Sci-Fi, Post-Apoc, etc. 3/30 Elevated Sci-fi Train Setup Debut!

Traveling the NE corridor from NYC to DC you certainly see enough industrial and housing stock that looks post apocalyptic or even like its been a war zone. Personally I find it depressing like the graffiti and wouldn't have it on my layout but it is certainly the current scene.

Short of going completely post-apoc perhaps these buildings would find an appropriate home along the urban tracks.

Scotie

 

I like it. We model the past and present. Nothing wrong with modeling the Future, nor Sci-Fi.

I love the idea and I once had a futuristic layout in a utility trailer. I have posted these on here before but....

 

Here is my future layout.It was based on ideas of the future that never quite panned out. There were stategically placed mirrors that reflected up and down as well as down the "street". There were 2300 or so figures remade from repainted and reposed green army men I play loose with scale but they are about 1/32. The walkways were thick so there were figures top and bottom so they could reflect in the up/down mirrors. Portable DVD players played Times Square style video ads I made and the whole thig was viewed through one way mirror portals. The track was a figure 8 as was the general open space reflected in the mirrors. I also did some Rokenbok Monorail repaint stuff.

 

I would be interested in seeing what more people did in this area.

 

I love remembering the future. 

Originally Posted by Scotie:

I'm leaning toward near-future grime rather than full on post-apoc.   It would definitely be an urban scene.  As an inveterate urbanite living in the inner city, I find that even the trappings of decay feels comfortingly like "home".  

 

I certainly enjoy and appreciate them, but even well done urban layouts usually look unusually "clean" to me.

 

Originally Posted by Silver Lake:

That's amazing! Do you have any pictures of the people closer up or just more pics?  It's just dripping with the 70/80's sci-fi movie goodness, and I mean that as a compliment.

"Army-man green is people!"

(ok, not quite your layout's vibe, but I couldn't resist)

 

I've also been using Rokenbok pieces on some of my recent pieces, but they're not in the pictures above.  Most of my pieces are based around either "Dust Tactics Warzone Tenement" kits or reclaimed toys.

 

 

I think a post-apoc layout sounds really cool!  I'd love to see what kind of Mad Max train you would come up with.  The post-apoc thing reminds me of Blaine the Monorail in the Stephen King book blasting through the wastelands.  Very fun idea!  Please share pics if you go this direction.

 

Nick

Are you saying that there are near O scale building kits based on these games? If so this would be a great boon to the many of us in the dreaming/planning stages.  I like your display alot. I  think you should build whatever you want, but I can see the concerns over being too depressing. Perhaps another section could be shiny buildings with green spaces. I am not a gamer but it's a pretty common theme in sci-fi to have a depressed locale offset by a capital city type environment.  This would put your obvious skill to work and give you a chance to make a large range of structures and environments.  Just my $0.02.

Very cool I'm glad I am not the only one out there. Rokenboks stuff is really great.  I am also using a fair number of reclaimed toys as parts. I have always admired the war games terrains but the kit prices do keep me out of that area. I think of the Sci fi stuff as a fun hobby within a hobby mostly because there are not many others out there interested in it. But sometimes it really does capture my interests better than the recreation of the absolute real that is so valued in model railroading. Unfortunately I don't have better pictures. That was one of those times I was not documenting everything very thoroughly.

 

As far as the figures they really were just army guys I cut up with Xacto knives and sandpapered to more interesting  shapes. Cutting the brim off a Cowboys ten gallon hat makes them look like a character in a Moebius comicbook.

 

Yeah for inspriation I was definitely looking at Judge Dredd comics, Cloud City in Empire Strikes Back and Syd Meads Designs for Blade Runner. I dismantled that trailer layout about 5 years ago but someday may revisit it with a better build. I learned a lot by building it and tried some tricky things that did not always work. My craft skills have definitly improved sence then.

