| From the imagination of the late Scott Saylors, and the designs of Patrick Wilson for Studio 33 Productions, comes
Mean Streets, the first comprehensive effort to provide Gangster, Pulp Fiction, Sci-Fi and Horror gamers with the urban environment crucial
to their miniatures scenarios. Rules and figures for these have come and gone, but never before have the city streets, buildings, and sidewalks so vital to
the look and success of these games been available with such comprehensive detail and affordability.
Mean Streets is a range of full color, heavy card stock, self-assembly
Block Sections in 1:60 scale (28mm), uniformly 10" square, though of variable height. Created
using only photographic textures proper for the historical period of around 1920 to about 1950,
buildings have a look that can hardly be equaled in any other medium, and for far less cost, time,
and effort. Each Block Section represents all walls and roofs of one or more buildings that
extend to those on the other side. Four Block Sections may be fitted into a standardized Full Block
of 47" length and 14" width (including a central alley 3" wide, and 2" wide sidewalks all around).
Each Block Section may be bought separately, as may a selection of street surfaces and sidewalks for
those wishing the maximum variety of styles/textures for their own layouts.
The following Layout Schematics are examples of how to fit all parts of the project together and are certainly recommended to those wishing to get a
sense of what they can do with their own Block Sections and buildings. Notice the streets, including that which has the Trolley Car line, and the
Waterfront to the right on the first plan. The second plan does not have a Waterfront, but instead uses the extra space for a more fully developed Downtown
with a skyscraper (the Midwest Building, now in development), and more Block Sections for a wider variety of businesses and a full block of Ethnic Neighborhood.
Only scissors, a craft knife, white glue, standard 3/16" thick foam core board and, optionally heavy
matte board, are required to build each Block Section into a permanent gaming accessory that will provide
years of service for a fraction of the cost of other materials--even if they were available.
Light weight and durable (especially when mounted and backed with foam core), a Mean Streets
layout is easily transported to game nights and even conventions. No painting of any kind
is required and some buildings come with their own signage and advertising. The Movie and Burlesque
theaters even come with a selection of authentic period posters.
The project's technical advisor and master assembler is no less than crack modeler Richard Houston who has worked tirelessly to test the designs and
simplify them wherever possible. Virtually all sides of each Block Section he has assembled may be seen via the photographs below and those on the
Mean Streets Photo Page. The Block Sections are listed below with full particulars.
(NOTE: Some Buildings are shown with Optional Rooftop Sheds, Water Towers, etc, which are available as a separate set. There may be some visual
differences between the photographs of these prototype constructions and the product actually received, though always these are improvements in design
and/or superior graphics.)
All items may now be purchased directly via our Shopping Cart system. Where there are choices of which type of item to order, it may be necessary to order
more than once from the same drop-down menu provided. For the bargain hunters, take a look at the "Take Over The Town" Deals for
"Half-Block" & "Full Block" discounts for both Printed and PDF versions.
All portions of Mean Streets are also now available as PDF's, either on CD or sent directly to you via E-mail from TVAG. If you want
the PDF's E-mailed to you, I will refund the postage charged by the Shopping Cart. Priced at less than half of mot of the professionally printed items,
this option may be just the ticket if you prefer to "Do-it-yourself."
The current list of Available Block Sections and Components for Mean Streets follows.
Block Section 1
Block Section 2
Block Section 3
Block Section 4
Block Section 5
Block Section 6
Block Section 7
Block Section 8
Block Section 9
Block Section 10
Block Section 11
Central Park
St. Patrick's Cathedral
Levee/Riverfront Section
First National Bank Building
Hotel Metropole
Court House
Streets
Alleys
Sidewalks
Streetcar And Track Sets
Rooftop Structures
Advertising, Posters, & Signs (Graphic Sets)
The Block Sections
Block Section #1-- Consisting of The Diamond Ace Club (6.25" high), SMC Cartage Co.
Garage & Lot (4" high), and the Carlington Hotel (7.5" high with 1.5" tall Roof Access Shed on top).
