Jericho Anchorage

For at least 4000 years, Jericho Anchorage has been in orbit over the Sub-Sector capital of Rentlaw.  Basically, as long as records have been kept. It is constructed of several asteroids that were towed into position and developed, along with one artificial hab module that was added in the last couple of hundred years.

J1 – Station Control
J1 houses Traffic Control, Customs, and all other Bureaucratic functions. It has a small launch facility for the Inspection shuttles, and a small clearing yard where goods that require special handling or inspection are held.

J2 – Power
J2 is the home of the powerplant. There is a mag-drilling rig that drives a core-tap into the fusion crystals, and it provides enough power for all station functions including the position lock grav drives to keep the orbit stable.


J3 -  “the Hab”
J3 houses all crew and their families. “The Hab” includes all the needed facilities. Apartments, a Med-Center, Schools, Rec facilities etc…


JX – The Observatory
JX has been abandoned for so long and information surrounding the cause of “the incident” has been so severely suppressed that no one is quite sure whether it was operated by the Mechanicus or the Inquisition. It is said to be haunted and access is strictly forbidden. Rumors are rampant, of course, and run the gamut from the Inquisition is still operating the Observatory to whatever catastrophe befell the Observatory, it was so violent, that the ghosts of the lost men can be heard wailing even through the vacuum of space.


----

Ok, so why “Jericho Anchorage”?   In short I wanted a cool place to fight Shadow War games. Also, I am putting together a Narrative Weekend Event in a few months and this will be a major battleground for that.

Okay, but why is it named an “Anchorage”?  I thought “Jericho Anchorage” sounded cool.
 BUT, I didn’t want to look ignorant to the smarty smarts that knew the difference. I mean, what the heck is the difference between a “Port”, a “Harbor”, and an “Anchorage” anyway? I had to do some heavy research (30 seconds on Google) annndddd...

Port – where commerce and exchange of goods takes place
Harbor – a protected haven for ships from the weather and large waves of the sea with construction (piers and jetties) where ships can moor
Anchorage – similar to a Harbor, but lacking constructed mooring. Ships “Anchor” themselves.

Ports are within Harbors, and sometimes Anchorages, but sometimes there can be an Anchorage without a Port, where ships assemble before a long passage for example.

Moving on…

The main inspiration(s) come from 2 sources
1.       The old Saturday morning live action serials “Space Academy” and then its follow up that borrowed the same sets “Jason of Star Command” (I’m old, look them up)
2.       Starcraft (the original) had several scenarios set on space stations that were mostly flat stacked platforms with slight rock accents

The whole place is built on MDF bases with short lengths of PVC pipe to give the station a floating look. With the exception of the Hab module, the other 3 modules are carved 2” and 1” HD Foam with details added on top.

The large connecting bridges are made of mdf and carved foam. The foot bridges are from a company called “Wargames Tournaments”. (Great prices, and I think they look very spiffy)

Jericho Anchorage doesn’t have a set configuration. The bridges and pieces can be rearranged in countless ways. (…and this is very important for my future plan for the Narrative Campaign. Remember I said it here, so when you see the big reveal later this year, what happens is no “happy accident”, I’ve been planning that plot twist forever.)

As for the modules themselves…
J1 – Control
This is my second attempt (the first one is in the trash) and I think the weakest in terms of looks. It is simply couple of pieces of carved foam. The control building is a cut up and reconfigured plastic milk crate. This one may need a rebuild based on what I learned from the later modules.

J2 – the Power Plant
My favorite. Over the course of the project I learned that If I used a large 2” piece of foam as the base piece and then cut up what felt like a million 1” pieces of foam  and pinned and glued them in the right configurations, I got the irregular surface I wanted. The crystal effect underneath came out better than I expected.

J3 – The Hab
PVC tube at the core, then stacked mdf circles.
This piece is pretty good but it need work.
1.       The printed stuff is a little dark. This is an easy fix to simply re-print lighter
2.       It needs more 3d elements. I am looking into furniture and bunks
3.       Antennas off the bottom to obscure the pipe to bolster the floating illusion

J4 – The Observatory
I like this piece, and I think it has the most potential, but I need to go back over it and pull out some more detail. Skeletons, accents on the ruins etc…

It has been a fun build so far, and the players at “The Breach” event really enjoyed the setup.


Comments welcome and Thanks for Looking!

Comments

  1. Great setup! And I like the term anchorage; in this instance it reminds me of Ragnar Anchorage from the 2000s Battlestar Galactica.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hadn't thought of Ragnar before, but it fits perfectly.
      Thanks

      Delete
  2. Wow very nice and trust the Scribe to remember Ragnar Anchorage (thank you for jump starting the gray matter) I see allot of potential here for some interesting games and assorted skullduggery ....)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Don,
      As for interesting games, the famous line of: "You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villany" came to mind. :)
      and thanks for the shout out over on BEE

      Delete
  3. That's absolutely great. Creative as always inspirational, both in the concept and the execution. Looking forward to more!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I would like to make a 5th platform, but based on dimensions, it will overcrowd the table.
      Maybe a replacement...

      Thanks

      Delete
  4. Amazing post Gov.! Just when I needed some terrain inspiration. Some trendy ore has been discovered near Graveskul. Dwarf operators are arriving on rapid fashion. I think a mining company is being setup under my nose. Looking forward to seeing this setup in more posts.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. An "unauthorized" mining company, surely?
      One that refuses to payoff.. I mean pay taxes?
      :)

      Delete
    2. 4 tax collectors have been killed so far...waiting on my new one to get here from Astropolis. He is supposed to be a real hard ass.

      Delete
    3. Their recruitment poster should include the famous line from the Pony Express, "Orphans Preferred"

      Delete
  5. Fantastic! Thanks for the follow-up post. A superb set-up: great to see close-up. It's inspiring in the best sense - something that looks very nice, but also possible to replicate or at least imitate. I see a couple of the new hover-combis there. I like the modularity of it. It would be super-fun to play on too. Certainly looking forward to the reports from the narrative event.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Preacher,
      It has certainly worked for Shadow Wars. I have to run some games of 8th on it to make sure it fits for the Narrative Weekend I have planned for later this fall. I'm hoping that vehicles have a tough go, but that it has enough surface that players don't come away thinking vehicles would be completely worthless.

      Delete
  6. Job smacked is my first reaction to all of this Wil, wonderful stuff mate your imagination knows no bounds.

    I'd taken a bit of a break from blogging & all things blog related to give me a chance to get my army into shape for 8th ed & I've returned to fine you've been a busy beaver, as is always the case with yourself a first class job, I love all the pieces but my favourite would have to be the observatory, what dark deeds have taken place there I shudder to think.

    Well done on all your wonderful work & I look forward to whats to fallow.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Frank,
      Ask, and ye shall receive! Just posted the next event I ran at Goldmine.

      Good to see you back and thanks, I think that the Observatory has the most potential and I'm going to be sprucing it up soon.

      Delete
  7. Hi. I have just seen your blog and I think that this is a fantastic battlefield.

    I especially like the habitat section which is a great example of playable but detailed and evocative terrain.

    Lots of great ideas . Thank you for taking the time to share this on your blog.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for looking Ben!
      I think the Hab has the most potential, but it needs more (actually, ANY) furniture. That's tricky because it's hard to get the space/clutter balance right for playability.

      Delete
  8. I need to build more space ships first, but . . . wow! Well done! I really do need some better space dollhouses for my space do . . . *clears throat and attempts to sound macho* I mean battlefields for my wargaming miniatures. Yes, that was it.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment