One of the things we do to make our game really shine is to not only set up the various buildings, but to place "bits and pieces" of junk, street litter, etc. around the town for more visual detail. I've got a whole box of this stuff now. I'll outline some of the more interesting pieces below.
Bits and Pieces
Above are a couple of items to round out the industrial section of town. The only actual "kit" was the round natural gas tank. It was a model Railroad item, and was quite easy to put together. The other two items are from the ERTL Farm Toys set. I usually put the grain bin on top of the platform to simulate a crude water tower. The grain bin breaks down into sections, and can be used as a cistern and smaller grain storage bin. And to think, black and white plastic cows once came in this nice corrugated piece!
Everybody's gotta drive something, for the most part, so a healthy dose of 1/43 scale die cast cars can't hurt. They can be left as is or "embellished" with chalk, paint, etc. to give them a more "Hooptie" appearance.
Here's a "failed experiment" recycled and used as a stripped-down, up-on-blocks derelict. When I did my "Road Warrior" car I bought 2 just in case. The first one broke during the conversion, and appears at left in it's new role as the all-round piece of crap and homeless sleeping quarters.
Here's an experiment that was more of a success than I could have imagined. At the time, there were no in-scale models of any motor homes.
So I found an AVON BOTTLE at a yard sale and painted it up. Wild Country after shave has never looked so good!
This nice resin propane gas tank is unfortunately out of production. Isn't that just the way with some gaming stuff? You just gotta get it NOW or it will be out of production the next month. Anyway, it was primered in black and dry-brushed through successive tones of rust and gray.
It usually ends up behind Col. Beauregards chicken shack as the "grease vat". Be careful not to put a stray round into it. It has been known to explode (a little).
With... THE GENERATOR! starring as.... well,... the generator actually. It's a 1/35 genset from an model aircraft tarmac accessories kit.
This one usually ends up by Bullock's house. I mean, who else in this hellhole of a town would have his own generator?
These are pre-painted pet dogs from Preisser. The name of the company sounds about right, as they are somewhat Price-ey. But their stuff is really good.
We've got quite a few of these in our stash. They are the Hero Clix accessories dumpsters, re-painted to suit our needs.
I mean, really, you gotta have something for your homeless characters to go diving in, right?
Completely home-brewed, so to speak, is the Still.
The base is a bottle screw-top, the top part is a plastic minatures "flying base" and the hose is solder. The rest is tape, pieces of sprue, what have you.
This is the 2nd set of Verlinden furniture I got. It usually sits out in front of the apartment complex, representing a grand old low-class tradition of porch sitting and visiting.
If you can find these, BUY A TON. They were tiny 55 gallon oil drums molded in soft plastic. They were purchased at a local electonics store when the little thumb-sized remote control race car craze hit.
Since they are soft plastic, use EPOXY to glue them together before painting them. Super glue just won't work. Elmers glue? Fuggedaboudit!
If you are one to haunt "ye olde model railroad store", you'll find bags of wood railroad ties. These can be glued together to make an endless supply of pallets, which are a fixture in many urban and industrial areas. Just pile 'em up behind a store, it'll beautify your alley nicely.
Retail- purchased model railroad telephones. We distribute several throughout town on strategic streetcorners.
Who knows, you might be able to call for help when the undead walk.
If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find the number, maybe you can call....
THE "A" TEAM!!!
These were inspired my the MORROW PROJECT module "Liberation at Riverton". The game didn't have the best art, but it did have some original stuff.
A nice "burn barrel" and barrel chairs to sit around and reminisce about the good old days before the nuke.
Sleeping derlicts also do double duty as the freshly killed. These are dixon civil war casualties with some putty work.
You need to make many many of these tarp covered boxes. It's easy. Get some strip wood and cut them into blocks. Glue together with wood glue. Make a solution of wood glue and water and dip kleenexes or paper towels into that. Pull out the wet paper and cover the box piles. Let dry.
When they are fully dry, paint them with any "tarp" type color you want!
Another good thing to have 15 or 20 of is old mattresses. Get the Crayola foam putty for kids and make little rectangular pieces.
Then use a drinking straw and push the depressions in.
Paint them garish colors and wash them wholly or partially with ink or black paint. This will make them really scummy looking.... worthy of a "night on the town"!