Let's Go Shopping ... More Near Future Terrain
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Terrain Making – With the exterior of the two larger structures in a playable state I've moved on to building some smaller buildings to fill in the board. On a 3'x3' including all the structures might make for a cluttered board however in small scale skirmish games cover is key to a good game. Without it you'll fall victim to the sniper on a roof more often than not.
I also wanted to add some smaller structures to increase the modularity of the board. The shipping dock area is cool but I don't see it being that close to a residential area all the time. The smaller buildings will be shops and service centers. With the goal of a full 4'x6' table I'm going to need quite a few of these, so I'll be able to add gun shops, convenience stores, fast food etc.
The basic process on these buildings is the same as the others I've done. Using gator foam I built an 8"x8" box that is about 3.5" tall and attached it to a foam core base. I made the front face of the building a little taller to fit the signage for the face of the building. I did it this way to make removing the roof easier. With the massive sign on the strip club it can pose issues when you have models inside and of the roof. With these smaller buildings I decided to make the roof slide off from the back so it will only overlap the walls on 3 sides. I'm hoping this will make removing it during the game easier.
While casting the doors for these structures my mold began to fail. I use OOMO silicone to make my molds and unfortunately it doesn't hold up well when using the liquid plastic that I use for casting. I'm a bit bummed that I need to make some new molds (Also wary of using resin in my Hirst Arts Molds...) but this one held up for quite a few casts before failing, perhaps if I can get my pressure pot up and running soon I'll be able to make backup molds under pressure that will last longer. By making molds of pieces I reuse on a board, (lights, HVAC Units, Doors, etc.) I'm able to quickly create a consistent look across many different structures. Depending on how long the mold holds up this may or may not prove to be a cost savings as well, but so far my experience has really just shown a time savings with not having to build each piece from scratch.
I began detailing the exterior in the same process using geometric shapes to create "futuristic" designs on the flat face of the building. By cutting these out of card and glueing them to the side I'm able to quickly add interest areas that will stand out once paint has been applied. I also attached the exterior lights during this step.
After creating the signage for both buildings I carefully cut them out and applied to the large billboards. I find this gives them a bit of dimension and makes it easier to paint when it comes time to finish the pieces.
