Grocery/Big Box Store

Hi, friends. I recently played some scenarios for All Things Zombie wherein I had to go to a Big Box store and then a Grocery store as part of the Day One events. Normally I don't play a scenario unless I have the terrain finished and ready to go. That day I went ahead and played without terrain for the store. I just used a big box I had. It was still fun, but lacked the visual element so I didn't post any pics of those scenarios. I finally got around to making the Big Box/Grocery store. Just a quick job, here's pics.

Here's a shot of the Big Box store across the parking lot. In that scenario, LJ got owned by a bunch of terrified civilians because he didn't use his katana on humans, just tried going "mano a mano". Predictably, the fat squishy bastard got stomped. The scenario was over for him and he didn't get any goodies.

Here's a shot of the Grocery store across the parking lot.  As you can see I did a lot of work to differentiate the Grocery store from the Big Box store. :) The signs are stuck onto the building with removable double-sided sticky tape. Anyone recognize the name of the store? Anyway,  the Grocery store was LJ's next and last location. I did two things differently with LJ at the start of this scenario. One, I changed his attribute of Stone Cold to Brawler. Since it was Day One, I decided I'd pick a better attribute if I was going to survive the rest of the Apocalypse. The second thing was I decided that terrified civilians represented a significant threat and I took off the kid gloves. I would use the katana in melee. Worked like a charm. Between switching Attributes and using a 2-handed melee weapon, I had much better luck with that scenario. Even found a SAW, used it to kill a couple of gangers, shots attracted Zombies, which I killed with the Katana, for my first Zombie kills. That was so successful a scenario I actually got a Rep increase. So to memorialize that fight, I finished the store building.

A little about the store. It is 21 x 18 inches x 4 inches tall. It was made from an old Dell Laptop Computer box. I chose it because it had a little built-in box inside that could be used as an interior room. The walls are made from an old WorldWorks Games kitbash siding texture kit I bought several years ago. I went for a simple blue and white color scheme. I was thinking of Ikea's Blue and yellow. I used other WorldWorks Games textures for the windows and doors. Normally I use doors that open and close and windows that are open. This time I went for quick and just used the print-outs glued onto the walls. 

The tile floor is from the WWG Mega Mall set. The brown concrete floor in the loading dock area is another WWG texture. 

The shelving units and refrigerator cabinet come from Stoelzel's Structures Market, as do the register counters. The two gun cabinets in the loading dock are also from Stoelzel's Structures, I think it was the Modular Lair. The shelving is held in place with double-sided tape for stability, but I can reposition them if I want to. I left plenty of room between the shelves for getting my fingers in there.

Shot from different angle.

Shot from the back.

Scenic shot across the parking lot. How do you like the "Valdemart" sign? :)

This was a fun little project that I just sort of slapped together. I had printed out all of the paper textures a while back so I just had to glue them on. The box I used for the building had some dents and areas where the cardboard was different thickness. I could have done things to fix that, and did, a little, but there are still quite a few obvious flaws. However, for a quick job, it'll do. And, because it was made from an actual "big box", I can use it for storage. :)

That's it for now. Thanks for looking.

Filling Station

Hi, friends. I'm posting some pics of my mostly finished Filling Station from Demo's Laser Cut Designs. This is a wonderful model with lots of excellent features. It comes with a playable interior, furnishings such as gas pumps, sinks, toilets, store shelves, even a big beer cooler. There's a nice weather shield over the pumps, and a huge marquee sign with the gas prices. There's a big 11.5" x 11.5 " mdf base upon which to mount the model. There are even free pdf graphics you can download for signs and cash registers. And it was all dead easy to build. The major pieces of the station are mdf, the furniture is on taskboard (kind of like thinner matte board. I made or downloaded some additional signage. Here's pics.

Here's an overhead shot featuring the marquee sign, weather shield, and gas pumps. I didn't use the big mdf base sheet and just set the models onto my city board table. I chose to use a blue background for the Station's signage and changed some of the wording.

Shot from a different angle. You can see a little of the building front.

The opposite side. The closest end of the building has two public Restrooms. I closed one door and left the other open. The doors are perfectly sized for the blue door frames. They have two hinge pieces that slot right into the frame so closely that they stay in place, even without glue. But because they are not glued, I can still open or close them. I really like the doors!

Here's a shot from the front of the station looking under the weather shield canopy into the store front. There's a WorldWorks Games ice machine and newspaper machine I made fresh for this build. The trashcans by the pumps are simple scratchbuilds. One is a plaster cast of the inside of a cover for a disposable plastic water bottle. The other is just a plastic cap from an empty tube of toothpaste, painted black and then drybrushed silver.

