Modern Urban Basing

[Big Insect]

Linked to my modern Berlin Brigade project does anybody have any good tips (& thoughts) on creating modern urban city scape basing?

I've looked at some of the railway scatter for tarmac and it all looks a bit large & granular for 10mm bases.
I'd also like some 10mm scale kerb stones, cobble stones, bricks & brick based rubble piles, storm grates, drain covers, man-holes etc.

I've had a bit of a hunt on the inter-web and there are various 'urban' basing tutorials - I like these particular ones:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnORZU0Uk7I
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAzucQbdzNw
However, they are a bit (very) sci-fi and I am looking for Cold War/20th

All thoughts welcomed

Mark

[Orcs]

Use n-gauge pavement railway paper, or simply make pavement shapes in your basing material. 

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

I carve my own from milliputt paving slabs or cobbles. Also I use GF9 rubble, ink wash it and highlight it. Litter would be everywhere too. Look at recent Syrian conflict, once thebshells start flying the streets get heaped with rubble quickly.
Tarmac I use silver playsand with pva, it will need 2-3 layers as it is so fine. Leave to dry for at least 24 hours or it will fall apart when painting. Black ink wash, then very dark grey highlights. Seal with pva and leave again.
Google Earth is your friend for colours m, road markings and detail.

[Lord Kermit of Birkenhead]

My 6mm ruins were made from cork tiles. I wouldn't texture a tarmac road, the granuality is just too small. I suspect art board would be thick enough for pavements.

[Steve J]

Well I don't base my 10mm vehicles, so that meands no need to replicate roads. For infantry, I'd go with a mixture of grit sizes and add in bits of card, cork tile or whatever to represent bigger bits of debris. When you look at pics Syria, Stalingrad, Berlin etc, everything ends up covered in dust and therefore fairly uniform in colour. You could add in bits of advertising or fencing etc for detail.

[Big Insect]

Many thanks folks - some good ideas there

As my target landscape is Berlin in the mid'1980s I am also keen to find appropriate city street buildings. Looking at photos from back then - odd to think I think of it as back then as I would have been 24-25 at the time - I might get away with a lot of late WW2 buildings as well.

[Glorfindel]

You might find this link useful:

https://coldwargamer.blogspot.com/p/terraine-and-modelling.html



Phil

[Raider4]

I like the ideas in this video for roads:

I've made a couple of test pieces like this, using cm instead of inches for measurements, and using cereal packet card instead of what he calls chipboard.

Came out well. If I do any more I'll tweak them slightly to work better at the smaller scale, but I've run out of spraymount now, so it's on hold until Smiths or Hobbycraft are fully open again.

[Big Insect]

Thanks folks - some interesting ideas

[John Cook]

I make flexible tarmac roads from Emery cloth.  It comes in either sheets or rolls, up to 50mm wide, in different textures. 

[Big Insect]

I make flexible tarmac roads from Emery cloth.  It comes in either sheets or rolls, up to 50mm wide, in different textures. 

Any recommendations John - good 10mm tarmac looki-likei ?

[Terry37]

For the highway and street in these projects I used a sort of lightly pebbled art board used for matts on framing pictures. And it's also easy to distress if you wnat.









Hope this helps,

Terry