Total Pageviews

Monday 21 July 2014

Landing Bay: Launch Rails Structure




I have roughed out the sides for the central structure. It looks very one dimensional right now but it will be broadened considerably. Each level up is 3 inches above the previous level. That measurement is from floor surface to floor surface. I marked out all possible levels (6) in a new sheet of foam core placed in a landscape orientation. Then I marked down roughly equal steps until the third level.  Each rise up will include 2 steps mounted at 1 inch intervals which should give any model up to a dreadnought the mobility it needs to traverse the structure.

Once the interior floors are laid out I will begin planning the various balconies that will expand this structure laterally.

For anyone wondering about the design, in essence I wanted a structure that would rise at an angle. I stepped the slope to make it look more “Imperial” or at least my interpretation of it.
All of the various ports in the walls are there to make it as easy as possible to maneuver models within the structure itself. So the structure was essentially designed as I went on to the very sheet of foam core I cut it out of. I had tried several times to try to design the structure but aside from the sloping design I just could not get a good sense of how the structure would actually look on the table. Drawing it as I went allowed me to immediately assess any design elements in ‘situ’, so that I had a much better sense of how my drawings impacted the design. Am I 100% happy? No not really. It did not turn out as I had envisioned but I have some ideas for what I do have that will allow me to punch up the shape of the structure. This is an important build as this structure is one of the design elements that are going to have to add depth to the playing surface.

After this one is done, there is one more structure I would like to put roughly around the teleport pad. It may even connect to this central structure but that too will be designed as I go.

The photos below show the side wall design I somehow made organically (can I use the term “organically” without sounding pretentious?). The main guide in the design is the requirement that I have levels that are each 3 inches high and that the structure rises in a slope like fashion. What you see is the result of my attempts to refine those initial elements, for better or worse. Now I just have to make them even better. 

And in case anyone is wondering, why do I build as I go? because the board has to be playable. And sometimes what looks great in your minds eye will not translate into an effective playing surface so why devote time and effort to just that? You have to keep in mind that regardless of what you are building, you are creating a playing surface for the game. Imagining the shape of a structure is not the same as seeing how it affects movement and LOS. My 2% of a dollar. Anyway photos and stuff. 

One shows how the floors in the structure were glued in (i.e. one side at a time). On reflection i could have done them individually but there were some rather fragile elements to the building shape that I was trying to preserve (note: I was not successful) but it will work in the long run. The rest just show a mock up of the structure in position. I nly included one set of arches for the photo as it was again just to get a sense of scale on the table.








No comments:

Post a Comment