Undertown Flats, signs, scatter, a table in progress

With all the COVID-19 stuff flying around I thought it might be time to set a Mantic themed table with some Plague vs. GCPS (Galactic Co-Prosperity Sphere) vignettes.

I'm really digging into the backlog of cool Sci-Fi scenics from Antenociti's Workshop

With my wife home a lot lately I've not been able to work at the painting desk for long but its been relatively easy to sit in the living room, or kitchen, and assemble pre-painted MDF buildings.  Its surprising how quickly a viable table comes together with this stuff!

 GCPS troopers in 3 man teams containing a Plague outbreak in the Undertown while the news boards report.

The quality of the photo print components supplied with these kits is amazing and for the 'small signs' set pictured above you get a set of two triangular signs each face having a different graphic... and there are 9 to choose from in the kit so you have options right out of the box.  With a little effort you can make signs from practically anything so the possibilities are pretty cool.

The Flats are a 3 level structure with a single, full floor, elevator serviced, apartment on each level.  I've not yet done interiors for these so what you see is the kit with no additions.

The rooftop is also accessible via elevator which is shown above.  I've made the top most roof removable and may retrofit lighting to this area... and many others... the better to show the cool acrylic doors and interior graphic details that so many of these buildings sport.

 More views of the sign scatter... large enough to obscure most models and fun to look at.

The acrylic tops and rods are meant to be held in place by pressure lugs but these quickly get knocked off and go missing so I've put a tiny dab of glue on the lower part of the lug to convince them to remain in place.

Likewise the acrylic rods are meant to fit tightly into the base without glue but just slide right through so I glued some of the very good paper left from trimming the photo-prints to the bottom of the sign so the acrylic rods have a floor to rest on.  The acrylic needs careful handling during construction to avoid getting glue on it and ruining the effect.

 The benches are resin components that require a little paint which was as simple as spraying them with Rustoleum Hammered Metal, giving them a wash of Secret Weapon Armor Wash and a quick drybrush of any silvery metallic.

 The Undertown starting to take shape on a small table we usually use for card games.

Lots of scatter elements like street lights, info kiosks, adverts of various sized, vending machines, mail boxes, dumpsters and recycling bins.

The Plague erupted at lunch time with a move on the Spicy Pupniks food cart parked outside the Neo-Tiki Motel Office.

 A GCPS team clears the main building of the Neo-Tiki Motel and moves to assist the situation developing at the office.

Red Oni Sake has a location right next door to the Neo-Tiki Motel and also provides vending machines and mail drops.

 A view across the plaza.  The Game Mat is the small Undertown Mat from Antenociti's Workshop and is printed on mouse-pad material.  There is also a large version of this mat that joins nicely with the small mat for an even larger set up.

Plague taking cover behind the various bins. 

 The Undertown is relatively free of graffiti at the moment but will get tagged up... possibly during games!  I think it would be fun to put a blue tack marker on a spot to be tagged and do the actual application between games.  I mean what gang war themed game would be complete without turf and tags?

 I just managed to finish up the set of Large signs.  These are tall enough to obscure Knight Class vehicles or even low level flyers.

 A set of two, triangular, signs with 6 different graphics in the box.  You don't get the extra couple of choices that came with the "small" signs but they are really large prints with great, high quality, art so I'm not complaining.

 They even have a Sci-Fi Nun on this one!  On my table they are chronicling the adventures of the Sisters of Eternal Mercy! Although any Space Nuns would fit in.

I'm working on the Stepped Tenements today and whatever else pops out of the big box-o-MDF!

Antenociti's Workshop Suburban Office 2 with Upgrade Pack

 Continuing with Antenociti's Workshop recent releases with Suburban Office 2 and the Suburban Office 2 Upgrade Pack. With Scout Celenia for scale from Raging Heroes.

Here we envision Scout Celenia as a Vampire Hunter in a Sci-Fi future setting. 

The Suburban Office 2 has a Sake Shop on the top floor!  This is gonna work out great given how many times I run the "Rescue and/or Steal the booze" scenario.

 As with all of Antenociti's Workshops new building offerings this is pre-painted MDF using  MDF, clear or translucent acrylic and photo print graphics.

The roof features a detachable, multi-position sign and an aircon unit that doubles as a handle for removing the roof to access the gloriously detailed interior.

 As you can see the roof can be removed while leaving the rooftop sign in place.  The sign can be removed for storage or repositioned to any of the double layer MDF tabs on the roof.

The countertop is in the center of the model leaving a lot of space for cramming in a thirsty squad.  I elected to glue the counter in place but there is no downside to leaving it free and completely removable... it could then be used as an outdoor sake kiosk!  Ooops! clever... belated... thought...

 While the individual shop doors are constructed with etched acrylic the other doorways and windows are open.

 With the upgrade pack all of the interior walls are detailed otherwise the buildings are empty shells with a bit more space to fill with troops.

