A long time ago, in what feels like a galaxy far, far away and long before, James and I were building Bavarian Castles, we collaborated on an unlikely project that was to sow the seed for future endeavours. James was fascinated by my efforts with my toy soldiers and asked if there was anything that I 'needed' that he might try his hand at building. As you can imagine this could have been a hugely long list, but given that Star Wars: Legion was my then focus, I suggested the Mos Eisley Cantina.
James was aware of the cultural phenomena that was Star Wars, but was not a life long fan of the space opera that bewitched young Master Awdry. That said, he threw himself into the project and after an initial discussion we decided that we were looking to create a modular playing area that whilst drawing on the original plans allowed for some artistic licence to make the build more manageable. With the concept decided upon James set about drawing out the initial floor plan and before you could say twelve parsecs we were underway. James is a prodigious talent, in that he is able to draw using his software of choice as effortlessly as I can with a pencil. Not only that, but he seems to be able to solve complex construction problems in his head. As a result it wasn't long before fully fledged designs had been drawn up and test cutting had begun.
What follows is a roughly chronological order of how the build then progressed. What I find interesting is the shift from James' meticulous planning and measurements to my rather crude scratch building approach that finds unlikely solutions to build issues that arose along the way. This first image shows an initial pass at a layout, the squared base was just there to help with geometry, although it did occur to me that to have it etched in this way might be a useful device for gameplay.
From very early on, James was interested in how the model would be used and, not least, viewed by the players. I have to confess that I had only really considered it as a fabulous terrain piece and so was only interested in line of sight, which as we can see from below was deliberately restricted by doorways. Also visible in this early version are sliding doors at the back of the bar that didn't make it into the final model.
The image below shows the level of thought James gave to the aesthetic of the piece. These vaulted ceilings could be lifted out to allow access to the various bar areas. Similarly the modular construction meant that each area could be broken down further for photography or even role playing adventures as the need arose.
A shot of the component parts assembled and ready for the next stage of the project. You can see the recess at the top of the walls that has been designed to allow the roof to sit flush on top. Also visible are the curved walls of the entrance that employ a different cutting technique that allows you to bend and flex the MDF.
With the build effectively complete, it was time for me to take the reigns. As I mentioned earlier, this was a more instinctive approach than James' measured planning, but I knew that I wanted to achieve some form of stone texture, heavily weathered by the wind and sun. I had various texture pastes that were pressed into service for the exteriors and a simple sprinkling of sand onto a layer of PVA glue was used on the interior wall sections.
Whilst James had been cutting, I had been on the hunt through the 'bits box' for anything that might prove useful to add some character to the walls, along with a couple of purchases specifically for the build. These included bits of old foam, plastic rod and a child's drinking straw set.
'TTCombat' had some very nice generators and fans hidden amongst their MDF ranges with the coiled wire and bulkhead lights coming from
'Zinge Industries' and finally the A/C Greebles from
‘Combatzone Scenery’.
With everything affixed and dried the whole piece was then given a diluted PVA glue protective coat, before being primed using the airbrush and a suitable sand like colour. Layers were built up with various washes of colour, but this was deliberately kept simple. A few flourishes, like the Imperial recruitment posters helped to add a little character to the piece.
Sharp eyed followers will have spotted that very little has been mentioned about the roof, a feature that initially proved to be the one stumbling block to our build. James had envisaged creating this using vaulting techniques, but for whatever reason this got held up, probably a set of reports needed writing or some such trifle, but whatever the reason I needed to come up with a solution. The flat roof section had already been cut and fitted perfectly, but it needed its characteristic dome. This was achieved in the end with a large polystyrene ball that I simple cut it half and glued to the surface. I layered some hessian material on these sections before covering with the same texture pastes used earlier. This gave the illusion of reinforced elements of the construction and when washed with ink suggested that the whole thing was quietly rotting away. More bits and pieces that I had left over completed the look and with that the build was complete!
I was, of course, thrilled with the outcome and couldn't thank James enough for his outstanding craftsmanship, but in his usual modest way he was already considering 'mistakes' that he felt he had made and thinking of a new project to get his teeth into. Just as an aside, I tried to do a little bit of digital drawing to create the droid detector that is seen when our heroes first enter the cantina. This should have been a relatively straightforward design, but it took me several attempts as shown below, a testament indeed to just how easy James makes the whole process look.
Although James and I no longer work at the same school, we still keep in touch and I delighted to report that his modelling skills are still being gainfully employed and can be enjoyed at his fabulous youtube channel,
Bexhill West. Whilst I am not a model aficionado by any stretch of the imagination, I do enjoy a good track layout, and equally I find myself mesmerized at how James continues to make all elements of his project still look so easy.
If you have the time then do pay him a visit. Included amongst the videos are a series of 'How To' films that introduce CAD for the beginner. Next stop...
Bexhill West