The SMC Cartage Co. comes with a private driveway and parking lot which effectively provide the Full
Block it would share with two Alleys. This building is closely modeled on the original which was the
site of the infamous "St. Valentine's Day Massacre" of 1929.
Printed Price: $20.00
PDF File Format: $10.00
Block Section #2-- Consisting of Anastasio's Apartments, None Finer Diner, Manzarelli's Market, Helth Ice Co.,
AAA Best Shoe Shop, Sbabaro's Funeral Home, and Scott's Newstand (all 5.75" high, except the Shoe Shop at 4.25" and the Newstand at 2").
The Newstand comes complete with newspapers in racks on the back wall and actual period "Spicy" Pulp Magazines on the counter and sidewalls. Manzarelli's Market
is on the ground floor, while those above contain "Rooms To Let," the offices of "Antonio Falco, Attorney at Law," and Medium "Madame Gazonga's" Seance Room
(very popular with the Ladies since Valentino went over). Sbabaro's is also closely modeled after the actual building which was the site of Chicago's most famous
Gangland Funerals--one of the few places where Chicago's Underworld Elite could meet on neutral turf--and give each other "The Look."
Printed Price: $20.00
PDF File Format: $10.00
Block Section #3-- Consisting of the Biograph Movie Theater (6" high),
Tip Top Barber Shop, and Mama Legano's Italian Ristorante (4.5" high). The Bijou comes with a selection
of authentic movie posters ready to hang out front and in the lobby. The Barber shop (complete with pole)
was a popular place for making "hits," and what Last Meal isn't held at the Italian Restaurant? Buildings
come with separate signs and advertisements.
Printed Price: $15.00
PDF File Format: $10.00
Block Section #4-- The Gaiety Theater (4.5" high at front, 7.5" at rear) occupies an entire Block Section and
includes the blue tile for the lobby. An old fashioned House of Burlesque, it comes complete with period posters to hang, and even the Stage Door for that
rendezvous with Trixie LaFleche after the last show.
Printed Price $20.00
PDF File Format: $10.00
Block Section #5-- The Acme Warehouse (7" high at front, 3" at rear) occupies an entire Block Section. Tall front
section with sloped rear roof and loading bay, this is the perfect, innocent looking place to hide everything from your illegal Brewery to Fu Manchu's
Electrostatic Krebulator/Cthulhoid Cult Temple/Shirley Temple Fan Club, or other sites of unspeakable horror!
Printed Price $20.00
PDF File Format: $10.00
Block Section #6-- Police HQ & Central Fire Station (6" high all round) share a Block Section back-to-back.
These three story buildings indicate entrances for Police Headquarters, Central Booking, Prisoner Transfer (a likely location for some nasty scenes),
and the Fire Marshall's Office, as well two bays for Fire Trucks. No layout is complete without these, for if you're going to have crime, you've got to
have a place for the Cops to eat donuts!
Printed Price $15.00
PDF File Format: $10.00
Block Section #7-- Perfect for fronting on the Levee/Riverfront, this Block has the Harbor Master's Office next
to the large Fish Market, a Waterman's flop house (the Backwater Inn), and the Samuel Gompers Union Hall for Dock Workers. Between agitating Socialists
on the one hand, and Mob attempts to control Labor Unions on the other, all kinds of action can be played out here. The Block is just under 6" high all around,
though the Inn has a slightly higher gabled roof.
Printed Price $20.00
PDF File Format: $10.00
Block Section #8-- Federal Building & Police Garage also share this Block Section back-to-back. The Police Garage
and Dispatcher's Office is 5" high, while the Federal Building (with Post Office) stands 7" high. The FBI, Federal Attorney, and Revenue Agents would all have
their offices here. The Police Garage houses is where all Patrol Cars, "Paddy Wagon," and Motorcycle Patrol would be centrally located, ready to come barreling
out of the doors and onto the streets.
Printed Price $15.00
PDF File Format: $10.00
Block Section #9-- Light Industry & Warehouses are found here.
Earl's Automobile and Truck Repair garage is next door to Kreplach's (makers of Barrels, Boxes, and
Bottles with all kinds of uses), and behind them are Kleinmann's Dry Storage, and Anselmi's & Scalise's
Storage warehouse. Earl's side of the Block is 5" high, but the two Storage buildings are 7.5" high.
