Tutorial: Hydro Bar

I got the idea for this build after getting a couple of resin signs from Ramshackle Games. Boxed around my mind for a few days and then I drew up the build. Haven't tried doing that before - but I didn't want to mess it up. Here's the concept sketch.

A neat center piece for the post-apoc collection of terrain.

This build is for Ash Wastes in Necromunda, Deadzone, Killteam, This is not a Test, Scrappers and all the other sci-fi / post-apoc games I collect.

Jump directly to the showcase.

Materials

• Super glue, wood glue (or PVA), plastic glue
• Cardboard
• Sprue
• Ice cream sticks
• Wire mesh
• Toothpaste Squeezer
• Optional: Chains, plastic detail bits, resin detail bits
• Optional: Printed detail posters

Step 1: Base and scafolding
Cut out a base for the build. I''ve used 3mm thick cardboard and made it fit my concept scetch. As I play Deadzone, it's as always fitted with the 3" system.

Cut up a bunch of old sprue in 3" pieces. Use the hot glue gun to fix it to the base. When dry, mark out windows, a bar and doors with other sprue pieces.

Step 2: Siding
Take your trusted toothpaste squeezer (5$ off eBay incl shipping) and make a load of corrugated metal. Use cardboard, aluminium foil, plastic card or whatever you like. (Tower build with only metal. Walls build with a mix).

Starting from the bottom and using super glue, attach plates to the walls. The more scaffolding you did, they easier this is. Mix between horizontal and vertical lines, for easy detailing.

Step 3: Water tank
The water tank is made from a tractor toy, bought for nothing in a thrift store. The piping is from russian Tehnolog. Very cheap kits (and cheap plastic) - got my bits in a trade. Otherwise use plastic tubing (like the pole from small birthday flags).

Step 4: Bar
The insde bar is made from some Ramshackle Games oil drums (these were 10pcs for 1£ including shipping during Black Friday), tractor wheels (that toy from before) and ice cream sticks. The bar desk on the wall is from a small pieces of textured plastic (from a box of chocolates).

Step 5: Window shutters
This is a wasteland bar - sand storms, ash storms, raiders. I wanted detail to make it look secure-ish. Cut some ice cream sticks into the right size and connect them with a piece of card (this will be hidden). On the front connect them with some texture plastic (the chocolate tray from before) to make metal bars.

Attach the windows with some chain. Jump down to the thrift store and buy some old necklaces, it's a lot cheaper than real 'hobby chain'. The chain is glued to the shutters with super glue. Then glue it inside the bar (cut a little groove in the wall top, not photoed). Super glue the chain as well making it hard.

This will prevent the shutters from breaking off easy (if you've put them in an angle like me).

Step 6: Stairs 
Where possible, I like stairs better than ladders. Giving more placement options for the models. Using sprue, find some pieces that has a natural 90 degree bend. I used superglue to glue the first ones to the walls. The I placed the outer ones and connected with some ice cream sticks.

Added a few extra pieces of sprue for strength. The crate is also from the crazy Ramshackle Games deal.

Step 7: The roof
I cut a square of (just over) 6" x 6". Wanting it to go other the walls. It'll the kept stable by all the scaffolding underneath. I covered one half with corrugated sheets and the other with sticks. On the terrace, I've marked the middle with a non-cut stick (for Deadzone reference).

Step 8: Fence
Using some left over wire mesh (from my chain-link fence) I've made a fence. Cut one long piece and bend it into the right rectangular shape. Using sprue and super glue secure the mesh in place. Make sure to secure both sides, glue doesn't bind will on metal. And this is a part that'll often get bumped into.

Step 9: Last details
The cool resin sign is also from Ramshackle Games (and inspired the entire build). Also make a door for the bar, using matches and ice cream sticks. I added a few resin pieces to the terrace and the water tank. A few barrels and some crates.

Step 10: Painting
Using cheap spray paint, the entire build is base coated. All metal sheet areas are painted grey. The terrace and water tank is brown. Pick out a few metal sheets in muted colors and rusty brown. Give the entire build a heavy layer of Army Painter quick shade - you'll never finish the can anyway.

