6mm city - trucks p.3 Trash p.4

[YPU]

Right. So I have a bunch of the lazy forgers 6mm modern city buildings, as well as shanty buildings and I, figured it was high time to put them to some actual use. I've been contemplating the easiest way to use these in actual games and while stand alone buildings offer the ultimate freedom and modularity, I find they look a bit random and lost on most tables? People, and that includes me also tend to space them out a lot rather than cluster them the way they tend to be in real life. So I'm going to try and base them in groups, paint the base like a sidewalk with some Asian style tiny roads snaking between, some parking spaces and parks and the like for variety.

Here is the first base plan, a tiny parking spot and four apartment buildings with shopfronts.






And painting progress on the first 2 buildings. Plenty of stuff I could fix, but these will do at table top level I think. I used some gundam 1/144 warning label decals for shop signs, maybe a bit too much text but it looks ok from play level I hope.

[fred]

These look good - great idea to base them in small groups.

One suggestion, perhaps add some bits of flock into the corners to represent weeds or other growy things?

[YPU]

These look good - great idea to base them in small groups.

One suggestion, perhaps add some bits of flock into the corners to represent weeds or other growy things?

Thanks and yeah that will definitely help! there are a couple of spots where the 3d prints aren't perfectly flat so I should be able to hide that with some flock, 2 birds one stone. I'm waiting till I have everything painted before I glue it down, so the flock will have to wait just a bit.

[madman]

I am in the same fish or cut bait endless loop myself. I would like to base my buildings as either small villages or as sections of larger towns or cities. In either case I would have to leave sufficient space between buildings to fit bases of infantry or allow placement of vehicles. This requires spreading things out some. I also like playing on 2" hexes so even a handful buildings will have a footprint of a few hexes. Not a big deal in reality, and easy enough to keep about half my buildings as individuals.

One issue is as stated the bases are improved by the addition of extra details, such as trees, hedges, fences, walls, and so on. Visually they look good and can easily be incorporated into the "mini dioramas", BUT we start drastically reducing space for forces. So the solution is to reduce the number of buildings as well as  keep any other terrain spaced to allow placement of units. By the time this is done those villages are rather spread out and the built up towns and cities are either very thin (low density) or become their own limit for forces. Some city buildings, and factories, can accommodate troops placed on their roofs but many cannot. So I am open to suggestions or pictures of suitable terrain features. In the rules I like specific buildings and their exact locations do not matter just that the hex contains structures and how strong they are. So this again starts to play into the single building per hex syndrome. Looking for ideas please.

[Pattus Magnus]

I wonder if it would be feasible to make fairly dense built up area bases with landscaping and details, but have some (or all) of the buildings removable, so that during the game they can be shifted to make space for units occupying the area. Basically the same idea as removable trees on forest bases. I’m scheming about using that approach for 10mm villages for horse and musket games, but haven’t gotten around to actually building any yet, so it’s purely theoretical at this point. It would be possible to make the base with ‘foundations’ for specific buildings and, steps, walkways, etc. to keep it from looking like the buildings are just sitting on a template.

[OSHIROmodels]

Looks good so far 

[YPU]

I am in the same fish or cut bait endless loop myself. I would like to base my buildings as either small villages or as sections of larger towns or cities. In either case I would have to leave sufficient space between buildings to fit bases of infantry or allow placement of vehicles. This requires spreading things out some. I also like playing on 2" hexes so even a handful buildings will have a footprint of a few hexes. Not a big deal in reality, and easy enough to keep about half my buildings as individuals.

One issue is as stated the bases are improved by the addition of extra details, such as trees, hedges, fences, walls, and so on. Visually they look good and can easily be incorporated into the "mini dioramas", BUT we start drastically reducing space for forces. So the solution is to reduce the number of buildings as well as  keep any other terrain spaced to allow placement of units. By the time this is done those villages are rather spread out and the built up towns and cities are either very thin (low density) or become their own limit for forces. Some city buildings, and factories, can accommodate troops placed on their roofs but many cannot. So I am open to suggestions or pictures of suitable terrain features. In the rules I like specific buildings and their exact locations do not matter just that the hex contains structures and how strong they are. So this again starts to play into the single building per hex syndrome. Looking for ideas please.

yeah that was exactly my thinking as well. In the end I concluded that I should stop thinking of the buildings as individual models. When I consider each base a single piece, like large rock would be that just happens to be made of multiple buildings close together that creates a mindest I can work in. I am trying to keep some parking spaces, parks and small farlands open that should fit a base of figures hopefully, but in the end I need to accept that the density of buildings like this are hell to navigate in any large group or vehicle and if the model reflects that its not so bad a thing. I just need to make sure I keep the roads between clusters large enough for actual play, and like you say many models can go on top.

