I seem to have started a bit of a trend. Since I began blogging about my L-shaped built-up areas, other bloggers have been developing their own versions ... and in many ways they are better than my own efforts.
For example, over on the Duchy of Tradgardland blog Tradgardmastare has created a cardboard silhouette built-up area that takes up hardly any room at all on the tabletop ... and very effective it is too! Kaptain Kobold (who writes The Stronghold Rebuilt blog) has produced some L-shaped built-up areas using a number of downloaded drawings of buildings from the Junior General website ... and they illustrate how effective the concept can be.
In some ways they have both produced end-results which are superior to my own, and their efforts have made me rethink my own designs. To be frank my prototypes were becoming more and more complex ... and became an end in themselves rather than being a means to an end. Seeing what Tradgardmastare and Kaptain Kobold have done has shown me that I should be able to achieve my objective without becoming obsessed with adding a lot of detail to my models. With luck my next L-shaped built-up areas should be quicker to produce and look more effective on the tabletop.
For example, over on the Duchy of Tradgardland blog Tradgardmastare has created a cardboard silhouette built-up area that takes up hardly any room at all on the tabletop ... and very effective it is too! Kaptain Kobold (who writes The Stronghold Rebuilt blog) has produced some L-shaped built-up areas using a number of downloaded drawings of buildings from the Junior General website ... and they illustrate how effective the concept can be.
In some ways they have both produced end-results which are superior to my own, and their efforts have made me rethink my own designs. To be frank my prototypes were becoming more and more complex ... and became an end in themselves rather than being a means to an end. Seeing what Tradgardmastare and Kaptain Kobold have done has shown me that I should be able to achieve my objective without becoming obsessed with adding a lot of detail to my models. With luck my next L-shaped built-up areas should be quicker to produce and look more effective on the tabletop.
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Oh Bob! You lead and we but follow :)
ReplyDeleteI'm looking for a solution that's quick and simple to produce - I do like your balsa buidings a lot, and would consider going down that route if I only wanted three or four. But I want enough to populate a small table of built-up areas, so need a process by which I can mass-produce all the necessary items in a day or so.
Saying that, I'll probably spend longer sketching and prototyping than anything else.
Kaptain Kobold,
ReplyDeleteI may have primed the pump ... but I am learning a lot from what the rest of you have done and are continuing to do.
I want to produce a number of built-up areas that I can use across a variety of different geographical locations and from the mid-nineteenth to the mid-twentieth centuries. Therefore some will be residential, some urban, some cityscape, and some industrial. These will take me some time to produce, whereas yours will probably take less time ... although I suspect that you might take longer that you expect because you are enjoying the design process.
All the best,
Bob
I liked your balsa 'bas relief' BUAs Bob - and I think that finished off they will set the standard for this kind of thing. But the others, less sophisticated, still manage to achieve a built up effect using simple materials. It is remarkable the ideas that your project triggered.
ReplyDeleteThose buildings from junior general look extremely interesting. I may well take a break from my dark age project and try them out.
ReplyDeleteHi Bob
ReplyDeleteSorry to hijack your blog thread - but I recall a post you did a couple of years ago - experimenting with using your ipad 2 and facetime to run a remote wargame or campaign. Did you get any further with the experiment. I am some hundred miles or more from my wargaming chum, and wondered if this would be quicker and more engaging than a postal vbased campaign?
kind regards Ken
Archduke Piccolo,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your kind comment.
I intend to persevere with my current style of model, but I will try to simplify the process where I can. The other methods that people have used are inspiring and inspired, and show how a good idea can be made even better if it is kicked around a bit by a group of people working together.
All the best,
Bob
Robert De Angelis,
ReplyDeleteThe Junior General website is a very useful source of all sorts of things that a wargamer can find a use for.
All the best,
Bob
Ken H,
ReplyDeleteThe idea remains undeveloped ... but if you can take it further, please do so! I look forward to hearing how you get on developing it yourself.
All the best,
Bob
Bob,
ReplyDeleteAll the variants on the basic idea have their merits - much depends upon the aesthetic effect one is seeking, combined with the effort one is prepared to put into constructing the BUA pieces.
Rather like different styles of sculpting and painting of toy soldiers!
You have gone for a solid piece of craftsmanship (to be expected of a Temple Builder!) that will survive many a game; others may be content to take less time and effort to produce something that will not last as long, but can be easily replaced.
The latter approach is ideal for one-off games where it is necessary to portray specifix BUAs - Hougoumount, for example - that will not be suitable for many other games.
Great ideas from all concerned.
Arthur1815,
ReplyDeleteAs usual you sum everything up with clarity and insight!
I am going to stick with my chunkier version of the concept because I want them to last ... and because I am enjoying making them.
I think that I have now fixed upon the building method I am going to use, and once I am sure I have got it right, I will write a blog entry about it.
All the best,
Bob