All have multiple entrances and make for a particularly tough looking part of town.
Printed Price $20.00
PDF File Format: $10.00
Block Section #10-- A block of Shops featuring
"O'Banion & Schofield's Flower Shop" where "Deanie" O'Banion ran the North Side Gang of Chicago (until
business took a turn for the worse for him there one day), and "Sports Incorporated," where upstanding
merchant Peter von Frantzius kept the Capone Mob armed with the latest in high powered weaponry. Other
shops include the Law Offices of "Dewey, Cheatham, & Howe," "O'Malley--Green Grocer," and "Stiffany's: Gems,
Gold, & Jewelry." A mix of upscale and working man's services, this block can be the busy heart of
any neighborhood.
Printed Price $20.00
PDF File Format: $10.00
Block Section #11-- The first of the long delayed "Ethnic Neighborhood" Block Sections, this one contains all Jewish
businesses, including: Greenbaum & Meyer, Haberdashers, the Baruch Apartments, Silberman, Gertz, Levy, and O'Shaugnessy, Attorney's at Law, Goldberg's Delicatessen,
and Lipschitz Pawn & Loans. All shops are finely detailed with authentic fonts, and come with signage, ventilation pipes, and skylights for the roof.
Printed Price $15.00
PDF File Format: $10.00
Central Park-- A peaceful island of grass, and even trees and shrubs, in a brick and concrete sea. Just the place
to go for a walk after lunch, flirt with the young Nanny pushing the baby carriage, drop the ransom money in a bag under the big oak tree, or simply find
the deceased in a garbage can with a canary in his mouth.
Printed Price $15.00
PDF File Format: $10.00
St. Patrick's Cathedral-- Modeled after Chicago's own Holy Name Cathedral, outside of which Hymie "The Pole" Weiss and his
party were shot down (leaving bullet holes in the wall for years after), "Mean Streets" now has its own place of worship for your Irish, Polish, and Italian
Businessmen to attend. An imposing structure, among the tallest in town, it has broad front steps for your bullet riddled convenience. Remember
Cagney's end in The Roaring Twenties ?--"He used to be a Big Shot." Well, now you can take your own shot at last minute Salvation!
Printed Price $20.00
PDF File Format: $10.00
Levee/Riverfront Section-- Smuggled Booze and other cargoes have to come into
the city by water as often by land, and here is the way to incorporate this vital terrain into your layout.
Each Section comes with enough material to represent 20" each of Seawall, water (out to a distance of 8"
from its base), and of asphalt topped Brick Street running parallel to it. One Ramp and 6" long Pier
is included as well. This distance represents the same width of one Full Block plus 6" of Street to
one side of it. Thus, for the entire Layout as pictured (above), 3 Levee/Riverfront Sections would
provide the full 5.5" necessary to make one end of front the Sea or River.
Printed Price $15.00
PDF File Format: $10.00
First National Bank Building-- Why did Willie "The Actor" Sutton rob banks?
"Because that's where the money is!," he deftly observed. And now your layout has a prime target for
your Bank Robbing Public Enemies. 10" tall and square at the base, this very Art Deco style "high rise"
has a side annex that houses The Sweet Shop and Papadapoulos' Tobacco Shop. Inside the main building
through the main entrance is the Bank Lobby, while on the other side is access to the Mid Continental
Insurance Co. and the decidedly up-scale Club Imperial. Part of the "City Center" along with other such
large buildings, the First National Building is another must for any crime based scenarios.
Printed Price $20.00
PDF File Format: $10.00
Hotel Metropole-- The "swankiest" place in town to keep important guests
to appear before the Grand Jury. There's an eatery in there that's the cat's pyjamas--if that's your
idea of a good meal. Top Floor Penthouses are just the ticket for your Gang Bosses' Home away from Home.
One of the best views of the city from up on that roof....
Printed Price $20.00
PDF File Format: $10.00
The Court House-- When Cops on the "Pad" can't keep you out of the
Law's reach, this is where you'll spend some quality time with your Lawyer. Lots of things can go wrong
here as prisoners are moved back and forth from here to the City Jail. The architect has thoughtfully
provided wide open steps for clear fields of fire.