Add grass tufts, static grass, leaves (dry birch tree seeds) and posters. I went with biohazard themed ones from DriveThroughRPG.

Then finish with some layers of matt varnish spray. It takes the shine of the quick shade and helps keeping the grass and leaves in place.

Showcase 
Here's a bunch of photos, from the finished build.

Bar is open!

I named the bar the Quarantine and added posters with various deceases.

My 3' x 4' Wasteland setup is growing nice. Check out tutorials for: Container, chain-link fence, tower, scrap walls and silos.

Completely compatible with the Deadzone 3" cube system.

Tutorial: Scrap metal guard tower

After building my scrap metal walls I found that it could be made into a rectangular castle. It was only missing a 3" square piece to close it up. So here's the result to build a corner - that turned into a guard tower.

Check out the terrain section for a bunch of tutorials on cheap scrap terrain.

Materials

• Sprue
• Super glue, plastic glue and hot glue gun
• Cardboard, plastic card or aluminium trays
• Toothpaste squeezer
• Ice cream sticks

Step 1 - scaffolding 

Go through your pile of old sprue, find some nice long pieces. Cut them clean with a pair of clippers or your knife. I want my tower to fit into 3" cubes Deadzone, and was lucky enough to find to perfect sprue. Cut be cut to make complete sides, added a lot of stability without glueing. 

Step 2 - build the frame
I use the hotglue gun to fit the poles to a base. Superglue works as well, but I find hotglue is best. Use some smaller pieces of cleaned sprue (3" for me), to secure the scaffoldings shape. Add extra sprue here and there, as we'll attach the corrugated plating to this,

At this stage you should also think windows, doors and trap doors into the build. Make the framing for these with sprue.

Step 3 - floors
Use some ice cream sticks to make some floors in the tower. I've made room for a single trapdoor on mine. After this stage, the tower will feel real sturdy.

Step 4 - ladders
Using sprue, build from ladders for the towers. Gonna paint these up as rusty old metal. Going over the sprue, you can finde some pieces in the right size with a few steps already in. Cut smaller pieces to fill in the missing steps.

Step 5 - siding
Bring out your trusty old toothpaste squeezer (these are 5$ including shipping on eBay and 3$ on AliExpress). Make some plating from card board, plastic card or aluminium trays. Cardboard glues easier then metal. Metal can be bend around the corners, for a closed fit.

For this build my squeezer had hidden itself, so I had to use metal sheets only (leftovers from a previous build).

Use the cheapest super glue you can find out there. I buy 100 tubes at a time from china. Cheap, fluid (very) super glue. But it still strong, not the best for models. perfect for terrain.

Start from the bottom and work your way to the top. Change direction of the corrugated lines for easy detail. Add a few match sticks and ice cream sticks around doors and windows.

Step 6 - camo netting
Decided to add a camo net sun screen to the tower. Get some gaze from bandage (I've got some old military ones). Cut it up, give it a few sprays of brown and green.

I've secured it with super glue and dropped super glue here and there. It strengthens the gaze and make it stiff. And the glue dries up, leaving a nice camo pattern.

Added some net here and there for some extra details.

Step 7 - Painting
Spray paint (just use the cheapest) the tower grey and the wooden parts brown. Nevermind it overlapping a bit, it adds to the mess.

Bring out a few plates on each side with a different colour (I use muted blue and green), paint some other plates with a rusty mix. I use a wet palette and mix different metal colours.

Drown the entire thing in a heavy brushed on layer of army painter quick shade.

Step 8 - final detailing
After painting I added a few posters and warning signs. I found these on Drive Through RPG.
Add scrubs, static grass and leaves (harvested birch tree seeds).

To remove the shine from the quick shade varnish and keep all the grass and leaves in place - give a couple coats of matt varnish. Save some money and buy a cheap one for terrain use.

Showcase

Fitting neatly into the Deadzone 3" grid. An easy thing to do, while still letting it work in a lot of other games.

And a 3' x 4' wasteland table settup. Using my a lot of homemade stuff (link to tutorials)  tin can silos, chain-link fencing, container, wooden palettes and scrap walls.