Now fitting things into hexes does make that a LOT harder. I have seen people tweak their models so that antenna (metal rod) and other features on smaller buildings equal the height of the larger buildings effectively creating a studded platform to place bases on.

I wonder if it would be feasible to make fairly dense built up area bases with landscaping and details, but have some (or all) of the buildings removable, so that during the game they can be shifted to make space for units occupying the area. Basically the same idea as removable trees on forest bases. I’m scheming about using that approach for 10mm villages for horse and musket games, but haven’t gotten around to actually building any yet, so it’s purely theoretical at this point. It would be possible to make the base with ‘foundations’ for specific buildings and, steps, walkways, etc. to keep it from looking like the buildings are just sitting on a template.

Total battle miniatures actually sell something like this.  I swear they used to list the size of "slots" in the bases and list the size of buildings so you could mix and match but that seems to have been lost in the new web store sadly.

https://www.totalbattleminiatures.com/product-page/village-set-one

Looks good so far 

Cheers mate!

[madman]

Now fitting things into hexes does make that a LOT harder. I have seen people tweak their models so that antenna (metal rod) and other features on smaller buildings equal the height of the larger buildings effectively creating a studded platform to place bases on.

The "best" development I have seen in this direction was bases placed on something akin to the stands in pizza boxes to keep the lids from becoming one with the pies. I can't remember if there were different heights or they stacked but it was in pictures of Advanced Squad Leader played with miniatures. The height of the stand also gave the floor level you were in. I can't see going into that detail, just you are occupying the "area" terrain.

As for hexes the individual sections don't have to be shaped like they are made from hexes but I will be painting very light outlines and the sections will have to be placed in alignment. Still in the rules I am planning on using what exists in the centre of the hex is what constitutes the hex. The centre of the hex will need a light coloured dot for LOS purposes as well.

[zrunelord]

Those came out quite nice & they would look great for sure on a tabletop especially en masse.

Z

[fred]

For their 10mm buildings TBM use 40x40mm and 40x80mm bases sizes which are moulded as depressions in the latex village bases

[YPU]

Those came out quite nice & they would look great for sure on a tabletop especially en masse.

Z

Thanks mate.

For their 10mm buildings TBM use 40x40mm and 40x80mm bases sizes which are moulded as depressions in the latex village bases

LAF, someone always has the answers here.

[6milPhil]

Looking great! 

[Macrossmartin]

I'm in a similar boat, regarding multi-basing buildings; I'm printing 1/1000(ish) scale skyscrapers and city malls for Kaiju to jump up and down on for use in River Horse's Pacific Rim: Extinction. With units that are essentially the size of buildings, maneuvering them between the towers would be nonsense, so I intend to cluster them in city blocks.

[Daeothar]

That's some awesome stuff there! I share your sentiments about single buildings standing in green fields.

Epic's a great game, but even back then, I really couldn't stand the loose gothic skyscrapers scattered around on manicured lawns.

So your idea looks to be a spot on solution to balance both suspension of disbelief and playability

[YPU]

I'm in a similar boat, regarding multi-basing buildings; I'm printing 1/1000(ish) scale skyscrapers and city malls for Kaiju to jump up and down on for use in River Horse's Pacific Rim: Extinction. With units that are essentially the size of buildings, maneuvering them between the towers would be nonsense, so I intend to cluster them in city blocks.

Yeah at that point clusters become a must I imagine, especially with smaller buildings. Suburbs by the base!

That's some awesome stuff there! I share your sentiments about single buildings standing in green fields.

Epic's a great game, but even back then, I really couldn't stand the loose gothic skyscrapers scattered around on manicured lawns.

So your idea looks to be a spot on solution to balance both suspension of disbelief and playability

Thanks mate and exactly! Grim oppressive cramped living quarters in a lush flat field, what planet is this, Rotterdamned suburbus prime?



Meanwhile I've been using random decals for the shop signs, and I noticed that on some the "something something decal sheet" text is also a full decal. So now we know what this place sells.