Hadley's Hope Redux (photo heavy)

[WayneN]

Awesome I built one of the modules and was sick of it :-)   you just astound me, love the new take seems your scales worked up about the same as mine (that I had to tone down)
I had to watch aliens and the making off and stills hundreds of times to get the layout down to pat. :-) look forward to seeing the rest of your take on it... and please please please don't let it go so long next time even if its a 2word post like "still here"

[OSHIROmodels]

Looking good but might suggest painting the back of the angled walls black as with them being grey it detracts from the rest of the piece.

cheers

James

[Braz]

@Jimbibbley. Great point James. As that is just the colour of the primer I used, I'll paint some test pieces. Much appreciated as I had not considered that.

@WayneN  Will be around more even if just to indicate I'm still alive.  I agree getting the layout as right as possible was difficult and there are still a few things which I know are wrong. It doesn't help that there was cinematic licence used that does not jive between the exterior and interior. Large projects can be daunting and I work on it in small amounts and on several projects at once to avoid burnout and keep my sanity. It does take longer though.

[OSHIROmodels]

Ooo, just had another thought.

For photographs, how about placing a bit of black card over the top with holes cut out to represent light and then place a bright bulb over the whole thing and take your photo. It might look rather atmospheric (or not, admittedly, it's only a quick thought).

cheers

James

[Braz]

Something like this?



Once finished I'll do some mood shots

[OSHIROmodels]

Aye, that's the one 

Looks better than I explained 

cheers

James

[FramFramson]

What a layout! 

[Miniman]

This is great, inspirational.
I have just recently started my aliens collection and really want to do something like this.
How long have you been working on this? It really must be time consuming.
I have been gathering information and ideas and this will contribute greatly.
Hadley's Hope is a great theme to work off of.
Good show. More please.

[Braz]

Interesting news :Motion trackers closer to becoming reality (not quite but still) :
http://www.itworld.com/mobile-wireless/363027/mit-researchers-can-see-through-walls-using-wi-vi


@Miniman
It's not that labour intensive as the basic tiles are constructed in assembly line fashion and a fairly standardized. I guesstimate maybe 20 hours (max) over a month to build all the un-primed tiles you see in the layout photos plus some. Just an hour here and 30 minutes there most days before going to work - middle of the night. I was working on other projects during that time too. What does take a while is drying of the glue but that is done in between sessions and having to wait so things are done in proper order. After that maybe an other guesstimated hour per 5x5 tile to paint and detail.

Most of the pieces are the same dimensions and quickly cut using a mitre saw or using templates. Bigger pieces are drawn on the hardboard and cut out then the smaller final pieces measured and cut right at the saw as I find it easier that way This takes into account the width of the saw blade so all the pieces end up the same size - well close enough for gaming purposes. Even non-standard tiles don't take that much more time being based on standard pieces mostly.

The two parts I find that take the longest are preparing the corridor side rails and cutting out the floor panels out of cereal card but even that doesn't take that long. Almost all pieces have templates or jigs that I built so it goes quickly. Just kind of boring at times.

Once I find those wayward photos I'll do a quick tutorial for the corridor pieces. I'll do one for a room assembly soon as I have a few rooms to assemble.

The highly detailed modules (ops/medlab  security/medical did take lots of time but these were from the initial project two years ago before the old project (and I) went on hiatus. Research and getting the details right is what took the longest part for that one and if you are not trying to be too accurate it shouldn't take that long.

BTW love what you've been doing on your Aliens thread.

[Miniman]

That was a mouthful.
  Question you are mainly using hardboard, cardboard, foamboard etc. What glues do you use?
I am thinking of using my supply of styrene but I will most likely use it up so I may go your route instead, haven't made up my mind yet. Styrene would be easy to use but may start to cost in the end if my supply runs out.
  Another question is in your many pics I noticed a grating floor that is baffling me on how you made it.
They look the most like in the movie with the long square bars and crossbars every 2 or 3 feet. How you do that bro?

Oh and thanks for the comment on my thread but I haven't really done anything yet except collect mini's and information on this project. Like you said that takes time but I see it pays off looking at what you have done.
 

[Braz]

@Miniman. Good timing with your questions as I was just prepping a mini tutorial as I was making a few tiles.