Printed Price $20.00
PDF File Format: $10.00
Streets, Alleys, Sidewalks,
Streetcars And Tracks,
Roof Top Structures, & Graphics Sets
No city layout can be complete without these. With the Streetcar and Track sections, you can now add
Public Transportation to your layout, a classic icon of City life in this era. Using more photographic
textures, a variety of materials may be chosen from to provide your layout with its own distinct character:
Brick Streets and Sidewalks for the older portions of town, concrete and asphalt for the more recent.
Similarly, what are "Mean Streets" without those dark Alleys for quick escapes--or ugly surprises found
in the morning?
Streets
Each Street Set consists of five 10" long pieces, 6" wide, enough length to provide a street for one side of a Full Block of four Block Sections, with a bit more
to spare. Also, there is a 6" square section to serve as an Intersection between Full Blocks and other Streets. Each Street piece has a center traffic
stripe, and each set has two lengths with manholes (which should each be separated by at least one length without one) to provide one more place to flee
when the action gets too hot!
Street Set #1-- Asphalt (Not common until the 1940's)
Street Set #2-- Concrete (Common from the 1920's on)
Street Set #3-- Brick #1 (Most common prior to 1920)
Street Set #4-- Brick #2 (Most common prior to 1920)
Street Set #5-- Cobblestone (Most common prior to 1900 in the Eastern US, but universal throughout Europe)
Street Set #6-- Old Concrete (Pre-1930)
Each Printed Street Set: $12.00
PDF File Format: $8.00
Printed Single Street Lengths or Intersections: $2.00
PDF File Format: $1.00
Alleys
Alleys, like Streets, come in a variety of textures, with gratings
and manholes, as shown below. Two different lengths totaling 16," enough to cross a Full Block from side to side with 2" to spare, are provided (though only
one is shown in each photo).
Asphalt Alley 
Concrete Alley 
Brick Alley #1 
Brick Alley #2 
Printed Files: $2.00 each
PDF File Format: $1.00 each
Sidewalks
Sidewalk Sets come printed on two sheets five 10" lengths sufficient to represent up to 50" (one Full Block side and one end), plus a pair of 2"
matching corner pieces with storm drains. Sidewalk lengths have authentic gratings and manholes in different locations for still greater variety.
Sidewalk sections are to be mounted on standard 3/16" thick foam core pieces cut to match. By scoring, folding and gluing the
curbs down, a full 3-D effect is created for maximum visual appeal (note the photographs above and on the
Mean Streets Photo Page.
Brick Sidewalk, Type 1
Brick Sidewalk, Type 2
Concrete Sidewalk
Old Concrete Sidewalk
Printed Sidewalk Sets: $6.00 each
PDF File Format: $2.00
Streetcar And Tracks
Designed by master dioramist, Mr. Eric Cox, this highly detailed and accurate model now adds a nostalgic presence--and tactical significance!--to your City.
When assembled, it is 8.5" long, just less than 2" wide, just above 2" in height, and comes complete with "bumpers," the correct design of "trucks," and a
selection of signage for the 1920's through 30's.
 
More photos may be seen on the Mean Streets Photos Page.
Printed Streetcar: $8.00
PDF File Format: $5.00
A Streetcar is of little use without rails to run on, so a full selection of street surfaces with the rails already in place is provided. Track Sets come
on 5 sheets of card stock, enough for 50" of straight line track (no curves or intersections are necessary) in your choice of Asphalt, Concrete, or Brick, to
match the other Street surfaces available (see above).
Asphalt, with Track center in Brick
Brick, with Track center in different Brick, Type 2
Concrete, with Track center Asphalt
Printed Track Sets: $8.00 each
PDF File Format: $4.00
Roof Top Structures
A refinement over the first releases, these structures are now available optionally. A total of eight different designs are available in the one set.
Two have long slanting roofs representing stair wells, and five are more general in shape. A pigeon cote is which may be mounted on any large enough roof
Is included to complete the set, and a pair of Water Towers help complete the effect. Samples of each design may be seen on the
Mean Streets Photos Page.
