Stackable Trash Bash Sci-Fi Building

This is made from a piece of plastic packaging I saved awhile back. It caught my eye due to its blocky, industrial-looking shape. A couple more turned up later and I also noticed how neatly they stacked up inside each other. I stored them away until I started my most recent project - cobbling together enough terrain to play a game of Five Parsecs From Home.

Rosie dabbing in real estate.

My goals for this project were:

• Retain the ability to stack the finished pieces. This would greatly enhance the ability to store and transport them later.
• Minimal resources. That meant using what I had on hand and not spending too much time. Good enough would be good enough.
• Compatibility. They had to work with the terrain mats and tiles I had or would have ready. Muted, neutral tones would work best.

Retaining the ability to stack the finished pieces meant that my usual approach of putting glue all over something and rolling it around in my bits box was right out. Any bits sticking out too far from the sides would get in the way. The exception was the small surface on the top. There is a small gap between the pieces there when they are stacked. This allowed for thin parts to be glued to the top.

How many previous owners has this place had?

Preparation
I roughed up the packaging with a sanding pad to insure good bonds with the glue and paint I would be applying later. All surfaces were also cleaned with warm soap and water.

Assembly - Top
Some digging around in my bits collections turned up a couple of parts from a Hexagon Construction Set and a key from a USB keyboard. A test fit verified that they would not interfere with stacking if placed on top of the piece. My initial attempt to attach the parts used hot glue, but I found that Gorilla Super Glue provided a stronger bond.

Assembly - Sides
My solution to detailing the sides was using some self-adhesive warning labels I found awhile back. They add details to the sides without protruding far enough to interfere with stacking.

Finished piece and the next one with the bits used for detailing.

First Spray Coat
Krylon Camouflage Ultra-Flat Brown. This coat was sprayed for full coverage on all surfaces.

Second Spray Coat
Krylon Camouflage Ultra-Flat Khaki. Sprayed at an angle from the top to produce highlighting on the upper and raised surfaces.

Drybrushing Layer
FolkArt 480 Titanium White. This is an off-white paint with a gray tint. The stickers were too flush with the sides to catch much paint from a light drybrushing. I ended up using more and more paint to make these details visible. The more aggressive brushing did generate the worn appearance I was going for on the finished piece.

Wash Coat
FolkArt 221 Real Brown mixed with Liquitex Matte Medium and diluted with water. Brushed over all surfaces. I wiped off the excess and pooling with a dry cloth.

"Yard" Texturing
Mix of sand, tacky glue, and diluted FolkArt 221 Real Brown. FolkArt 480 Titanium White brushed on to the mix after it dried for contrast. I decided to texture the surface around the building to create a "yard" surrounded by a low fence.

The test piece stacked under the others.

Overall, it's not bad for a quick and dirty project. And the test piece still stacks under the others! I'll use the same techniques on the other two, but I might experiment with overlapping some of the stickers to simulate patchwork repairs to the walls.