So I imagined the outpost would look something like this:
And I wanted to have a landing pad like this:
I had already determined that this would be something placed in the center of a gameboard, but I wanted to make sure there would be plenty of room to deploy forces and move around the piece. Although, I would like to make some smaller mesas as scatter terrain.
After some math, I decided that 24" by 18" was a big piece, but left enough room along the outside. I found some old high density foam leftover from a previous project and set to work.
The Chaos Predator and Salamander Space Marine give a good sense of scale. This thing is going to be huge!
Happy with my stacking, I used Gorilla glue and wood glue to bond the foam together. To add stiffness, I drilled holes and inserted 3/8" wood dowels into both mesas from top to bottom.
Used a hot wire foam tool and a keyhole saw to shape the foam, and make a considerable mess.
(I should probably go clean that up.)
It was important to include ramps so that vehicles could get to the top of the mesa. Chimeras and Rhinos should have no problems, it's a close fit for the Predator, and I wouldn't recommend trying to get a Land Raider up that hill.
Once the shape was where I liked it, I used a 50/50 water and Elmer's glue mix and some playground sand to seal the surface of the foam.
I then primed it black and brushed on several shades of brown acrylic paint.
I'd been working on the landing platform, and you can see I have 6 of the 8 pieces printed and glued together. At this point the platform is just resting on the twin mesas, but that's about where I planned it to go.
I'm going to need a bridge to get from the main mesa to the landing platform. The narrow gorge is great for dreadnoughts, but the Predator's sponsons mean it has to go around.
Here's a great shot of the supports for the platform.
I added small 2" x 2" platforms so that infantry can make their way up the mesas without resorting to the road. I'll add ladders later. Check out the bridge and the makeshift repairs.
Another profile shot.
And lastly I finished a small ruined building for the main mesa. It is based separately, which should give me some flexibility.
Well, let me know what you think. It's not finished, but I expect to use it in a game this weekend.