Mean Streets: The Warriors & More (Next to Last Buildings)

[Cat]

It is a great movie!  But really, this project just started growing on its own.
 
Started by being mostly inspired to play Mike Demana's rules Mean Streets, which were directly inspired by the movie.  Dusted off some old painted gang minis, and dove into the stash for other likely suspects.  Original plan was a mix of my own fictional gangs and adding in some Warriors gangs if I could scrounge up suitable minis.
 
After doing the Furies, and then especially the Lizzies, the modelling aspect really hit my sweet spot when I discovered it was feasible to model the actual character likenesses, and each gang was a nice little mini-project that was easy to intersperse around other projects for a change of pace.

Poking about for terrain options, found the Corvus Games Terrain urban range would cover it very nicely, and started laying out concepts for a board set-up.
 
Was thinking I would have something ready by Huzzah for this May.  Then last June or so when they announced the theme for this year was Hollywood, that kicked it into high gear!
 
My weakness is a wee dram of whisky and late-night historical research rabbit holes on the internets.  Fortunately, that hobby intersects very nicely with the gaming hobby and a predilection for fanatical modelling.
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[Michi]

Seeing all that eye candy in progress, I wonder if it would be odd to sneak Snake Plissken on a rescue mission on that gaming table without any changes…

Even though the plot is fictional and plays in a dystopian future, the movies were from the same era and setting is not so different!

[Cat]

Well, I am sneaking in some cross-over movie bits...
 
One of the buildings in modelling progress is Daddy Green's Pizza.  I've modified the sign to show locations in Harlem and Brownsville.  Two gangs in the works for Leroy's Dojo and the Shogunate of Harlem.
 
The Warriors is technically set "sometime in the future", and the costuming certainly does not contra-indicate the presence of the Shogun.
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[FifteensAway]

Thanks for the reply.  I think I saw the movie is online for viewing.

[Andy in Germany]

And construction work begun on the elevated track.

I must admit, I've been looking forward to this, especially having seen your work so far.

[Andy in Germany]

Yes the subway cars would have been covered from top to bottom in graffiti in 79. Oddly I don't remember homeless being as big a problem back then as it is now. Otherwise I would saw you could throw a few of them in there. A few burnt out cars or cars up on cinderblocks because their tires were stolen would also be a nice touch. Of course the permeating smell of stale urine would make it really feel like NY.

I hope you don't work for the tourist board, because you really aren't selling it, just sayin'

I watched a few "Drivers view" videos from the NYC subway and I was genuinely surprised how clean it was and how little graffiti there is there; it's the scourge of German railways.

[Cat]

I hope you don't work for the tourist board, because you really aren't selling it, just sayin'

Ah, that reminds me, need to add a "Fear City" inspired artwork someplace....
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fear_City_pamphlets

[mikedemana]

I love that sign...ha, ha! And thanks for the shout-out on the rules. Countdown to my next game is 3 weekends away. And I really wanted to get that massive bridge done by then...going to have to get busy!

Mike Demana

[Mr. White]

Ah, that reminds me, need to add a "Fear City" inspired artwork someplace....
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fear_City_pamphlets

I have never seen these pamphlets before. Pretty wild. Thanks for point them out. I'd _love_ to use them as in a project as well.

[Tom Dulski]

 There was a Netflix doc about that time period if I remember correctly, although it mostly dealt with the mafia which was very powerful at the time.

[Cat]

Second batch of buildings is wrapped up.  Well very nearly, the Subway entrance is still waiting for its paper signs when I bring the next sheet of signs to Staples to print out. 
 
Cheap stuff these days is a lot cheaper than it used to be.  Today we have dollar stores, back in the 70's we had 88˘ stores.
 
Chock Full O'Nuts at its peak had about a hundred cafés across NYC.
 
The candy store sign is patterned after the one in The Warriors, but adjusted to fit the size of this model.
 
The Chow Mein restaurant and Law Office are based on similar businesses in Brooklyn that popped up in google searches.
 
The other three shops help round out the assortment of businesses.  Ty's TV Repair above Morrison Hardware helps set the period.  The Bail Bonds office above Stone Pharmacy seems like it will do good business around here.  Dee Dee's Pizzeria is inspired by the pizza shop at the Lizzies' pad (and named for Dee Dee Barnet, one of the Lizzy actresses; Wanda Valez also gets her name in graffiti on the side of the pharmacy).

[mikedemana]

I honestly can't wait to see that game when you finally set it all up and play it out...! 

Mike Demana

[Tom Dulski]

 great work

[Andy in Germany]

Still impressed how you maintain speed and quality.

[Cat]

Thanks folks!
 
Andy, convention deadlines are a great motivator.  Some days, I get a bunch done.  I try to get something done each day.  I've even managed to get a fair amount of work on other projects too, just for a sanity's sake.  Some evenings, I'll do a little on this project, and then something else.  Gearing up for Test of Honour and getting more DBA armies ready.
 
Final batch of buildings is well under way.  Everything is spray painted and detail painting has begun.

The small grey building had a Pizza Man logo which was quite fun, but alackaday Pac Man was released worldwide in Decemeber of 1980 and would be out of place on a table set in June 1979.  I'll be gluing a new styrene signboard over it for Daddy Green's (The Last Dragon was released in 1985, but Daddy Green had been in business for some years already).

I was a little skeptical of Jodie's Brew & Burgers as a 1970s era business name.  But a little google-fu revealed that there was a small Brew Burger chain operating in NYC in the late 70s — so Jodie's is good!