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kris gorham
United States
albuquerque
New Mexico
I wasn't born ! I sprang from the forhead of God , as he contemplated a particularly vile joke !
I wasn't born , I was hatched in the deepest darkest part of the ocean , and raised by sharks !
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This was actually one of the first three articles I had written , and was holding for FFG . The idea wasn’t that this is some super complex idea , but rather that it would hopefully get first timers started on some of their own terrain projects .
Ok , so lets kick this all off with something so simple that ANYONE can do it , and is fitting in pretty much any battle field : rock walls .
This project is going to be pretty simple , pretty cheap , and pretty useful . So lets get started .
Let me warn you in advance , that parts of this project can become tedious , so its best to have a movie or something playing in the back ground , and if you have lots of friends , invite some to help .
This project will take the better part of a few days to a week to complete , because of drying time . The actual "hands on " time will be comparatively short though , and of course this will also all depend on how many wall sections you choose to make , AND IN THE END , IT WILL ALL BE WELL WORTH IT !
MATERIALS LIST
1) BASE MATERIAL SUCH AS HARD BOARD , FOAM BOARD , CARDBOARD , ETC....
2) "TALLUS" STONES OBTAINABLE AT MOST CRAFT STORES WITH A MODEL SECTION OR ANY MODEL RAILROAD STORES . ABOUT $4 A BAG , I USED ONE BAG FOR THIS PROJECT .
3) ELMER’S WOOD GLUE , CHOSEN BECAUSE ITS THICKER THAN REGULAR WHITE GLUE WHICH HELPS THE STONES SET UP AND WORKED FASTER .
4) ELMER’S WHITE GLUE .
5) CUTTING IMPLEMENTS LIKE AN EXACTO KNIFE OR SCISSORS TO CUT YOUR BASE MATERIAL DOWN TO SIZE .
6) SOME SCENIC BASING MATERIAL LIKE STATIC GRASS OR BALLAST GAVEL SOLD UNDER A VARIETY OF NAMES IN ANY MODEL TRAIN STORE OR MOST CRAFT STORES LIKE HOBBY LOBBY . I USED THE GRAVEL , IT COMES IN CONTAINERS OF VARIOUS SIZES FROM VARIOUS COMPANIES , I USED ABOUT A BUCK OR TWOS WORTH OF THE GRAVEL . I ALSO USED SOME CLUMP FOLIAGE TO FINISH THEM UP AT THE END .
7) SOME TOOTHPICKS OR CRAFT STICKS , OR COFFEE STIRRERS .
8) SPRAY PAINT $.98 , KRYLON BRAND SPRAY SEALER $3.50 A CAN , I USED MAYBE $.50 WORTH OF THE CAN , TESTOR’S BRAND "DULLCOAT" SPRAY LACQUER $4.50 PER CAN . I USED ABOUT 1/3 OF A CAN .
Walls are linear obstacles , so the first thing you need to do is decide how long of a wall you want to make . Since DT is measured in squares , my walls will be 1 , 2 ,or 3 squares in length . Once you know how long your walls will be , you need to make bases for them .
Here you can see some bases I have made using a material called "hard board" . its fairly cheap , and available at pretty much any hardware store . A sheet 2X4 feet cost me about $4 . The one drawback is that you need special tools to cut it .
If you don’t have tools capable of cutting hardboard , you can substitute other materials like foam board , or even sturdy cardboard or mounting board like they use for photographs . You MIGHT be able to convince the local craft store like hobby lobby that custom cuts mounting board in their framing dept to sell you some of their scraps for cheap .
cut strips of the base material to the desired length , and width . My bases are 7/8th inch wide . If you are using cardboard or foam board , I suggest you make the bases double thick so they last a little longer . This means cutting twice as many lengths of bases . And if you are using foam board , cut it at least 1 inch wide .
Once you have all the bases cut to size , you need to do a little prep work . You will notice the bases in the picture have angled corners . This is done so that when they are put together as corners , they look nice and fit better .
If you are using foam board or cardboard , make them double thick by gluing 2 bases together , let them dry over night with a weight on them (such as a book or something like that ) to make sure they dry flat . once they are dry , use an exacto knife to carve the top edges at an angle all the way around the base so that they slope down from the top to give a nice natural look
This is where it can become tedious .
The next step is to start gluing stones onto the bases using the WOOD GLUE . In the back of the picture you will see some of the beginning ones that are 1 stone high , in the front , some that are 2 stones high . This is all done in assembly line fashion , one base at a time , glue one row of stones down , move to the next base , glue one row of stones down , repeat , repeat , repeat ........ . Space the stones just a couple millimeters apart as in the picture , this lets you glue the stones above them into the gaps as a spacer so that they are more stable . don’t be super stingy with the glue , it will shrink some as it dries so it wont be nearly as noticeable in the finished project .
I did several walls , so by the time I have finished gluing one row of stones down on all the bases , the first ones were dry enough that I could glue a second row of stone on to the first row on all of the bases .
Once you have 2 rows of rocks on the base , set them all aside and let them dry over night
Now one advantage to using poster board for the bases is that its thicker than the material I am using , and when you double it up , its thicker still . So at this point , decide if you want to add more stones to make it taller , or if its tall enough .
