Build Report: The Beacon Hill Crypt by The 5th Terrain
Oct 24, 2015 17:54:59 GMT -9
squirmydad, emergencyoverride, and 2 more like this
Post by oldschooldm on Oct 24, 2015 17:54:59 GMT -9
Product: The Beacon Hill Crypt a model by NEW designer The 5Th Terrain Cutfiles: N/A (See below) |
I was a part of The 5th Terrain's "The Beacon Hill Project" papercraft buildings Kickstarter campaign. Though much delayed, the first model was released to us 3 weeks ago today - it is: The Beacon Hill Crypt. I had quite a few difficulties building this model, and most of them I think can be attributed to the creator being new to the idea of making paper terrain for others to build.
I did get the model built, but not without having to modify almost every piece, many significantly. Given that this is not a "stock" build, I won't be supplying my cutfiles - to use them would require me writing instructions - far and above my call of duty. :-)
This is NOT a review, it's commentary on construction.
And to be double clear - I MADE THIS WRONG. This is about why and how you may need to make yours wrong too! Though, hopefully less wrong.
Before I continue with some build notes, let me share some pictures of my build - it's a pretty cool structure overall. I will be using it a game at some point. :-)
Also, I should note that I had a skype video call with the designer to share my problems and concerns - he still hasn't released a new version addressing any of my problems, so I'm going ahead and posting this as an aide to anyone who purchased this kit or got it from the Kickstarter and can't figure out why it's not going together right.
Beacon Hill Crypt by Oracle Omega, on Flickr
Beacon Hill Crypt by Oracle Omega, on Flickr
Beacon Hill Crypt by Oracle Omega, on Flickr
Everything that can has interiors!
Beacon Hill Crypt by Oracle Omega, on Flickr
Beacon Hill Crypt by Oracle Omega, on Flickr
It's modular, this SHOULD be a plus...
Beacon Hill Crypt by Oracle Omega, on Flickr
OH YEAH! FOLDS FLAT!
Beacon Hill Crypt by Oracle Omega, on Flickr
There are the usual new-kit-maker errors - some cut/score lines are wrong or missing, he's using too much of the page (many printers will clip/cutfiles wont' fit), and there's not enough bleed so white shows through at non-cut points, etc. Nothing a little extra hand cutting and edging-pen won't fix. These are normal (I remember early kits by LZZ, which I love, had wonky lines.)
But instructions are not adequate, as the designer uses a big pile of new construction techniques. He's posted a few construction videos, but not enough yet.
But the most challenging problem by far is: Most of the structural pieces (rooms and roofs) are printed on two sides of the paper. He assumes perfect front-back alignment for the "cubicles" - the archways and rooms - and the roofs. Exactly 0 of the three printers I have access to print 100% aligned front and back. As far as I know, very few printers do.
I either had to export the page and create a duplicate one, offset (after several experiments) by more than 5/16"! Not worth the effort, as the structures ended up being very flimsy after that anyway. So, I adapted each of these structures have an outside and an inside. So instead of 2 per sheet, I got 1 - but it was much sturdier (if you look closely at the images, you can tell which is which based on some buckling.
SO - in the end, this model may require a lot of adjustment/learning as you build it. Nothing is built the same way as kits you may have built before.
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Here's an example of me "not getting it" and building a wasted "fix" to a problem I couldn't have intuited the solution.
Notice the adapter nearest the peaked roof? I made that because I couldn't figure out how to get the roof to stay on in the right place (the manual shows it apparently just sitting on the top, unattached.)
Well, as I was preparing this article I discovered this animated gif:
Look closely at how the roof is attached near the end. Very clever, but not intuitive. I'm not sure if I'll remember that come playtime.
That gif also showed me that I did the floor wrong. Though, near as I can tell, the center room height will have to be hand trimmed by quite a lot to be level with the other rooms.
I'm not at all surprised that I got it wrong - as the "raised edge" model that you see I adapted for mine is featured prominently in the directions.
Oh yeah, I had to hand trim the roof inserts to be more tapered to get them to cleanly insert.
I'll stop now - you get the point. Lots of fiddling.
But it looks great on the table.