OK, we'll a while back a bought a load of foamboard with the idea of making a city.. and since i've received i've hardly touched it. However, i've finaly started work with it, so i though i'd log it in the hope that i'd receive extra motivation! :)

anyway, heres the first house i've done:




bit of a rushed paint job, but it'll do. and i've learnt a couple of things:

- Need to make the windows a little bit lower as orks and hunched over humans cant see out..

- dont model rooms than cant be reached with a paint brush (you cant see it in the photo's but to the left of the rubble pile on the insdie theres a big black hallway)

- always keep the steel rule on the important side of the sheet your cutting

- keep floorboards to a minimum, they're harder to paint

- think about how the previous inhabitants are supposed to go upstairs

- dont use GW roughcoat

However, before i really noticed these flaws i'd already built the outer walls for building number 2 meaning they'll be a few problems there aswell.. This is how building No.2 is looking at present:




Need to texture the walls and add piles of rubble to the inside and possibly the lower outside, however i was considering not buidling attached rubble piles like i did in the first building and instead building a number of rubble piles with flat sides that i can simple place beside the buildings for gaming.

any scenery building tips/hints/etc welcomed :)

Enjoy,
BYT

A fine start I'd say! You are right to think about access etc. If most buildings are to be partially demolished, you can always make lift shafts and stair wells which just need enclosing with access doors (ie no need to see stairs etc).

I would stick with the rough coat though as it makes the paint on plain foam board more appealing. Get yourself some clay cat litter and chop up a few plastic sprues. Use this, along with a little sand to make piles of rubble. You can make this easier on yourself too by putting lumps of foam / papier mache on the base first to give your rubble piles substance.

Have you sketched out a plan of what buildings your city needs?

Will the city have elevated walk ways / transport lines / bridges etc?

I've got for the enclosed stairwells option on the second buidling (allthough the pics dont show well) and just a ladder on the second floor to make it seem like a loft/store room of sorts

I tried rough coat on the first building but the can just kept blocking up.. so i got angry with it and gave up, what didnt get rough coated was given a coat of PVA with a bit of sand mixed in that does the job just as well

I'll look into getting some cat litter, i've heard about cutting up sprues.. some time i'll have a session just mincing all the spare spues i can find.

As far as sketching out a city/entire table i've not done that, for now im just working on a building by building basis largely inspired by WW2 films (1st building is roughly based on one in saving private ryan with the rear cropped, and the second based on a building from the pianist) - this also means i havent got as far as planning any walkways or similar, however im aiming more for a dated look for the city, so im avoiding anything too technical

Check out a few of Hedley's buildings to see how effective cat litter is. As for mincing sprues, I prefer to cut them up with clippers, just retaining those that look like bricks! Best of luck, will be watching closely to see it develop.

Brilliant BYT, tho I've known you long enough not to expect anything less! Whats the actual hieght of this beast?

I concore with the roughing up of it

Jase, the tall building is 23" tall :)

Anyway, bit of an update here (and i feel i should stress at this point that this will be a very slow log... even for me)

2 small buidlings:





i've also now textured and primed the tall building, need to get some more paint before i paint it though.

Cheers,
BYT

I love the store shutters on the latest small buildings.

The addition of the CoD sprue makes for some good character too.

I'll be watching.

-scrubout