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Wednesday, December 21, 2011

WIP Modern City Board

Hi folks. I've been doing a little work on a city board for some ATZ gaming. I bought a couple of 1/4" thick 2x4 foot pieces of hardboard at Menards (a local DIY store). Board is divided in half by a painted on 12" wide road in the center, with a 6" wide road running along the top edge. That leaves an 18" square in each lower corner for buildings.
Picture above is not exactly to scale, but should give an idea of the general layout. I made two boards like this so they can be placed together to one 4x4 board.
Pic above is from about mid board looking toward the 60 zombies I've been working on. A mixture of 30 Wargames Factory and 30 Zombies made with WGF Legs and Mantic Zombie trunks and heads. I like the mixed ones a lot more than the straight WGF Zombies. I also mixed in some WGF Saxon heads I had bought from Hoard O Bitz off e-bay. I'll be posting more pics of these Zombies as I get them painted.
Pic above is looking at the horde from a side of the board.

Pic above is looking from the bottom of the board to the top, through the Zombies. I set up the top side of the board with 15mm/HO scale stuff to see if I can use the board for 15s, too. 

Pic above is looking from mid-board toward the North. That's a 15mm Old Crow Goanna in the foreground. The APC is a Bravo Team 1/72 M113. The buildings are H/O model RR.

Pic above is another shot of the 15mm side of town. There is a mixture of 15mm minis, another Goanna with a different weapon set, and a Combat Wombat Hover tank. The ruined building and the Billboard are from Proxie Models.

You may notice a lighter gray colored strip by the street in the pics. It is where the sidewalk will be. I took a few vinyl floor tiles and cut them into 1.5 inch squares. I spray primed them with Rystoleum automotive gray primer. Those will be added to the board soon. I think having a raised sidewalk adds more realism than a painted on 2d sidewalk.

And now for something completely different. Cue naked guy playing piano ala Monty Python. :)
I had placed an order with Sgt Major Minis for some Studio Miniatures Zombies. I got a great deal and a fast turn-around but am just now getting around to comment on them. I got set #2. They are beautifully scuplted, I can't wait to ugly them up with my mad paintin skillz. :) I had seen pictures of them on Vampifan's blog and had read how nice they are but they really surpassed my expectations in real life. But what I really think is also cool is the way they are packaged.

They come in a VHS box. I actually thought somebody screwed up and sent me the wrong item, at first. :) The back of the box also shows painted pics of the minis inside. Which I find very helpful. I didn't know Studio Miniatures did this with the package. It makes sense with a name like Studio, of course, but I still think it is very cool. Forgive me if I seem naive, this is my first set of Studio Minis, but it sure won't be the last.

Another first, I also recently got an order from Hasslefree Miniatures. I see these on other people's sites. (I'm looking at you Vampifan :). And have always wanted them. These and the Studio Minis Zombies are Christmas presents I asked for very specifically. No more queer purple goddamn slippers (she said she thought they were gray, WTF?!) Anyway, these are also some very fine minis. I chose ones from shows and movies I like; Buffy, Hot Fuzz, Shaun of the Dead, and a few others.

It's been a good couple of days. Thanks, for looking and Merry Christmas and God Bless us, everyone.


 

20 comments:

  1. Great work on the street scene, Luckyjoe, I'm looking at making some streets myself to play 5150: New Beginnings in 15mm and I really feel inspired by what you have done.

    God Bless, and have a great Christmas and a happy and productive 2012.

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  2. Now you know why I rave so much about Studio Minis and Hasslefree. They might be a bit pricier than other companies, but you can't deny the quality of their products.

    Your gaming board looks very good and this will be a project I'll be following with much interest.

    I wish you all the best for Christmas and the New Year. Warmest greetings from Vampifan.

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  3. Looks great Joe. Will we see some game reports too?

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  4. Lovely work as I really love the buildings (heading that way in the new year), nice to get what you want and make sure you have a good one too!

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  5. @Kobold: Thanks very much. That's the great thing about blogging, so many people are doing so many cool things, there's always something neat out there. I'm glad my little project was helpful. Merry Christmas and a have great New Year.

    @Vampifan: You're definitely right about the Hasslefree and Studio quality. How do Foundry compare with them, both quality and cost-wise, please?
    I'm hoping to get a little more done on the board, today. I want to get at least one sidewalk area done.
    Merry Christmas to you and have a great and Happy New Year.

    @Dangerous Brian: Thanks. I don't know when I'll do another report, it'll probably be a little while. We are closing on a house today, which means packing, moving, painting and all that fun stuff. Bonus is that I will have an indoor game room, instead of a leaky old shed. :) Merry Christmas.

    @Fran: Thanks. I'm looking forward to seeing your next project, then. Merry Christmas

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  6. Regarding Foundry figures they tend to be cheaper than Hasslefree and Studio Minis. Here in the UK, their Street Violence figures retail for £10.00 for a pack of 5 figures. Quality-wise they are very good but I'd say that HF and SM are better. There's not much in it, mind. Two things to consider, however, if ordering from them. First is not all of their figures are the same size. There's usually in one in each pack who towers over the others. Secondly, I have heard that their postage rates are very steep, especially for overseas customers. Check before buying is my advice. On the whole, though, I rate them very highly.

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  7. Looking very nice, love the buildings!!

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  8. @Vampifan: Thanks very much. I was wondering about size, especially. Thanks for the warning about the shipping. If I end up ordering some, I'll probably get them from TheWarStore.com to save on shipping.

    @Ray: Thanks very much. I've got a few more coming soon.

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  9. @Brother Joseph: Thanks. I'm having some fun with this one.

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  10. If this turns out half as nice as your Mordheim it will be a really impressive board. Looking great!

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  11. @Spacejacker: Thanks very much. This is going to be a fun project.

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  12. This is really good! My goal is to have a nice gaming board someday - looks like you're already there! I love pics like yours, of well-made scenery...I look at it for ideas for my own stuff, and it really helps!

    Good luck with the new indoor gaming room, and Happy New Year!

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  13. @Confused Dad: Thanks very much. I've gotten lots of good ideas and inspiration from your blog, I love the Scoobies and your article on Affordable Housing. I'm pleased if you've gotten a little bit of useful stuff from my blog. I haven't had much time for anything but work for the last 4 days, and today I was off but I was over at the new house organizing the new game room. I hope to have an up date soon on the board. Happy New Year.

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  14. Every time I try to paint anything it looks terrible.. You guys deserve a lot more credit then what your given.

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  15. @Bragondorn: Thanks very much. I agree about the skill involved in painting minis. I'm not very good, but some guys are just outstanding.

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  16. yeah great work :) I like it :) following !

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  17. @Choms: Cool, thanks. Welcome to the blog. :)

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  18. Looking great Joe, can't wait to see it progress

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  19. @ZombieAd: Thanks very much. Sorry for the late reply. I haven't had much time for blogging lately.

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