Printed Roof Top Structures: $6.00
PDF File Format: $3.00
Advertising, Posters, & Signs (Graphics Sets )
Finally, the three Graphics Sets are full color pages of properly scaled, authentic period advertising, theater, circus, movie, and political posters
to cut out and add to your buildings and alley walls. Printed on high quality 24-lb bond paper, and organized by decades, you have the option of actually
putting up only those films, theater shows, products, etc, that match the period you want your layout to represent!
Graphics Set #1 (1920-1930)--
A full page of Silents and early "Talkies," as well as proper period Recruiting Posters, and products (though no Alcohol!) for the era of Prohibition.
Price: $2.00
Graphics Set #2 (1931-1940)--
A two page collection of classic Movie, Work Projects Administration posters, Recruiting, Beer and Liquor ads reflecting the Great Depression
and Repeal.
Price: $2.00
Graphics Set #3 (1941-1950)--
A full page of famous 40's Movies, a variety of product advertisements, and a wide selection of Recruiting and Propaganda posters reflecting the
Era of WW II and "Hard Boiled" Detectives.
Price: $2.00
Graphics Set #4 (Generic, all periods)--
Another full page of Political Posters, Advertising, Circus Posters, and other items that
could be seen on walls in the period(s) you may wish to set your Mean Streets.
Printed Graphics Sets Price: $2.00 each
PDF File Format: $1.00
"Take Over The Town" Deals
The "Half-Block Deal"- Buy any two Printed Block Sections and your choice of one each Street, Alley, and Sidewalk Set for $40.00,
plus Postage , a savings of up to $20.00. ( Note: The Streetcar and one set of Track count as one "Block Section.")
The "Full Block Deal"-- Buy a Full Block (any four Printed Block Sections), plus your choice of any TWO Street Sets, TWO Sidewalk Sets, one Alley,
one specific Graphics set AND the Generic Set for $75.00, plus postage, a savings of up to $40.00.
PDF Files on Compact Disc or by E-mail-- Order as many or as few listed items as you wish at the indicated PDF prices and pay a flat
$8.00 fee for shipping to your provided address. If you prefer files be E-mailed to you, please so indicate and the fee (charged by the Shopping Cart)
will be refunded to you.
To place your favorite "Take Over" Deal, simply phone or E-mail TVAG and specify your choices of Buildings,
Streets, Alleys, Sidewalks, etc, from the lists above. I'll figure your price and can invoice you via
E-mail or PayPal, as you prefer.
The Offer You Can't Refuse!
Order the Complete PDF Collection of "Mean Streets"--your choice of files to build the entire town as it currently stands--on CD
or via free E-mail delivery for $200.00 , postpaid! That's a savings of over $50.00! Try to do this with any other medium and see what
it'll set you back!
More To Come (Including A New Game)!
Coming soon will be Block Sections representing Italian, Irish, Chinese, and Black "Ethnic" neighborhoods and businesses. "Big Jim" Colosimo's Restaurant,
and more businesses are coming as well. When completed, a full set of Mean Streets would occupy some 8' x 5' without duplication of any Block
Sections.
A new rules system for Gangster and Police games in the period of the "Beer Wars," We Only Kill Each Other ,
originally developed by the late Scott Saylors and P.R. Wilson may soon merge with another rules set by veteran author Howard Whitehouse and world renowned
sculptor, Mark Copplestone, Mad Dogs With Guns . Specifically designed to make use of Mean Streets , the game includes
detailed rules for Driving, risks of accidents, the advantages (and disadvantages!) of Police Sirens, the use of Police Call Boxes, and other features missing
from rules without a "town" to be played in. There will scenarios with specific reference to Block Sections and Businesses in the Mean Streets
collection. The rules will also cover the period of the famous bandit gangs of
the early 30's, and have an exciting whiff of Sicilian cooking.
Watch for the new linked Web page that will include game reports and more information on this exciting new TVAG project which we hope to have
published by the end of this year (2009).
How far the Mean Streets and related projects proceed will depend in part on public interest and customer support!
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