Outpost XIII

[gensu11]

I am building a bastion in the style of the Outpost XIII piece that was in White Dwarf 2 months ago. I am using two full bastions as the base instead of the hill and mixed pieces of the basilica. For model builders experienced with building large structures, my question is this: Before going on to the higher levels should I build an infrastructure to the model to support the floor for the first level? Once I start stacking additional bastions on top of this level I stop having confidence in super glue and am concerned about the potential for a cave in. Assuming I do create an interior frame, any suggestions on what materials would be the best to use? Plasticard, Balsa Wood, foamboard?

[plasticaddict]

Since you are using the bastion kits I don't believe that any additional support will be required. I've built a fair amount of buildings using foam board and haven't run into any structural problems and the bastion kits are quite a bit sturdier than foam board. I'd say go for it as is.

[gorepants]

+1
The GW buildings are pretty heavy plastic, and so long as you leave the bottom open, you can build it hollow, then stress test it, bodging supports later. Doesn't have to look good under there!

[gensu11]

Thanks for the advice, will post some pics as soon as I get the project going again, have to postpone it for a few months for military deployment

[therealjohnny5]

the bastions come with those little paddle shaped support bar things. and i've used them just to add a little strength to different levels or the bottom of floors if i was concerned about it holding. but all in all i've never had trouble.

[BDub]

I am building a bastion in the style of the Outpost XIII piece that was in White Dwarf 2 months ago. I am using two full bastions as the base instead of the hill and mixed pieces of the basilica. For model builders experienced with building large structures, my question is this: Before going on to the higher levels should I build an infrastructure to the model to support the floor for the first level? Once I start stacking additional bastions on top of this level I stop having confidence in super glue and am concerned about the potential for a cave in. Assuming I do create an interior frame, any suggestions on what materials would be the best to use? Plasticard, Balsa Wood, foamboard?

One thing i would highly recommend is using model cement on the GW plastic pieces instead of superglue. That will actually weld the plastic together and will hold up to anything. The pieces themselves are very sturdy, so all the stress will go to the joint - if that joint is superglue it will eventually fail as that glue is brittle and gets more so with time.

Another thing is basing foundation. For larger pieces I would always build on masonite (1/8" will do fine) Its cheap, and comes in 4x4 or 4x8 sheets and with a rotary saw can be cut into pretty elaborate shapes. The reason for this is the larger the surface area a piece covers the more prone it is to bending under it's own weight, and any bending (like picking it up or transporting it) will stress the piece and cause it to gradually deteriorate. The masonite base will prevent this and give you something solid to anchor everything to.

I built some scenery for BoLSCon back in August using these two important tips and those pieces have been played on several times a week at BattleForge Games (http://battleforgegames.com/) in Austin ever since. They are still very much intact and not showing any signs of falling apart.

Post pics as you develop the piece. We would all love to see your progress.