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It's been a while since I put any models before the Dakkadakka Firing Squad, and I a bit bored, so I thought I'd put this up, but first a brief history :

A few months ago, domestic bliss went south and I ended up renting a room in a B&B. Unpacking my models, I was stuck for somewhere to put them until I looked out of the window and finally noticed it was a good size with a wide sill on the inside. Inspiriation slapped me, and I slowly started to throw things together.

This turned out to be what I call a "reverse build", starting with the top layers and working down, each new layer slotting in at the bottom of the stack as it was completed.

Finally standing just below half of the window height, I thought it time to show it here, even though I'll probably keep going until the models reach the top of the window !

On a side note, the room I'm in overlooks the car park of the B&B. The display frequently draws glances and comments to the landlady and return visitors often check to see if there's anything new since their last vist ( doing my bit to publicise our hobby )

The terrain istelf is no real work of art, it is only there to stack the models and designed not to distract attention from the models themselves.

So, waffle done, time for the pics, which I'm posting in reverse order (bottom up !):

Level 4:




Level 3:




Level 2:




Level 1:


Assembled in halves :



In The Window :



I'm currently working on a Bastion to put on the top level, and am thinking of putting a few Orks on the bottom, but like I said, this will probably just keep getting bigger until I run out of window space !

Right ho ! Fire away fellows ! Any C&C more than welcome and, as usual, these are in the gallery if you want to zoom, vote or whatever floats your boat !

What material are the 'shelves' made from?

A few months ago, domestic bliss went south and I ended up renting a room in a B&B

You live in a breakfast and bed place? Sounds kinda nice.

The terrain istelf is no real work of art, it is only there to stack the models and designed not to distract attention from the models themselves.

Actually I'm really curious as to how you made that terrain. Maybe a tutorial? Looks nice, but at the same time, easy enough that it's something I could do.

Very cool but keep in mind the paint jobs will fade in sunlight.

Lormax : Just plain white polystyrene sheeting from a DIY store ! The only other material is an offcut of Plaster Board ( called Drywall in the USA I think) for the bottom layer, but that's only because I ran out of polystyrene

Rossko : The B&B is small, but nice and friendly.

As I mentioned to Lormax, the basic material is just polystyrene sheeting, cut to whatever shape works & PVA glued. Simple coat of sand, basecoat with a test pot shade called Toffee Surprise, drybrush with another test pot ( Warm Caramel) for a desert effect. Job Done !

NecronLord3 : They seem to be holding up ok, and some of them have been in the window since March, but thanks for the reminder.

Nice! Cool! That was a smart idea!!
I will have to do something similar...


//Edge

I never noticed models fading in the sun - and I used to work in GW, where models sit in the window cabinets for months at a time.

That is a really cool idea - I like that a lot.

I am a manager for a major retailer. My store suffers from westward facing sun exposure and I see product fading quickly and often. Allot of times you don't see or notice it until new unexposed product is placed with that which has been exposed to the sun. Now perhaps mini paint has some sort of properties which reduce fading, but I would not know what that is.

Britain gets sunlight? I thought it was cloudy 24/7 unless it's raining, in which case I think the official term is 'dreary'.

Lordhat wrote:Britain gets sunlight? I thought it was cloudy 24/7 unless it's raining, in which case I think the official term is 'dreary'.

I'll have you know that yesterday reached 27degrees centigrade here.

Admittedly we have only probably had 3 really good weeks of sun all summer though. Global "warming" my arse.

Guard wrote:Admittedly we have only probably had 3 really good weeks of sun all summer though. Global "warming" my arse.

But surely for us Brits... that IS global warming taking effect

Great idea for storing/displaying your models too btw. You should make it so they unstack to create a gaming table for a double win

Need lighting!

Guard wrote:

Lordhat wrote:Britain gets sunlight? I thought it was cloudy 24/7 unless it's raining, in which case I think the official term is 'dreary'.

I'll have you know that yesterday reached 27degrees centigrade here.

Admittedly we have only probably had 3 really good weeks of sun all summer though. Global "warming" my arse.

LOL it's 3:20 in the AM here and it's @27 Centigrade. (Had to find a converter to tell though )

Looks good , great idea..

That is a rather fun solution, good thinking!

Just a shame it resulted from having to move out :(

27º? Ouch, we tend to have around 30º/35º on summer here, but I'm just happy at 6º like today.

And on topic, that stacking idea is worth stealing

That's neat! It would be a perfect idea for a shop to set something like that up.

When I saw it from the outside, my first thought was that it looked like a Space Marine ant farm. You could do one for Tyrannids and make it a proper ant farm.

Dark wrote:27º? Ouch, we tend to have around 30º/35º on summer here, but I'm just happy at 6º like today.

