Peach trees! Progress!!

I started drilling 5mm holes into the corner pieces and super glued 5mm rare-earth magnets in the holes.

I was worried they may not be strong enough to hold the weight of the building - it's pretty heavy plastic - but just 3 pairs of magnets can support the whole weight. I can pick it up in one piece. Amazing!!! My first real success using magnets.

Now to do the rest..

After that I need to figure out how to magnetize the sides.

Peach trees in bits

And here's the building in pieces ready to be magnetized.

Peach trees

Construction on Peach Trees block has begun.

For the basic structure I'll use Dust Tactics expansion Operation Cerberus buildings. I got 3 sets for 9 USD each.

The third set I had already put together and used a few times to discover it wasn't so easy to get hands inside. I took it apart for pieces.

I used most pieces to construct a very wide, 5 floor building with a large doorway.

As you see it's massive! The 28mm model in the doorway gives you an idea.

Next, I separated it into 6 pieces for storage. These aren't easy to put together and take apart because the connections are very tight. I played around trying to make them less tight to no avail. Magnets will have to be the answer.

Battle Bus II - Done

Judge Dredd street gang battle bus made from bits and a 100yen kids toy.

Battle bus!!!

With Boltgun metal (GW) I over-brushed the metal pieces and stick them on.

Then I used a sponge and "chocolate brown" paint to add dirt/rust.

I thought the bus still didn't look very street so I made some stencils.

Then I used masking tape and a scalpel to add details to the stencil.

I used some cheap red gloss spray paint to put graffiti on the bus.

Battle bus part whatever

Found a suitable gun (robo-gear) and mesh for the windows. I painted the windows black.

As with the previous bus, I painted the mesh chocolate brown (cheap craft paint). I also painted some minor details like lights and hazard stripes.

Battle bus II continued

I put some transfers onto the side of the bus to give the impression that it was a working airport bus, or whatever, before the street gang got a hold of it.

Battle bus II continued

Gave the bus a re-spray. Decided on blue and thought I could make an "airport shuttle bus", before mad-maxing it up. Got some decals I could use for that. More to come.

Battle bus II

I decided to re-visit another bus I painted very sloppily a year ago. I plan to make another battle bus, but more "street gang" (imagine the film Warriors) than "cursed earth".

Firstly I whited out the very bad marker writing I did, incase it shows through the paint.

Next I primed mat black. Already looking much, much better.

Tiny trash bags

More inspiration. Check this video out.

http://youtu.be/3fpd_JGs3os

Stencil

Still on the subject of a peach trees building for the judge dredd miniatures game. I'm no good at freehand painting designs or sign writing, so I've used transfers (decals) from various sources in the past with varying results. I use decal application solution and I make sure the surface is glossy first, but often it still looks like I've used decals. Anyway, I've got an idea that would make better "warning signs" etc.

I remember regularly seeing soft-plastic alphabet stencils in shops in the UK. I wanna get a few of those, cut out the letters, stick them on a piece of thin plasticard to make the word, then use it as a spray stencil. It's bound to look much more like it was sprayed onto the surface if it is actually sprayed on.

Now to find those stencils in Japan, or wait until summer to pick them up in the UK.

Peach Trees Concept

A friend gave me the idea of making a peach trees block for the judge dredd miniatures game. Since then my head has been a buzzing with ideas. I'm logging them here before I forget.

- use Dust Tactics Operation Cerberus building as the walls of the building (I have 3 sets, 9 us dollars each)

- make the building 4 to 6 floors high. This will look very imposing on a tabletop and give the "impression" of a mega block.

- have just the front entrance of the building on the table, with an open back against the table edge. This will make it much easier to play inside and also give the impression of hugeness.

- magnetize wall sections together to make it quick to assemble and easy to store. I have a bunch of rare-earth magnets, although I'm not good at magnetising models (yet).

- use plasticard, Deadzone terrain and other pieces to make "floors" which will run along the inside of the wall, like wide walkways.

- have a large open middle section where people can fall, or be pushed.

- ground floor will have food stalls, shrubbery and a chalk outline of a body dropped from above.

- civilians (hostages, crazees, objectives) walking about the block and general city.

- PC fans for air circulation. Area marked out on floor with warning signs. If a model enters, make agility check or become flying mince.

- a control room with a few low level security guys inside. If a player takes this room he can control doors, fans, riot foam, call for backup, lockdown etc

- a med bay to heal wounds, bring back casualties.

- balconies, vending machines, walkways, an elevator.

...more ideas incoming...

Mega city one wall

I bought this Deadzone terrain last summer and I finally got around to assembling it in November. Finally I finished painting it. It's supposed to be the wall of MC1 with some other buildings. Peach trees next..