Futuristic City (6829874)

Igor Hamzic (order #6829874)

Futuristic City

by Ive

An amazing model built by Ive, a talented Frenchman, that has been a consistent favourite of visitors to Matakishi's Tea House for over five years.

Presented here with corrected text and every photograph I have available.

©PRD Ward 2012www.matakishi.com


http://www.matakishi.com/

Introduction

Introduction

I had known about Infinity for quite some time and drooled over the miniatures and when the rulebook was released I could no longer resist the temptation.

I bought the full range of Yu jing and Nomads only to realise that without proper terrain you cannot play a decent game.

I am used to painting very large quantities of miniatures so I decided, since you only need very few troops to play, to invest my time in building terrain instead. Terrain worthy of the miniatures.

Infinity gave me the opportunity to build a city with a clean, near future look. Something different from the bombed, Gothic, grey, dull as hell, skull infested terrain you see everywhere.


Introduction

For inspiration I watched the Ghost in the Shell animes again, looked on the internet etc. But the most useful were the buildings I see everyday.

New apartment blocks, modern office buildings, car stores... buildings with lots of glass and concrete.

The city had to be modular. You can build a better looking table when everything is in a fixed position but from a gamers point of view modular is better.

So the roads had to be on tiles that could be arranged in lots of different ways. The buildings had to be modular as well, apartment buildings can be lowered by removing floors, certain buildings consist of parts that can also be used independently.

Everything had to be fully accessible. When there is a door, the miniatures must be able to go to whatever there is behind. The combat indoors adds another dimension to the game.


Introduction

When you start with such a project it's very important to know your limits.

You can start making hyper detailed buildings only to realise that after a few weeks hard work you still don't have enough terrain to fill a quarter of the battlefield. It's a trade-off quality and quantity.

I know I could have made this a lot more detailed than it is and with less mess-ups but then I would have had a lot less terrain pieces. Burnout will happen! (at least to me) I decided on a simple design with a lot of window areas (saves time) and every building would take about two days from start to finish.

I made them in July during my holiday. Everything is made in the garden in the sun. It was great fun because I could see this thing growing day by day. After two weeks most of it was ready.

I will explain how I built the things and you will see that it is actually very easy. Everyone can do it. The only problem may be the availability of the materials and machines used.



Materials

Materials

Foamboard. This is essential. Architects use it for their scale models. It may cost more than cardboard but it is a far superior product. It is available in different thickness, I used one 5mm thick. It is also widely available.

Plasticard. Every building and floor tile is covered with plastic. I got the material from my work where it is used for vacuum forming. I used several square meters of it. This plastic is about 2mm thick and comes in sheets. You can cut it very easily with a knife. You cut it about half way through and then you snap it. The problem is: where to get it? I know that trophy shops have it, they use it to engrave text on them. it's usually black or white with a cover in a different colour. So when they engrave something, the white/black becomes visible.

Acetate. It's the same material as the holographic displays that come with hackers. It's available in different colours. Mine is a very dark brown. I used it to make the windows. I bought mine in a local store that sells artist supplies.

Hirst Arts Moulds. Amazing products! I used Starship deck mould 270, Pipeline floor mould 273, Starship wall mould 301 and Cargo bay accessory mould 302. First I thought of making all my floor surfaces with them, but that is practically impossible, I would have had to cast the moulds hundreds of times. So i only used them as a finishing touch to my buildings. I still had to cast them many many times. What's fun about Hirst Arts moulds is that they are all compatible with each other. For example: 2 small blocks of set A are just as wide as one block of set B. The combinations are endless. Plaster is also very cheap. With the cargo bay set you can also make small and big containers and cannisters, which are fantastic to create cover.

Accessories. By this I mean small stuff to add further detail to the buildings. I used pieces of toys to create air conditioning fans, computer panels etc. The Urban War builder sets are also a godsend. These are very cheap. I based my armies with them and used pieces of the sets to further enhance my buildings.