Just a different angle view.

View from the side along the front of the store.

View of the back from the side. There's an Employee's Only door that opens into the area behind the cash register/clerk station.

A view of the restroom side. The doors have the little male or female signs on them.

Speaking of restrooms. Here are the sinks and toilets.

An interior view. The floor tiles are from Stoelzel Structures Modular Urban Center Kit. The building is based on a vinyl floor tile. Against the far wall is one of the bookshelves that come with the Filling Station kit. In the middle of the floor is a 2-sided sloping shelf unit for merchandise. I need to make some stuff to put on the shelves. To the upper right is the big cooler cabinet, just below it along the right-hand wall is a paper ATM machine from WorldWorks Games. The long "L" shaped counter is part of the furniture that comes with the Filling Station kit. I have placed a couple of Hirst Arts bits on the countertop to represent a cash register and control for the gas pumps. To the left of the counter along the bottom wall are 2 video games from Stoelzel Structures kits.

 Another view of the interior layout. Even with furnishings in place there is still plenty of room for minis.

This shot shows the restrooms a little better and you can also see the video games slightly better.

Here's a shot of the front of the store with the weather shield removed.

This shot shows the awesome beer cooler and the ATM machine a little better.

The pic above shows some of the furnishings better. It also shows an Ohio Lottery sign. What's a convenience store without Lotto. The Lotto sign is also being used to cover the spot where the tab from the restroom divider wall shows on that back wall.

Pic above shows the two video games from the Stoelzel Structures Modular Lair Expansion 2. I screwed up the one on the right a little but I'll still use it.

This view is looking out through the store windows under the weather shield.

Looking down into one of the restrooms. Plenty of room. The toilet and sinks even have drain holes in them. How cool is that?

Here's a shot of one of the gas pumps. The blue graphic with the keypad and display is part of the free pdf download from Demo's Laser Cut Design webstore. I added the No Smoking symbol and the advertisement signs for the top of the pumps. The hoses for the pump handles are made from black wire from the Hobby Lobby jewelry section.

A view of the pump from the side. The pump handles fit into slots cut into the casing. The hoses and pump handles give a very nice 3d effect.

I just thought this was a nice scenic shot showing how well the filling station fits in on the table.

Well, that's all for now. I had a great time building this model. I hope you like it and will consider giving Demo's Laser Cut Designs a try.

All Things Zombie Batrep - Day One, Location 2, Home

Hi, friends. I couldn't stay asleep. Got up at 5:30 am. Drank some coffee. Decided to do another location for Day One scenario of ATZ. I'm using rules from Better Dead Than Zed, and some from I, Zombie.  The first location I did was ATM, that went well. I had chosen 4 locations for Day One. Now it's time for location 2, home. 3x3 foot table. Zuzzy mat, homemade roads, houses mainly from Stoelzel's Structures.

Narrative:
Having just hit the ATM for some money, Joe got in his car and headed home, planning to touch base with the family, then go to WalMart and one of the nearby Supermarkets. Calling home on the cell, Joe said "Hi, sweetie. I'll be home soon. Is everyone okay? And do you have the list ready for the things you want me to pick up from the stores?" "Yes, everybody's fine, just a little scared. The list is ready", Joe's wife responded. "Be careful coming home. There's a roadblock at the end of the street, and a Police car was cruising by telling everyone to stay indoors because of a "Civil Emergency". We might not be able to go shopping to get supplies if they're closing roads." "Yeah, Joe said, "we'll see. Everything seems fine here. Okay, I'll let you go. Love you. See you in a bit." Pocketing his cell phone, Joe saw the Police barrier at the end of his street. Big-ass concrete block. "Damn, no way around that. I'll have to park and walk the rest of the way" Joe thought.

That wasn't here this morning. Looking up the street, Joe's destination, the white house, is on the left.

View from the opposite end of the board.

Lucky Joe: Rep 3, Military Reaction Table, Katana, Attributes - Stone Cold and Slow.

Rolled on the Getting There Table, by vehicle. Passed 1 d6 (Rep 3). Rep > location number. Counts as passed 2d6. "Arrive there normally".

PEF Placement

All PEFS placed behind cover and out of LOS.

Turn 1

Activation: Humans 3, Zombies 2

LJ moves 8" up the street. PEF in section 4 now in LOS. False Alarm.

"What's that behind that tree? Oh, stray cat. Gotta stop being so jumpy", Joe thought. 

