(not) Black Mesa project - WIP (New photos Nov 13)

[Burgundavia]

A few weeks ago I decided, in a fit of insanity, to create very large mesa as a central piece of a game, for Pulp or Back of Beyond (which our group seems to be drifting to). The base is choroplast (an old sign from the lantern festival I worked for) and the mesa itself is foamboard (also rescued from the lantern festival garbage pile, in this case it was used for floating lanterns on the water). The brown you see near the stone archway is terracotta milliput for extending a few platforms I was a bit too hasty/aggressive in sanding down. Without further ado, some images:


Overview of the mesa


The mesa, sideview


Stairway up to over the stone bridge


Final stairs up to top of platform


The stone bridge

[Calimero]

Looks good. Can you post a picture or two with a figure for scale?

[General]

Anyone have a Gordon Freeman figure?

[Burgundavia]

Sadly I have no pictures of it when it was in its all black undercoat (hence the name in the title), but I did find a picture of it when it was as yet unpainted:

Mesa, under construction

and two more from this evening with figures for scale:

Cultists on the arch


Driving under the Mesa's arch

[Wirelizard]

The brown you see near the stone archway is terracotta milliput for extending a few platforms I was a bit too hasty/aggressive in sanding down.

This technique is of course (c)Silent Invader, who I got the idea from after seeing his mountain terrain thread a year or so back here on LAF.

It looks much more exotic in the photos than it does taking up the kitchen counter! (I've been helping Burgundavia paint and finish this thing!)

Not sure he mentioned dimensions; the whole thing is on a base 2" per side, and it's slightly over a foot tall at the top of the tallest spire. The plateau part is 6" above the ground. There's the path with carved stairs up and over the arch and up the one side of the mesa, but what we haven't yet gotten a photo of is the road up, which starts on the far side of the arch and goes up around two sides, then switchbacks once, ending in the central plateau part between all the spires.

It's light enough for one person to carry easily, although large enough that two is often a good idea... especially when it's covered in wet paint and being moved into the garage to dry!

[Oliver]

Anyone have a Gordon Freeman figure?

I think Kursan do a 15mm one

But no 28mm one nor alex or head crabs etc.

[Calimero]

Thanks for the pictures with figures. Nice choice of figures BTW. It give the whole thing a nice Pulpy feel… I’m sure it will look good with any periods anyway

[Burgundavia]

The mesa is basically done now. The only thing left is the rope bridge, which will be just about dead centre in this image:

The tortuous path

Other closeups:

Truck on the road down


Truck climbing the hill

[alone_withmyaxe]

This is a lovely piece 

I have been meaning to ask for an age where is the best place to get hold of that foam/polystyrene that every one uses for these awesome scenery pieces?

I am in the UK so if it can be special ordered from wicks or similar that would be great to know!

Again this is an ace piece!

[Ray Rivers]

I'm waiting for the rope bridge to tell you how great it looks.   

[Burgundavia]

This is a lovely piece 

I have been meaning to ask for an age where is the best place to get hold of that foam/polystyrene that every one uses for these awesome scenery pieces?

I am in the UK so if it can be special ordered from wicks or similar that would be great to know!

Again this is an ace piece!

As part of the (somewhat surprisingly large) Canadian brigade here on LAF, I have no idea where one might buy the dense blue or pink foam in the UK. I would get a brand name from a website like Home Despot (err, make that Home Depot) and then ask in a local hardware store if they carry that.

[Connectamabob]

Looking at the pics, I'm strongly reminded of that one section of the original Half Life where you have to make your way across a cliff face. Ahhhh, dropping snarks on the heads of unsuspecting soldiers for a laugh... and that bit at the end with the ladders, made me feel all acrophobic despite just being a game. Dang, that takes me back.

Very cool piece.

[anevilgiraffe]

This is a lovely piece 

I have been meaning to ask for an age where is the best place to get hold of that foam/polystyrene that every one uses for these awesome scenery pieces?

I am in the UK so if it can be special ordered from wicks or similar that would be great to know!

Antenociti's Workshop stocks some of various thicknesses... or just search eBay for blue foam and you'll find some easily enough...

[FramFramson]

Your local builder's supply also ought to have some? Least ways they do 'round here, though it's pink.

[Wirelizard]

Your local builder's supply also ought to have some? Least ways they do 'round here, though it's pink.

Brits and Europeans sometimes have trouble finding insulation board for some reason, even the ones in countries as cold as Darkest Canuckistan. That's why specialty wargaming stores like Antenociti's Workshop carry it. (he also stocks more thicknesses than our local Home Despot, mind you)

Even better, the stuff Burgundavia used for this project was salvage, so total money spent on the whole thing is approximately zero (barring that we had paint/glue/sand/flocking/etc already). Zero is an excellent amount of money to spend on scenery.