I’ve been trying to find suitable sci fi gubbins to replace the more ‘natural’ tactical rocks on minis with small consoles, and other electrical bits - like the new hellcat mini. So far I’ve only found ‘grim dark’ and fantasy type basing bits and I’d rather avoid more ‘foot on pavement’ / ‘foot on styrene rod’ tactical rock swaps. Any thoughts? Unfortunately I don’t have access to a 3D printer.
The best lead I can give you is to suggest you check out Secret Weapon Miniatures bases. I don't know if they have anything to replace the tactical junk with, but some of their bases (the Steel Plating line, in particular) have some bits that I think could be used to replace the tactical junk on some models. And you can just directly purchase the bases, so you don't need a 3D printer.
SWM announced past year they were closing. Web still up and no obvious notice, so maybe liquidation sale is taking time or maybe they found a new path to keep going. Just a warning in case you get in love with a range really going OOP. Keep an eye in discarded things, sometimes small parts (or cut zones from bigger parts) have weird shapes that can fit as tech filler. Electronics and packaging mostly. We had some examples in a couple of threads... @Koin-Koin or @Biomckill (or whoever had the darth potato avatar) maybe remember them. Another source is 1/48 complements. Ammo boxes, tool boxes, oil drums, folded tarpaulins and such, sold for dioramas and superdetailing of airplanes & tanks, or scale railroad hobby. Mantic also has those Terrain Crates with consoles, barrels and more scifi looking parts.
While nowhere close to as easy as taking something out of a blister and gluing it, it's quite possible to scratchbuild sci-fi bits, here's the best video i've seen on the subject: You could make your consoles out of foam, discarded plastic or putty, then decorate them like this. Also you could use something like Oyumaru to copy suitable things, or even from parts of other kits that look OK for the purpose. Beyond that, check etsy, there's people who take 3D-print designs, print them, then sell the prints. Check for people relatively local to you. There's a decent chance somebody's printing sci-fi stuff somewhere near enough to you to make it economical, and they might be printing suitable base scatter, or even print something custom for you if asked, i bet if you gave them a link to something nice you found in Thingiverse they'd be quite OK with printing it for you.
Mantic's Terrain Crate line has both Modern and Sci-fi sets that look to be suitable, especially their Battlezone Accessories and Abandoned Factory kits, but I haven't gotten them myself for scale. Maelstrom's Edge has some terrain kits in their store that include a number of consoled and sci-fi boxes. You may find some other ideas in this thread of cheep scenery tricks: https://forum.corvusbelli.com/threads/getting-cheap-bits-for-scenery.38096/
Thanks for these great ideas! Really helpful. Just incase others were interested, I came across ‘Zinge Industries’ that have a few sci fi and modern ‘bits’ sprues https://www.zinge.co.uk/collections/small-parts-forest-sprues
Zinge does some great flexible ammo feed belts that will prevent hair loss if you have a TAG or other model with flimsy metal ammo belt that keeps snapping.
