The Dead Road Part 11

As regular followers of WAR ART know, I have been spending a lot of money this year, well over a thousand  dollars as of the publication of this article, to build up my TOMORROW BLACK Terrain. 

One of my Christmas presents to myself was a large order of raw plastic materials and a few more HO Kits. I am going to make a beautiful little strip-mall as one of the stops along The Dead Road, and this lovely Drive-thru Bank kit was one of the last models on my long list. Every time I had the money for it, the kit was out of stock...lol...merry Christmas Joe, it was in stock this month!

I am almost able to complete The Dead Mall now,  all I need is a Taco Bell, or some other fun little establishment, and a few more shop buildings. I will of course post a detailed article on the construction of this complete environment in 2012.

This is a big project, near and dear to my wretched black heart...it is going to be a very fun challenge...and I am almost ready to start!

Joseph

THE DEAD CITY Part 2

I received a few of the key components for The Dead City this week. I was not going to buy any Terrain items this month as I have Production Molds to pay for, but that cute City Bus has been on my to buy list for about a year.

This month Walthers had a sale only on one of the many buses they stock, for $15.00, it normally cost $35.00 there and at just about every Hobby Train Shop I trad with, so I grabbed it up! 

Dammit! I only need one, to set up on that ruined hill, all sexy Rifts style like...lol..but at forty bucks for one HO Scale Bus... I waited until now. It is funny too, that they only had one on sale, but colors mean nothing as I am going to mess it up good and proper.

Of course I grabbed a few of the other key ingredients such as Modern Telephone poles and some Bikes w/Racks, and some very cool Metal Steps, all of which need to be on any detailed City Tabletop.

October and Autumn in general has always been cool for me.

Joseph

THE FORGOTTEN PLACES Part 1

There are many settings I am going to build for THE WORLD OF TOMORROW BLACK. The Dead Road, The Dead City, and The Under are the main three for representing The Waste. The other side of this coin, so to speak, is represented by the Tech Forts of The New Settlements, and The Bases of TECH Nation and The NAC AKA: North American Combine or New American Coalition.

This ridiculous amount of Museum Diorama Level Terrain is very important to me. These 3'x3' and 3'x6' tabletops are intended to be the direct interpretation of my Dark Science Fantasy World. It is an extremely fun and damn challenging task really, to attempt to make what I see in my head (more or less) become reality in this wonderful scale. I am going to get a pair of Lifetime 3'x3' Tables for my game board.

Now about these Forgotten Places. To keep my sanity, I am going to build a base set of game boards to represent wildly overgrown areas, not waste, and not ruined cities, just open country with little ponds and earthen areas, full of wild grasses. Picture a  typical HO scale countryside train layout. The magic comes into this nice setting when you add a variety of Apocalyptic and Retro-tech elements.
I am Hell bent on making a number of creepy environments using this sort of Template Approach.
These are general settings that can be reasonably achieved. I am going to make enough models to represent an Airport/Military Base, Sprawling Suburb, Open Farmlands, and of course a Dense Forrest. This is also where the entrances to many of The Ancient TECH Tombs and Vaults are located.
I have referred to The Forgotten Places in many articles. This is where several of The Small Settlements and large Secrete Communities of The Good Races are located in The World of TOMORROW BLACK.
Where do most of The Tribals, and many of The Fighters, Psyches, Hunters and Trekkers all come from? The Forgotten Places...

I have been collecting models and raw materials for the last three years or so now, to build the featured elements of The Forgotten Places Terrain. I have been lucky and my damnable persistence has paid off in many areas, however a key model has eluded me for all of these years, until today. I have been searching for a wonderfully large aircraft model that "Looks right, and is affordable".

Well, thanks to a wacky little franchise of children's films, and Wally World, I now have such a model.

I know it is a stupid toy...but with a little rude converting and a hell of a lot of weathering, and painting I have a splendid "Star Of The Show" for my Airport/Military Base setting. This was $23.00 well spent My Brothers. All I need do now is snap up the all important Quonset Hut or two, and this lovely Traffic Tower model. I already have yards of Chain-link Fencing, Military Jets and Ground Vehicles, along with the odd bits to finish this setting properly. A Large Jet was the last Magic Element, and now that I have one, it is time to get The Forgotten Places WIP Articles started.

Joseph

INTO THE UNDER Part 2

The new MTA Yew York City HO Scale Subway Cars arrived today!
I love them!

I had to smile and giggle a little when I saw the Number SIX on these wonderful little models!

 

  

Here is car number six, long forgotten down here in The Under. It ain't going nowhere, and all of it's passengers are mossy skeletons.

