Big Papa’s Space Yard + Chase Alexander (co-op with Cap)
Cap knew of this project of mine for awhile now, and has been very supportive in giving me ideas about different parts of it. But his generosity went well beyond mere ideas, when he sent me this:
(Shoebox dio by Cap)
It might only show a small glimpse of the whole operation, but if you can imagine this as BP’s own workshop within the larger facility, it is absolutely perfect. More action shots to follow, but this goes quite a ways towards some of my dio-story planning as well.
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(btw, a lot of story follows here, but hopefully there are enough pics in to be worth it, even if you scroll past the text)...
I’ve hinted at the character Dexter “Big Papa” Rollins, Sr., a couple times before. He’s a lynchpin character in my sci-fi verse. He is the owner of Big Papa’s Space Yard, and the not completely unrelated Big Papa’s Racing Team (I showed the mechanic-turned race pilot who works for him in a previous post). He’s also the father of Dexter “Baby Boy” Rollins, Jr., who I’ve shown before, who is Percy Ajax’s right hand man, mechanic, and muscle.
Big Papa’s Space Yard is just what it sounds like – a junk yard for derelict space vessels. It takes up about a quarter of an old space station/space port in orbit around the unclaimed Fringe world of Farhaven. His end of the station is the dark side of the port, facing outward towards the planet’s many moons. It includes a large hanger inside the port, where BP staff work to rebuild vessels and parts that can be salvaged for resale (through both legal and questionable channels) or personal use; and also a large floating graveyard of dead ships, of varying shapes and sizes, each tethered to the station for its fixed orbit.*
*When the station was first built, the facility now known as Big Papa's was a small ship construction yard, rather than a junkyard, and the entire station had been named after the ship-builder.
The rest of the station is still an active space port (designated FH01 for Interplanetary Port purposes, but known mostly by the station's original name, the Artifex), but it is of diminishing relevance. A recent ore strike planet side has created a population explosion, and the need for direct transport off world of mined resources has resulted in an enormous planet-side space port being built. The Artifex is still a hub for passenger transports, and those in need of BP’s services, but it is otherwise becoming a ghost town of sorts. What once was home to thousands of denizens now houses mere hundreds. Much of the station-based commerce is gone as well, with only a select few businesses still in operation. These factors all combine to make Big Papa essentially the “Mayor” of the Artifex, and such is the respect he engenders.
But Big Papa’s relevancy comes from more than his role on the station itself. He has what can, at best, be described as a checkered past. While his current operation is mostly on the up-and-up he certainly maintains a few shady connections. This is where Percy Ajax comes in. As a professional Pirate Hunter, Ajax spends a good part of his time on the Fringe worlds, and as the last “bastion of civilization” before entering the unexplored regions beyond the Fringe, Big Papa’s is a necessary refuge for weery travelers and those in need of parts to keep their ships in the “air”.
Over the years, Ajax has formed a great friendship with Big Papa. While Ajax has learned much of BP’s history, he lets him continue on unhindered, and in exchange benefits from back-channel news and gossip which aides in his pursuit of wanted criminals. Though Ajax now resides on Old Earth (as part of his exile from Avalonia), he considers BP’s to be his home away from home. The fact that his best friend is now BP’s only son has obviously solidified that relationship.
The robotic hand may or may not be symbolic of a hooked hand of old
even junkyards in space need a junkyard dog:
This cooler shows up in Cap's dio, and is one of the few pieces I customized (paint and the ice cold beer):
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Other employees include: chief mechanic Logan (actually Maya Logan, but until people meet her in person, they always assume it’s a guy):
The wrench was made by Cap also – and while he designed it for Chase Alexander (see below) it is so ridiculously perfect for Logan, it’s not even funny. See the end of the wrench? Yeah, it has a lipstick attachment. Lol. And there is an off-duty version of Logan for which this gains special relevance.
(teaser:)
I did quite a bit of sculpt work on Logan to get her outfit to meet my unique goals.
I’m far from a talented sculptor, but I was thrilled with how she turned out.
Chase Alexander:
I previewed her once before, and said that Cap was going to do some tats on her for me. Got her back now, and she’s probably one of my favorite figures ever. Having my own work (she too was sculpted) combined with Cap’s excellent details just puts it over the top. There are probably some spots I could clean up paint-wise, but they really aren’t noticeable except for the extreme close up pics. And those just make Cap’s work seem all the more impressive.
Chase is a member of Ajax’s crew. She fills the role of Tech, meaning she operates and also repairs all the advanced electrical and also computerized functions of the Talon, Percy’s ship. I tried to mimic some of the face piercings when I made her initially, but I gave Cap free reign on how much, and where and what, with regard to the ink. The tat on her right forearm is so incredibly perfect. He – completely on his own – essentially designed the logo for what a Tech-Guild would be (wrench and helix). Holy Cow. Now I just need to be able to approximate it for future work. Oh, and though Chase only recently met Big Papa herself, you can see on her back how much of an impression he made on her…
Other miscellaneous pics:
Updated eye fix on my Paladin version of Ajax:
A random civilian – she’ll mostly be background for various on-station scenes. She was fun to make, as she came to being using various pieces I never thought I’d get to work together to fit in with a modern construction style. The Star Wars torso was static when I started, but I converted it to one with a boob-joint.
