I needed a new terrain piece for the second scenario of the Christmas War campaign. This had to be a key piece of Laurentian military infrastructure - something the invading Cimmerians must destroy to gain a tactical advantage. Since the Laurentian Tactical Command Network played such a key role in the first scenario, I decided a communications bunker would be the perfect objective for the second.
But what to use? I already had three modular buildings painted in Laurentian colors (like the checkpoint bunker from the first scenario). The easiest solution seemed to be adding a large satellite comms dish to one of those buildings. I've picked up a few assorted building parts from Ground Zero Games and The Scene, but never did grab either of their dishes. I had a few left over from GZG command vehicles, but they were far too small for my tastes. Then I remembered Eli's Junk Building article and started rummaging through my drawers. Here's what I ended up with after experimenting with a few bits:
Quick and dirty, but it got the job done. Parts used:
- The cap from a 20 oz water bottle
- Part of a tail rotor from a G.I.Joe Locust helicopter (been in my bits drawer for years)
- A small scrap of round plastic sprue
- A searchlight and crew hatch from a GW Imperial Vehicle Accessory Sprue.
I ended up gluing a few steel washers into the bottlecap, just to give it some extra weight and stability. It will be a nice, flexible piece once it's finished. It can stand free on the ground (it would look really nice sitting next to a parked command APC), or I can rest it on top of a building.
Once I get this comms transciever (and two more HAMR suits for my Cimmerians) painted, I'll be able to run the second scenario of the Christmas War.
Cheers,
Chris
Great job on that transceiver. I love scratchbuilding and this is a beautiful example of what can be achieved.
ReplyDeleteGreat scratch-build, Sir. You've got a good eye for building material.
ReplyDeleteThat looks good and quite practical, im also a bit of a trash basher and found that a lot of the Micro Machines buildings and vehicle parts are very useful indeed for N scale custom modeling.What i would like to know is were to get your home cast buildings from, i remember when you planned to put them into production about a year ago and never heard anything after that, i actually like the style of them and would really be interested in getting three or four of them to grace my war game table so who do i have to grovel too.???
ReplyDeleteThanks, gents!
ReplyDelete@Zac - it's going to be awhile. The photos don't reveal how much 3d printer "rippling" is on them. They need to be remastered before production molds are made. I'll post an update in late spring/early summer, once I get a plan together.
Nice work. This is the kind of project I need to do more often. Quick and simple, get a job done and generate some positive reults that will entice me to do more, rather than just stare at the massive piles of crap to do and getting discouraged.
ReplyDeleteJ,
ReplyDeleteStop staring and start throwing crap together!
You'd be amazed at how quickly it comes together. A basic structure and then you see that bit that would be great as that thing. Next thing you know, you're finding bits to look like wall junction boxes or above ground drainage pipes.
Ooh, that's a great little piece of terrain, that!
ReplyDeleteHey,
ReplyDeleteHow did you make the walls around the building? or was this covered in a previous post that I just missed...
Thanks!
Brian