-
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 !
-
This is another post that I had prepared a couple months ago or so , released without further edit from it original content , when it was being held for submission to FFG , but it would have only been seen by 2 or 3 people over there on their site , since they don’t really promote it , so oh well . Their loss is BGG’s gain .
I don’t remember who , but some one recently posted pics of their terrain , either here on FFG forums , or over on BGG forum section . And what struck me about it was that some one asked a question about making it , or wishing they could make it or something along those lines , and the author replied with something along the lines of " oh just cut some RDF " , or HDC , or some material along those lines as though just every one should already have the tools AND experience necessary to cut such materials and finish them up .
And if who ever wrote that reads this , don’t take offence . I’m not picking on you , just bringing up an example of what’s wrong with a lot of articles about the hobby aspect of gaming . Too many articles are written as though the reader is moderate to well experienced , and should just have all the proper tools already , and know what you are talking about . And the problem with that , is that even most die hard long time gamers are not well experienced in the hobby aspect of gaming , so the majority will have little or no experience , so the articles are written for the wrong audience .
Now when I do the majority of my projects , that these articles will follow along with , I use sturdy materials like tempered masonite , RDF , HDC , particle board , ply wood , or my favorite : PVC FOAM BOARD . But I realize that I am fortunate to have a number of tools , and a great deal of experience that most of you do not .
If you look in the magazines and read the terrain making articles and books by long standing companies like Privateer Press , and GW , their terrain is verrrrry pretty , but its also delicate as hell . Its generally made of cheap , easy to handle materials like foam board , or card stock , or balsa wood and Styrofoam . Ya it looks pretty , but unless you play with it only at your house , and treat it like a new born baby , it breaks all to fast , and looks like trash .
The reason I use the materials I do is because I want something that will last a very long time .
But even if you don’t have the same tools and materials I do , you can still make some really nice terrain , and duplicate just about every thing I do , using some lesser materials like cardboard or foam board . But I have a twist to teach you : construction adhesive .
And hence this article .
This article will give you some tips and tricks to get you started . This article will involve using cardboard as its basis . What I show you here , you can apply to just about any terrain project , using card board , mat board , foam board , or any other lesser building material . and the more you try it , the better results you will get . You will still need to treat your terrain with care , but not as much as you normally would
For this project , you will need :
Some corrugated card board
White glue
An exacto knife with a new blade
A cutting surface
Craft paints
Paint brushes
Construction adhesive
A large plastic ziplock style bag
A can of Spray paint
Krylon clear sealant
Testors dull coat lacquer
Various terrain bits to decorate your pieces as desired .
When most people think of "card board" , they think of corrugated card board . it’s the stuff big boxes are made of , that have the little wavy lines on the edges . That wavy line is a layer of card board that snakes back and forth , and gives the box better structural integrity . And if you notice , the corrugation always runs up/down , never side to side in the boxes . This is because the corrugation only adds strength in one direction , up and down along its rows .
Here you can see 3 squares I traced and cut out of a piece of corrugated card board .
I have marked on them to show what direction the rows of corrugation run . I am going to glue them together , in this order . The reason for this is that by having the rows cross each other , it will give better structural integrity , so that the piece wont bend or warp as easily .
After applying glue , put the piece under a heavy flat surface to dry .
Here you can see the 3 squares after they have dried . You can see the corrugation directions .
Here I have taken an exacto knife and cut the edge at an angle , to give the square a more natural shape , as opposed to just a blocky square edge .
It is super important to have a good sharp new blade in the exacto knife when you try this .
Be very careful !
Her I have taken the exacto knife , and cut further angles to further break up the shape of the original card board tile .
Because I wanteed a couple of big boulders , but didn’t want the weight of using real rocks , I made this block of cardboard by gluing several pieces together , and letting them dry over night .
Now I cut the block in half , at an angle .
Here I have carved one of the pieces into a rough rock shape .
After carving the second into a rock shape , I glued them onto the tile , and let them completely dry .
Ok , now comes the twist .Do this in a well ventilated area , and be sure to read the instructions and warnings and follow all the safety rules , on the package :
Most terrain manuals say to use light spackle or some similar material to fill gaps , but the problem is that its pretty much just plaster , or some similar material , so when it dries , its very brittle , and over time it cracks and you end up with a lot of white cracks showing through , which looks sloppy on your table top .
