08/12/2020

Slow urban growth

 I'm back to my mining town vertical board!

Progress is slow, but I hope you can see how this is turning out.

This is what you saw last time (oh my, that was September!)

Previously, in Old School Workshop...

Well, I needed to build the next ascending ramp and also to close the space to the left of the pic with a wall.

The ramp is quite standard. 35 degrees up, DAS clay and a rolling pin:

Always up and up
I have some vague ideas of what will I build next, but nothing too studied. I kept my options open with that wall. I want some stairs down (and probably up too), hence the wide gate.

For now I just wanted to close that space

Daylight and texture
Now that I took the stairs out from the main access, it all looked too empty. I thought I could make some kind of archway or whatever. Nothing too distracting, but adding some volume and depth.

Some medina kind of thing
 
So, some priming spray later...

The road goes ever on and on...
 
OK, then I faced some kind of mental block. Have a look at the pic above. How on Earth am I supposed to end up linking the road (which is going up and left) with the platform on the right?
I thought of a couple solutions.
OPTION A: A piece of brick/stone/adobe ramp and then a large metal catwalk

Challenging and most certainly ugly
 
OPTION B: Another ramp to the upper floor and then to take back my old aspiration of using the bridge:

More feasible, but again ugly nevertheless

It would have to be removable to allow gaming below
 
I have an Option C on the table (well, more in my mind than anywhere else), but I still have to see if it's remotely feasible (which I doubt) before I embarrass myself :P

Anyway, I'll leave that decision for antoher day (though I'd love to hear your thoughts!)
 
What I needed to do next was adding details and finishing what I had already built. So, the usual treatment. Some doors, a/c units, lamps, wires, tubes...

You know, the standard stuff
 
It's far from being finished, I have to add signs, posters, dirt and so on, but I think it's presentable.

Lots of details to be added. Eventually. Probably.
 
You can see here the general aspect of the section. That post is made wit a sprue and other bits. Looks fragile, I don't know how long will it resist there!

A general overview of the (unfinished) section.
 
You may remember (or not) that the elevated door on the right wall had an access via stairs, but that made unplayable the street below. So I took out the stairs and made a catwalk to the opposite platform:

Sprue handrails!
 
I also made a connection to the hole in the back, with another catwalk, just in the same way:

From an angle...

...and the other
 
Oh, the corner up there. I used a WHFB statue, I think it can fairly pass as a WH40K Saint of the Imperium or something. It's unfinished, I will add candles, offerings and stuff of the like:

At least the general idea is yet fixed
 
So this is it so far! Here you have a general overview of the whole thing:

Unsettingly unpopulated
 
At this point I'm unsure of what will be my next step. I want to give a definite solution to the bridge/catwalk/whatever dilemma, but I think that I have to plan the rest of the general structure of the board first, as the future buildings to the left (and back) will somehow condition the structure that must support that bridge/catwalk/whatever.
We'll see!!

25 comments:

  1. This is an epic project! It's coming on really well. I prefer the slimmer bridge/walkway, personally, as the rickety, dangerous feel goes with the slightly run-down look of the rest of the board. Some statues would work well - perhaps a few adverts or posters might be good? Anyhow, it's looking great.

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    1. Absolutely. That trestle bridge smacks way too much of "functional responsible government" for this environment. I suppose a criminal syndicate or local despot might spring for something like that, but they're far more likely to build the rickety one.

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    2. Thank you both! I think it's decided then. I mean... at least I've decided not to use the large bridge!
      However, I want to explore... *another* option first (hehehe). It's risky but I hope it's worth of it. I may have to see how feasible it is, as it's quite a crazy idea, but I believe you may approve ;)

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    3. Risky? Sounds good to me 😁

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    4. The more I think of how silly the idea is, the more I want to do it! :D

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  2. Looking amazing!

    I particularly like the "medina" arch. Great pop of color.

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    1. Thank you! It came quite natural to me to use the colours from the Mosque-Cathedral of Cordoba (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosque%E2%80%93Cathedral_of_C%C3%B3rdoba) which is a nice inspiration. I didn't want to turn it into a full replica however; I think some touches here and there will work better :)

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  3. Holy Moly I want to play on this table.
    Any chance you'd consider running a "virtual" event?

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    1. Oh, I hadn't thought of such a thing, but I can certainly give it a thought and see if it's possible!

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    2. Pop me an email @ wdpiii@ the yahoo place if you want to develop the idea.
      I've sent minis for "combined" story line with The Composer and the Give 'Em Lead Blog. Never tried to do remote sessions before.

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    3. Thank you! Whenever I have the board finished I think it will be fun to see what can we do! I'll see drop you a line! Thanks!

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  4. Wooow! That's looking more then great!

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    1. Thanks! Step by step it's slowly growing... :)

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  5. Replies
    1. Thanks! I'm trying not to rush anything. I prefer to add a couple of details and let it be for a month rather than quickly building it, getting tired and screw things. This is about enjoying the process and not getting fed up with anything. So I guess you will see slow progress through all next year! :D

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  6. Great looking build,looking excellent!
    Best Iain

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    1. Thank you! I'm having fun designing the functionality of the pieces and the way the town is supposed to look. I'm not sure of how long this is going to take, but I hope in the end it makes a nice board for some old school flavour adventures!

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  7. really superb! this looks like so much fun to game on! well done!

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    1. Thank you! Of course this won't easily hold a 'battle', but I think it will work for adventures or more narrative games :)

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  8. Replies
    1. Thanks! But that's not even my final form!

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  9. These behind-the-scenes photos are excellent as it shows the amount of work being put in. Definitely looking good!

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    1. Thanks! It's not much, but as long it provides me such amount of fun, it's clearly worth of the time invested!

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  10. These new integrated elements really work beautifully! The twisting central road looks great with it's entrance arch. Those precarious walkways not only look perfect, but add some really nice playability. Even the statue niche adds a nice quiet little narrative space. Lovely!

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    1. Thank you so much! It's difficult to find a balance between playability and the rule of cool. I confess I would loose it all and build a doll house or a movie set kind of thing, but I have to take a step back from time to time and restrain the temptation of wiring the whole thing or adding signs and stuff wildly. I hope the level of detail is enough to give the board enough... credibility :D

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