This is for my ongoing Zona Alfa/Kontraband project. These pieces specifically aren’t really “Soviet” per se, but really just “Modern.” They’d work for any number of settings and will likely see the field in some capacity in everything from World War 2 to science fiction. The bulk of the work here was the buildings: the guard posts, checkpoints, garage, and ruined bus stop.

I’m proudest of the garage, which was the bulk of my time. I spent a long time dry brushing, washing, and streaking it to get a reasonable “Dirty old garage” look that fits both in a post apocalyptic setting but also a modern one. It’s just a really dirty garage! Combined with the new scatter elements, it really came together.

Next up was the guard area. The walls, ruined concrete frame, and guard houses are all new. Also in this frame are the sidewalks and street barricades–equally new.

Finally, for the “high effort” stuff, we have the ruined bus stop.

The grand irony to me, though, is that my favorite bits are the low effort ones. Those sidewalks are just primed. As are the boxes, pallets, barrels, and concrete walls. While I might go back and dirty the sidewalks a bit, I’m shockingly pleased with such a simple and efficient effect.

That’s it for now. A simple augment that lets us get our first game in. I still have several town buildings, a bunch of vehicles (Ladas), a power station with walls, and a few more scatter elements to complete. I’m also trying to resolve more “Anomalies” as unique scenic pieces I can drop on the board. Those are reaching into the “nice to have” territory. For now, I’m happy with the progress and glad to feel so motivated. After a slow start to the year due to a rather intense class, I’m about to hit two weeks without schoolwork. What else does one do with that free time if not paint a bit of Soviet Russia? Make money in a capitalistic society that doesn’t reward creative pursuit?

Nyet, comrade. Nyet. We spend the time painting up the glorious ruin of Soviet Russia, to honor how successful its systems were.

As an unrelated aside, the afterward of Roadside Picnic has a great section on how it took eight years of drudgery, bureaucracy, and nonsense paperwork to get the book published. The book that painted a bleak future-scape, not for Russia, for for America due to its capitalist ways and thus complete followed the party line. What a system of governance that was.