Designing Your Boxer Rebellion Table (WITH PICS!)

[Smokeyrone]

Working on a large (5x10) Boxer table for 15mm.

So far, I have a modular walled compound (13x14") which a TSATF unit (20 men) and a cannon w crew and maybe 5-10 armed civilians would be hard pressed to hold.  About 30 cheap shops, mostly wood and tarpaper, in street rows.  Six nice, brick buildings.  Five medium sized (4x5) factories or warehouses.  A couple rows of fancy dwellings and a couple alleys of low rent houses.

Started demolished buildings, which are kinda harder than you would think to build (pictures show that the stucco over brick structures, after burning, are just plain brick, meaning you have to carve brickwork into foamboard for each entire frame).

I chose NOT to do the actual legation area.   Why? 1: Because you build a huge area, where only the perimeters are gamed, and you must make exact copies of all the buildings.  2:  A Mock up is unsatisfactory to me, with a bunch of small, squared, walled "Legations" all over the place.

My idea:  A generic city area, or stand alone town, with the compound as the besieged area, and the options to have a relief expedition into and through the city, by canal, river and main road.  

The compound could be a mission, a garrison, or a regional legation or foreign outpost.   Of course, I could always build a Tartar Wall section, and part of the peking legations, and add it if I wanted the actual Peking Siege.  

What are your thoughts about making a Boxer table?

 I see many tables that are beautiful, but look too clean.  My table is gonna look a lot dirtier and run down (The old 1/35 scale tank model builder in me.  Everything I build has to be weathered heavily).  I also notice that many walled legations/compounds look unassailable.  Walls too high, etc.   My walls are low, and in places, demolished and rebuilt with hasty repairs, making them hard to defend.  

A daunting project.  Always on my list, and Blue Moons new range means I have no excuse to avoid it any longer.  

BTW, I am using Mal Wright's 15mm Boxer setup as my go to model.  In fact, I am downright copying his stuff!    

[Smokeyrone]

 PICS! 

This is a session, before weathering and detailing:



  I'm cranking out buildings, but when I lay them out on the table....I dont know.  Looks way too linear and symmetrical.  

Also debating about basing street row sections of buildings (most are like 5-6 buildings, 8-10" long) on a sidewalk type base.   The upside:  Will look better, and I can add a bunch of detail like various firewood piles, rock piles, refuse, etc along the sides of structures.  The issue:  what to use for base.  I'm thinking 1/32" vinyl tile.  It is thin, and rigid yet floppy enough to lay flat plus can be bent if warped.  Styrene tends to warp during handling.  Oh, and the vinyl sheets have this awesome cobblestone like pattern on the under side (top side is fake wood), just paint, wash and drybrush.

Making low rent, wood and tarpaper buildings, BTW, is a CINCH.  Got a system.  I use heavy Legal folders (thin, but really tough cardstock), cut out the buildings in one piece, add a foamboard interior floor, then use masking tape and fine sandpaper sections to cover it, paint it black, then drybrush the color, then drybrush with white.   Roofs are various scraps on card, and of course the required corrugated cardboard when doing Chinese.  Wish I could post pics here.

Add various bits of balsa, window and door framing, granny mesh, etc.  Looks GREAT!  (Looks like Mal Wright's stuff on the Din Of Battle site)

You can see my stuff on my Facebook page.  Freind request "Bart Allen" Vero beach, Florida.  

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[gringo]

smokeyrone.....................superb looking buildings!

cheers
Ged
www.gringo40s.com

[Smokeyrone]

Gracias, Gringo!  It feels good to get a compliment from a master figure maker! 


They are not weathered and dirtied up yet.  Waiting to see what colors and terrain my table will be first.

Neat thing, since the buildings are made from mostly manilla file folders, they can be kinda squished to look dilapidated.  

I can literally crank out a row of 5-7 buildings, pained up, with roofs, in 20 minutes!  I can show you how.