Tools

Tools

Airbrush. Simply essential! The surface area that had to be covered was simply to big to paint it with a brush. It also looks a lot more professional. It saves a lot of time and also a lot of paint. Mine is a very cheap Badger.

Glue gun. For attaching the trees.

The following are very handy but you can manage without them.

Engraving machine. I used such a machine to engrave grids on my plasticard in order to massively speed up the floor construction process. I also used it to make the designs of the road tiles.

Bevel appliance. This is a machine that can make bevelled edges to the plasticard forms. It gives the plasticard a smoother look.



Roads

Roads

I was inspired by CNC workshops Urban grounds.

I bought some cheap MDF and had it cut in squares of 30 by 30 cm. The tiles where covered with 5mm foamboard.

Tiles without roads on it are covered completely, tiles with a straight road are covered on the sides, leaving the middle untouched. The roads are formed by the side walks. So it's easy to make T-section and corners.

I made the roads a lot less wide than they are in real life. Otherwise they would be a death trap to anyone on them. Infinity is a very unforgiving game when you are in the open.


Roads

Then came the most difficult part.

I was fortunate to have access to an engraving machine. With Photoshop I made some designs and the machine engraved them on plasticard.

It took about 2 hours to make the surface of the 32 tiles. I realise that not everyone has such a machine but you can make the designs and take them over to someone who has one (i.e. trophy shops).


Roads


Roads

The roads (not the side walks) then got a base coat of black and were then airbrushed with grey in different layers, each progressively lighter.

The markings are airbrushed also. I made a template of cardboard, cut out some rectangles and airbrushed over it with white, leaving the markings on the roads.



Trees and Shrubs

Trees and shrubs

These are simply essential for this game.

In this game you cannot have enough things to block LOS. It also gives some colour to the predominantly white city. I bought them at Ikea and a pet shop.

I cut the plants to pieces and glued them with a hot glue gun in bundles to a base (squares of different sizes of foamboard) afterwards I painted the surface of the base with glue and I flocked it.

In a few hours I made a dozen bases, so it goes very quickly and it's also very cheap.


Trees and Shrubs



The Buildings

The Buildings

First thing to do is to make a floor template.

Cut out a shape in foamboard. I almost always used 90° corners. Be sure that everything matches exactly; opposing sides have to be perpendicular.

This is the base of the building it will define it's form. So if side A is 3 mm longer than side B, the entire building will look slightly "off".


The Buildings

Then cut cardboard strips 6.3 cm high. The length does not matter. These will make the walls.

Cut out windows. Measure the templates sides and cut the strips accordingly.

Finally glue the wall sections on top the template. The first floor is almost finished.


The Buildings

If you're making an apartment building, use the same template for every floor. If you're not you can make adjustments to the template. Then repeat the wall building process.

The roof is the same as the template of the final floor. Don't glue it to the walls!


The Buildings

Now you have a naked foamboard building, time to dress it.

Almost the entire surface of the building is covered with plasticard. For the walls I usually used horizontal and vertical strips/rectangles. The roofs were covered with more exotic shapes.


The Buildings

The interior floor were covered with plasticard tiles 2.5 by 2.5 cm. First I made each tile individually, later I used the engraving machine to save some time by engraving a grid on a sheet of plasticard.

The pieces of plasticard were bevelled with my Varga bevel appliance but with sandpaper you may manage as well.

On top of the plasticard I glued Hirst Arts blocks. This is the fun part because you can finally use these fantastic bricks. Don't overdo it.


The Buildings

Then the building gets painted.

First I paint it with a base coat of brown with a brush. Then it's airbrush time! I start by spraying it with a lighter brown. Then I add some beige or white to it and spray a second layer and so on until I spray pure white.

Make sure some of the base colour is still visible. Spray from top (where the sun hits the building) to the bottom. Never change the direction in which you spray.

Finally you can highlight some of the edges with pure white using a fine brush. The Hirst Arts blocks are painted as well. Pipes are painted black then silver.


