15mm SciFi Blocks - Small Blocks

I dipped into 15mm scale for some Bolt Action recently, and I'm really charmed by how individually based figures look in this scale. It's also a great scale for having tanks look impactful on the board without being obscenely large. 

So I'm striving to put together a set of modular 15mm terrain that I can use for Sci-Fi themed games. I'd like to try out 5 Parsecs from Home, Stargrave, maybe 5150 Star Army but naturally this is also a good fit for The Doomed (though not sure I fancy kitbashing at 15mm scale).

I already have some woods, rough ground, hills, ruined brick buildings, wreckage heaps, and hedges from my Bolt Action modelling, so here I wanted to make something that I could cram into a small box and use to create a wide range of sci-fi battlefields.

It was Jenga time. 

I picked up a regular sized tower and a small tower. For now I've just been working with the small blocks. At 15mm scale they're like a chest-high wall, or waist-high block if laid flat. I figured if I painted them up in a variety of colours they could be used for interior features or battlefield scatter, with the larger blocks providing the significant structural features. I've also got a stack of thin wooden coasters that I'll paint up as modular floor tiles. 

First step was to rip into them with a pair of sprue cutters and stab some bullet holes. 

Then sand them down a bit so that I don't give myself splinters. A 15mm guy for scale. 

I had a pile of wooden offcuts from various other projects, so I guess these work as greeblies and some larger pieces. 

My hope is that I can fit all of the small and large blocks into one of these thin boxes, with the tiles going in the second box. 

Painting these is actually quite daunting, as there's none of the usual detail that lets me get away with just priming, drybrushing, and washing until it looks good enough for the table. Prime them grey. 

Then I tried stippling, smearing, sponging, whatever desperate methods I could pull out of the box. 

Back in for some more coats. Just trying to make them look weathered and give a sense of scale, some more successful than others.

And finally tidy up some of the mess and give final coats to the bits that need it. 

Let's see how they look on the battlemat with some WW2 minis (my 15mm SciFi stuff is still in transit). 

It's hard to shake the toybox feel, but I think it works for purpose so far.

I think the tiles and larger blocks will help bring it all together. 

Then testing it on the black side of the mat as a makeshift interior. 

As you can see, these walls are just low enough to not quite block line of sight. 

But I think there's potential here. 

All in all I'm calling it a mixed success, and I'm exciting to get more of the set built. 

This week I'm at GenCon! Do say hello if you see me, but expect something of a minimalist post while I'm away. 

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