[Red Orc]

Inspired by the discussions in this thread here (link) I thought I'd post up an idea I had.

A while back, while wandering into town, I started wondering what a 40k table 'in real life' would look like. They're generally 4'x6' (that is about 1.2m x 1.8m) and 40k is (roughly) at a scale of somewhere in the 1:75-1:60 bracket (if anyone wants to argue this, I'm quite prepeared to show my working-out). That's close enough for me to 1:72 which makes working in Imperial absolutely fine - 1" = 6' (72") and I'm happy with that.

After I got home I started playing about with googlemaps and nabbed the following:

The red line marks out the approximate size of a 40k table - 96 yards x 144 yards (about 88m x 130m), around a central crossroads that I figured I'd try to build the terrain around. I'm calling the directions of the roads north, south, east and west, even though it's closer to north-west, south-east, north-east and south-west.

In Streetview, the area looks like this (all shots from the approximate point that the 'table edge' intersects with the roads):

And the schematic I came up with as a plan looks like this:

I have simplified some aspects of the terrain, and I'm ignoring other parts, but pretty much what I'm figuring to build is on this map, with two exceptions: the small part of a multi-story building in the bottom right (south-east corner) labelled '14' is too difficult to get to work (it's only a tiny part of a massive X-shaped building that can be seen in the first plan and satellite image) so I'm ignoring it; and the two buildings connected by a bridge in the south-west corner ('6' and '7' in my schematic) will be set square to each other, and the road (instead of being on two completely different alignments).

I'm thinking of trying to build a series of mostly falt-roofed elements that can by configured to create this location, but can also be re-arranged to build other not-so-real environments.

So... do-able? Or have I bitten off more than I can chew here?

[AndySlater]

Have you even tried Google Sketchup to create drawings?

Two very interesting features are that:

1. You can load in a photo and after setting up the xyz orientation and scaling, you can draw on top of the photo to create your 3D drawing based, on the buildings in the photo.

2. You can then map areas of the photo onto the surface of the building to give it surface "texture".

After doing that it's possible to flatten out the building into surfaces that you can then print out and/or use to control a CNC machine, such as a laser cutter, to create the parts you need in order to make a real world model.

I use SketchUp for most of they design work for my laser cutter.

If you haven't used it and fancy doing so, be aware that it has a lot of features that you'll probably never find just by playing with it. However there are lots of tutorial videos on you tube and they're well worth watching.

[Red Orc]

I did try using it some time ago and couldn't get it to work on my wonky old machine - I now have a new machine however, but haven't gotten round to putting it on here. I probably should. Somewhere, I also have a disk that a kind and helpful chap sent me, though I'm sure there are more up to date versions available to downlaod.

I was planning to do this 'old school', using cardboard and maybe some foam, and knives. And, very likely, one piece at a time, over along period. But if I can get my head round Sketchup, yeah, why not?

[havre]

Yes you are. Insane I mean. But the good kind. The kind that get amazing things done. So keep it up.

[Redix]

^^ Ditto. Good insane. Very good. I like this idea alot. (It'd be fun to be playing 40k games on a board that looked like my local city street corner down the block.) Quite an ambitious project, but one I think has a lot of merit and could turn out to be very cool. I vote yay.

[Red Orc]

Well, I now have a SketchUp model of the terrain I'm planning on making. Ish, anyway. I even, after some messing about, discovered how to drop the 3D models onto a photo from GoogleMaps.

However, as my plan isn't actually a 1-to-1 copy of the real location (I've straightened one of the roads, slightly rotated some of the buildings and generally 'tidied up' the real location) it isn't a brilliant fit.

[AndySlater]

That's pretty darned good considering that you're new too it. I'm guessing you're seeing lots of potential there?

[Red Orc]

It might be my new favourite toy...

