So I won a copy of Hivestorm in a raffle...

When working on a project like this, the world can be your inspiration.

Man made structures, colossals of industry, innovation and technology…abandoned.

What a fascinating, chilling and incredible subject to research and gather inspiration from!

For years I have wanted to do something inspired by the Chernobyl exclusion zone. For me, it typifies the end of the Soviet Union. It personifies the rot of an empire and has left us with some of the most fascinating, abandoned structures on the planet.

What happens when buildings and machines are left alone? How does the climate weather materials and break down things we built to last for decades?

This particular entry in the project is more of a meander through some images I intend to use as reference when it comes to painting and weathering my board.

So I figured I would share the subject and images with you to see what materials look like when nobody is around to clean, paint and maintain what they built.

Looking through the above images we get several “broad brush” effects I can turn to the board:

1: fading and discolouring

2: growth of moss, mildew, trees, grass

3: components missing, through removal or the failure of the retaining parts of the structure.

Now, not every aspect will be reflected on my board, but keeping these images and processes in my head as I pick up my airbrush and paints will help me focus in on the narrative I want to have on the board and let me see where certain effects may add to the overall look of the final board.

It’s something I truly LOVE to think about and figure out when it comes to a lot of my scale modeling projects and finally something I can turn to a tabletop gaming project!