Notice the ease of desassembly friends. I can set my little skellies up inside, detail everything, add greenery, and reassemble the whole model, when it is fully painted and properly aged.

I have wanted some New York Subway Models for a long time, and now a cool company finalley made them affordable in this perfect scale.

Is it cool Brothers of The One Five?

YES...it IS!

Joseph

REAL Warter Effects Videos

Looking ahead again to future Terrain Projects for TOMORROW BLACK, I found this cute video at Woodland Scenics about making REAL looking water, it gave me some ideas and I am definitely going to buy the products used in this demonstration.

Other Woodland Scenic Instructional Videos are available at their main site.

Joseph

The Dead City Part 1

I am thinking again about building Terrain as I get more of my Miniatures done. Soon I will be able to actually play small games, so I need to do a bit more planning. Looking ahead at what I want to build for ancient cities I see some of them as Tech Jungles more or less, which are completely overgrown and wild, dangerous and long forgotten.

The easy way to do this sort of thing, I think, is to use GCM's Foam Board Buildings.
I knew about these foam board models via TMP News for some time, but until this week I had not given them much thought, because they are very base components with no detail. I had the forest for the trees mentality about doing large buildings to make up a full tabletop.
"Hey Joe if you want Green Buildings you should use base shapes rather than detailed models...dummy."
Yeah. Of course, the details come from the lovely greenery and odd little bits like rusted girders and massed vines clinging and crawling up the structures!

Funny that the simplest and most efficient answers can elude you for a time...

I am going to order a few of these to fill in my city, and do some Hero Models to pretty-up the overall look of The Dead City Board.

Joseph

INTO THE UNDER Part 1

I am looking ahead with this article, but since I intend to build a terrain board for THE UNDER next year, I am starting to slowly collect the raw models and other building supplies for this project.  I found a new model of a lovely 1/87th scale MTA (New York) Subway Car. I have wanted to buy a model like this for about a year now, but the damn things are VERY expensive. I'm talking about $300 for a few cars now...Wow. The reason of course is because these are working trains, which I like but do not need for building terrain in this wonderful scale.

I picked up two of these models for just $35.

The models are sold out for the next few weeks, but mine should arrive by mid October, according to an email that I received today from their sales rep. These little toys are very much a Cornerstone for part of my Under Terrain Table, and I am very happy to have found good looking models at such an affordable price.

Note: The art in the above comp was done by a fine fellow at DeviantART, apologies for not remembering his name.

Joseph

A.S.P. COMPLETED SCULPTURE Preview

A.S.P. or Auto Security Post are used in all TECH Nation and many NAC Territories, and are provided to Allied Priority Territories. These simple but effective Mini Mechs usually work in conjunction with other Security Screens and Mechs such as SEC and MFD Units,  but can be deployed on their own to maintain boarders or Temporary Operation Zones.

ASP use Pulse Lasers to raise a force fence, so to speak. The fence is always active, but will power up, becoming deadly, when approached by undesirable elements. If threatened each ASP can directly fire it's Pulse Laser at the attacker.

A Word On Design. I intend to use little colored plastic tubes to represent the laser fence. These little fellows will make the tabletop very fun, as they close off sections of the field, and fire at advancing models...lol.

Joseph

Further Down The Dead Road

I am adding these new building kits to The Dead Road.

Modern Strip Mall
Drive-Through Bank Kit HO

These are going to give The Dead Road a great look I think. I love the idea of making a large parking lot with these buildings and other details all round that eerie open space...

Joseph

Paper Work, Paint, More Masters, And A Billboard!

This was a busy little week. I had my first meeting with my Business Advisor. We talked for about 30 minutes, and she had me fill out a few papers. It was really kind of easy. So I know more than I did, and have a good idea of what to do next to get BME Up & Running Legitimately.

My all new Paint Supplies came in from The War Store, and another batch of Master Castings arrived from Iron Wind Metals too.
Now I can actually start painting all of these Miniatures. Oh Glory, Oh Joy, Oh Wonder! This is the first GOOD Paint that I have owned in years.

I think I can still paint, but before I even try to work on My Pewter People and Monsters, I am going to try to (neatly) mess up this cool little Billboard. I need to experiment with these new Varnishes and Glazes a bit, then move on to the real work.

It might even be fun...

Joseph

Tools, Toys, and Paint!

I just ordered a bunch of fun goodies; Micro Files, more HO Scale Buildings, and Vallejo Paints, Washes, and Primer. I need the files to better clean the Masters. The new buildings are a part of a project that I have wanted to do for years. These will be used with part of The Dead Road Terrain.  The Vallejo supplies are going to be the real source of work, as I have not done any painting in years.

