Fire Escapes 101, how to

Couple of requests on How I made the Fire Escapes so here goes.

Start with 1 sheet of Darico 7 Mesh which comes in 10.5 in x 13.5 in size, they have larger but this sheet will produce probably more than you will ever need for fire escapes. I purchased it from Joann's, though Michaels and other craft supply shops carry it, in a variety of colors and overall sizes.  I picked the BLACK sheet so as to avoid trying to paint it and miss endless corners and inside corner spots....

Here I've made the first cuts for all the pieces. Basic floor is 2 inches wide. Set your proposed side wall piece next to a typical miniature you will be using and determine the "waist" height you prefer.
To clean off the stud ends on the basic cuts I used a pair of scissors and snipped away to clear them all.

Cutting the "Bars" is a process I used an xacto knife, place the tip in the spot for the first cut and slowly pull it down through all but the last cross bar, move it over to the other side of the bar and pull and cut all but the last bar, move to the other side of the bar and repeat.

You can flip the pieces over and trim any remaining bits a little more if you care to. I shaved off maybe 6 to 10 additional rough parts on the back of the bars.

So now your going to prepare to hot glue the pieces together. Hot glue and slick rubbery plastic are not friends to each other.... So... I apply a very thin amount to all 4 the base platform rail sides and then use the side of the hot glue gun snout to run the edge of the platform across to really smear it on the leading edges, then set aside and repeat on the side wall pieces, though I did not smear the top "hand rail" side. This wiping effect makes sure the hot glue is

A: Thinly applied
B: the front, upper front edge and bottom edge of the plastic bar is now coated.
C: the smearing it on the hot snout of the gun prevents it from cooling to quickly

At this point you can cut a ladder access hole or wait till the side walls are on. I did the first ones by waiting but now that I have the size and placement down I can pre cut them while its unassembled.

Now to assemble it. Hot glue the leading Top edge of the Base plate and immediately set the top hand rail piece in place with a bit of a push to set it. The side rail piece I put the hot glue on the inside edge of the 2 sides that will contact the base plate/front rail and push it on to the Out side edge of the base plate/front rail. (won't fit if you try to top mount it) and repeat with the other side. Almost done... now use the hot glue gun to fill gaps with a Small amount of hot glue and finish by using the side of the hot glue gun snout to wipe the seams to smooth them down and remove excess hot glue.

Ladders are cut as shown. The size scale of it would be roughly 2 feet wide.

The same method can be used for cages or possibly jail cell bars.

Fire Escapes

Finally put together a fire escape system for one of the pulp city buildings. I tried to keep the appearance of functionality while keeping the construction simple.

I found various types of fire escapes, those with the bottom ladder folding down from the bottom of the last landing, and variations of the one I have here where you could pull or push the ladder down to the ground with your weight, and went for the latter for simplicity.

Cobblebrick Roads added to Pulp City

Finally got the computer up and running again. So more progress. Time to pave the roadway!

The main street tiles are 6x6 and the side road tiles are 9x6. I made them small so I can lift them up to expose the subway/storm drains that will be cut into the foam board under them.

Selenites Forward!

The Natives are restless, so time to get some Lunar Natives ready for the battlefield.

Were using Martian Empires so I have 7 line units and 2 Elite units, 1 Battery of Artillery and Im not quiet sure what yet...though I can split it in to two .. hmmm.

Closer look at the Artillery piece...made all from spare Lego pieces..

Now that's a Big gun! mahahahha  Bases still to be finished .... as usual..

Pulp City Street

Okay, having completed many of the building I thought I would lay out one combination of the city street to have a look at what Im working towards.:

On the right we have The Splash and Dash bar, the corner market store, across the intersection is City Hall with the Chicago Hotel on the far right end. On the left is the probably fresh produce market and a shop (undetermined yet.. maybe a law office...always a den of evil!) The light colored building on the left is the laundry mat with an undetermined split level building.

Moving down the street we see a bit more of the street. I have the cobble brick for the street sections, but have to cut some thin plastic to mount it on, after all, they will be covering the subway cut out.

Another side of the corner store, wall plastered with posters. And on the work goes.

Fire Escape Balcony Prototype Test

Worked up a prototype Fire Escape balconies. Ladders and openings to be worked out yet, but in the mean time:

Clipped plastic grid material down to make the "bars" of the balconies. Just hot glued them on a building side to get a feel for their placement and snap a quick Pic.

City Hall

Figured to build the largest building as City Hall. Got the first 2 floors done. Finding a suitable front doors took some doing.. my google fu was weak. Found the doors and spent an hour trimming and tweaking to get what I got done. Some light post from beads and bamboo skewers to fix up the front, though Im leary about the duration for the attachment method...

Hard to see the wall mounted globes... Getting the glue method to attach paper to foam core down better, and Tacky Glue works MUCH better than standard White glue. Also picked up some decorative trim wood pieces that I will cut and use to wrap around the building at the division between 2nd and 3rd floor.