"How Long To Make A Post Apocalyptic "Floating" Village?" Topic

By that I mean one on stilt houses.

Imagine this . . .

link

But suspended over this fantastic modular set done by Gungnir . . .

picture
link
TMP link

QUESTION:

This is more of a time-management question: How long would it take to make what Gungnir did there, PLUS a few PA shacks on top, if done for 15mm?

Thanks,

Dan
link

Guys, check out this floating pigsty!

link
link

Dan

Shacks are ridiculously easy to make. Just slap carboard bits together, a few rocks, whatever else you can find and you'll have a shack done in about half an hour.

For plankage, just put alternating planks down on a larger surface, or simply score some foamcore. Paint alternating shades to make it stand out (ice lolly sticks would take too long and you'd have to eat a lot of them).

As a tip, make some wall braces first, that will make putting the walls up much easier.

If you are gonna use foamcore -stick some sewing pins thru' the ends to act as braces- stick 'em in all the way and they disappear into the structure- quicker than using braceing pieces etc.Clad with 'decorative' balsa pieces and scrap plasticard to save more time- these can be time consuming to use for structural pieces. Build a shell and clad it.The nylon packing straps used world wide can give a nice (and cheap) effect for the 'decorative' outside too, plus bits of corrugated stuff for tin roofing etc.
20-30 mins per shack seems about right, plus stilts….
Good luck!

The 15mm African shanty town buildings that I made were pretty accurate scale models with interior access, all out of styrene. It took about 20 minutes to build a single structure. I figure double it to do the stilt structure out of styrene as well. The more complete buildings would probably take up to a couple of hours each.

Better yet, just buy the buildings! The post-apoc shantytown would be perfect.

Hmm, looks like portions of Louisiana. One of my classmates used to have to take a pirot to get to the bus stop in the morning.

You guys are awesome.

I have already set aside some materials for the task. I'll take them with me when I relieve my sister with her shift at taking care of Mom. Mom has been very talkative lately, so I'll have to work fast when she takes does her naps, which are getting fewer now that she's on the mend.

Hope I can match your timing. Let you know how it goes.

Thanks so much!

Dan

Slaping it together, a few hours.

Making an 'eye popping' beauty… Several days… (for me at least…)

LOL. Good point Richard. I'll try to keep my expectations a little more conservative.

If I can get some interior wall frames/braces done for the last two shacks shown here, I'll consider that a major victory:

link

I was thinking of starting with the shacks first, and then do the platforms. That way I can make sure I have the interior gaming space needed, and just gradually spread out to do the exterior and overall support. Does that seem sound?

Thanks!

Dan

Hey! Nobody said anything about the floating pig pens!!! :)

Dan
link

Well, first of all, you've got to have an apocalypse…

LOL!!!

Dan

"Hey! Nobody said anything about the floating pig pens!!! :)"

I just saw them. Cool idea, but my mind naturally wandered to methane collection as fuel. Collecting the manure for the anaerobic methane condensers on such a small scale could be problematic.

Just saying one must consider these things. ;p

Rod

LOL.

How about aquaculture? Below the pig pens could be thousands of fish living within a giant floating net!*** :)

By the way, has anyone here bought anything like this?

auction

Or even this?

link
link
link
link

This looks cute:
link

Dan
*** Which could attract something else:
TMP link

Stilt houses, walkways, and docks would be easy as pie…and everyone likes pie…mmmm apple, cherry, rubarbarb/strawberry, etc…

Buy in bulk and the materials would go a long long way…I suspect you could make a whole stilt/floating town for less than $10-15 in 15mm.

coffee stirrers link

bamboo skewers link

I would check with your local restaurant supply house (they nearly always sell to the general public even if you don't have a business license) and you should find good deals.

Hobby lobby, Micheal's, and other craft stores offer weekly specials and their normal prices are usually fair.

And as a final quick flourish I would wrap cheap sewing thread around the joints to represent wrappings like vines or rope. After the wrap hit the threads with a touch of super glue the joints would be solid.

"Hey! Nobody said anything about the floating pig pens!!! :)"

I suspect that one advantage is the constant supply of bait being drawn the essence of porcine remains of the day…little fish drawn to the poo, bigger fish drawn to the little fish, etc.

Yep:

TMP link

Dan :)
PS. And this is what I want the bridges to look like:
link
link

If you already have shacks, make platforms on stilts for them. These can double as (wide) docks when no buildings are placed on them.

