The Spoon Lane Boxing Ring

After watching the Robert Downy Jn. Sherlock Holmes film again for the umpteenth time, I thought it would be a good idea to make a small boxing ring that could be used in a couple of our Limehouse games.

Simple balsa contruction with some styrene details for the 'door'. Sprayed white and inked/drybrushed. There's a few spots of blood on the sandy floor as well for good measure :-)

I do need to paint plenty more civvies/bystanders though as it's looking a bit empty at the moment.

ttfn

Go away 'Tango', you're not wanted here.

Limehouse - The Figures Part One

So, for a game to work you need figures (an element I sometimes forget lol) but this time I've got enough for at least one side. One of my gaming friends has got a large collection of Victorian figures that we will be using until I get enough done with the right bases.

The main gang is from North Star figures and is the Brick Street Commune. I'll be using them as Bibblys Bashers that have come down from the north country to the big smoke to cause a ruckus :-)

And then we have some civvies to populate the board and to get in the way. Foundry figures for the most part but I'm not sure about the copper.

And finally we have some individual shots of figures for forthcoming gangs. Each of the figures below will eventually have a 'gang' of their own so I can field multiplayer games.

First off is Allan Bino in wolf form (can't remember where he's from).

Then we have Count Imgonar Tsukyablud from the far reaches of Eastern Europe (private sculpt)

And finally for now Jack Atlantic, veteran of the waves (North Star figure for LAF members)

More to follow as and when I get them done.

ttfn

Limehouse - The Terrain, Part Two

Onto the buildings.

Looking at period photos of the less salubrious areas of London it’s surprising how many different building styles there were and how ramshackle it could be. Obviously there is limited space on a 300mm square board but I’ve tried to go for an eclectic mix.

The first build was a clapboard warehouse/house, the footprint of which was very close to the Victorian terrace houses I produce to help the modularity. The clapboard is very thin balsa wood over a card box and the roof is from the roof tiles I make. The roof is removable because we are thinking of having limited internal access (if a figure can be placed somewhere in the building it is considered in the building for simplicities sake). It was sprayed darkish brown and heavily drybrushed up along with weathering by pastels and inks.

The next building is one of my terraced houses and has had no extra work done to it. The colour is something different as I’ve tried to go for London Stock (a beigey sort of tan colour) this was inked and weathered as before.

On the other side is a thin and tall warehouse that was drawn and made to fit the tile but it will most likely end up in the catalogue after a few tweaks. Again, I tried the London stock colour but a slightly different tone and weathered the usual way (inks and pastels). The lights are from china and I originally thought they were too big but after looking at a fair few period photos, street lamps could be a sizeable affair. There is a limited interior for this one as well but it has platforms behind the windows instead of full floors (as it's so thin it can be a squeeze to get a hand down there). The lights are powered by two watch batteries and I need to sort out a simple switch for them as at the moment they are connect by pressure when the building is sat on the tile.

Next up will be some figures.

ttfn

Limehouse - The Terrain, Part One

I've been bitten by the vampire bug... Gothic Horror has never been my bag but I’ve been persuaded to get involved with a GH London based project. Of course, this being me it will be terrain heavy but I have painted some figures as well (more on those later).

I’ve gone for 300mm square tiles and loose buildings to try and maximise the layout potential and modularity. There will also be a sewer system and docks/wharves but more on those later when I get round to them.

The tiles won’t line up perfectly with each other but there will be access between most of the joints of the tiles; this should make sense later. Typically I’ve gone down the more difficult route and have decided to stamp the cobbles/setts using some simple brass tools that I quickly made for the purpose. The road and pavement surface is the soft ‘play foam’ sheets that can be found in art shops for a couple of quid. The colours don’t matter obviously as they get painted over and I must say, they do take paint rather well.

The initial photos below show the first stages of the imprinting of the setts. It’s quite a tedious process but the end result is worth it. It was sprayed a basic grey and then ‘speckled’ with other colours to help give the impression of granite or some other road worthy stone. The whole lots was inked, dry brushed and then weathered with pastels. The man hole cover was lasered and painted by hand.

There will be more on the buildings shortly.

ttfn