattleTech?

CG: I’ve always enjoyed modeling and making props. I’d imagine most folks have thought how cool it would be to hold a Pulse Rifle or a Lightsaber when they saw those movies for the first time. I realized early on that if you wanted some things, sometimes you just had to make them yourself. Lots of great movies and games just never get the merchandise. You can buy a model kit of the Falcon or the Enterprise any day of the week, but the Serenity still hasn’t had a mass-produced kit yet. A few years back I got into using 3D programs to help build 1:1 prop templates and cut my teeth on props from Fallout and Halo. It’s only recently that the 3D printing quality has really been affordable to apply the same techniques to prototype miniatures and models for the everyman.

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