I did a Fast Move once the PEF was resolved to finish LJ's movement. Used only 1 d6 for additional movement, because of "Slow" attribute, instead of additional 2d6 per the advice of Vampifan. (Thanks, Bryan) Rolled a 5, so moved an additional 5". Man, that fatboy can run. :)

The first PEF resolved is represented by the black dice under the tree. It turned out to be a stray cat. (False Alarm)

Completing the Fast Move. There's a PEF hidden in the tree line to LJ's right (Black dice).

Zombie's Turn: PEF in Section 6 can't move, it's Rep was higher than the ZED activation roll. The REP 2 PEF passed 1d6 and moved "1 section toward the nearest PEF, ending its move in cover". Hmmm, this is getting interesting. LJ's got two PEFs in the sector near him and he doesn't know they're there.

"It's quiet ..., too quiet" LJ mutters to himself.

Turn 2

Activation: Humans 6, Zombies 5.  Rolls are too high for either side to activate, but for Day One Scenarios activation rolls equaling 11 means the Police will approach you. "If unarmed he will tell you to leave the area", if visibly armed he will draw his gun and order you to surrender your weapon." 

I wasn't quite sure how to handle this. It's not illegal to carry a sword around, but you are visibly armed with a katana. I decided to submit it to the Dice Gods. 1-3 on a d6 he arrests LJ, 4-6 he lets him go. Rolled a 5. Yay. What would you guys do?

Policeman: Sir, what are you doing with that sword?

LJ: I'm just taking it home, Officer, I live in the white house behind you.

Policeman: Okay, sir. Just get inside your house and stay there. The Mayor has declared an Emergency Curfew and all citizens are required to remain in their homes and stay off the streets until further notice.

LJ: Yes sir, Officer. No problem.

With that, the policemen gets back in his cruiser, checks the roadblock and heads back up the street.

PEFs must still have not been in LOS because of the trees.

Turn 3
Activation: Humans 4, Zombies 2. LJ rolled too high, can't activate. Both PEFs pass 0d6, can't move either.


Turn 4
Activation: Humans 3, Zombies 2.
LJ moves 8". Off to his right he thinks he sees something in the tree line.

Pic above shows the 2 PEFs hiding in the trees.

PEF Resolution - Rep 2 PEF is a false alarm. Rep 3 PEF rolled on Random Road Encounter. Result was "It's Freakin Hot". Either consume 1 food unit, or Rep is decreased by 1 for the remainder of the scenario. Great, now I'm Rep 2. At least I didn't get all killed up by Zombies. :)


Fast Move an additional 5". Rolling good.

LJ's almost there.

Turn 5

Activation: Humans 2, Zombies 6. All of the PEFS have been resolved, but I figured I still needed to roll because you never know if you'll get doubles (optional PEF generation), a 7 or 11. However, LuckyJoe continues to be lucky and moves 8" to enter his home, ending the scenario successfully, and bloodlessly.

Honey, I'm home. And where's all the damn furniture?

Another lucky run. No Zombies at all, again. LJ is beginning to doubt the existence of Zombies, probably just some media hysteria for ratings. However, next locations will be a Big Box store (need ammo) and a Supermarket (need beer food). 

Well, that's all for now. Thanks for looking. 

Interiors of the Neighborhood

Hi, friends. One of the things I really like about the Stoelzel Structures buildings I've been making is the beautiful interiors. Carl Stoelzel, the artist and designer, has done an excellent job on the interior textures of these buildings. So, without further yakking, here's some pics of some of the Stoelzel neighborhood house interiors.

The Cape. This pic shows the second floor (first for our friends across the pond). 

The Cape. Ground floor. 2nd floor has been removed.

The Farm House. 2 floor. Some of my walls are rather wonky. I love the different textures Carl used on the floors, especially the bathroom (lower right) and the kitchen downstairs.

The Farm House. Ground floor. Kitchen along right side with old linoleum and checkered wallpaper. Even a rug in the living room.

The Split Level. Upper view. I haven't finished the 2nd set of stairs.

The lower portions of the Split Level. I made some crude stairs with Hirst Arts bricks.

The upstairs of the LJ house. Still need to make the stairs to connect the floors. Master bath and bedroom to the left, Man Cave to the right.

The main portion of the 1st floor. Family room and bath to the right, garage, kitchen and dining room to left.

The kids' portion of the house. 3 bedrooms, bath and rest of kitchen. The wooden texture to the left edge is the outdoor deck.

Well, that's all for now. Thanks for looking. I hope you take the opportunity to pick up some of the Stoelzel Structures buildings. They are beautifully done with playable interiors and furnishings.