Launch Bay: Central building detailing begins

The grunt work continues on this structure. I also started adding some cast mechanical bits everywhere to add some texture to the building.

Additionally I dug out an old model railroad pipe kit that I had been saving for a Space Hulk project that never got near launching. The pieces I have used look good (the grey pipes) but I suspect I will need a lot more than what I have. I will be dropping by the closest hobby store to peruse their pipe kits.

It does not look like a lot of work was done but it was. Almost there.

Launch Bay: Launch rails section sealed and central building

Just a quick update. Progress is slow now because I am deciding and designing as I go. I am about done with modifying the central structure but have a lot of detailing to do. I also want to add some more weight to the board edge side to improve the balance of the structure. I am sometimes surprised at how large it is now.

I took the time to do the mundane work of sealing up the exposed foam at the edges of the launch rails board section. It will have little effect on what you are seeing but was a necessary job that needed doing. It may be the last one I needed to seal up as I believe I already completed this task on one of the other sections (or possibly both).

I placed the central building and arches in position just to see them together again. With rumours of the return of Necromunda, this 4 x 4 section is going to make an interesting battlefield.  Anyway here are the photos. I am starting to want to get back to painting but this job is so close to being done....so close.the assembly I mean. painting this beast is going to be a whole other headache. Still once it is assembled I will have to leave it until better weather arrives and I can prime this board outdoors.

Launch Bay: Upper Gantries (Increased support)

As expected my continued building has begun to overbalance the structure. I am good with that because the design of the building is becoming more interesting to look at and there are other supporting structures for the building anyway.

This is just a quick update to allow people to see how I resolved the support issue for this lengthy walkway. I needed a way that would further glue the walkway to the central structure as only the diagonal support line going to the end of the walkway was the only thing providing any support. I could see that a full squad of pewter would cause issues so I started designing this structure.

It was originally going to be a single sheet of foamcore but I decided to bulk it out to allow a stronger attachment to the central structure. As soon as I decided to make a double-walled structure I had alignment issues and support issues between the two pieces. My solution is below. It may not be the best but again, I go with what works.

Launch Bay Ship Elevators: How to hold a flexible yet removable lighting strip...not a euphemism.

This is probably not the best solution but it is the one I focused on for whatever reason. I would like to add a few more restraining posts that will hold the lighting strip more flush with the back wall just to hide the natural bends in the lighting strip.

This was a package of flexible lighting from Christmas several years back. The strip had an adhesive strip but since I did not want to permanently attach the lighting strip I covered the adhesive surface with masking tape.

I essentially created a series of small card shelves and then closed off the front of the shelves to add more support for these pieces. I had to leave at least 0.6 mm below the shelves to accommodate the closed launch bay doors piece as it will slide underneath these.

An additional minor complication is that the one mostly-completed closed bay doors piece that I have is warped due to the gluing and I was planning on adding foamcore strips to try to straighten them out. These will also add height so I now have a very narrow margin in which to work. Still at least this piece is in about the 90%-done range. I have also included some test shots of the piece lit up. I have a lot to do on the central building but this piece will see primer by this Spring.

Launch Bay: Details, details...

Been spending a lot of time sealing up the exposed styrofoam parts of the foam core with card strips. I also decided to add an extended platform to the control building that will be between the launch rail sections. I have shown some of the WIP shots of this walkway as it requires a significant amount of support considering how far it protrudes from the building. There are a few more supports that will be added. The neat part of all of this is work is that the table is now playable.

I have included another set of assembled shots to show the collection so far. It still is not busy enough for my liking and would benefit from having a lot of hoses or piping hanging here and there. These are details that I will have time to add later as I will not be able to prime this beast until the Spring at the earliest. I need a decent outdoor temperatures to prime this project.

I am wanting to shelve this beast for the next while. I need to get back to the Warhound as I have just received notice that another model that I swore I would not buy is now on it's way to me to become part of the the "to be done" pile of large scale model.

Launch Bay: Detailing begins

So having made the mistake of moving these pieces around led to a full blown work session this past weekend that made my basement look like a cardboard and foamcore factory exploded.

I spent a fair bit of time detailing the elevator. One flight elevator is being modeled with the elevator raised while the other is being done with the main bay door closed. The elevator itself is in two levels as I wanted some slightly mechanical items to be visible through the mesh portions of the elevator platform. I then realized that when the lighting system is put in, some of the light should hit these mechanical parts so I added some lifts in the form of foam core strips. I am hoping that their arrangement will allow a bit of light from the light strip to shine from below the elevator. For all of the effort in designing and detailing, I have yet to test if this idea will actually work.

The main structure at the center of the first board section received some bulk and some detail. I added a second level and started adding some reinforcement to the outside braces of the structure. I do not have a clear picture of this piece yet so progress is necessarily slow but like the rest, I am going to keep adding bits until I am satisfied with it's appearance and bulk. I am trying to keep the center of gravity towards the end of the table but by necessity the structure will ultimately be supported by the gantries.

I have been trying to devise a structure or structures to surround the teleporter that would add a sense of walls without interfering too much with larger vehicles but I can not come up with one that would not be purely decorative as opposed to decorative and functional. So instead I decided to add some random mechanical detail to the floor surrounding the teleport pad. Most are pieces of plastic from other model kits, with a lot from the Millennium Falcon kit. Some structures are made using card and foam core to bulk them out. In truth I would prefer the board is busier (and it still may be). Because of the raised platform in the center of the board section there is already plenty of cover on the board. It just is not busy enough. I did avoid adding any detail that would interfere with stacking the board section.

The Warhound is still on the table. But the desire to build is currently winning right now as I take advantage of the holidays to reorganize the house and move things around/throw stuff out. I even spent some time assembling a couple of Eldar superheavy tanks but I am avoiding photos of them until some vague future date when they may get introduced to paint.