HellGate – Part 9 – The Bell Tower and the Dust Settlers Sanctum

I love world building…

I want you to imagine, for a moment, a place where the sun is so intense, for most months of the year, that paint blisters, tin and metal droops and where the sand on the ground heats up so much it melts and turns into long shards and sheets of glass.

Trees, buildings and vehicles can smoulder, burn and turn to ash and the air is, often, thick with black choking smoke.

Despite the power of the sun the land is in darkness a lot of the time due to giant smog and smoke clouds.

The inhabitants, of this hellish place, can never leave and there are very rarely any newcomers. The people have grown used to their horrible environment and have adapted quite well but sickness and death, due to the harsh conditions, is so common.

Now I’ve set the scene, let’s look at the mat I’ve got for HellGate and a couple of buildings I’ve made. You would have, partly, seen the buildings in the background of previous posts but I thought I’d show you them up close.

I’m quite pleased with them, especially the fact that they look like they exist in a little old place called HellGate.

First though the mat. It’s a 6ft by 4ft (Mouse pad material) Mars-Type mat from Urban Matz.

Lots of dark red tones but also some lighter, sandier sections as well. Perfect for HellGate.

As it’s made from Mouse Pad material I thought I’d test out the mouse hehe.

The Bell Tower.

I am really, really happy with how the bell turned out.

It’s a mix of Warcry terrain and other odds and ends. The actual bell is the only thing that hasn’t been scorched reddish by the intense sun, however it has still corroded in the heat.

The textured floor is glue mixed with grout. I have quite a few bags of grout left over from when I worked in the tile industry many moons ago. I like that the earth arcs up to the walls in sections giving the place a feel that it has been covered in dust/ash/sand for quite some time.

The Dust Settlers Sanctum.

Originally this little installation was going to be a military outpost for my Imperial Guard (The Mighty 77th) but with a few tweaks and a good dose of butchery with some clippers I made it into an old gang base for the Dust Settlers Warband.

I was really pleased with how the “Container windows” turned out. I’d seen a similar thing done on Instagram for Necromunda terrain and thought it was a great idea. I have more container type shanty’s planned.

So what do you think guys? Do you think the terrain suits the aesthetic of HellGate that I’m going for?

I have a few more things to share with you.

First, a couple of movie recommendations.

1. Midsommar

It’s a bit slow in parts but quite compelling viewing. 3 stars.

2. The Brest Fortress

This movie is ten years old and I’d never heard of it, I’m assuming because it’s foreign/subtitled but it’s brilliant. It tells the true story of the Brest Fort in Belarus being attacked by the German Wehrmacht in 1941. The drama, action, story and score are all spot on. 4 stars.

The other thing I wanted to mention is a TV series called Tales From The Loop which has, loosely, inspired my story called MALUS. 3.5 stars.

 

I hope you’re all doing well and that life is slowly returning to normal for you.

For those of you in America please stay extra safe.

What a mad year this has been huh?

At least we have our hobbies to keep us sane.

Cheers

IRO