Unfortunately I forgot to save the textured version as a 3D model - I saved a still to post here and then closed the file down - d'oh! But yes, I've been having some fun with it. I expect I'll build 3D models of a bunch of other locations - whether any of it helps me make any terrain remains to be seen, but it certainly is a very groovy tool to play about with.

[TerraGenesis]

Ha ha. SketchUp is kinda addictive.

[admiraldick]

I've been perusing Terragenesis for a while now, borrowing inspiration here and there but so far haven't completed a project so haven't felt it necessary to post, but this idea has prompted me o get involved in the conversation.

firstly, i love the idea. for a while i've thought about what it would be like to make a model of a real world location. so no, i don't think there's anything insane about actually giving it a go. back in my home town of Newbury, my old gaming group mulled over the idea of making one based on the town centre. being quite an ancient town it would have worked well for fantasy, historical, WW2, modern and probably even sci-fi wargames. and now i live in Leicester i frequently think about making models of the terraces streets i live on for victorian to WW2 themed games. the terraces would be great fun to make, though would probably be best in a much smaller scale perhaps 15mm.

which leads me on nicely to my next question. do you go to DMU or did you just find it on the map? I'm guessing its a location that you see quite often and felt was reasonably easy to model whilst keeping in theme. again, i've thought about the modelling potential of the campus for a while, as i walk through it on my way into town. the problem i've had with it, it that its such an architectural mish-mash. The Campus Centre Building and the new QE2 Sports Centre are both quite near future/sci-fi (very suitable for Infinity) where as the Queens Building and the Fletcher Building are some kind of medieval, Russian fantasy that seem to have fallen out of the head of Vsevolod Ivanov and the rest seem to be run-down post war pre-fabs. you've made a brave choice as i think its going to take some careful work to make sure to holds together in the end. i think i'd have probably just played it safe with the collection of medieval buildings on The Newarke and Castle View.

as a side note. these google pictures are all seriously out of date.

[Red Orc]

admiraldick said:

...

which leads me on nicely to my next question. do you go to DMU or did you just find it on the map? I'm guessing its a location that you see quite often and felt was reasonably easy to model whilst keeping in theme. again, i've thought about the modelling potential of the campus for a while, as i walk through it on my way into town. the problem i've had with it, it that its such an architectural mish-mash. The Campus Centre Building and the new QE2 Sports Centre are both quite near future/sci-fi (very suitable for Infinity) where as the Queens Building and the Fletcher Building are some kind of medieval, Russian fantasy that seem to have fallen out of the head of Vsevolod Ivanov and the rest seem to be run-down post war pre-fabs. you've made a brave choice as i think its going to take some careful work to make sure to holds together in the end. i think i'd have probably just played it safe with the collection of medieval buildings on The Newarke and Castle View.

as a side note. these google pictures are all seriously out of date.

Many questions and points to pick up on there...

I used to go to Leicester Poly (before it was DMU). These days I often walk through the campus on my way to town, as I live in the West End.

It is indeed an architectural mish-mash. Though I play a lot of 40k, the original idea for the terrain was also for playing present-day Superhero games, so any 'current' architecture is good. Certainly, it won't be useable for everything (I might get away with the part of the Queen's Building I'm planning, especially if I change the 'bridges' a little so it doesn't look so modern), but I can use it all from the late 20th century onwards.

However, it's very much going to be 'inspired' by the DMU campus rather than a copy of it. Somewhat generic prefabs indeed, of a type that really reminds me of the 'CLASP' (link) style of architecture - I see no real reason why similar architecture might not also be a feature of future societies. The 'Swiss Chalet on Acid' of the Fletcher Buidling is maybe best rendered with some fairly simple wooden cladding. The Queen's Building itself, I thought might work better with a wooden bridge rather than a glass one; in my mind it starts to become faux-Elizabethan. Eric Wood will be somewhat simplified, pretty much into a couple of brick boxes, and I'm losing the canopy from the new Student Union.

And, wow, another Leicester TGer! Do you ever go to the Phat Cats club or the Gifts for Geeks shop?