Joseph

THE DEAD ROAD Part 10

I have posted a lot of Articles about my intentions for this project and all of the raw materials that I have purchased to make this Battlefield a reality.
Now it is time for me to get more work done on this project, since I am about to actually have my own models in hand.
I laid out much of what I have for this tabletop this evening, to see just what it might look like. I am not to disappointed with it. I think I still need to buy a few more vehicles, to really set up that "Here are the Ancient Remains of a Failed Mass Migration from The Dying City of York" look.
I also need to pick up a few more detail items like Street Lights, Static Grass, and some more Trees.
I am going to make the crappy trees used in this Dry Run Layout as a stand, with the nice trees mounted as Stand Alone items to pretty up the odd spots. I am going to get silly with these and sculpt roots and little animals like Crows and Buzzards for the Eye Pop treatment. I still need to finish that damn annoying Anitomicalley Correct Skeleton too...
I am not going to use the little foam roads either. I am going to sculpt the roads in place so that I can get nice cracks and sink hols on them.

I need to pick up a few more cork tiles also. I have some, but I want to use them on every floor tile now, so that I can have a nice coarse canvas to glue my grasses to. I can also add little blasted areas, by simply breaking out parts of the cork to make a depression. This will work great for representing mud puddles and little streams too. This approach will also give me that nice damaged pavement that looked so good in The Road and The Book Of Eli environments.
The last thing to buy yet for this and all of my Battlefields is the New Table. I will have to do that later, so it may end up being my Halloween Present.

So this is what the East side of The Dead Road looks like. The West side will have The Overpass and more abandoned vehicles and trees.

What I see here on this table, and what is in my head have a long way to go yet before they colloid, but I am further along with this then I was last year say...

Joseph

THE DEAD ROAD Part 9

I received the new Trees and some more Modern Lamps last week. I can now arrange all of the main components and do a dry run for the complete layout. I am including images of some Cutting Mats that I am going to use for parking lots. I am also including my M1 Tanks and an APC to give everything scale.

I think these trees are going to make The Dead Road...live. The Mats are a great way to get large areas done without buying expensive Plasticard, or using card that will rot over time.

Joseph

THE DEAD ROAD Part 8

I took an inventory of my HO & 1/87 scale vehicles last week and decided to get a few more. I plan to have some of my roads full of long abandoned vehicles, and to make it look good IMO you need a lot of these neat little toys. This order just came today.

I nearly fell out of my chair as I browsed an on line seller of Hobby Trains, that actually had Modern Waste Dumpsters in Glorious HO Scale! I love these things! I had looked around for them and never found the right style, in this scale. Now I have two...lol...Hot Damn!

I also found a very nice Modern Billboard and some fun furniture and other bits while looking for new vehicles. I am going to do a scene with several Police and Rescue Vehicles for my Dead City boards, so I snapped up a few Cop Cars and Vans at a great sale price of $2.50 each...nice!

The Dead Road Tabletop just might be a neat place to game when I am done...

Joseph

THE DEAD ROAD Part 7

I took a little break today from my sculpting and finally got to work on the other side of The Dead Road Battlefield. This is the 24Hour Stop that is going to be next to The Hotel.

 The Pump Island is one of the best HO Scale Models I have seen recently. I love this little bit of detail.

The Store is a fun model too. I am going to put all kinds of detail on this building.

The inside is a pain in the ass...lol...I have a lot to do to this area. I am going to keep the top free so I can have little explorations and fights inside. I have to fill in the floor, and do a good bit of inner wall work, such as more shelves and loose debris...the fun stuff.

I will post more on this project soon.

Joseph

THE DEAD ROAD Part 6

I have the basic bridge dry fitted now. I wanted to see it lain out. I am happy with the results of this little dry run. I decided to order larger sheets of Plasticard, as shown in my last Dead Road update. The new 7"x12" Plastic Boards are exactly what I wanted. You can see that the three Plastic Bridge pieces that came with the Rix Kit are nice, but they will not give me the large Overpass structure that I want. I am going to get good use from these pieces however, in another terrain Project, which I will discuss at a later date.

Now that I have laid the bridge out and dry-tested it for size, I can actually build this large structure with confidence that the finished product will do what I want it to do on the Battlefield.

I have started the damage and weathering process on some of my HO (1/87) scale die cast and plastic vehicles.
So far I have simply added bullet hits and other damage to the glass, along with scratches and dents on the bodies.

I decided that I want to add an abandoned house in the woods along the interstate. This will add another element of cover for advancing troops, and also I like the idea of having a house setting quietly in overgrown woodlands. With little skeletons and rusting vehicles, and the vines and other fun details all around. Baby, you sure are sexy...lol.

