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Necropolis: Watershed; More Fallout Terrain
Topic Started: Oct 7 2009, 08:12 PM (989 Views)
Ninjamonkey73
Raider
[ * ]
Got my hands on some cheap (read: free) building materials and figured I'd get going on this. If nothing else, it's a great excuse to keep dragging my feet on the Military Base! ;)

So, Mrs. Ninja came home from work at the bank with a bunch of cardboard rectangles... apparently they had to destroy a whole bunch of old, unused checks and there's a piece of cardboard for every 25 checks. Score!

So I consulted by blueprints for Necropolis: Watershed, and started putting together a rough framework for the buildings:

Posted Image

I think I'm going to run out of cardboard, but hey... there's always cereal boxes, right? :P

My main goal right now is to get some usable terrain -- no matter how ugly -- so that I can actually play some games LOL. I have plenty of Mutants, just waiting on inspiration to paint the Raiders and BAM, we got Warfare!

Oh, good... Mister Kitty is helping! I think he killed Harry...

Posted Image
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v_lazy_dragon
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Enforcer
[ * ]
Good start! & look on the brightside - a ginat cat attack if JUST the sort of random event Fallout is famed for...
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Ninjamonkey73
Raider
[ * ]
Okay, I think I've formulated a plan of attack for the final version:

Map Base: tar-paper sheets to simulate asphault, with a mixture of PVA glue and beach-sand to represent broken ground; these could probably be rolled up for storage between games. Another advantage will be that the rough-ish surface may help keep the buildings from getting accidentally moved around during gameplay. I don't want to have to resort to Velcro LOL!

Building Bases and Sidewalks: corkboard or thin wood, 1/4" or less -- about 5 mm for you metric folks. Foamcore would probably work too, but I like the idea of having the corkboard as a base because of the built-in texture. I'm not sure how it compares price-wise...

Building Walls: either corkboard or foamcore. Buildings will generally be 2 and 1/2 inches tall (about 64 mm) which looks about right to me for 28 mm figures, which are between 35 and 42 mm tall including bases and hair LOL. The buildings may seem a little too tall, but I'd rather have high ceilings than low ceilings... and my standard doors are about 1 and 3/4 inches tall... that's about 44 mm. I want them to be big enough that almost any figure can stand in the doorway without touching the frame. My doors are about 1 and 1/8 inches wide... around 29 mm... so that the bases can easily fit in the doorways.

I'm so lazy that I may order a can of that ridiculously expensive GW texture spray to do the basecoat for the walls, then go over it with a standard dark grey spraypaint to get that "Fallout ruins" look.

At that point, I'm pretty sure I'll have a decent-looking, not-too-expensive Necropolis Watershed map, and many of the individual buildings could easily be re-arranged to create new, unique cityscapes.

Now, to wait for my next paycheck... LOL!!! (I went crazy this week...)
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Chrome_Cat
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Merc
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They look good. Try using a a cheap house paint mixed with plaster of paris or fine gap filler. Check out Ravenfeasts Ruins! thread for the Glop! technique.
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RavenFeast
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Mutant Hunter
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Chrome_Cat's suggestion or Glop! not that expensive. Always the battle of cheap vs. lazy for gamers it is. Hmm, yes?

What scale is your cat? Very life-like paint job! And you will note that the cat is sitting on paper, probably with something important written on it. ;)
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Ninjamonkey73
Raider
[ * ]
Yep, he was sitting right on the graph paper blueprint for necropolis LOL.

I went nuts with scissors and tape tonight:

Posted Image

I focused on the Eastern half of the map, because it looks like a pretty good stand-alone board... plus I can expand it later by adding the buildings on the West side.

I also tinkered with some of the measurements, so now it's an even two feet by three feet. I'm hoping that'll make it easier to buy basing materials, since I can buy it by the square foot. It also does wonders for my OCD. ;)

I was undecided on whether or not to do the interiors, but I was on a roll... and the interior walls help the buildings hold their shape.

I allowed for a two-inch alleyway in the Northwest corner so that the team that starts on the Northern map edge (most probably the Super Mutants) will have a "legal" means of Retreating from battle if they so choose. The East and West sides are "illegal" edges for purposes of Retreating, for both teams.

I stuck my Super Mutants in the positions you'd see them in Fallout, but for wargaming purposes (under Fallout Warfare rules) they all need to be within 6" of their starting table edge at the beginning of the game... so they basically need to either be in the main building or the alley.

At some point this weekend I'll do a couple of skirmishes and post the BatReps. 8)

LOL I just noticed one of the doors is upside-down! >< I think I need a nap!
Edited by Ninjamonkey73, Oct 8 2009, 07:15 AM.
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Ross
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Wasteland Warlord
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Bloody good start there man. It's got great shape and a hell of alot of gaming potential!

Now to see it all detailed and textured and you're good to go!!
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mattblackgod
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Big boss warlord dude!
[ * ]
Good start.

For ground texture go down to your pound store and pick up a pack of sand paper. Spray it grey or whatever colour.

You can get stone effect spray paint but its expensive. Rough wall paint helps (mix some fine sand in). The other option is plaster wall filler (polyfiller) add a drop of water to thin it and some sand. It works a treat.

I too have trouble with giant cats terrorising my wastelands! :D
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DAWGIE
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Mutant Slayer
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DAMN! y'all are off on a new tangent that looks to be full of fun when it is done.


