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Hey Dakka, hows it going?

So recently, I've had a large rise of layabout sprues that just took up space under my bed (I couldn't bear to throw them away in case I could use them).. Thats about 3k worth of SM sprues and 1.5k of Tau that I bought recently (its a large box to hold it all, believe me). A good friend of mine then sent me this link, and after going through it I was dead excited to put scenery together. I felt I had to link it, the tutorial creator deserves a lot of respect, kudos.

http://secondsphere.org/index.php?id=49

Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed doing all of these bits, but after my 3rd bunker I got a bit itchy to do something a wee bit more complex. So, after a hefty game of Age of Empires II (Classic!), I got an idea for.. a Watch tower!.. Or Sniper tower, since thats where my scout snipers will be hiding for the rest of their lives xD.

I'd like to be clear on a few things before I get hit with slander and whatnot. Firstly, that was the first thing other than the creations detailed on the link tutorial that I have attempted. Secondly, I'm not a modder/converter (yet), its unpainted and unfinished, and I have yet to touch GS.. I know, hang me now.

Ok, NOW the images:



Thats the basic shape for now. Its modelled to be a rudimentry watch tower, heavily influenced from something similar I saw while playing paintball. In fact, in my SM chapters' history, the 6th company has a paintball match in a wooden villiage against SoB as a kind of practice match.. thats a long story for another time. So far I like it, but parts will be added; ladder, banners, PAINT (wooden aesthetic, maybe paintball marks from combat).



Thats the roof detached from the hut. Its meant to be like that so you can whack your long-range models in there and be all shooty n' stuff.



Finally, a close up of the hut. With its size, it can hold about 18ish fire warriors, and a similiar amount of marines.

So, there you go, something I had a ton of fun making and will continue to enjoy as I paint and customise it. Comments, ideas, improvements all welcome.

--> Grayspear

That is pretty kool and well done

Cheers Alphaomega

Good on you for crediting runner6000, he started his own thread on dakka to promote it too.
http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/329231.page
sahould post your images there to the thread's alread grown quite large with peoples contributions!

Good stuff

isthat supposed to be "wood"? if so, take your hobby saw, and scrape it along the wood parts. It will texturize it just right. ChrisCP posted a link to the thread where I posted an image on Page 4 if you want to see what it looks like.

I will warn you now though, that you need to take more effort in cleaning the sprue before using it. Dont use a knife, use a file. Otherwise, witout cleaning or with the wrong tools It will show straight through when you paint it, and it won't be as satisfactory. I built a barn with which I did not take the right effort, and It feels like an )embarrassment. (i can go back and fix it now I have more skill and patience, just had a pile of other projects in the way..

if you want a metallic surface. Then flip every second bar the other way, so that when they are glued together, they make a single flat and smooth surface.

Guess who started thread chrisCP linked you to? XD

welcome to dakkadakka You may have been lurking for a while now, but welcome to the other side. also, i too am better in converting with parts than I am sculpting with GS...

Ahh I had no idea that was there, thanks. Just put a post up.. and also go some ideas for my next project.. 2 birds 1 stone

As much as I want to love and use sprue, I find it's somewhat limited in its applications. It's just such a pain to prep and work with.

I LOVE using it for spots that are going to be hidden, and I've managed to make some pretty good bridge structures from it, but I shudder at the thought of trimming up everything for a roof/structure like you have.

Kudos if you have the patience though! There's something to be said for it's ease of working with once actually prepped.

I agree with 1-up, I find it amazing what you did with your sprues, but I myself don't think I could handle all the extra little work without going insane.

Love that hut. The legs might need a bit more reinforcement to be believable though, especially if it's getting 18 marines.

We like!

might be worth considering how to base and anchor it so it doesn't get knocked over with 18 Firewarriors aboard.
Looks like it has a high CG

Heey

Thanks for the comments so far, given me a good ol' list of things to improve upon. Some I'm not sure on, such as how to reinforce the standing structure... I think I may have some wooden dowl around my room.

@ poda_t:
Long story short, I lost my files through a series of irritating circumstances, so now left with sandpaper, a modelling knife and pliers. Am I right in thinking that the sandpaper will do the same job, then trim the jutting side bits with the knife to smoothen them out?

Files are better, because you can get some real force behind it without worrying about tearing your sand-paper. Maybe if you glue sand-paper to a pair of popsicle sticks etc.

I got my first ever files only six months ago, and ive been raving mad about them since. I understand your pain in losing them, especially if you know they are kicking around SOMEWHERE, its hard to justify paying $10-$15 for a couple of files.

To everyone else, so long as you cut REAL close to the main lenth of sprue, and you run the saw down the length of the plastic, it will look like low-grade processed wood with many imperfections. Its a very quick way of cleaning it up without excess effort. I reccomend people try this, it doesn't seem as excessive.

I tried making stuff from sprues a while ago, but never achieved anything like that. Well done.