"Putting the Hive sections together" Topic

I believe the bug ate the first attempt (The irony is NOT lost on me!)

I've completed six base panels, one full hive section, three shattered hive sections with debris fields and a stand alone hive structure. The idea is to mimic termite mounds. I'm not totally excited with these. I may retexture them. I think I got caught halfway between too many straight lines from the foam sheets and bait containers and the very free forms of the spray foam.

The shattered hive section and debris field on a base panel looks like this

The debris field like this

Here is the hive section and why I think I can work this over a bit more

And for a sense of scale here is a spray can of paint in front of the shattered section and debris field

I'm open to suggestions and comments. These will be on the tables this weekend at Wargames at Weldon, so come see them in person if you are in the GReater St Louis area.

You mean this one? TMP link

Are these intelligent bugs (like Drenoi) or more simple like bees? If highly intelligent they may decorate their hive walls with carvings, painting, etc.. If more a simple hive mind they may still use decorations but think body parts of victims, gibbets, etc.. Also don't forget the ever present hexagonal wall chambers. Perhaps the walls are the old layers now exposed and breaking or flaking off. I am thinking the hex tubes running nearly vertical and broken or sheared off at a slight angle.

Of course these could be the hives of mutated post apocalyptic warriors bent on feeding off the bodies of the perpetrators of the final war. Finding a supply of fresh meat emerging from a suitable bolt hole….

Terry, it looks terrific!

I might suggest hexagonal chicken-wire, some drywall compound, and the textured spraypaint you've been using?

It would add a very interesting hive-like texture in the areas you might like to hide more linear features.

The Hive is a bio-engineered super organism. They are not technology users and produce no art. They are programmed to perform certain tasks. Under a given set of circumstances they will always react the same way. They would be entirely predictable in their behavior if humans could understand exactly how the hive collected and processed incoming data. They have a lot of sensory input, some of which is not directly analogous to any human sense, plus some of their senses, like chemical receptors and vibration are far more sensitive than those of humans.

Individual Hive workers and warriors vary from dog sized to rhino sized. They are not venomous but some can explode and others have the ability to shoot projectiles.

In the insect world hex structures are unique to bees and wasps and not to all of them, so I was going for a more generic insectoid look based on termites.

Looking back at these the foam shapes aren't as bad as I though. I should probably break up the straight lines from the foam sheeting more.

Thanks for the comments!

Yeah, I'd break up the straight lines some more, they're still very obvious.

Especially in the debris field. I think what you could do there is figure out what that spray foam won't stick to, put that down on a cookie sheet, spray the foam, and then break it into chunks when it hardens.

Tables are almost ready to go for tomorrow

Yep, I'll break up the straight lines, but I'm thinking these already look at least OK on the tables. They'll be even nicer when the scatter terrain and the bug and human units. I can't wait to get all the flying units out on the floor and ready for the assault!

Oh man, that is so GREAT!! Love the way you used the expanding foam, it's the perfect shape for the kind of hive terrain you did. Awesome job!

All I can say is Wow! Amazing project! Are Blogging this?