Monday, June 22, 2009

Project: Imperial Outpost

The second battle of the Arduen Campaign is based on an Ork attack on an Imperial Guard outpost/supply depot/compound of some sort. I had some barrels and ammunition boxes, etc., but a few barrels and ammunition boxes do not an outpost make.

So I decided to whip up some fencing and stuff to make a better outpost. The work would consist of three parts--a perimeter fence, a couple of military style tents, and a watchtower.The chain-link fence was pretty easy. I used plasticard tubing to make a frame and attached it to a plasticard base. I put the vertical poles on the base right at the edge so I could abut the various fences together to make a large, continuous fence.
I used fiberglass window screen to make the chain links, which I superglued to the framework. I was looking for a small sheet of window screen, but got impatient and bought a whole roll (only $6). Now I have enough to make a 40k chain link fence 40k miles long... But that's ok.
I had hoped to coil some window screen to make razor wire to top the fence, but the fiberglass doesn't hold its shape like aluminum would have (fiberglass was cheaper, so I bought that before I thought about it), and I didn't have much time before the battle in any case. I made two short sections, three long sections, and 4 corner sections to make an enclosed compound.

Next up was some tents. I took some plasticard square rods and made a tent framework.
Next I used some spare fabric I had lying around and sketched a pattern on it for the tent. I wasn't too meticulous here, as I figured I'd just glue it in place and then trim it with scissors.
My first attempt was to give the tent fabric some rigidity, so I made some watered down white glue and soaked the fabric in it, then applied it to the framing. This ended up being just a pain, didn't really work, and in the event it was unnecessary, so I skipped this step for the second tent. I used superglue to attach the fabric to the frame, and once the glue was dry I used scissors to trim off any excess fabric. Not perfect, but good enough.
A long time ago I took a sample of Catachan Green and took it to the local Home Depot and got a quart of it made up--so I used this instead of using up my model paint to paint up the tent itself.

Next up was the watch tower, made entirely out of plasticard. I made the "platform" a square 2 1/8" on a side, so I when I was done I could fit four models in there, with a hole cut in the center for an entrance.
I built up the frame and trusswork next.
The final tower, with ladder leading up to the platform, a trapdoor, and a removable roof so you can fit the models in there.
Finally I painted it up and made it ready to go:

Putting it all together, along with a quickie flagpole, and my aforementioned barrels/ammo boxes, and I have an Imperial compound. Look for it in my next battle report, coming soon!

10 comments:

Max said...

Nice job!

Space Hulk Enthusiast said...

Yes indeed, nice work.
Quick, easy and effective.

Cawshis Clay said...

Holy moly! That's nifty work. Your plasticard skills are very admirable! I tend to cut mine in awkward shapes that never fit together properly!

That tower is awesome. How would that be used in play? It seems like it would take a full 6 inches to get to the top?

Darkwing said...

Thanks for the comments, guys!

@CC:
For the purposes of the battle we played, we assumed that anyone right at the foot of the tower was in coherency with those on top. Only four models can fit on top. No other rules were necessary for the game that we played using it, although I'd suggest that anyone within 2" of the bottom could "embark" on the tower, moving all the way to to the top in a single turn, and vice versa.

Nocturus said...

Wow! How long does it take you to do a project like this start to finish??

suneokun said...

Now all you need is a sly marbo to break in in a remake of Rambo...

Col. Corbane said...

That's a lovely piece of terrain mate, nice one.

Admiral Drax said...

Brilliant!

One of the chaps over at The Ammo Bunker once showed me some brillian Nassan hut-style huts made out of halved Pringles tubes, if you ever want to experiment...

Darkwing said...

@Nocturus:
This took me maybe 4-5 evenings, but I was doing double duty babysitting those nights as well, so it's cut some plasticard, feed the baby, glue some plasticard, change the baby, prime the plasticard, entertain the baby, and so on...

@Drax:
I have been collecting some Pringles cans, but they are slated for another project. I know what I want to do with them...the question is, will I have the time!

73rd said...

Great work! I really like the Watchtower. I've always wanted to try my hand at plasticard but I have actually never even held a piece! I think even your routine for those evenings would have confused me... Feed the plasticard, glue the baby, entertain the plasticard...

Nice job my friend!