The structure is made mostly of 1/8 and 1/4 inch hardboard as well as coffee stir and wide craft sticks for the structure. Plus cereal card, mounting board and bamboo sticks for detailing and extras. I use two glues for 95% of the tasks: Aleenes Tacky Glue (thick pva) and Lepage Pro Superglue (and sometimes carpenter's glue). The results are fairly bulletproof having dropped a few bases on a wood floor to no ill effect . There are pros and cons to each material but for cost, availability and ease of use I opted for these materials instead of styrene or casting.

Here is the tutorial which is still in progress
 (Part 1)

Here are the bases for the two tiles I am working on: a 5x15 inch long room and a triangle corridor junction I wanted for variety. The 5x15 tile is 1/4 inch thick hardboard while the corridor tile is two 1/8 thick pieces glued together to get to the standard height of 1/4 inch for the corridor deck. This gives a lower section for grebbles and piping to be placed. The sides are my standard 5 inches long so will join with all my existing tiles.


The corridor deck is made with cereal card and mosquito mesh for windows. Here I tack down the edges using superglue to keep it from moving in the next step.


Trim the excess mesh using a sharp craft knife leaving a few mm bear all around. Then paint on a 50/50 mix of water and PVA(tacky glue) all over to stick it down. Let dry.


Here is the dry piece. Next I cut out the corridor deck edges, bars and cross bars using a steel rule and a sharp knife.. For this piece I opted for just edges although you could have whatever pattern you wish. The trick is to be regular throughout where possible so the pieces look as part of a whole. Here I could only use the standard width of 5mm for the edging due to the irregular shape. No fancy geometry or measuring to get the dimensions right, I just used the deck piece itself to get the measurement.


Glue the piece down with tacky glue and voila. Just pressing down with your fingers for a few seconds for the glue to catch seems to do trick although you may wish to press it down under a weight.


Next the wall supports. The pieces are cut from a coffee stir stick using a standard template piece and by just pushing down with a craft knife. The supports are the same throughout my build so I use a jig I built (bottom right). One dab of superglue and press the pieces together a few seconds. I need 6 pieces with a single leg, three glued on one side, three glued on the other.


Glued in place using superglue.


Then all the joints are glued again using tacky glue. This combination gives a really strong bond that can accept abuse. This is only done in the recesses where they can't really be seen easily.


Next I made a template for the wall panel (in case I decide to reproduce it later)and cut out the panels out of mounting board. Again glued in place using superglue initially and then tacky glue.


The piece is drying right now before the last few steps are done prior to painting. Need to add the corridor shelf and piping.

[Braz]

Part 2 (5x15 room)

From a 5 inch wide piece of 1/8 inch thick (3mm) hardboard that I had precut anticipating further work on this project I cut out the walls for this room piece. The walls are 1-3/4 inch high and with the 1/4 inch floor piece gives a total height of 2 inches which is my standard for this project. This ensures ease of access during game play which can be an issue when the walls are too high.
Using a craft saw and a steel ruler for a guide I cut about half way through and then use a boxer cutter to finish off the cut. Let the blade do the cutting using several strokes. The precut with the craft saw makes a channel for the box cutter so the hardboard is not forced to the sides making for an ugly cut and makes the cutting much easier.


Sand the edges. Wear a dust mask - fine dust can be hazardous.


Cut a few posts/supports from 1/4 inch square poplar stick. Use a hobby mitrebox for straight cuts.


The cut pieces laid out.


The front middle wall will have no support from adjoining walls so some support posts will be added to the floor piece. Measure where the hole for the post will be, accounting for the wall thickness. Here I use a screw I had at hand to make the pilot hole to guide the drill. Drill a hole using a 1/4 inch bit. Trim the bottom of the support post to fit the hole. Glue in place making sure the post is perfectly vertical.


Glue the walls in place. Here is my jig to ensure the walls are and stay vertical when drying.


The corners are reinforced using cardstock strips on both the inside and outside of the corners.


I use a small jig (the bamboo stick thingy) to glue the door slot bracket in place. This ensures the door slots are vertical and of uniform depth. This room has two standard and one wide door.


The room ready to paint. Just need to add a few cardstock strips on the outside for detail.


Cheers

[Elk101]

Nice tutorials, thanks. I'd love to build something like this.

[Anpu]

Impressive!
This makes me want to drop everything and get back to my Aliens project
No can do for the summer though as I am working on boards for a convention...

[grant]

Really great project