The first floor is occupied by a clothing shop.

 The shop is complete with sales counter and two fitting rooms each with mirror and advertisements.

 The walls are covered with goods on offer or advertisements.

 There is a small learning curve making sure that each part is dry-fitted in the correct spot.  They pop off the sprue easily with the aid of a box cutter or similar.  A bit of light sanding on the non visible surfaces really makes the bits go together more easily.  This time I succeeded in making the doors freely operable... when I built the Neo-Tiki I failed to sand the bottom of the doors and to make sure that they operated freely... as a result they open under some duress and will likely damage the floor eventually... fortunately building them right isn't hard... it just requires a bit of adjustment before they are glued in solid.

The stairs are functional... which is super nice!

I left a large space available for graffiti so more fun tinkering to come!

Back to the desk!

Antenociti's Workshop Habitat 3 and barricades from the Forward Base collection

 The nearly complete Habitat 3 from Antenociti's Workshop... nearly because there are some lugs for securing this building to the roof of another (Habitat 4 or Habitat 10) that can't be placed until the appropriate other structure has been built.  I guess one of these will be pretty soon on the desk!

 The roof features detachable safety barriers and solar array. The hatch vents, power supply and  air handling equipment in this version are resin but the current model features all MDF and Acrylic parts.

At under $18.00 its a very nice model with a flexible footprint.

With the roof removed you can see the interior scatter.  A table, a couple of chairs, and a personal gear locker.  These are all removable/repositionable and, when not in use,  the non-affixed roof components fit inside for easy stowage.

There is a lot of this sort of scatter throughout the project which is really nice for RPGs and can be left out when playing games with larger unit sizes that all need to squeeze in there.

Keep in mind this is the smallest of the buildings in the collection and most of the others fit full squads with ease.

 Colors help build themes so I've started with bordering the openings with yellow for "No Access" (conveniently etched into this bay window) and red for "Access" I figure a lot of these type of bases will be in places with adverse, or minimally sustainable, environments and in such settings it would be nice to know at a glance, and at some distance, which of the windows are transit-able.

The models from the Kickstarter don't include full up air locks but they imply an environmentally regulated interior and the new versions have redesigned doors that open look like full airlocks.

These acrylic doors look really nice.  They don't open but I imagine them as energy barriers in lieu of airlocks.   

I like the little table with the recessed top.  I was able to put a graphic on it so it kinda looks like a holographic RPG is set up on it... geekforce is strong!

Some hastily assembled barricades made from relatively intact containers of various sorts pressed into base defense positions.  Here the barricades are being tested by a Necron from the ...For Scale Dynasty... it is an older model so a bit on the small side for current industry offerings.

This is kind of a Borderlands light scheme.  Not as exaggerated or as heavily black lined but the colors are a nod in that direction.

While I mostly play in the Grimdark I've been very interested in the more traditional Sci-Fi looks and I think there is a lot of room for less Gothic battlefields even in 40K.




...on another note I was pleased to discover that Arthenya VI The Arch Papess made the move across the continent intact and is ready to take up residence when the War Stages Kickstarter rolls in... for now she must be content with her 3D printed Pulpit.

Neo-Tiki Motel and Office V.2 from Antenociti's Workshop

 Continuing the foray into MDF scenery I wrapped up the Neo-Tiki Motel and Office from Antenociti's Workshop "Made for Infinity" line.

This is the culmination of three kits... the Neo-Tiki Motel, The Neo-Tiki Motel Office, and the Neo-Tiki Upgrade Pack which provides interior details for both the Office and the Motel.

This is a wonderfully detailed model and the upgrade pack does not disappoint with each room having individual graphics and a very clever 3D illusion of rooms and areas beyond the walls.

 "STAIRS!!!! WHY DOES IT HAVE TO BE STAIRS?!?!?!"
CL4P-TR4P's histrionics aside the twin stairs were the trickiest bit to assemble but, after struggling with the first one I hit my stride and the second was a breeze... whew!

The small signs on the roof are attached magnetically and can be re positioned as desired while the Aircon units also serve as handles to take the roof off.

 The sleeping alcoves and bathrooms use a small space to create a big feel and help keep the rooms' playable areas clear for use.

The doors are operational although a little tight in my build.  I'mma chalk that up to learning curve and pay closer attention in future builds.

 Adverts and Computer Terminals... weather reports... news casts... They really do top notch photo elements.

The HUGE sign is attached to the office which is also fully detailed with a customer service area that includes a "Press Your Hand Here To Pay" terminal and sliding doors. 

 The Large sign has a lot of acrylic elements, some of which glow convincingly under the game-room lights.

This is a completely pre-painted MDF project that took a couple of days to assemble.  Its going to be part of my Undertown and will get some weathering and graffiti once I have several parts assembled. 

Its possible to smudge a bit on these white surfaces so keeping your fingers clean is a big deal... the MDF is laser cut and covered in a protective paper that often has some soot on it... which transfers instantly to fingers and tools.

