Electrical Box Shelter WIP Part 2 - Theory and Primer

The Christmas break offered me the opportunity to catch up on ongoing projects. The weather was neither too humid nor too cold for spray priming and painting. And it wasn't like I was going anywhere for the holidays in 2020.

Nothing like a coat of primer to tie everything together.

But let's back up a little.

My initial post for this project only touched on the concept of using an electrical box for terrain. Plenty on what to do and how to do it, but not much about discussion about the general idea or why an electrical box is a good choice for a project like this one.

The oldest references to electrical box terrain projects that I can find date back to 2009-2010. I have the feeling that the idea is older than that based on the familiarity that these references have when discussing the topic. I also haven't been able to find out who first came up with the notion of taking one of these boxes of blue plastic, gluing on some bits, painting it up, and putting it on the table. It might be one of those things that doesn't have a single, definitive source. There is the possibility that multiple people independently came up with the concept around the same time.

These things already look like industrial structures. I'm kinda surprised that folks haven't done more with the insides of these things. Something to keep in mind for a future project.

Electrical boxes appeal for sci-fi terrain projects for a number of reasons:

• Initial appearance. The blocky shape already has enough details to suggest an industrial building.
• Customizing the look. The flat surfaces offer large areas to add details. Want something that can be used in a variety of games? Use generic details. Does it need to fit into an existing collection of terrain for a specific game? Tie it in by adding details specific to that setting. Skulls, for example.
• The ability to determine scale. A box could be made into a shed (28mm), a light industrial building (15mm), or a warehouse (6mm). The scale depends on the size of the doors, windows, and other details added to the box.
• Durability. These boxes are made of tough plastic. The ones I tend to use are PVC. They certainly won't shatter if they fall off a table or get crushed while being transported. The details glued on to them are another story, of course.
• Cost. These are mass produced products made of molded plastic. The ones I favor run from $2-3 USD. There are more expensive ones, but there are also reasons to avoid them.

The sticker and that protrusion need to go.

It's not all smooth sailing with a project like this. There are some disadvantages to using electrical boxes for sci-fi terrain:

• They need preparation. Most of these boxes have stickers and protrusions that need to be removed. In fact, the more expensive boxes tend to have more things that get in the way. A contractor might find a nail built into a box handy for mounting it, but a terrain maker might feel differently. I would also recommend sanding the surfaces to allow adhesive and primer to bond better to the surface of the box.
• Sloped sides. The sides of these boxes - the ones I've seen, at least - aren't at right angles to each other. The subtle slopes can complicate a build. See my comments on gluing on the airlock in my previous post.

Overall, a terrain piece using an electrical box as its core is a good project regardless of skill level. It does require some basic tools and a fair sized collection of bits and parts. The first couple I did taught me quite a bit. For example, a high speed cutting tool does not work well on a plastic with a low melting point. This project is teaching me new things. How to get an even layer of primer on a complex surface is one of them.

What would be a good color for this?

Returning to this project, I finished priming everything this past weekend.

I primed the underside of the "shelter" piece and inside of the electrical box black. This keeps the blue plastic on the inside from showing through the openings. It also provides some basic shading effects that will be handy later.

Not painting the inside of the clear plastic piece I used for the airlock body might be something I come to regret. Any scratches or wear on the paint covering it will look weird. Unfortunately, the idea didn't occur to me until after assembly.

The main layer of primer is a flat gray. I'm not quite sure what colors I'll be using and priming it a neutral color keeps my options open. Areas like under the ladder ended up needing a little touching up.

Now I just need to figure out what colors to use on the shelter. Maybe an industrial color like yellow?

Electrical Box Sci-Fi Shelter WIP Part 1

I decided to give a classic of scratch-built sci-fi terrain - the electrical box building - another try. My previous attempt was way back in 2012. I'm looking forward to applying what I've learned since then.

Test fit with the parts held together with putty.

The concept is a hostile environment shelter with an airlock and external workspace in 28mm scale. The functional and futuristic structures in movies like "The Martian" and video games such as "No Man's Sky" inspired this project. The details represent external equipment that can be monitored from inside the shelter. They could be experiment packages, sensors, or communications gear.

A PVC electrical box is an inexpensive core for a project like this. It looks like an industrial structure straight off the shelf. The flat sides are a blank canvas for adding the details needed to convey whatever look the maker is going for.

Step #1 - Diving into the Bits Bins

This step was mostly digging around my bits collection for the kind of parts that suggest some technical function. I also wanted a consistent appearance - a few bits went back into the collection because they were too detailed. They would stand out from the rest and throw off the look I wanted.

Step #2 - Test Fitting

Next was some trial and error. I used the kind of putty used to mount a poster on a wall to temporarily attach everything. This allowed me to rearrange the parts to find the best fit. A fair number of parts went back to the bins because they just didn't work for this project. I also had to move some things around to accommodate the "garage" piece.

The ladder raised an issue - simply attaching it to the side didn't look right. There's no place for anyone using the ladder to step onto. Cutting down a plastic gift card provided a platform and made the ladder look more plausible.

Test fit rear view with "garage" detached. Note that I already started surface preparation on the garage piece.

Step #3 - Surface Preparation

Electrical boxes need work for a project like this - stickers and unneeded protrusions need to be removed. I sanded all the parts and cleaned them with soap and water. This step makes gluing and painting much easier.

Step #4 - Assembly

I used the photos of Step #2 as a reference when gluing everything together. This is when a couple of previously undetected issues came up. The sides of this particular electrical box slope slightly. This made the "airlock" jut up rather than run parallel with the surface. I used a couple of foam bits and another cut down plastic gift card to create a "porch" to go under the airlock. I also added a few cut down straws to represent pipes and cabling to connect some of the details.

Assembled shelter. Note the "porch" added to support the airlock. The garage piece was already in the priming stage.

Parts List

Laundry detergent cap/measuring cup for the airlock body.
Ladder from Hexagon Construction Kit.
Door from Brian Roe's Trash Bash Bits: Sci-Fi Doors Kickstarter.
Pill bottle cap.
Pull tabs.
Cut down plastic gift cards.
Foam bits from packaging.
Various printer parts.

Upcoming - Priming and Painting

The next step is spraying on a layer of primer. Unfortunately, that depends on the weather. It's been varying between "too humid" and "too cold" if what the label on the can states is true.