If you are using a thinner material , like the hardboard , or cardboard or mounting board , sit down and glue on another line of stones in assembly line fashion as above , and another row after that until the wall is 4 stones tall .
Now the tedious part is pretty much over , set them aside and let them dry over night .
Once they are dry , go back and look at the walls for any areas that look weak , add a dab of glue to any weak points . And let dry a couple hours before we go on to the next step .
Once they have all dried , and you are ready to go on to the next step , lay down a bead of WHITE GLUE Along the base of the wall on both sides as such . don’t be stingy with the glue , but also don’t go over board .
Next take a craft stick , coffee stirrer or toothpick and carefully spread the glue over the base . Push the glue up into the nooks and crannies to get good coverage .
If you are using foam board , cover the base from the edge of the wall all the way to the edge of the base . Make sure the entire base is covered .
As soon as you have covered the base in glue , IMMEDIATELY go on to the next step .
Do each base separately , even just a couple of minutes can allow the surface of the glue to dry JUST enough that it will stop some of the material from sticking , which will leave gaps in the coverage .
Now place the wall in a dish or on a container or surface where you can pour the basing material over it , make sure the base is completely covered .lift the base up carefully and set it aside on a surface that it can sit and dry on , DO NOT SHAKE ANY OF THE MATERIAL OFF . JUST SET IT ASIDE .
Do each base separately , even just a couple of minutes can allow the surface of the glue to dry JUST enough that it will stop some of the material from sticking , which will leave gaps in the coverage .
Let the bases dry over night , 24 hours if possible without trying to clear any of the gravel off , it needs to dry completely .
After they have set over night , pick them up turn them over , and gently brush them with an oversized paint brush to get any dust and loose gravel off the bases .
And its ready for priming . For this tutorial , I am making gray stone walls because they are the most versatile for so many games and environments , but if you were doing a middle eastern or African terrain board , you might prefer to do a sand stone colored wall which would just use different paint colors .
If you used foam board , its best to "prime" them by painting them black by hand using craft paint since spray paint will eat into the foam through any craks or holes in the glue coat , other wise , I prefer to prime them using cheap $.98 spray paint from Walmart . If you use spray paint , be patient and do it in 2-3 lighter coats , the rocks have a tendency to soak up some of the paint so give it 30 min. or so between coats .
And for the love of GOD , think before you spray , I don’t want any angry letters from your girlfriends or mom or your girlfriend’s mom complaining how you used spray paint on her good table cloth in the dining room !
Prime them in a well ventilated area on a surface you wont mind or get in trouble over if it gets spray paint on it , and watch for over spray
Let the spray paint dry overnight .
Now its time to paint’em up , the painting on these is super simple: its all JUST dry brushing using cheap craft paints from hobby lobby . Here I have done 3 layers of dry brushing from dark gray to light gray for highlights .
Dry brushing , for those that don’t know , is a method of painting where you dip the brush in paint , then wipe it on a sponge or towel to remove some of the paint (without rinsing the brush off) . This leaves enough paint on the brush that when you pull it over the models , it only touches the raised surfaces , so any recessed areas are left untouched . Its an easy way to add shadows and highlights by dry brushing a model with lighter or darker shades or tints of the same base coat color .
Usually I would say let them dry over night , but the drying time is really dependant on the humidity where you live , if you live in a humid environment , let them dry for a couple days , if you live in a dry environment like I do , over night is USUALLY fine .
Now you can seal them . I do it in 2-3 coats over the course of a day . First coat is Krylon brand sealant .
don’t just spray a whole can on at once . You want a good coverage , but not so much that it starts to drip or gets so thick that it starts to yellow from pooling .
Let it dry for a couple hours . If its something you are just SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO proud of , or that is going to be handled a lot , give it another hit of Krylon . Let that dry for a few hours , though over night is better .
Now there is a drawback to pretty much every commercial clear sealant on the market , it can get sticky , if it gets too warm . This isn’t as much of a problem for some of the intended applications where exposure to the elements can make them dry through and through , but for gamer purposes , where we protect them and treat them like our beloved children , the stickiness issue will inevitably rear its ugly head .
To solve the problem , we apply one last coat of different sealant .
Once the Krylon is dry, apply a coat of Testor’s brand spray lacquer . For scenery , we want a dull matt finish , so use the "DULLCOAT" lacquer . Make SURE its "dullcoat" , Testor’s makes a gloss coat , and the cans look the same . The gloss lacquer is a great product , but not for what we want on this scenery .
The Testors spray paints comes in 2 ounce cans , and my only complaint is that it sprays out SUPER FAST , so just be careful when you spray it that you don’t waste it . Yes it does add in a little more sealing protection , but we are JUST using it to seal the sealer to kill the shiny finish , so you want good coverage , but don’t go too heavy on it .
Now if you are happy with your walls , you can stop now that they are sealed . If you want to ad some zing , then read on .
Here you can see I have applied some white glue into some of the nooks and crannies
The next step is to apply some small size clump foliage to the wet glue . Let it sit , do not remove any of the excess foliage until its dry .
Wha la YOU’VE GOT WALLS !!!!!
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