During the NASCAR race at Daytona last night (3 hours), I cranked out 5 street rows, WHILE drinking a bunch of Russian Imperial Stout!  (yes, the irony, watching NASCAR and drinking fine stout  :O  )

The BEST news?  Mal Wright and I reconnected!  We havent spoken in years!  Now I'm pestering him about how he did that AWESOME table!  (I think he likes it)

[Juxt]

Fantastic looking buildings! They have just the right level of grunge and distress, now lets have some clutter and debris 

[Smokeyrone]

Thanks.  LOL, I haven't really weathered them yet     Just drybrushed. 

Starting to add details to get a more Chinese look:  Granny mesh and drywall tape woodwork, etc. 

Period pictures show a LOT of really dilapidated and wobbly buildings, especially lower rent shops and homes. Seen lots of adobe/brick walls, with the rest of the construction a series of ad hoc and improvised wood, mud, thatch and debris add ons.    Seems many shops were built onto cheap housing.


 There are also a lot of beautiful and pristine higher rent buildings as well. 

Its SO much fun.   More variation in styles than any other period I've done.

[ragbones]

Smokey, your buildings look great!

[Smokeyrone]

Smokey, your buildings look great!

Mal Wright:  "Who taught you how to build these?"

Bart:  "I learned it from watching YOU!"

 

(Mal didnt get it.  Its a take on a US public service ad about kids shooting smack (I must be out of touch, we never shot smack back in elementary school).  Father finds son's heroin stash and syringe, and says "Who taught you how to do this?"   The kid says "I learned it from watching YOU!"    LOL!  Funny commercial.  )

Anyway, Its all Mal Wright.  I copied his styles, and kinda figured out construction methods, that turned out to be exactly like he used.

I WILL make a tutorial on how to make a row of low rent Chinese buildings in 20 minutes.  (I'm kinda proud of myself for coming up with it)

Of course, its still foamboard and spackle for the stone and brick buildings.

Now, someone show me how to make good looking burned out buildings fast!  They take 4 times longer to make than nicely detailed undamaged structures 

[Codsticker]

That is great output for the time invested- they look great. I might be making a small Pulp Alley table based on Macao so this is inspirational.

Now, someone show me how to make good looking burned out buildings fast!  They take 4 times longer to make than nicely detailed undamaged structures  

I was just thinking that- my Mordheim table  is taking forever  .

[Smokeyrone]

That is great output for the time invested- they look great. I might be making a small Pulp Alley table based on Macao so this is inspirational.I was just thinking that- my Mordheim table  is taking forever  .

Man, my one bruned out building looks GREAT!  It should.  I removed the cardstock from faomboard, and carved stone work over the entire thing.  Had to use thin metal wire all inside to keep it from warping from paint.   

I need to find those brick impressed foam sheets (basically foamboard with embossed brickwork)  Was a German manufacturer, for model railroad scenery. 

OK, for your Macao, you'll want   dockside wharf buildings, I assume.   I'll post pics tonight on how I built them fast and so cheap.   

Get your supplies ready.   Manilla folders or similar  cardstock.  Tacky glue.  Cheap dollar store masking tape (or expensive tape, matters not).    Thicker than manilla folder card, but NOT corregated.  I use the boxes that model kits come in, or shoe boxes.   Some odds and ends of balsa wood, or skewers, or you can cut strips of card painted like wood.   Some granny mesh (the plastic needlepoint stuff) if you want to add some Chinese decor, and/or wedding veil fabric, screening, drywall tape, etc.

[Codsticker]

I need to find those brick impressed foam sheets (basically foamboard with embossed brickwork)  Was a German manufacturer, for model railroad scenery.  

I have used Fire Dragon Games embossed foam. They don't have irregular stone but the cut block sheets are great.

OK, for your Macao, you'll want   dockside wharf buildings, I assume.   I'll post pics tonight on how I built them fast and so cheap.

I look forward to that.  

[Shipka]

Please can you give some insight how you made or found the Chinese signs, ?

[JBaumal]

Great stuff there Smokey! I look forward to seeing and gaming on the finished table. I’ll play the beleaguered garrison....