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Hi all.

Having some trouble deciding what board to build next.
I am adding finishing touches to two ruined city boards.
1.2m x 1.2 m, designed so I can fit them together in six different ways.

Basically there is a canal running through each board - and a highway crossing the canal.
One board is dominated by a large ruined manufactorum and a "London Bridge", the other board is mostly bombed flat, except for an Inquisitorial mansion.

I now want to build a third board, following the same principle - but don't really know how to theme the third board and thought I might ask you.

- Tyranid infested city block?
- Space port / airfield?
- Prison ala Prison Break season 3 ?

Suggestions??
 

Wow, I like it. any of the ideas would work, though I'd think that a _good_ spaceport would probably be about 8x4 on its own...

Space Hulk

'Nid infested city sounds pretty cool...

or, since you already have a canal, why don't let it flow into a harbour.

>or, since you already have a canal, why don't let it flow into a harbour.

Hmmm, a harbour sounds like a good idea.

Details from board 2, NE corner:

Details from board 2, SE corner:

Hopefully a heavily polluted harbour with lots of outflow pipes dumping sludge into the water...

More details from board 2:


----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Board 1:

Such a great set up. The level of detail is amazing. I dig all the little fighting positions you've set up throughout the table. The crashed valkerie is a great touch.

I have to ask, what have you used for your rubble here?

>what have you used for your rubble here?

I cast most terrain in CastleMoulds using grey (mix of white and black) synthetic plaster.
The rubble is a by-product (i.e. I just crush the plaster leftovers).

Posted By Anung Un Rama on 10/28/2007 2:16 PM
'Nid infested city sounds pretty cool...

or, since you already have a canal, why don't let it flow into a harbour.

I have a pier (from the GetTheGlass game) in my "bitz box". Might use parts of it if I go the harbour route.

+1 harbor, no one does 40k harbors.

The boards are still W.I.P.
There are still *a lot* to be done.
While painting and adding tons of detail I plan ahead for the next board(s).
Therefore I really appreciate all inspiration you could give me - and hope the pics in this thread will inspire others.

Here's a pic (of the big bridge on board 1) from the very beginning:

:|

Holy Moley! Hey Kendoka, thanks for posting these as they are loads of inspiration for a fledgling terrain builder!  I have a couple of questions though:

How long does it generally take you to finish one of your average tables?
Do you have extra help constructing them?
Do you plaster cast all of your sandbags as well?
How heavy are the tables once they are completed?

Incredible terrain!

Nice use of the Pegaus buildings. Your stuff is just amazing.

>How long does it generally take you to finish one of your average tables?

There are no "average" ones
I usually spend a few months on each table, picking up the work from time to time.
Dont know how much time I spend on them - but more than a hundred hours each.


>Do you have extra help constructing them?

Yes. I have a couple of friends that helps with construction and painting.


>Do you plaster cast all of your sandbags as well?

I have made my own greenstuff masters - and have RTV moulds. I cast them in resin (there are around 400 sandbags on these boards alone).


>How heavy are the tables once they are completed?

That depends on how much plaster I have used.
The boards themselves are rather light.

>Nice use of the Pegaus buildings.

Thanks, Kyoto.
I was inspired of your work with them.

Well I've been inspired right back. London bridge ay... Looks doable with 2 kits. The problem is I like my buildings unruined. Getting enough GW gothic stuff would be the problem. I wish battlewagon bitz did terrain bitz.

Great work. I see GW cod, Hirst bricks and Pegaus kits. Anything else hidden away in there? Are the small bricks plastic card or more HA?

>Anything else hidden away in there?

Yes.
Some plastic (Imex/Hexagon/Platformer/Chemical plant) kits.
+ various junk (the large manufactorum chimney is a laser toner cartridge).


>Are the small bricks plastic card or more HA?

I made my own bricks, put them together into brick wall segments and then made a RTV mould, HA style.

Very Impressive.

It makes me want to trash my own setup.

I wonder if it is possible to do a truly modular setup and make it look this good.

Making a ruined house, step by step guide
----------------------------------------------------------------

Plan where to put the house.
Cut away a recess (basement level).



Mix some grey plaster and pour into HirstArts moulds:



Build the house, break walls and building blocks using pliers:



Mix PVA glue with black plaster and some concrete filler and make pavement:

Add rubble (pieces of grey plaster) while the "pavement" is still wet:


Pour a mix of PVA and water over the pavement and add more rubble and plaster dust until the house looks nice, then paint scorch marks with black and brown.
Keep adding details (I print small posters and put them into tea to make them look weathered, buy lots of smallish terrain pieces) and voilá, the house is finished to a high gaming standard:

>I wonder if it is possible to do a truly modular setup and make it look this good.

IMHO: No.

I (gladly) sacrifice modularness (sp?) for attention to details (and build more boards instead).
Guess one could make smaller modular board sections, say 60x60 cm and get rather good results.

Posted By kendoka on 10/29/2007 10:24 AM
>I wonder if it is possible to do a truly modular setup and make it look this good.

IMHO: No.

I think your right. This thread has given me much inspiration to work from.

I am building a 6'x4' modular board using CNC workshop's Urban Grounds. While the way I can build a different setup each time I play with somewhat impressive results (when compared to the standards most game stores use) you sacrifice an even more impressive look that really seems like an urban environment, just as you have shown us in this thread, in exchange for ease of portability and modularity.

Certain elements such as the crushed paving, debris, etc just cant be made as realistically on a modular setup as it is on a more static board.

With that in mind, I know my attempts to make my Urban Grounds as good as I can will fall short visually of your project, but I guess it depends on what the maker wants out of the terrain board.

I travel alot and cannot easily transport such a visually stunning piece as you have created, so I opt for the lesser approach which pales in comparison, but suffices on a level that is still above par.

Sadly, I think I am putting just as much work as you are into your board, and I am still coming up short...lol

Hellfury:
I have walked the modular board road before - and realised that making larger modules (1.2 m square) was the next step for me.
This said I do think you can come *really* close without sacrificing mobility - if doing a city board.
With careful planning and a lot of extra work it ought to be possible to create modular city blocks (complete with pavement, rubble etc) that can be arranged in zillions of ways.
Guess you could have a large roll of asphalt mat representing road, putting the blocks on top. Main problem would be weight...

Regarding my next board:
Today I bought a lot of plastic plants - for a jungle board (or a overgrown city board)...

However, this might *not* be my next board as I still cannot get the following from my mind:
- "tyranid infested city" (for my bugs to roam)
- "prison" (for my AA to patrol)
- "airstrip/space port" (for my flyers)
- "harbour" (a vertical board with Manhattan and GetTheGlass pieces)

Suggestions?
(perhaps a tyranid infested airfield in the jungle... ?)

Since you have the canal, how about a dam blocking the end of the canal? The dam could also form a walled area tha seperates that part of the city from a helipad / airstrip area and maybe a dried riverbed system.

either way you decide to go, I'm sure it will look fantastic.