Miniature Monday - Dan Abnett Block Market square

Feels like an age since my last Dan Abnett Block update back in the early part of June. Currently, the large focal point of the board is under construction, more on that in another post. For this update, I wanted to focus on the starting point of another section of my board the market zone. This area of the board which ultimately will be another 2'x2' zone is going to be a crowded well lived-in area, involving lots of shops and the rubbish and garbage that comes with it. I want it to be almost impossible for vehicles bigger than a Lawmaster to pass through. This is a zone where the foot chases happen, perps dodging through the crowds to escape through a back alley before disappearing into a zoom train.

For this to happen I need the shops, now originally the first board was meant to be the interior of a mall but has now progressed into a more central greeting space for the block citizens with a M.A.C viewing screen, and a memorial fountain to Necropolis (More on this in future posts), so with the mall idea gone I decided on a creepy warren of shop pods that would clutter up the space. Knowing full well I could only dream of making all this terrain by hand, I started to shop around and found on Warlord Games Website the Mega-City Shop pack. This pack consisted of two shops of different sizes, two sets of stairs and a warehouse unit, this combined with an earlier purchase (years earlier by the way) of a noodle shop MDF kit, I would be well on my way to making a food court zone.

I started with the stairs as they seemed easiest and I need to practise, they surprisingly went together very easily and quickly. Each took about twenty minutes start to finish, I was glad to discover that they actually fit height-wise in my main building between floors so they may end up in that project as escalators. Now spurred on by this success I moved onto the square simpler looking warehouse unit. The main body went together wonderfully, unfortunately, the same could not be said for the roof!

Made of cardboard this thing was a pain to shape and stick down. The instructions don't give any real aid so I found myself winging a lot of it which annoys the hell out me! I also found the cardboard absorbing the glue faster than I could pin it place. But I got there in the end and I am pretty happy with the results. Any rough spot can be weathered or repaired to give it a lived-in look. I also used some of the leftover circles and rectangle pushouts to form some panelling for the flatter edges to give it a bit character.

It was at this point, I decided to stop building and regroup for a bit before tackling the next pieces. I find I have a habit of rushing things and ultimately losing patience so I am attempting to break the habit and take my time.

Ultimately I am very happy with the kit and it is great value for money and now find myself working out colour schemes and shop names, one definitely has to be a Kidney Hut, but what about the other? Munce Bunch, Grot Pots, Whimpy, Pet a Manger?  Got a preference, got better ideas? Hit me up in the comments and let me know. But for now, enjoy the pictures and check back soon for weathering and the start of the painting.