This house was a very simple little kit to assemble, and so I an not showing the entire process of assembly, which took only about an hour to complete. Now the real work comes, in aging and weathering the structure.

I will post more updates on this project soon.

Joseph

THE DEAD ROAD Part 5

Hail Brothers Of The One Five!

I had a little unpacking adventure and after I dug out a few of my BIG Boxes of Raw Terrain Materials...well...I discovered I needed more goodies...Oops.

I suppose I could just use what I had, which is considerable, but I want The Dead Road to look absolutely realistic, which meant that I had to drop another $60 on this project. Below you can see what I ordered last week.

I have thought about it, and decided to be happy with my beloved Overpass...well...I am going to have to augment the RIX Kit. This was the main reason (along with the Sidewalks) that I purchased the new Plasticard Sheets, and put off working on it for a bit until the new supplies came in. I also discovered during my Closet Dig, that I needed new Plasticard Strips and Corners to finish off the Hotel's False Floors (I use these for the actuale construction process, the details of which I'll share with you later).

Well other than the Skeletons I am sculpting...I have all of the materials I need and can really build these structures now, the way I want them.
The skeletons are important becuase I am going to have areas of high detail all over my terrain, similar to what I am doing for my Miniature Bases.



I will post more on this project, and preview the Skeletons set soon.

Joseph

THE DEAD ROAD Part 4

I have The Hotel base model assembled.  I can now concentrate on The Damage and Detail work, which has been started.

I am leaving the back wall off, for now, so that I can work inside, adding false floors for the broken areas of the outer wall.

I am going to add a lot of little details to this model, such as Building Debris, Furniture, and Skeletons (Which I am currently sculpting).



There is still a LOT of work to be done...but it is coming along reasonably well.

Joseph

THE DEAD ROAD Part 3

Now that we have seen The Overpass, here are the supporting structures in this Terrain Drama.
These models balance out The Dead Road Tabletop. I am going to have The Overpass extending across one end of the Game Board. The 24 Hour Convenience Store and Hotel will be on the other end. Between these ruined ghost there will be a dual lane highway, with vehicle hulks, trees, rusting light poles, and other appropriate detritus.

The 24 Hour Convenience Store will be more or less in tack, for good ground cover. The sexy little Modern Gravity Gas Pumps (Oh baby...baby!) and a few long abandoned vehicles will be set in front of the structure, on an overgrown and time worn paved lot.

The Hotel will preserve game balance, more so than the 24 Hour Stop, and make a fine bookend to the Overpass. With this large model in play, opposing forces will each have good high ground to deploy their Long Ranged and/or Heavy Weapons in.

It should be very fun to have ranged boxing matches, so to speak, as heavy weapons lining the overpass trade blows with their enemies firing from the hotel windows and rooftops.

I purchased The Store, The Gas Pumps, and The Hotel, from Hobbylink.

I searched high and low for Modern Gas Pumps, and Hobbylink was the only game in town. They are a solid company.

Well there you have it , other than the road, the vehicles and the skeletons (which I am currently sculpting),  that is pretty much everything. After six months of web-hunting and saving up the fun-money, I have amassed all of the components I need for this Terrain Project.

Now all I have to do is build everything...

Joseph

THE DEAD ROAD Part 2

That SEXY Overpass...Lordy Have Mercy!

Ha, ha, ha! This is The Star Of The Show. I have always loved the idea of gaming around a structure that spans the entire width of the table. Not only does it give you high ground and good cover, it looks great on the table IMO.

I built something like this years ago, in my 28MM gaming days, and it was almost cool, but this time I can really DO IT RIGHT. I am going to keep the structure in tack for the most part, because I want to have troops and vehicles able to move across the full length of the expanse.

For Brothers Of The One Five, I can not recommend this rare jewel of a model highly enough. It was designed to be a converters dream. You have to assemble the model in three independent lenghts, and all of the support piers are seperate too.
Assembling this model is going to be a little arduous, but you have great control of how to lay the pieces out. For example, you really could do the broken and half standing bridge arrangement, with segments of the structure on and above the ground. It would be a simple matter of assembling the model in pieces, rather than as a complete structure.

I purchased a pair of these RIX kits, becuase I want to be able to make a large model. This was a little expensive, but you could do well with just a single kit. I got mine from Walthers on sale for about $30 each.

Other Component's for this model include: Double-Arm Tear Drop Lamp, Guardrail, and Concrete K-Rail Barrier.

Now I  own all of these goodies, and I have started to clean up the parts, and dry fit them. It is going to be a job to do this right, but it will be great (I hope) when it is done.

This is where The Fun Starts...

Joseph