It's a Wild West X-Mas

The project that's been occupying most of my time recently is a table for Outlaw Miniatures' upcoming game Wild West Exodus. Check out the website wildwestexodus.com or the Facebook page to see more about the game and the universe.

The Dark Council has authorized me to show off a few of the in-progress shots. If you're already following WWX on Facebook, you'll have seen this concept art for the hotel. The setting is old west with a splash of sci-fi tech. So the buildings all have electricity, neon signs, and such.

The first step in the construction is to frame out a building with a classic western motif. I must have watched a dozen western movies for reference. If you want to see a beautiful-looking spaghetti western, check out Once Upon a Time in the West, by Sergio Leone. The train station at the beginning served as my inspiration for the station on the WWX table, and the architecture and color palette in that film is simply amazing. 

The buildings are constructed with foam core and covered with basswood sheets and strips.

The "iron horse," a sort of jetbike, has replaced traditional horses, and so the horse tethers commonly seen outside buildings have been upgraded to what I call "iron horse tethers." These utilize some kind of electromagnetic coupling to hold the bike in place and keep it from drifting away. (Even with the technological advancements, your horse might still wander off if you don't tie it up!)

These buildings are all in the "western" stage– That is, framed out and textured with resin and plastic doors and windows, before receiving their sci-fi accoutrements.

Bank

General Store and Metal Smith

Saloon

This one proved the most challenging, because of the way it opens.

Sheriff's Office/ Jail

Iron Horse Stables

This is a traditional stable, reengineered into a bike workshop. The shingles are sculpted and reproduced in resin, and the floor has a metal tread plate pattern made from textured styrene sheets.

Town Hall

I'll talk about the "teching-up" of the buildings in the coming weeks.

'Til next time!