Good point. True, I don't have to attach the shacks to the platforms! I can keep everything truly modular.

That way I could even use the same platforms for more rustic huts.

This is awesome. Thanks!

Dan

Dan, I saw a pack of Matchbox watercraft in a shop a week or so ago. Keep an eye out for them, they should be just what you need.

Do not forget an amble supply of tooth picks, flat and round picture to add to the building materials.

Perhaps a better option would be to make a series of docks and walkways with the buildings separate.

The idea being that you could line up a pair or more of the walkway/docks as supports for the buildings…just set the building upon them as pier and beam.

This way you could make dozens of 10-12" walkway/docks and have the option of gaming along a long dock or a series of maze like sections or a village just by arranging the pieces and dropping a building on top or not.

:)

What are you going to put these on to represent the water? I had a nice 4'x4' brackish water board before I moved, but it was damaged so now I am looking for a suitable replacement. So far everything I have looked at for replacing it is either nowhere near as good as my old one or rather pricey.

link something like this perhaps?

My old board was a 1/2" thick piece of MDF painted and sealed with a glossy coating…didn't look quite right by itself, but as soon as you put some swamp terrain or platform buildings down it look just right. Felt just won't do it for me. Been looking for a smooth glossy vinyl or maybe a piece of Plexiglas sprayed on one side. Had a lot of ideas for the replacement board/mat but that is as far as I've gotten.

Dan,
The Airfix Jungle outpost is called a Nipa Hut in the Philippines. They are out in the rice paddies of Luzon Island between Clark AB and Manila to the South.
If you have a template to work from for the huts, then follow Gungnir's link for the legs.
These were common in medieval Ireland and were known as crannogs. Also there is a neolithic village on stilts in a lake in Poland If my memory is good. You could google it up and get fotos and data.
Weaselhoffen.

Cheap thick cloth like a burlap and white elastomeric sealer link

Tint the white sealer with blue dye and roll over the cloth.

Let it set.

You could roll it up and store it easy.

I like the Vietnamese building. I've always wondered what to use for the roof of these type of buildings and had settled for cutting up an old flannel. But this Loofah looks about right. I've never heard of this stuff before. Is it available in Australia, does anyone know, or is this only available in America?

Hah, answered my own question. Freely available in OZ. I should have trusted my Google Fu. However, I pass on the Loofah Strap for sex under the shower. It's amazing what you can find on the net

I have been searching for a while to find a retailer for this:

link

Check out some of the textured acrylic here for the water:

link

Yonder boy,

WOW. That looks like amazing stuff!!!

I would probably go with clear, so I can place it over a dry-brushed ligh blue poster board, which in turn will go over MDF.

I don't think that material came up in my searches way back when Spleenrippa asked about this water board dilemma:

TMP link

Dan

Dan,

As usual, your drive makes me look sad. But I love your work.

We need to figure out a time to get together for a game of VSF one day.

-J

You bet. We definitely should.

Though you'll probably have to teach me how to play. It's been over 2 years since I played a game, and that was way back when I played historicals!

Thanks,

Dan

Weird how this was taken off the Scenics and Terrain boards.

Anyway, I'm almost done with my first PA boat, so the village will be next:

TMP link

Dan

Would this be cool to game on or what?

picture

Well, this inspiring piece would be perfect for the stilt village I have in mind:

picture

Very similar to what Gungnir did:

picture
link
TMP link

Dan
TMP link

For the huts . . .

link
picture
link
link
link

QUESTION:

Any other tutorials on thatch huts on stilts?

Thanks,

Dan
PS. One ready-made building option:
link

It's not precisely a thatch hut on stilts, but check out Mura Miniatures tutorials page: link , link specifically.

Lion,

That second link is amazing!!! Thanks for that. Truly inspiring.

Dan

QUESTION:

What if a smaller version of this concept sketch was done as a village of stilt huts, particularly the ones connected by platforms?

picture
link

Dan

Imagine a couple of floating islands like these:

picture

Reminescent of the Aztec chinampa islands, wouldn't you say?

Dan

This looks interesting . . .

Dan
link

I have got to try to make this some day!!!

TMP link

Dan

could use an old broom for making huts

Cut the straw away and glue them flat on card stock, and use fake fur for thatched roof

I did these

Over ten yars ago, using barbeque sticks, matches, embossed foil, embossed platic card and model railway straw.

Pics here link

How to here PDF link

John T