Colony Buildings

[JPRoth1980]

Since I've built a Company I'm fairly pleased with, I turn to you guys for help yet again. I'm looking to start building terrain--I've even made a pine tree!--but I'm drawing a blank as to what, exactly, the aesthetics of a "typical" colony should be.

Any ideas for what buildings should look like? Are the colonies at the "city" level, or are things more rusticated? Is material prefabricated or do they build from local sources? Stone, wood, steel--what's the primary building material? And yes, I realize that I can set all this for myself, but I'd like to see what others feel before I put brick to brick.

The current plan is to make a modular board out of base plates. "Natural" terrain is easily taken care of with a few trees, hills, and a river. But what should the buildings look like, eh?

[spacemonkey]

Obviously things will vary from colony to colony, but based on Soren's and Joshua's comments in this thread I would say most colonial settlements are probably going to be along the small town level with maybe a couple heavy population settlements around any major ports and/or the planetary capitol. As for what buildings would look like, I think (at least initially) you would see a lot of prefab housing built from local materials. Mass conservation for gate transit would likely mean colonial expeditions would want to limit the amount of excess "weight" they're sending out to save costs, especially if the environment would permit colonists to start off living in tents or other temporary structures. So instead of having to worry about the mass of shipping 1000 housing units, they might send a small factory that can build 1000 housing units onsite from native materials (concrete for one can be made out of a lot of things). So I could see a lot of simple cookie cutter houses like these or these being produced or alternatively you might see shipping containers re-purposed for housing, office space or other building uses. Obviously over time, larger and more robust structures could be built so you really can go a lot of directions for buildings depending on what suits your fancy and your available LEGO selection; plus this is the future, so feel free to be inventive with your designs.

[Soren]

Four of these and some miscellaneous bits and pieces will make a very nice Quonset hut, and they're reasonably cheap; that's a start. Otherwise, go with whatever seems environmentally appropriate.

[Xero010]

I typically pictured the colonists living in stacked metal boxes, with running between them on the way to stuff like the market. Anything cookie cutter and parts friendly should do, and it helps if you're working in 7p scale or smaller .

[JPRoth1980]

I typically pictured the colonists living in stacked metal boxes, with running between them on the way to stuff like the market. Anything cookie cutter and parts friendly should do, and it helps if you're working in 7p scale or smaller .

After seeing Set 31035 Emerald Express, I've decided to incorporate it, since it seems "about" the right scale. I figure a temperate rain forest in the foothills of a mountain would provide an ample logging and coal-mining industry for a company to exploit, using "unfit" shipping containers as offsite dormitories for the workers, a company store, "pleasure" district (bar, gambling, etc.) and similar. Nothing too fancy, and I don't want more than a small frame garage as I can't imagine a corporation particularly wanting to keep a lot of frames around an area where underpaid, overworked miners and loggers drink and complain.

Basically, a bit like pre-labor union Appalachia, only in a coniferous forest and with shipping containers instead of shantytowns. And, of course, giant robots. Now to build lots (and lots, and lots) of pine trees and containers...

[Zero Revenge]

That sounds like an excellent idea for a colony world.

[Soren]

"You load sixteen tons, what do you get?
Another day older and deeper in debt
Saint Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go
I owe my soul to the company store"

I concur! Also, this is as good a chance as any to plug Erik Loomis' This Day In Labor History, both for the wealth of setting ideas and as generally excellent reading.

I've had some luck with Chris Maddison's pine-tree design, mostly because both 1x1 slopes and 1x1 5-stud bricks were in my local PaB recently. And eBay has a lot of cheap bulk Lego foliage.

[JPRoth1980]

I've had some luck with Chris Maddison's pine-tree design, mostly because both 1x1 slopes and 1x1 5-stud bricks were in my local PaB recently. And eBay has a lot of cheap bulk Lego foliage.

I've been building my pine trees with flower stems and Travis bricks. A bit fiddly, but they look nice. I'll start posting pics once my orders come in and I can finish up the "small" train and build a few containers.