Junk Pile Corridors - When Inspiration Strikes at the Wrong Time

"Inspiration is like lightning. You never know when it will strike."

Unlike the anonymous source of the quote, I know exactly when inspiration strikes me. When I don't have the time to follow up on it.

Actually, it's worse than that. Not only do I not have the time, but I don't even know when that time is going to show up. Life's been hitting me hard lately.

Corridors and tram placeholder with Havoc Girls for scale.

So, the story:

I was scrolling through various sites, researching ideas, and I came across various pictures of futuristic corridors. Some where clean and brightly lit - inspired by the Federations and Empires that like to keep a neat starship. Others were grungy access ways lined with pipes and other industrial details. Some were computer generated, but a few were dioramas with miniatures. And that reminded me of something I had stored away in the garage. What if?

A little rummaging uncovered a box containing plastic pieces from various sources. Each piece caught my eye at some point - an interesting shape that might eventually be the basis for a project. The corridor pictures reminded me of a couple of flat pieces that originally held copier or printer cartridges. The pieces could clip into end caps which I also saved. Now I had an idea of what I could do with them.

Close up of left side end caps. The irregular shapes help convey the feel of a cut-out diagram.

I laid out the pieces on my work table. My original thought was to lay them down with the opening on top. Unfortunately, this made the sides of the corridor too short. Placing the pieces so that the openings were on the side still provided plenty of room for 28mm miniatures. The pieces could be fully detailed on the inside and stacked on top of each other as shown.

The walkways are fairly narrow and long. Some scatter terrain could break up lines of sight.

There is the beginning of a good project here. These pieces could be the basis of an interior spacecraft section or an access tunnel of some distant outpost. It is a little small for a wargaming scenario, but it would make a good diorama or terrain piece for a roleplaying encounter.

Right side view. I'm not sure how I feel about the asymmetrical look.

Trams could run through the open area on the side. I threw together a placeholder freight tram piece from some leftover Hexagon Construction Set parts to demonstrate the concept. Trams like these could provide rapid transit through whatever complex or spaceship that these corridors run through. The original Half-Life game used the concept to good effect.

Close up of tram placeholder.

It would take awhile for me to get from where I am now - the concept phase - to something complete enough to put on the table. These pieces need to be sanded down and cleaned up before I can add details. And I need to go through all my bits boxes to find enough details - doors, cardboard and plastic tubing for pipes, bulkheads, ladders, hatches, and all kinds of greebles for the those smooth surfaces. Then comes clean up, assembly, priming, and painting.

Unfortunately, I've got no time to work on it now. Nothing to do but store it for later. This post will serve as my project notes when I get the time for it.

*Sigh.*