Mean Streets buildings

So having done the Marine Supplies shed - I have had sufficient confidence to attempt the first Mean streets buildings.

Rather than mounting on Foam card I have printed off on paper and mounted on 450 grm black card. The reason being that I was not convinced I could cut out good windows on the foam card but was reasonably confident I could in the card

The first one attempted was the Harbour masters office and Fish warehouse.

The walls went to gether well but the model proved difficult when it came to the roof - I m not sure if this was due to it not being mounted on foam card with it wall thickness or whether there was a problem with mixed size printing - sometimes it looked like it was "fitting to page" when printing

I cut the windows and doors on the inn as I want to have it at night with light streaming out of it - that worked pretty well. Overall though there is a noticable bulge where I had to force the building together to get the roof to fit so definately not 100% satisfied and I might try making this one again in due course.

Then did the factory. Overall this one went together better as technically I think it is an easier model. I decided not to cut any of the windows off in this one. 

Still, despite the simplicity if the model there were still some problems. - One corner had no wrap around so I had to make my own tab and the proportions on the upper middle wall seem incorrect - it has the acme sign on the wall but it sits below the level of the roof.

As a model though I really like it. Probably more than the Harbour master one. In terms of detail etc though I think the Clever models ones are better and cheaper. I have purchased one of their collections and will make some of them next

House Build concluded

So I have now finished the Marine Shed. Overall I am pretty happy with it. My perfectionist traits might have wanted some things different but I am happy with the finished product

I used pastels on the edges to get rid of the white - it does not cover very well and subsequently when I pick the model up I get it all over my hands so in future I think I will use a black pencil. I have tried pen before but one slip and it all goes badly wrong.

House Building

I have bought several Mean Streets buildings and sets but have been a bit gun-shy making them as the Foam card seems a bit daunting in terms of trying to cut the thing. However I also came across the railway terrain models of Clever Models. I bought their Maritime Supply building as I am wanting to do a dockside Pulp Alley engagement as my first game. I have started to put this together and must say I am really impressed. I think their collections look like really good value and hope to get some soon.

What I particularly like about these is the 3d look they go for - so on the example below the rusted corrugated iron walls have 3 different levels that you stick on the base level so it has some texture.

You might have spotted in the top photo the clamps being used to press the sides together. I saw these in someone else's blog a couple of weeks ago and thought they looked brilliant - but pricey - then saw them in our local craft shop 4 clamps for 3 bucks - have now bought 2 sets and they are worth every cent - used them loads already

Its alive!!

Ok, so every good Pulp villain has some world defeating weapon or doomsday machine complete with surrounding support gizmos. Saw this in Trade me for $15 and ordered it - its arrived and I think its great.

Terrain in the making

I've been looking at various blogs about making terrain cheaply. A lot use Aquarium pieces but here in NZ they are a bit more pricey. However I did find these in the $2 shop the other day - they were $3 (ha ha) so I got 2

Each bunch has 7 different sprues and each sprue is made up of 4 different elements which I think will go well in making different CD based Jungle/Forrest terrain.

 I will add to this a couple of grass tufts that I picked up a few years ago and I think it will look quite good.

Don't you have Wives, GF's, Husbands, BF's, significant others, to be getting home to?

Ok, just came across the amazing War in 15mm site ( http://www.warin15mm.com/index.html ). The figures and terrain that this guy has is just truly amazing. I am always so impressed with these kinds of photos and as I mused the other day, it gets in the way of me actually doing a game. I keep thinking about how to get the terrain rather than forgetting about the terrain and just using books for hills like I did when I was a kid.

However, I also look at the quality of these things and wonder how long it took them to do? - and more importantly how they get the time for it - if I spent even a tenth of the time I think it would take me to do something to that level of detail, my wife would be being seriously grumpy with me!!

Furniture

The Furniture I ordered from miniatures.com (http://www.miniatures.com/14-Scale-Furniture-Kits-P17012.aspx ) have arrived. The fact that I live in New Zealand should give anyone else confidence in ordering from them.

The set cost US$10 and cost another US$7 for postage which I though was OK. Given that these are just cheap plastic - I was really impressed with what you got

I particularly like the bathroom set. Again they look sooo small to my eyes but looking at the Mean Sets site (http://fauxtoys.com/tvag/620-Mean-Sets.htm) they seem to fit well. 

As an aside - They also included a catalogue of their "proper" doll house furniture. Truly amazing some of the things they are producing - the cost is right up there but if you appreciate small things you can't help but be impressed by what you can buy from this company.

Pulp Figures and the Order of Expense

Finally ordered my first figures for these tall tales.

7 sets from Bob Murch now on order http://pulpfigures.com/home/ - The cost was NZ$150 which is eye watering for my poor pockets but with the packets I've ordered I think I have covered a lot of bases.

Also hit on the idea of using carpet tiles for the terrain floor. Cheap as chips on Trade Me and can be sprayed or flocked a bit to make less carpet like and more ground like. I had originally been looking at a mat on Trade me which was 20 bucks but was reluctant because I was not sue it would be right and size wise also seemed to not match what I needed.




A quick search on Tinternet showed it was not such a stupid idea so now scanning trade me for some good deals.