DANNY beat me to it, but el cheapo fine grain sand paper, painted black or gray (grey for y'all across the ponders), can be glue down to a surface to make very nice looking asphalt (macadam) or cement road ways and parking areas. after the base color is added, just paint in the required lane dividers, parking spaces, etc.

it is then quite easy to make manhole covers out of tiddy wink buttons or bingo counters by painting them a dark metallic color and gluing them onto the roadways wherever you choose to place them.

also the fine grain sand paper can be glued onto surfaces to make excellent concrete texture exterior walls.

larger grain sand paper with bits of kitty litter or small gravel added to it makes for really nice rocky, natural terrain as well.

disposable BIC type razors with the safety guards glued on can make good looking flourescent street light poles, too.


and the ever useful tough, clear plastic bubbles from blister packs or larger boxes (like AT-43 product boxes) can easily be cut to size and glued into place to make windows, glass store fronts, glass doors, etc.


these can be painted on the inside with gold metallic paint to produce reflective, non see through "glass sections" too

of course y'all need to cut out the shape off any broken "glass sections " with an exacto knife before gluing them into place.


the bubble pack blisters/larger flat sheet of the same stuff works much better than celluloyd or cellphane for these types of jobs.


DAWGIE
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Ninjamonkey73
Raider
[ * ]
I'll have to try the Glop, because I went poking around the GW site last night and didn't see that spray stuff I was talking about.

Sandpaper sounds like a good idea, but I have sensitive skin and I'm afraid I'd end up bleeding all over my terrain LOL.
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tinker
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CEO of "Rat-on-a-Stick" Industries
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Ninjamonkey73
Oct 8 2009, 07:00 AM
Yep, he was sitting right on the graph paper blueprint for necropolis LOL.


I'd like to see a copy of those plans! But that is way you have the security cat in place right?

Ninjamonkey73
Oct 8 2009, 07:00 AM
Posted Image

The lower right hand side of the picture has the entrance doorway to building upside down!
Edited by tinker, Oct 9 2009, 02:39 AM.
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Ninjamonkey73
Raider
[ * ]
Yeah, I noticed after I posted the pic LOL it was late and I was tired.

Here's a (blurry) shot of the original plans. I drew them up under the assumption that one sidewalk tile on the Fallout map was 1 square inch in terms of table measurements. Then I just drew it all on 1/4" graph paper with each 1/4" square representing one tile. They're not exact, and I fudged them a bit to fit them onto a 24" by 36" board, but it's close enough for punk. ;)

Posted Image

By the way... what's the deal with the Fallout 1 designers putting so many windows in INTERIOR WALLS? You'll notice the interior windows in the buildings on the lower right-hand corner of the board... wtf? Did people feel the need to have a nice view of the kitchen from the living-room?

I decided that I'm going to give those buildings more character -- and give the windows a purpose -- by having one building be a Rite Aid type convenience store (with a window between the Pharmacy and the general shopping area) and the other one some kind of small restaurant or diner, with a window between the kitchen and the washroom where the cooks could pile dirty dishes for the dish monkeys to deal with.

Really, the more I look at the Fallout maps, the less sense they make LOL. For example, why does it look like all the buildings were two-story buildings with the top story blasted off, and no stairs to be seen??? Why does the Watershed have jail cells in the back??? I may turn that building into a microbrewery... the jail cells would be bathrooms or maybe executive offices, and the "water pump" and storage tanks would be brewers' vats. The little building outside could be a package store, and the entrance part of the main building could be a brewpub.

I just don't want to be looking at dull grey buildings with no purpose or logic behind them. Besides, isn't beer a better thing to fight over than water? :P

Water falls from the frikkin' sky!!! LOL
Edited by Ninjamonkey73, Oct 9 2009, 06:18 AM.
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tinker
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CEO of "Rat-on-a-Stick" Industries
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Ninjamonkey73
Oct 9 2009, 05:59 AM
Really, the more I look at the Fallout maps, the less sense they make LOL. For example, why does it look like all the buildings were two-story buildings with the top story blasted off, and no stairs to be seen??? Why does the Watershed have jail cells in the back??? I may turn that building into a microbrewery... the jail cells would be bathrooms or maybe executive offices, and the "water pump" and storage tanks would be brewers' vats. The little building outside could be a package store, and the entrance part of the main building could be a brewpub.

I just don't want to be looking at dull grey buildings with no purpose or logic behind them. Besides, isn't beer a better thing to fight over than water? :P

Turn it into a bar and the back room is for the barmaids to pick up some extra money from the clientele :lol:

Thanks for the map, I might have to use it for construction ideas considering I haven't ever played any of the Fallout series.
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Ninjamonkey73
Raider
[ * ]
"I haven't ever played any of the Fallout series."

FOR REAL?!?

Damn... get on eBay, you can probably get Fallout 1 and 2 (and the sequel, Fallout Tactics -- underrated) for a total of less than 15 US dollars, total, with shipping included. I'm pretty sure the deal I got was shipped from the UK, too.
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tinker
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CEO of "Rat-on-a-Stick" Industries
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Naw, no real interest in computer gaming, I get just too bored playing for more than a few minutes at a time.
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Benny
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Professional Procrastinator
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Really? Fallout 1, 2 and Tactics are awesome... So good :)
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Ninjamonkey73
Raider
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I wish Tactics was a bit more true to the first two games, but it's still a blast.

Fallout 1 is the closest to my personal vision of a post-apocalyptic world, but Fallout 2 just has WAY more going on. The boxing in New Reno and the Kung Fu in San Fran are particularly fun IMO, but then I have a weakness for hand-to-hand combat. ;)
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