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TECH: SETTING THE SCENE
SETTING THE SCENE: GOING UNDERGROUND!
JAMES HAS BEEN BUSY FINALISING HIS MISSILE LAUNCH SYSTEM THAT WE’VE DOCUMENTED OVER THE PAST FEW ISSUES AND THIS IS NOW 100% READY FOR CONTINUED DEPLOYMENT WITHIN THE LOCAL AIRSOFT AND MILSIM COMMUNITY! SO, WHAT COMES NEXT? A WHOLE NEW “IMMERSION” PROJECT THAT JAMES WILL BE DOCUMENTING STEP BY STEP AND THIS MONTH HE LETS US ALL INTO HIS PROCESS OF CONCEPTUALISATION!
This month sees a bit of change, as projects in the workshop have been put on hold due to an injury I sustained whist undertaking a restoration project. Following surgery to my right hand resulting in it being bandaged and in a sling, building will be out of the question for the next few weeks but, that said, planning and designing can carry on as normal and it gives me the chance to put on paper some ideas floating around in the old noggin!
One of these has been the humble “Kill House”. Many airsoft sites have one, usually an open-topped wooden structure. Timed runs against targets, 1v1 or small team engagements around a maze of rooms or compartments make them perfect for CQB training or friendly competitions, so I asked myself: “What can be added to this unique training structure to make the experience more interesting?” On the back of that I decided to have a go at designing one and adding as many unusual features as I could.
The first idea, rather have just the “normal” rooms and corridors, was to add a “theme” to the kill house and for this design I chose the “London Underground”, which is perfect for small, enclosed spaces and I can even add a mock underground carriage inside! It’s also a theme that can easily be reproduced, with plenty of pictures available online and simple designs to follow for props like station signs, advert hoardings and the like that are instantly recognisable by most people.
To add effects into the space, this design would be enclosed by a roof covering, plus the addition of a small effect control room added to the side.
The play area is dimly lit with directional lights and underground station sounds, of trains running and station announcements, can be pre-recorded and piped through speakers to add to the atmosphere. Lights can be shut down to allow runs with night vision to make things more interesting. A few fog machines added in strategic locations also add to the chaos during and team V team firefight, dramatically altering visibility.
The final idea (marked in red on the layout plan) is
to make the environment “dynamic”, as parts of the layout can change in between - or even during – runs, with movable wall sections controlled by either electric motors or on manual chain pulleys from outside, meaning corridors can suddenly become blocked, doorways can open up and rooms can change shape, all adding to the confusion of the tight spaces.
For timed runs, the use of the Attack Sense system of targets would be ideal and can be moved around regularly to keep players guessing. Team training can run a number of scenarios, from bomb defusing, room clearance, “counter terrorism”, urban CQB and many more and the killhouse itself can even be used in larger scenarios, utilising the site as a whole!
So, with the concept in place, the initial design drawings complete and the idea firmly in my head, it’s time to move things forward and next month I’ll start looking at specific props that I’ll use to really bring the feel of the “underground” to life! Of course, I’m always delighted to hear from you guys about what YOU would like to see in the design, so do drop me your comments on the AA Facebook page when you see the dedicated chat go live! AA
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