Vanvlak's Katabazi - spaceship/secret base terrain

[Vanvlak]

If someone were to collect all my posts on LAF and condense them, the main themes would be:

Building bits of scenery 
Not finishing models 
Adequate storage problems (especially as the cellar I use for storage is damp and rots a box in 24 hours) 


Ages ago I had started a thread on using part of a plastic shipping pallet, which I had found somewhere, as a Space Hulk setting. I had undercoated it (spray), and then abandoned it in the cellar.
The dust and mould and stuff which live there do not seem to get too attached to the plastic of the pallet. It has lain there over two years now, so I guess it should survive until I am too feeble to go down the steps to the cellar, and that will do  I'll put a dust sheet over it to provide some additional protection.

So I decided to resurrect it, and try to complete it as a small setting for sci-fi (mainly), including 40K, Star Wars, Dr Who, Retro-rocketship stuff and just about anything; it could also be useful for superheroes, Weird World War II and post-apocalyptic settings as well, but I opened the thread here as my main current interest is sci-fi. I will try not to make it setting specific (e.g. I will not infest it with skulls), which is not too much of a problem as the pallet itself will have flooring and structures which are detachable.

It could be part of a spaceship, or even a component or bit of wreckage from one; or a section of an underground or surface base.

I also want it to be open-plan, but possibly with an option for bulkheads which can be removed. And I also have a few ideas for removable stuff which can go inside the base - including the whole of my Ad Mech scenery for Necromunda. Open plan is interesting because it is large enough for vehicles or walkers which are not too tall to fit in, or who can stick out of the middle after somehow getting in there. And I have a nice, big, low spaceship which should also fit in nicely.

This morning I dusted off a couple of cobwebs, covered a couple of moulded symbols; resprayed some of it so that it is now predominantly grey and primer red, with some shades of green or blue from the previous scheme visible in areas; and dragged it back down in the cellar. The name Katabazi  is Maltese for catabasis, but bazi is also a base (as in base of operations), so I am feeling all smug about it 

It's having an interesting effect as I found bits from old projects which were partly finished or in a sorrier state and which will now contribute to the parts I will use on it (most if not all just placed on it, and thus removable). The photos show the beastie adorned with a selection of landing platforms, some of them sporting battle damage.







The last pic shows some of the flooring I will be using on top, still being painted and shown incomplete. The flooring on the lower level will mainly be thick plasticard, to minimize loss of height in the corridor.



This will be a slow, ongoing project, hopefully with regular updates. The convergence of at least six or seven old projects into this is at a result of sorts, as it has reduced the number of unfinished projects. 

Next: I need to work on the upper and lower level floors, and also perhaps introduce some neutral-looking pipes and stuff.

[LouieN]

I cool concept.  It looks good and I await more updates. 

What broad region of the world are you at to make the cellar so damp. 

Spare sprues from plastic models may also be a "builders" paradise for material

Luck

[AKULA]

I can appreciate that ... my kind of madness 

When I look at that pallet I see hangar bays ...

[Vanvlak]

I can appreciate that ... my kind of madness 

When I look at that pallet I see hangar bays ...

Exactly, right? 
And the central open portion is a lift taking the spacecraft to the launch position at top.

What broad region of the world are you at to make the cellar so damp. 

Malta - but specifically, it's a cellar cut in limestone which is porous and so channels groundwater by wicking it up and then losing it by evaporation in the cellar.

[Gunbird]

Building bits of scenery 
Not finishing models 
Adequate storage problems (especially as the cellar I use for storage is damp and rots a box in 24 hours) 

Story of my life, but fortunately I do have storage. Looking forward to the results this time

[Daeothar]

Oh my; that is one beautiful piece of scrap to be turned into terrain. It almost terrains itself (so to speak)!

I concur on the hangar vibes; the sides are prefect as SW-esque hangar doors/openings, with a forcefield protecting against the void of space. And the interior just screams Underhive and/or Space Hulk.

I'm familiar with pallets, including the plastic ones, and this is not a standard I've ever come across myself. The ones I know of are usually solid, cast from recycled plastics and heavy as heck. This one has all the right looks all of its own. I take it we're looking at the nominal underside of the original pallet?

Can you tell us what its dimensions are? (asking for a friend...)

[Vanvlak]

Oh my; that is one beautiful piece of scrap to be turned into terrain. It almost terrains itself (so to speak)!

I concur on the hangar vibes; the sides are prefect as SW-esque hangar doors/openings, with a forcefield protecting against the void of space. And the interior just screams Underhive and/or Space Hulk.

I'm familiar with pallets, including the plastic ones, and this is not a standard I've ever come across myself. The ones I know of are usually solid, cast from recycled plastics and heavy as heck. This one has all the right looks all of its own. I take it we're looking at the nominal underside of the original pallet?

Can you tell us what its dimensions are? (asking for a friend...)

It is in fact part of the terrain itself 
The hangar vibe is why I think I will stick to open plan, although I am keen to try to make removable bulkheads at a later stage. And maybe transparent coloured plastic forcefields for access!

I've seen a few of these around DHL infrastructure; the one I found was cut up, so it might have been a Euro pallet size of 1200 x 800. The width is close to one of these dimensions (but not quite exactly the size, although it is intact along this dimension!) - 1110. The length (or what I assume was originally the longer dimension) has been cut off to a little over 700 mm.

[Cypher226]

That's off to a great start - there's a mission in the second Mass Effect game where you explore a crashed ship, and this immediately brought that same vibe. 

[jhonpog]

yeah really nice piece of scrap that very hangar-like. Can't wait to see what you do with please post updates when you can.

Agree with you about abandoned projects i think we all have some/ many

[Cacique Caribe]

Genius!!!

Personally, I would turn that pallet into a cargo spaceship, for 15mm.  Like the Nostromo from Alien.

Dan

[Vanvlak]

15 mm would certainly make it huge - but my only 15s are historical, so it's 28s or larger 

Tiny update - I had been working on my BSSC2023 entry, the hydraulic press - that's one bit of scatter terrain for this project, so I haven't abandoned the Katabazi.
I also finished another bit of scatter today, a bit of wreckage, part of the leg joint of some huge walker. It started off as a badly bent windscreen wiper, with stuff added - spot the Guinness widget. This would have been found and brought on board for salvage or some more obscure reason.

[has.been]

I like that.
Did you have difficulty emptying the Guinness widget?
I did when I 'saved' one from going into the bin.

[jhonpog]

yeah that looks cool vanvlak looking forward to seeing more!

[Vanvlak]

I like that.
Did you have difficulty emptying the Guinness widget?
I did when I 'saved' one from going into the bin.

It was easier to empty the Guinness tin... 
Weird though, some seem to survive empty, some don't. This was an empty one.

[FifteensAway]

I have placed a dread curse upon your entire hobby collection - everything, even that dingy old brush you've been thinking of throwing away - and the only way to lift the curse is to complete this project.  The clock is ticking.

Tick.

Tock.

Tick. 

Tock.

Tick.

Tock. 

 

What do you mean, that is evil?  Perish the thought.  Everyone needs a little push now and then - so a little use of mighty magic (the real stuff, not that silly game stuff) every now and then is in order.  Just pushing Vanvlak towards his own goal.  So, I'm really just acting in his own best interest!