The Buildings

To finish the building we add the windows.

Measure each window and cut the acetate a little bit larger. Then glue the glass to the building. Don't use contact glue or the vapour will leave some white smoke on your windows. I learned this the hard way.

The building is finished.


The Buildings

How do I decide how big a building should be and what are the ideal room dimensions?

First I make a floor template of the building. This gives me roughly an idea how big the building will become.

I make no plans, I just build away floor by floor. If that apartment building doesn't look high enough just add another floor.

The buildings should be smaller than they are in reality or they would be really huge. However, they will have to be big enough to be believable. I always have a miniature at hand for reference - is that balcony too high? - can I comfortably place a mini here? Once one building is finished you can take that as reference for the others.

Once the outer shell of the building is complete you can make the interior walls any way you want. There are no ideal room dimensions, make them however big you want.

Not everyone has access to a bevelling machine or an engraving machine. I realise this and consider myself lucky to have access to them.

A possible alternative is a foamboard cutter but there are some practical problems; the thinnest foamboard is 3mm which is too thick to make panelsand foamboard has the nasty habit of tearing when your knife is not 100% sharp. The foam between the paper catches very easily, ruining the piece.

I think sandpaper is the best alternative. The edges may not be sharp but more rounded, which is good enough. The problem here is that long strips will be difficult to do.

I only used the engraving machine once, for making the road tiles and to make a few sheets of plasticard with a grid design for making the interior floors. I really have no idea how I would have made them without it.

One option is to buy textured plasticard. But this is absurdly expensive if you need this much.

The cheapest alternative is to go to a shop where they can cut it for you I think.



Second Building


Second Building


Second Building


Second Building


Second Building



Third Building


Third Building


Third Building


Third Building


Third Building


Third Building



Fourth Building


Fourth Building


Fourth Building


Fourth Building


Fourth Building



Fifth Building


Fifth Building


Fifth Building


Fifth Building


Fifth Building


Fifth Building


Fifth Building


Fifth Building


Fifth Building


Fifth Building


Fifth Building



Final Stages

The Final Stages

Some little pieces, to add a bit of variety to the terrain.


Final Stages


Final Stages


Final Stages


Final Stages


Final Stages


Final Stages


Final Stages


Final Stages


Final Stages


Final Stages



The Last Building


The Last Building


The Last Building


The Last Building


The Last Building


The Last Building


The Last Building


The Last Building


The Last Building


The Last Building


The Last Building


The Last Building


The Last Building

here you can see that the burnout was close; the interior has just been airbrushed, I just could no longer bring myself to manually highlight every detail.


The Last Building


The Last Building



Resources

Products mentioned in the text

Infinity is a game with 28mm high metal miniatures that simulates combat and special operations in a science fiction environment with Manga aesthetics. Infinity miniatures are characterized by the high quality and detail of their modelling, the dynamism of their postures and their futuristic aesthetic.http://www.infinitythegame.com

Hirst Arts is a small business owned and operated by Bruce and Joanne Hirst that produce moulds to allow you to cast up your own scenery items.http://www.hirstarts.com

Bevel appliance this was the one used:http://www.mechanik-muntelier.com/cms03/showlinx.asp?id=2&lang=e

Antenociti's Workshop sell hand engravers for plasticard if you don't have access to an industrial one (and who does?)http://www.antenocitisworkshop.com

CNC workshops make a range of scenery kits including Urban Grounds, their city boards.http://www.miniaturescenery.com

Urban War pipe sets are made by Pegasus Hobbies.Http://www.pegasushobbies.net


http://www.infinitythegame.com/

http://www.pegasushobbies.net/

http://www.miniaturescenery.com/

http://www.antenocitisworkshop.com/

http://www.mechanik-muntelier.com/cms03/showlinx.asp?id=2&lang=e

http://www.hirstarts.com/


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Futuristic City (6829874)

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