Five Parsecs From Home: Better Living in a Distant Retro Future

Production still from pilot episode, "Revelation at Zarathustra"

A few months back I became interested in Five Parsecs From Home.  The setting is generic space opera built around the adventures of a crew that you generate to explore the galaxy.  I thought it would be really cool to build a crew and a story setting based on classic sci fi shows, particularly TOS Trek.  That's when I realized I didn't have a great selection of retro sci figures, or much in the way of sci fi terrain for the tabletop at all.  I decided to build a series of structures that could stand in as a listening post, a science station, or with enough of them a small colony.

Building blocks.

As it turns out retro sci fi terrain isn't nearly as intimidating as anything post Star Wars.  Often the props departments in classic shows used found objects as a basis for their designs and they tended toward simpler, more streamlined forms without shit tons of greebles.  I headed to the Dollar Store and had a look in the kitchen and hardware aisles.  It didn't take long before I grabbed some plant pots, a paint caddy, and a couple 3 packs of food containers.  The containers particulary caught my eye because they could be locked to one another and had a modular quality that would be perfect for space explorations and prefabricated buildings.  Once I got my new treasures home I added some glass cabochons, a takeout container and drain inserts to the pile.

This prototype design was a nope.

The build was fairly intuitive.  This looks pretty cool, this not so much.  The containers made plausible living areas.  I glued the drain strainers to the tops of the structures.  I thought they would serve as a chimney or heat sink for a reactor, or some other energy source deper in the structure.  I etched doors in the sides of the structures.  I liked it better than the, "Not cool" result I pictured already.

The structures begin to take shape.

Once things were assembled and primed I did a three tone grey blue treatment of the structures to give the surface more character.  I wanted things relatively clean,but I didn't mind a little roughness to reflect outposts or structures on a frontier.  To give them a little more visual oomph and a Trek homage I added a bit of red on the doors and the heat sink.  Some decals and some final weathering proceeded them being sealed and ready for the tabletop.

Grey tone structures start to look as they should.

Meanwhile in the 25th century Gilmore Modular Habitations are expanding the brave frontiers of the United Earth Coalition.  In transit modular sections can be combined to suit mission parameters.  The structures are capable of being deployed from a mothership and landing planetside.  Once descended to the landing site the lower part of the structure partially embeds itself into the earth and it is ready for occupation.  A standard GMH has sufficient energy reserves to provide self contained life support and power for as much as 5 years as required.  In the event of an emergency a module can self-extract and return to orbit, but this will severely compromise power reserves.  It should only be attempted if contact has been established with a recovery vessel in close proximity. 

Ready for the 25th century!