CL4P-TR4P is caught here making a pass at the very attractive Tiki motif Acrylic room doors... that resolutely cheerful and inappropriate model is the GGW3000 Dancebot from Armorcast.

Back to the desk!

Antenocitis Workshop Asian Wall Set v2, Neo-Tiki Motel Office WiP, and the Accidental Dwarf Army

 Antenocitis Workshop has a couple of new prepainted MDF releases in their Made for Infinity line. 

They are well designed and are sized to be LoS obstructions even for 40K. These will be great with the Asian Restaurants or the Neo-Tiki Motel that Antenocitis also have on offer.  The wood color is actually laser charred and not paint... which makes this kit have a strong odor of burnt wood even before opening the box.  This dissipates eventually and I hit them with some Dead Flat sealer so they can be handled more casually.

 Our trusty Burna Boy is checking out the rental office of the Neo-Tiki Motel. This is a small building with a GIANT sign that services the Neo-Tiki Motel.  This is a WiP and the Neo-Tiki Motel have detailed interiors sold as a separate upgrade pack that contains both interior sets.

  The Asian Wall Set v2 makes 11 wall section and one (working) gate.

The Prepainted MDF has a covering that is a single color with details laser cut in so its not completely or 'finely' painted but it does make a great surface for adding in those extra details if you like without it looking so much like painted MDF.

 It is recommended to varnish or seal the prepainted MDF to reduce smudging from handling.  I had not though of that and wish I'd seen the recommendation before working on Hab 3 from the Forward Base line.  Once the clear acrylic components are installed sealing becomes more tricky! Its a learning process.  My current plan is to seal the interior upgrade pack before removing the components from the MDF sheet and then do any extra detailing after that... resealing if required.  The reason being that the clear acrylic doors and windows really need to be installed before the model is assembled.  Otherwise there is a significant risk of damaging the MDF.




While we're talking about Hab 3 I'm making some progress on the resin bits.  I'm interested to see what the difference is between the old resin accessorized offerings and the new "all MDF" versions.











Lastly a couple of pictures of the Accidental Dwarf Army that is on the painting desk because I has a paint mix error that resulted in me digging out The Battle for Skull Pass box set and... since I was doing the goblins to eat up the erroneous paint mix I , of course, had to do the dwarves because they were there!










These will initially get some use as Imperial Dwarves in Kings of War but will certainly find their way back onto the table in my Oldhammer games.

These guys are a uniformed army while my Freeholds will be built from Atlantis Miniatures Dwarfs and then there is the giant pile of Mantic Dwarfs to grapple with...





Back to the desk!

Forward Base Hab 3 WiP

 Getting started on the actual MDF buildings of  the Forward Base range Antenociti's Workshop.

These are "Made for Infinity" products and, while I've not played Infinity yet... hopefully I'll get some games in the near future... I've wanted some non-ruined buildings for my SF battlefields.

Forward Base fits that bill well.  Its a collection of prefab modules that would constitute the core of any exploration mission and would evolve into the basis of early planetary settlements.

Other lines like "Under Town" build on this foundation while retaining the feel of modular construction and a function over form theme.




My kits are from the Kickstarter and they have since been redesigned to eliminate the resin components in favor of printed and painted details.  The resin interior panels of the original set could be swapped round and customized extensively during construction and even, to a lesser extent afterwards.  I suspect in practice its just easier to settle on a configuration while building and glue it all in... at least that will be my approach.



Hab 3 is a small dormitory unit and was a good place to start while learning the ins and outs of building these models.  You can see several assassins here for scale and to show the very fun and numerous acrylic windows.  These are tinted a nice blue and probably look awesome with some LEDs to illuminate them.

I'm thinking about adding backing paper to the signs as they are cut through and the letters are reversed on the back anyway and they might be easier to see and give a more SF finish... plus it would make them solid LoS obstructions instead of portable windows

The kit has card "End Caps" to extend the printed textures into the tab areas that are usually left blank.  I found that a Reaper "Nut Brown" is a pretty good match to the laser burn brown that these edges have.  These are the weathered version of the kit. There is a pristine version but I have not seen it.

The MDF comes with a pre-colored surface which can be used as a base color for painting or as a prepared surface for a complete repaint.  the idea is to provide a painting surface that will not look like painted wood when completed.
 The safety barriers are a transparent green and intended to look like holographic barriers with corporate logos, cautions, or even advertisements on programmable surfaces.  The structures of the base have mounting lugs so these barriers can be added and removed from the roofs as desired.

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The white primed bits are the resin bits for Hab 3.  They include walls with lockers, a bunk, vid screens, trash recepticles, and more. Interior scatter has a table, two chairs, and a personal locker. The interior scatter will probably be reduced during most games in favor of space for models to move about.  Exterior resin includes vent covers and air handling equipment. The tan primed bits are shipping crate barricades/piles.

Back to the painting desk.