 

I am interested in your city. The mecha part of Sci Fi is not one that I know that well are these recognizable types like Robotech or is it more individual and created by you? the city itself seems old  European in some ways and in others overlayered with a military base. Is this right? Are there reasons for this in your created back history for the place? As far as trains what are you going to run. Armored tanks and the like that you make or modified Lionel stuff. The MTH Silver Bullet repainted or the Lionel Phantom would be great fun in a SciFi themed layout. 

Originally Posted by Nick R.:

 

Not sure about the trains yet (see below) but I will definitely post whatever I come up with.

 

Originally Posted by jhz563:

 

Really the depressing thing is more a question about other's impressions. A dark blade-runner-esque layout would be right up my alley.  It might need a slightly more shiny area for contrast though.

 

As for size, 28mm sci-fi building kits are generally a bit oversized anyway, so they are often right on or a close match to 0.  

 

The "Dust Tactics Warzone Tenement" is basically a modular wall kit, but it slides together so you can experiment.  I dressed them up with lots of bits and scratchbuilt roofs.  Some of the roofs are Dust Tactics Quonset huts which are a touch small for 0, but not irredeemably so.  More of them here:

http://chicagoskirmish.blogspot.com/search?q=warzone

It's a very nice starting point for American or European urban buildings.

 

The Cathedral http://chicagoskirmish.blogspo...l-de-la-pegasus.html

is made from 2 kits in the "Pegasus Gothic" line of terrain kits. Looks like a fellow here already reviewed them for use in O.

 https://ogrforum.ogaugerr.com/t...o-gauge-use-pictures

 

Both of these lines are about in line or cheaper than comparable o-scale kits.

 

There's a few modified ERTL buildings in there also and then alot of toy-bashes

 

 

Originally Posted by Silver Lake:

You're speaking my language for inspiration.  Very clever regarding the figs.

 

I'm not exactly sure what I will do for trains. I recently found the 3 cars (no engine though) from a Toy Story Buzz Lightyear train,  They have some nice sci-fi potential and the wheels fit pretty nicely on o-gauge track (haven't run them yet, however)  I also grabbed an approximate o-scale bullet train from a local mega-mall (Big building with lots of little dealers).  Lots of toy/kit bashing potential.

 

As for the Mecha, they are a mix of toys and models, acquired from wherever I could find a good deal on a mech that could conceivably function in 28mm (the foot to eye measurement for an average human, aprox 1/56) scale.  There's Robotech toys and kits, Mechwarrior/Battletech die-cast, Gasraki kit, and mecha from some other wargames including Kryomek and robogear. At conventions I run a big mecha-battle game for whoever signs up.  I'm not sure if (m)any of them would be on a layout, but I'm working on some civie vehicles also.

 

As for the buildings, they also were cobbled together from what I could find cheap or what just caught my eye.  I got a major deal on Dust buildings last thanksgiving (I'll post here if it happens again) plus lots of broken and cast-off toys from resale.   The game fits into a rather open-ended gaming world the club created, but it's particular architectural roots haven't been nailed down as of yet.

 

The Military Bunkers were borrowed from a buddy for the sake of the scenario being played.

I'm personally not into the Sci-Fi or post-apoc thing but the modeling possibilities could be interesting if that is what you like. To each his own so go for it.  Why not?  

A layout themed like the movie "metropolis" would be cool - especially with any art deco style loco rolling by and don't forget the lady robot!! She is still awesome to watch to this day. A movie way ahead of its time!

Every once in a while I throw this out there.

If it make you happy, go for it   and please post your progress. It sounds interesting.

I saw this over at Dakka (or maybe LeadAd?)!  I'm "Eilif" over there.  It was one of the many things that got me really thinking more about such a project.  Great to see it again.

A Robocop vignette would be awesome

All these suggestions for retro-futuristic urban settings are pretty tempting.   I think I'll go a smidge further into the future (Blade runner'ish maybe) but the possibilities are really wide.

 

Just tossing out ideas…. In the vein of "They Live" imagine an idealistic classic 50's Lionel, toy-style layout where when you put on decoder glasses (or maybe a black light) all sort of totalitarian messages start to appear and some of the people look like skellie-aliens.  

