World building part 6

World Building part 5 - Adeptus Mechanicus Shrine to the Omnisiah (W.I.P)

The next terrain piece I've been working on is a Adeptus Mechanicus Shrine to the Omnisiah.   This is basically the pieces from the GW Manufactorum kit that you get in the Imperial Sector box set.

The idea behind this was that having an actual manufactorum didn't seem to fit with the Shrine World plan, so I had to think outside the box somewhat. What kind of Adeptus Mechanicus type structure could I realistically justify on a Shrine World? It would obviously need to be a shrine of some kind.

From the Mechanicus perspective the space would need to be used in the most efficient way possible, so it seemed obvious to me that the structure would be multi-purpose. In this  particular case, I've tried to conjure up the sense of a pumping station that provides water from an underground source (obviously consecrated) for general purposes, irrigation of gardens, holy water etc. (this is what I envisage in my head). I'm planning on adding a small fountain or something to one of the other buildings.

The outflow pipe flows into a small pool. I'm thinking this could perhaps be the type of shit lepers bathe in at Lourdes or something. Or more likely where chemicals and mineral particulates are filtered out in the form of slurry.

World Building part 4 - ruined chapel work in progress

I recently bought a laser-cut MDF church from Ebay to form part of the terrain for my Shrine World themed board.  It's a fairly sizeable kit, measuring approx 40cm x 25cm for the church itself, but you also get a fair amount of scatter terrain, formed of fences and rows of tombstones, which cover a similar area.

Obviously, as plain MDF the church looks quite, well, plain.  So I've started making some minor modifications to it. Thus far this has consisted of using the alternative gun barrel ends from the Chaos Predator kit and re-purposing them as gargoyles and carvings etc.  This should help break up the flat surface, and in theory make it look a bit more "40K-esque".

World building part 2

Moving on from yesterday's post, I thought I'd talk briefly about the theme I've got in mind.

The theme that I want my table to have is that of an Imperial Shrine World, in a contested part of the Galaxy. Most areas should be battle damaged, and some should be largely unscathed.

These Shrine Worlds we hear about in the background material are something that I've found somewhat intriguing since I first came across them. Whole worlds dedicated to the Adeptus Ministorum and the Imperial cult. It's a mind blowing concept to me.

I've also recently re-read Dan Abnett's Eisenhorn stories, and there was one particular element in the second book that stuck a chord with me, and that I thought would be interesting to include in my perceived theme.  This was the mention of the "law of legibility" in the cemeteries on Cadia. For those that are not familiar with this, Cadia is something of a fortress world that breeds warrior stock for the Imperial Guard's Cadian regiments. It produces a lot of soldiers. Who then die in droves, and earn the right to a burial plot on their home world.  Unfortunately, space is at something of a premium in these cemeteries, and thus there are members of the Ecclesiarchy whose specific role is to maintain these burial sites, and keep track of whether the inscriptions on the grave markers have been rendered illegible by the elements. Once a marker's inscription is considered to illegible, the dead soldier is considered to have passed from memory, and the remains will then be disinterred, and moved to a mass grave or incinerated, thus making room for fresh (or not so fresh) inhabitants of the burial plot.

Anyway, I found some images on Google Images that I thought might give me some ideas on how things might look. Only when I make the buildings for my table, they'll be crapper.

World Building part 1

Any of my three regular readers will be able to tell you two facts:
1. I visited Warhammer World in December
2. I am working on putting together a gaming table and scenery

With this in mind, I thought I'd share with you some photos I took of some of the impressive gaming tables I saw on the day. The attention to detail is impressive...

Love this abandoned excavation of an Eldar artifact going on in the back corner

Here, the Mustard King, Stevie Boxall can be seen examining a pot of mustard

 

This desert board looks great, but must be pretty boring to play on

I'm into this Tau outpost in the midst of a jungle swamp.

D.I.Y gaming table phase 1 - a.k.a the beast is back

Admittedly, I've been fairly quiet of late, what with Xmas and New Year and all that tripe. That's not to say I didn't enjoy myself, because I did. Anyway, I've made the tentative first steps in sorting out a gaming table for use at home.

The important thing here, apart from enabling more fun to take place, was to have something that was easy to store, and that would also look good. So I've decided I want to try and do something along the lines of a Shrine World. Although we'll see how that pans out!

Things I have used / acquired:
1.Three sheets of 9mm thick MDF, in 2ft by 4ft size.
2. Another sheet of 6mm thick MDF, in 2ft by 4ft size, chopped into 1ft square pieces - (All the MDF is readily available from B&Q, and they will cut stuff to size for you for free)
3. Can of blackboard paint (can I say this? is it PC? it's what is says on the tin, so I'll go with it)
4. Can of grey primer paint
5. Folding clips (4 of)

Ignore the shit triffid looking thing in the background

Square and beige

Tins and clips

So, by way of explanation, the 3 big sheets of MDF make a modular surface. If I use 2 of the sheets, I get a 4 x 4ft surface, which is ideal for smaller games or for Kill Team etc. If I use 3, it's a standard 6 x 4ft surface.  The boards will be held together with the folding clips, and will lay on top of an old sheet on the dining table. The boards will also easily fit in the cupboard under the stairs, with all the spiders and shit.

I undercoated the big boards with the blackboard paint, which I got because the can reckons it's really hard-wearing. Guess we'll find out in due course.... I then gave it a rough over-spray with the grey primer. It was windy outside, so it blew the spray and produced a nice effect for added interest. Well, better than flat grey at least.

The smaller boards will be used for mounting buildings etc. on. The 6mm thickness adds in a kerb height that seems sort of realistic at 28mm scale too, so I can have "roads" between the tiles if needed.

The next step will obviously be putting some terrain together. I'm quietly determined that this won't turn into another one of those projects that doesn't come to full fruition.