This is a communication tower for Interplanetary Heavy Industries (IHI), the gigantic Empire-spanning corporation conducting the mineral and gas extraction on Xhorik Prime. The high-power equipment is needed to maintain communication between far-flung extraction sites located across remote areas, in an environment of blizzards, dust storms, and jagged intervening mountains. The tower also has an array of monitoring and radiation-detecting equipment to give early warning of incoming dust storms, meteor showers, and rad-storms.
An array of satellites, sensors, and communications and monitoring equipment of all types.
An armored hatch allows access to the roof. Large fuel cell satisfy the enormous power requirements of all the equipment.
To provide fuel for the reactors, the building is tied-in to the IHI pipeline that is collecting rare and potent gases from the drilling and production sites. Roof vents provide needed cooling for the equipment and also keep out most of the dust.
I'm going to put a sign above the door, as the company would likely label their structures with their company name. The door is lightly fortified, mostly against the harsh environment, but also as a defense against thieves and raiders. This was built for a company operating in rugged conditions, not warfare.
Added a marine for scale.
Whoever holds the tower holds the only reliable way to communicate across the vast expanses of mountains, storms and radiation that block most signals. They can also use their ability to monitor incoming storms and seismic activity to ensure their armies are in the right place at the right time. Earthqukes, opening rifts, meteor storms, and radiation clouds (along with your run-of-the-mill blizzards, dust storms, and avalanches) can all wreak havoc on an unprepared army caught out in the open. Thus, the tower is a critical objective for any army that wants to coordinate their efforts across this bitter environment.
Wow! Absolutely stunning! Makes my bunker look like a piece of crap. Where did you get all the bits?
ReplyDeleteI finally decided to put the same time and effort into creating terrain as I put into my army instead of just slapping some stuff together quickly before a game. I looked around online for ideas. Some of the bits came from my bitz box (plastic pipes, washers, nuts, wires, antenna, film tube cover, compartment separator from a tackle box, the 40k fuel cells and front porch, etc.). The door handle and roof hatch came from the Rhino Pete bought me like 8 years ago. The tower is from one of Logan's toys. The main building is a circuit box from Home Depot. I'm sure you can recognize a few household items mixed in such as a prong cover and drywall anchor. Some of the rest are Legos that I bought on ebay just for this project (did you realize you can buy individual blocks?!). I spent a ton of time cutting and sanding plastic pieces to get everything to go together.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the compliment! You and Pete are my motivation to keep making better stuff. You're the only ones who care and appreciate it as much as I do.
I had a ton of fun building it and can't wait to get it painted up and into some games. Overall, it is amazing how much cooler making terrain is when you really invest some time and money into it! I'm already gathering bits for my next project: some sort of pumping station/refinery/processing plant for the minerals/fluids/gases that are being extracted. I plan to make it as several smaller items that can be used separately or combined in different ways for maximum replay value. The best part about building terrain is that it you have conversions on your mind at all times so whenever I'm out for a walk with the kids, I'm looking for appropriate rocks or plants to take home and use. Whenever I am at a store, I am looking for interesting and cheap little components.