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Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Solutions Everywhere


Retro-future-cities should look something like this:
My buildings are too boxy for that.  A complete overhaul would blow the ability to pack it all into one tidy box right out of the aetherium.  What to do, what to do?  We're gonna need the right paint scheme and some baubles on those buildings to retro-fy them. There's a great example of the sort of styling that I'm looking for over at Lead Doesn't Bleed (take a look).  All those spires and pointy bits will prevent this terrain from packing into its box, but we can still mimic the overall aesthetic with the right baubles and paints.
 
We can also use architectural features like bridges to add flavor.

Like so.
That's a nice sweeping bridge with plenty of potential for some 1950's style sci-fi crystals or some such.  This bridge also includes a clever solution to the stability problem.  Here's a close-up:

Pegs and flats make a snug 90-degree fit against the tops of the buildings.  They also give more detail to paint and liven up the bridge.

That gentle arch is delicate, too.  You won't see a bright swoopy bridge like that in the Underhive, amirite?  There's only one problem:
I didn't check the bridge size to verify that it would fit in the cookie tin designed to protect it.  We're gonna need a bigger tin.  That's actually not a problem, though, because in retrospect that tin wastes a lot of room.  We can build a box that will hold the bridge, and one that will double as another building.  Woot!  Look at all these solutions, they're everywhere!

Next up, uhhh...I better get cracking.

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3 comments:

  1. MattJanuary 16, 2013 at 11:46 PM

    That's a great looking bridge! Is it made from card or foam board?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Warren AboxJanuary 17, 2013 at 10:25 AM

    It's made from whatever you call the stuff that the craft store uses to surround pictures. It's a heavy cardstock that comes in a range of colors, and I think it's called "matte board". You can get roughly A4 sheets of it for about a buck at the local Ben Franklin Craft Store - they sell standard photo size borders for their frames, and chuck all the rectangles they cut out to make the borders in a small bin by the framing department.

    It's as strong as regular cardboard, but thinner and smoother, so it works great for construction when you don't want to use foamcore or cardboard. And it's thicker than cereal packaging, so you can use it to add a little variety to things when you use it for "iron plates".

    ReplyDelete
  3. UnknownJanuary 18, 2013 at 11:42 AM

    I agree - the bridge did turn out great!

    And thanks for the tip on the mat board - I'll have to check it out for my terrain projects.

    ReplyDelete

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