If done right, it could be a clever commentary on 50's-era Conformity and McCarthyism.

 

I've thought several times that a tiny narrow gauge line run by ewoks would be cool.

 

 

Maybe a post-apoc layout would be a good place to run those cold war era military train sets with the missile launchers and helicopters and stuff.

 

Sci-Fi trains?? Did some in HO....want to do some in O.....

 

 

Others I'd like to do......

 

 

So yes....I have and want to do more. 

Might be even easier to just print or stencil in one of the variety of substances that only show up in black light and then put a black light over the layout or use a small portable black-light to let visitors discover the propaganda.

One more to add to the netflix queue….

Got me curious so I spent some time checking out war game suppliers.

 

A lot of the stuff isn't suitable for my layout and some costs more than any of my first five cars, but some is usable as is and some is easily converted and some is very reasonable money-wise.

 

Got some shopping to do.

That's a pretty good description of the market.  Let me know if you're looking for anything in particular I've spent a few years pretty obsessed with this stuff (28mm wargaming and terrain) and would be happy to point you in the right direction.

I remember many years ago seeing photos of a layout with the theme of the Japanese cartoon, "Macross" and they used mostly Japanese trains. They had city streets and 1/48 'Battleloid' fighter planes guarding intersections.

 

I wish I could find shots of that now, as I can't recall where I saw those photos.

But this is some stuff from the cartoon itself, re-packaged for US Audiences in the 80s as part one of "Robotech"

That was easy.

 

After seeing these at Wallyworld I think they would fit in a nice theme, there are a Sherman, Patton and Panzer with odd bright details. 

 

Any more pics of that Macross Layout?  I've already got the mecha….

 

As for the "Revel Snaptite" 1/48 tanks, they are pretty accurate models They just need a nice coat of grey or green to bring them back to "reality".

 

If you're looking for cheap armor, the "Kitech"," ZhengDefu", "academy" and "Hobbyboss" lines (some might be the same models with different labels) have a pretty nice selection of ww2 and 90's era armor kits in 1/48 that typically go for about $15 on ebay and other places.

The Merkava in particular is a great start for sci-fi tanks.

I found a few nice ones online at least more than last time I looked a few years ago like this Warhammer one and of course the Snow Piercer movie from last year is on Netflix streaming these days.

That is a train from the series 'Firefly'.

A really cool episode set in a future old wild west......

Snowpirecer train was even stranger.....

Front toward enemy(forum name) built something using his wargaming experience and buildings from Warmill.

 

I suppose it depends on the source of your apocalypse. His was an alien invasion.

 

The first photo that Silver Lake posted looks like some of the Warmill structures were used.

 

a layout like that will draw attention. The shock or as you said "dark" theme will push away casual observers. Hey. you've got scenery done, body up a train and build it.

Originally Posted by Moonman:

 

The First pic from Silver Lake is a Warhammer themed train setup from Necromundicon/IronHands and is a long time favorite of mine.  The Terrain all predates Warmill and is a brilliant cobbling of wargaming bits, junk parts and repurposed toys.  You can see it all with alot of How-To's here: http://www.ironhands.com/necro.htm The train is in the "Industrial" section.

 

I've been following him for almost 2 decades now and remember when he did the first version ( back in the 90's maybe ?).  A real shame the site has been so much less active of late.  Still, it's my bible for the terrain-from-junk-toys style that has become mine as well.

I like the idea of a post apocalyptic sci-fi layout.

 

I can't find them now, but when I was searching for ideas for an alien theme train, I came across some interesting videos.  These guys had what looked liked heavily modified sci-fi SD70 locomotives.  In the videos, they popped just a couple sections off and the loco was completely stock again.

Remember there is only one critic in this hobby you need to answer to...

 

 

 

That being said, judging by the quality of your models, it will be a great layout!

 

 

 

In direct answer to your question I do recall at least one modular layout where one of the sections was a great War of the Worlds diarama.  It looked great!