Wednesday, 20 February 2013
Fat Dragon Games' Sedan Cars
When it comes to card vehicles if you want variety (and lots of it) you should look no further than Stoelzel's Structures and/or World Works' Games. However, other card manufacturing companies make card vehicles as well, only in much smaller numbers. One such firm is Fat Dragon Games and they have produced three sedan cars so far. Here they are.
All three cars are based on the same design but they come in three different colour schemes - yellow taxi, shiny blue and light green.
The taxi is part of the original Capital City set. The blue car can be found in the McDoom's Restaurant set and the green junker car is part of the Capital City Expansion set.
My biggest gripe with these models has to do with the wheels. There is no option for making the tyres 3D. The wheels are simply part of the side of the cars and as such are as thick as the paper or card that you print the model on. This looks fine if viewed from the side or from a height but the problem is if you apply the slightest bit of pressure to the model, the wheels will buckle. Yes, I know that making 3D wheels is fiddly but to omit the option for making them is a bad decision by FDG. I added four semi-circular pieces of mounting card to each wheel and then painted them black. It didn't take that long to do and the result was more than worth it.
The taxi is a good idea for a car and this one adds a bit of variety to my WWG taxis. The green car is described as a junker, a term I hadn't heard of before but I can easily figure out what it means. This car is not in tip top condition. Note the missing hubcap from the front wheel. The front door has been replaced by a different coloured front door.
These cars are slightly larger than the sedan cars made by WWG. I haven't made any of the Stoelzel sedan cars yet, so I can't comment on how they compare in size. Note the boot (trunk, if you're American) of the junker car is a different colour to the bodywork. Can you spot what is missing from these cars? None of them have registration plates. Surely that's an offence!
The blue car looks like it has just come from a car showroom - all shiny and new. Unlike the junker car. Its front side panel has also been replaced by one of a different colour to it's bodywork. Oddly enough, I like all three, but for different reasons, and so I can't say which one is my favourite. I'm all for variety, and despite FDG's slip up with the tyres, I do like them.
I made one of these a while back, but decided that it was really too big to fit in with my other vehicles. May try again with a scaled-down print some day...
ReplyDeleteI completely agree about the wheel thickness. As well as the realism aspect, balancing a model on 4 thin pieces of card is just asking for damage to occur!
That's a good idea about scaling down, Hugh.
DeleteDon't get me started on the wheels. What FDG did was just silly!
Well done!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Tito.
DeleteNice work. I am sure I am not alone in wishing to see them next to other manufactures cars to judge scale/size and compatibility. As stand alone cars though they look very good.
ReplyDeleteI'll be doing a review of my Stoelzel's car park soon, so I'll make sure to show them alongside some of my other card vehicles then.
DeleteThey look pretty good to me, I think they will fit into the rest of your terrain just right.
ReplyDeleteThey are a tad bigger than my WWG cars but even so, they still fit in well. After all, just like people, not all cars are the same size.
DeleteThese looks superb Bryan, great stuff.
ReplyDeleteCheers, Simon. I'm very happy at how they turned out.
DeleteAs you said apart from the wheel issue they've turned out excellent.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you think so, Fran.
DeleteVery nice, the junker might fit in well with the WWG junk yard set, looks like its ready to get crushed
ReplyDeleteYou're not wrong there, SK.
DeleteGood work here, you are very skilled at this. I struggle with the wheels, any tips?
ReplyDeleteMy main tip for making wheels is to reinforce them. I usually reinforce mine with a piece of foamboard sandwiched between two pieces of mounting card. It is fiddly and time consuming but well worth the effort.
DeleteNice review Bryan, thank you!
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, it's nice to have different models for vehicles. It gives that variety that makes things just a tad bit more believable.
Absolutely, Jon. Variety is good!
DeleteI think they look very good, despite the wheel problem and that seems fairly easy to fix.
ReplyDeleteI wasn't aware of the "Junker", but it looks fit for your junkyard as SK says.
The Capital City Expansion set is a relatively new set, Joe, so it's possible you may have missed it. I agree with you and SK about the junker car. But how about placing it in a white trash trailer park or an urban ghetto?
DeleteMore vehicles are always a good thing. I think I like the junker the best, as I've seen a few of those still on the road in my day. Shame the wheels can't be made 3D. I think i'd probably attach some WWG license plates as their absence bothers me.
ReplyDeleteYes, finding number plates for them shouldn't be too difficult. And it would make them legal.
DeleteI have the taxi too, but must admit, haven't produced any yet; have you considered trying foam board cut, painted painted black and maybe glued on the inside of the 'wheel' to add depth? It may help - nice models though...
ReplyDeleteMonty, I'm way ahead of you. See my reply to Irqan for how I use foamboard when making tyres.
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