Nagasaurus built this piece for our October-November 2006 competition to build a fighting arena.
There are not any revolutionary materials in this project--a mix of found and purchased items I have collected such as plastic sheeting from food trays, leftover plasticard, HO scale railroad track, tank wheels for the valve handles, and 1/2" plastic PVC pipe with copper fittings. After each phase of the main construction was completed I 'attacked' parts of the project with my rotary tool to create cuts, scratches and other damage. The debris is a mixture of sand, wood sawdust, plastic shavings, and bits of plaster. This mixed with white glue helped secure some of the parts; so it has a structural and gap filling role as well. I also experimented with using baking soda as a texturing agent which worked well in some spots but I applied it too thickly in most areas.
The images below illustrate the technique used to create the outer walls:
In the first image we see the polystyrene block from which the body of the piece is made, covered by plastic mesh. The second and third images show this being covered with coats of plaster until it is completely hidden. In the fourth image the plasted has been sanded smooth and cut away in places to expose the mesh. The fifth image shows the final effect after painting.
The metal plates, painted green on the finished piece, are made from plasticard. After I had put on the plastic sheets I took an old blade and scored 'tiles' into the surface. Then over 120 rivets where added by drilling through the thin plastic (I have a tiny drill bit for my rotary tool for this) and then pushing glued straight pins into the holes. Styrofoam bases are nice for this since you can push pins right into the material.
For the painting the first coat was a fairly heavy coating of black spray-paint. With so much detail to cover, the paint was a bit too think in some areas but luckily none of the detail was obscured. After the black undercoat I used a rusty-brown 'primer colored' spray-paint but only did a light misting from a distance. Once the base coat was dry the rest of the model was completed with several layers of dry brushing.
Overall I wasn't able to grunge up this model as much as I would have liked but time ran out at the end. I know... it looks way too 'clean'. This was also my first attempt at using bolder colors on an industrial piece. Usually I go with heavy metallic dry brushing and then use a lot of washes so this was an experiment in using more color.
On the table top I tried to provide cover on the piece so that players moving models over the top would not be totally caught out in the open. With the special rules in Necromunda a player could deploy one model in the pit at the start of a game (a special gang territory type) which would be a safe spot during the first turn or two. The stands overlooking the pit may be able to be used as weapon positions (with full/heavy cover per the Necromunda rules) but also be a juicy target up there.
Placement of archeotech counters in the pit would also be a fun way to get players to get down into the pit trying to get extra experience points and loot. Unfortunately I forgot to put ladders from the ground level up the sides of the base so I'll either have to have special house rules to govern the movement expenditure climbing up the side or add some ladders in the future.
For more pictures of this piece check out the following gallery album: Fighting Pit