Phil 'px166bajaj' Arkell made this 15mm scale industrial complex using a variety of plumbing and electrical componenets.
I like to make small groups of buildings on bases as I feel that being grouped gives them a context. This also makes it easier to add extra details such as piles of oil drums etc.
The starting point for this project was the base, the thin hardboard from a broken picture frame, measuring 12" x 8.25". I wanted a rectangular shaped base as I anticipate fitting several similar bases together later on. I wanted the buildings to look industrial, but unusual, suitable for a near future or sci-fi setting.
The main bodies of the buildings were made from discarded and gutted plumbing and electrical fittings.
The building with the bronze coloured tower was made from a float from a watertank ballvalve. The Bronze section was the inner workings of a boiler timeclock. The blue dome was made from a pendant light fitting with the hole for wireing blocked up with Milliput.
The second blue domed building was made from the gutted workings of an old doorbell.
The silver dome is part of an egg holder from a discarded fridge, although half a ping-pong ball would have done just as well. The roof mounted solar panels on the fourth building were made from a Gillette razor holder with Plasticard inserts.
Fences were added after the buildings were stuck to the base to give the feeling of enclosure and unify the model into a complete unit rather than several separate sections. I used my cookie cutter to make doors and added other details from my bit box.
Once the details were added and complete, (are they ever?) everything was sprayed in matt black. The buildings were drybrushed with grey emulsion and details such as doors and domes were picked out. The base was emulsion painted in various colours and then fine sand was added while the paint was still wet. Surplus sand was tipped off, leaving a fine layer adhering to the wet paint. Watered down PVA glue was dabbed on with a paint brush, having the twin effects of bringing the paint colours up through the sand and later drying to seal everything, a technique that I also use on my figure bases.
The final picture (below) was taken on a recent trip to nearby Proxima Centauri III (only a little over 4 years at light speed) where I was astonished to find that the local technology bore a striking resemblance to my model! Unfortuantely most of my photographs did not turn out as there was an electrical storm raging at the time.
