The Pipeworks

This Pipeworks / sewer / factory / spacehulk / underhive / chemical plant / whatever was inspired by the amazing SpaceHulk terrain at Sean Patten's

This building is all about game-play options (and of course the always-present goal of having eye candy on the board)... The open walls allow easy movement and miniatures access to the works. In a game the 'missing' walls can be played as hall sections which block line of sight, or they can be played open, with all the perks and drawbacks that go with that (such as little to no cover from outside snipers). While fighting in the building, play rules should most likely reflect something similar to battling while inside a trench. The hallways are very similar, being straight with little cover. I can see this building ending up as a killing box, but I intentionally spaced doors and ladders on each side so troops going for or through the Pipeworks would have relatively even chances at a foot race. Also, there is hard cover in the form of pipes (and a boiler-like thing) fairly close to each entrance to increase survivability / playability.

A learning experience, this project involved a lot of first time things for me. The materials list, with a cost brakedown, is at the end of this page. It was my first time using foamcore / foamboard as the main building material. It was also the first time I paint such a large structure in detail (it measures 18.5" x 5" x 8" tall). I'll discuss the 'problems' I had during construction to help anyone who attempts something similar.

The first feature, the flooring, was done with plaster castings of a nice texture i found, but they didn't come out the most uniform... I am still looking for a fix to this problem. I'm happy with the result here given my casting method used plasticine and ended looking like a dropped / ancient floor, but would like better results suitable for 'newer' style buildings in the future.


The second feature, the pipes, were made from drinking straws. The paint just wouldn't stick to them until the second or third coat or unless I did a very heavy layer (which endangered the details). My solution will likely be to get a cheaper primer paint, additionally the straws tend to have the paint on them chip off very easily. It would likely be a better solution to find a new inexpensive material to use as corrugated pipes. (This problem also exists for many plastic products like stir-sticks and some plastic margarine lids. If anyone knows a cheap / easy fix, please share it and i'll post it here.)


Not a feature, though it created problems, was the use of glues. Hot glue was used for most of the building and did a superb job of strongly bonding, filling gaps and drying fast enough to be workable (sometimes too fast). The stringy bits that are left from hot glue are a pain while you are working, but can be picked off easily using tweezers afterwards.

I attached the first rubber layer to the base using five minute 2 part epoxy and will never use it again. The epoxy was messy, running everywhere despite the 'acurate application syringe' tubes. It took a day and a half to dry thouroughly and made me sick it smelled so disgusting (despite being in a well-ventalated area, the stink stayed on the terrain piece until it was painted). I will never use 2 part epoxy, five minute or otherwise, again.


Also of note, the varrious signs used on this piece have been added to the Terrain Accessories page.


Medium Views


Close-up Views

Most of the things that went into this were very inexpensive, as you can see here:
(For the curious, these prices are in pitiful Canadian dollars).

Materials - Price Breakdown

The total = $11.28 Canadian. Most of it was paint, foamcore, and rivets.
Even large terrain pieces don't have to be expensive to look great.