Unexpected Beginnings
While working in my garage on my latest project, a veteran firefighter, friend and trainer pulled into my quiet driveway and asked the fateful words.
“Can you 3d print some houses for me for a table top exercise?”, my visitor asked.
“Yeah! If I can design it, I can print it. What scale you looking for?”, I asked.
“1/64 would work.”, he replied.
“Let me see what I can come up with” I said.
Little did I know the rabbit hole I just stepped into. After some quick research I realized that a 1/64 scale house would be 12″-14″! While a great scale, it would not be practical for both transportation and creation of larger scale scenarios.
So I set off to figure out what would be the best scale for what was needed from the miniatures. The ability to simulate a scenario, and simulate it with detail. I realized, what I was looking for did not exist, nothing was purpose built for this group.
So I designed my first fire Engine. Initially at 1/200 scale, and it was far too small to be practical. With a few more tests I settled on the 1/120 scale, which is a fantastic relatable scale, as 1″ is 10′. Everyone can visualize an inch.
So I began designing, measuring, researching, creating. If I was going to produce a scale model system, the models needed to be right. Each vehicle is researched and built to precise scale. I wanted the immersion of using the models to bring a realism and a understanding of scale to any scenario they were being used in.
So I made a goal of creating an amazing miniatures system that is friendly, robust and approachable.
I hope you enjoy the fruits of my labour and may these tools help you prepare for any scenario you may imagine.
-Brennan