We’re heading up into the air (and into the future) for a glimpse at some upcoming scenery in this week’s WIP Wednesday.
We teased some shipping containers a while back for the Freighter Graveyard which was the first set in a new group of upcoming Sci-Fi Gothic terrain. Well time has passed and this incoming range is increasing! You can’t have a functional container yard without a crane.
Like all design work, an idea is formed and then someone has to go make it, in this case, it is me; I am that someone. So lets go through a journey of a design in progress right at this moment.
The brief: “A crane, it should be playable, Gothic-y and industrial, oh and it should definitely spin”. With that in mind I formed the initial silhouette. Compare this image to the last to see how so much as changed yet still holds a similar form.
With the the basic form there, the fun stage of detailing can begin. I already had an idea in mind for the legs to be reminiscent of some kind of walker. To fit the Gothic theme though, it needed arches, LOTS of arches. Trying to imitate steelwork fulfils the industrial vibe, whilst circles, well they add an element of sci-fi. No one wants miniatures meeting an early end by getting Sparta kicked off the side, so barriers were added.
Moving upwards, we reach a pivotal bit of the crane, the arm. Now the arm went through many forms: it started life as a box, it became a wedge, an even wedgier wedge and finally the triangular design on the right. With the smaller connecting points and ribs along the length, it breaks the design into something a bit more unusual. It also give you plenty of points to drybrush!
Not everything goes smoothly however. The main top platform has seen many different forms. Just in the above picture the only parts that remain are the sides and the 3-dimensial curving rear. The fence panels felt too Elven and the rear fins out of place. Whilst interesting, not the theme we wanted!
Following the issues of the rear, how do you make a cabin simultaneously look gothic without being a box? You can go bug eyed over it, like I did here. Ultimately none of these have made it to the finishing stages. These designs really are ever evolving.
Which brings us to where it currently stands. Ditching the enclosed cabin gives more playable space (for a Titanic moment?), new fences adorn the rear and the A frame for the arm is being finalised. Does it spin? Will it still look like this at launch? Can it even stand? Well, these are all questions awaiting an answer. I still need to do a test build!
I couldn’t leave it there without a scale shot. It’s a big beast but its going to look great in your Freighter Graveyard! This is going to be a fun new range with plenty more to come.
While you’re waiting, you might want to check out the ever-expanding range of Sci-Fi Gothic terrain, or if you’re after something more industrial, how about Industrial Hive?