And on topic, that stacking idea is worth stealing

It's 27 degrees (81F) here, right now, the expected high is 30(86F) which wouldn't be bad at all if the humidity wasn't 84% (Holy crap! I guess we've developed gills in MS) and it's been cloudy all day (the heat index is 86C right now(91F)..If it weren't for the clouds, I wouldn't be surprised if it hit 95, like it usually does about this time. I will brave a brief venture to get some pulled pork BBQ and then work on some painting and repairs.

Some UV treatment on the windows would probably help keep your minis from being damaged.

Very nice idea. It would be an interesting way to advertise to window shoppers.

wittzo wrote:
That's neat! It would be a perfect idea for a shop to set something like that up.

When I saw it from the outside, my first thought was that it looked like a Space Marine ant farm. You could do one for Tyrannids and make it a proper ant farm.

Dark wrote:27º? Ouch, we tend to have around 30º/35º on summer here, but I'm just happy at 6º like today.

And on topic, that stacking idea is worth stealing

It's 27 degrees (81F) here, right now, the expected high is 30(86F) which wouldn't be bad at all if the humidity wasn't 84% (Holy crap! I guess we've developed gills in MS) and it's been cloudy all day (the heat index is 86C right now(91F)..If it weren't for the clouds, I wouldn't be surprised if it hit 95, like it usually does about this time. I will brave a brief venture to get some pulled pork BBQ and then work on some painting and repairs.

Definately a good idea if I ever have the misfortune to find myself crammed in an apartment (Note, I'd rather be homeless than live in one, so that might take time ). And you gave me a really good idea on how to build multi-level cave networks and 3d Ship/Building Interior maps if I ever want to try a good challenge!

Our peak this year was 42C in July. Coolest day would be today, sitting at 32C right now (It was supposed to hit 36C but thank the God-Emperor our weatherman is a fething idiot). Doesn't help having all the hot smoke blowing in from Kelowna either. Stop being on fire!

Thanks for the positive feedback people. Always nice to hear when an idea goes down well.

NecronLord3 : Next time I paint up some minis, I'll stand a fresh work next to a sun-exposed mini and see if there's any noticeable fading. If nothing else, it'll be an interesting and informative comparison.

Lordhat : Yes, we do get some sunlight (even the clouds get time off if they stay here long enough !)

endtransmission : If you look again at the pics, each level (except levels 1 and 4) is built in two halves (left & right) which are NOT stuck together, and are open topped, so I suppose they could be used as tabletop terrain ( I'll have to try that next time I dis-assemble the display to slot in another level.

The Plastic Surgeon : Good idea, I'll have to see what I can come up with. Thanks for that

SilverMK2 : Moving out sucked, but at least it gave me a big enough window to block up with minis (Silver lining found !)

Dark : If my little storage solution inspire others, then my work is done. Anyone who wants to do the same does so with my blessing (not that it's needed) as long as we dakkaites get to see pictures.

wittzo : Space Marine Ant Farm ? Never thought of that, but you do have a point . As for the Nid Ant Farm, maybe a Nid player will build one now and post some pics. Any takers on that one ?

MasterSlowPoke : Nice idea, might chat to the Landlady about that.

acreedon : My little display has inspired at least one person to return to the hobby, so I guess I AM advertising !

metallifan : If you do build a cave system, or 3d ship interior, post pics, I'd be interested in seeing someone else's work.

Again guys, thanks for the feedback.

I understand you T_T we have an average of 80% to 90% humidity in my town.

That is very cool indeed. I think that is actually a way better way to present minis than the all-glass cases all GW stores seem to have.

If each section were 8" x 18" then 24 bits would make a 4' x 6' table.

That may be the best idea I have had in quite a while...

Just use some cocktail sticks to hold them all together for a battle...

In fact, 12" x 18" or 12" x 24" might be okay if the window is as big as you say. What are the dimensions on the bits you have there?

I just started looking to buy my own place. I think I may have a new criteria: One big window.

Fifty : These were built in 10" by 22" sections for a total length per level of 44", using 1" thick polystyrene sheets (if you look you can see the layers making the support blocks) sitting on an 11" window sill ( I left a 1" gap between the inner edge of the sill and the back of the display to allow for curtain movement.)

Even with those dimensions, you could still assemble them to make a pretty useable gaming table. 50" x 66" would not be standard, but perfectly playable.

Yeah definately keep em in the dark. Or bye bye colors.

Using those stands on a table would make eyeballing distances a breeze.

Nice set up, might have to steal this idea one day hehe.

Thanks for sharing it!

Reaper6 wrote:shade called Toffee Surprise, drybrush with another test pot ( Warm Caramel) for a desert effect.

Or a dessert effect even! :b

Ados Eparg wrote:Or a dessert effect even! :b

...

...Damn ! As one of the Turtle Pie followers, I should have seen that one !