I learned a long time ago about the wonders of construction adhesive . Construction adhesive is the generic name , and most stores sell their own store brand , even Walmart , but for those that want name brand , its called "liquid nail " . if you don’t want to get a tube of it and a caulking gun ( both of which are pretty cheap at Walmart ), they do sell it in smaller quantities for smaller projects .
You do have to take some care when using it , and anyone under 18 should get their parents permission to use it , because it does contain harmful chemicals and releases some fumes as it dries . While handling the stuff , I usually wear rubber gloves , just because I use it prodigiously , so I am exposed to it more than most others would be . I am not saying this to scare people , but its important to stop and look at what you are handling . As minis gamers , we tend to be exposed to toxins we don’t think about : resin chemicals , lead , paint fumes , etc ... , so just take care , and protect your health , especially if you are super sensitive to chemical allergic reactions , so something like that . I have used this stuff for projects , off and on for about 15 years or so , Cough ....and ..... IHhht gasp ....sputter hasn’t effected me .....twitch none .
It also takes a little practice to get used to , because it starts to dry fast , and it gets super sticky for a few minutes , so it can be kinda like trying to handle a piece of fly paper , but once you get used to it , its easy to master .
While using construction adhesive doesn’t make your projects indestructible , it does make them sturdier than if you use spackle or some similar gap filler to coat them .
Using a plastic butter knife , I spread it on the bottom of the tile , and allowed it to dry over night .
Now that its bottom is dry , I put it on the plastic bag , and wearing a latex glove , I smeared it on over the entire piece .
Again , do this in a well ventilated area .
Now as you do this , you need to make sure to get it in all the recesses , and fill all the holes .
The surface of the liquid nail starts to dry quickly , so it gets really sticky , leaves a rough looking surface as it tugs as you rub over it , don’t worry , just make sure to cover the whole surface of the piece and fill any gaps .
Let it sit for about 4 or 5 minutes or so . As the surface dries ( and it dries quickly ) , it losses its stickiness . Gently tap it once with a finger , to see if its dry enough to not stick to your finger . If it is dry enough , you can GENTLY tap the surface all over the piece with your finger , and smooth out the surface . But keep in mind , that it doesn’t have to be absolutely perfect .
This is also a point , that for other projects , you can do a little shaping/texturing . I did some castle towers several years ago , and at this point , when the surface had dried enough , I use a plastic knife to add in some brick shapes and such .
The construction adhesive adds some weight .
Now let it dry over knight .
Now , if after it dries , you see that you need to fill in a few more gaps , do so as needed and let it dry again for about 24 hours .
PICTURE WAS EATEN BY DIGITAL CAMERA
Next , peel it off the plastic , and trim the edges so it looks tidy .
At this point , its really up to you on how you want to decorate it . If you want stones and rocks , add them , if you don’t , then don’t . I’m not Bob Ross , so I’m not teaching you to make something for my tastes , I am showing you this so you can learn the techniques , and try your own projects , to match your own personal battle field set up .
Here I have used a mixture of glue and sand to texture the boulders . The reason I am doing this now , is because when I prime it , it will soften the texture on the boulders further , so that they look more like boulders that just a rock covered in sand . So that it stands out more from the sand on the base . It also fills in gaps , so the surface is smoother and has a better finish .
I have also glued on some tallus stones and ballast gravel .
Here I have primed the tile with black spray paint , and painted the bare sections with textured paint . Again , the texture paint can fill in any unsightly gaps that are still left , and give a nice smooth surface over any gaps in the construction adhesive surface .
When you prime this , you want a good coverage , but don’t over prime it or it loses detail , and you get drip marks .
Textured paint is a mixture of paint and sand . You can mix more or less sand , depending on the texture you want . Here I have mixed about half a table spoon of paint , and about half a table spoon of "scenic sand " .
When you make your own textured paint , you can use sand from your yard if you want , but make sure its clean sand , not from your pets favorite peeing spot .
I live in an apartment without access to clean sand , so I use scenic sand that I bought at Hobby Lobby . It’s the same sand people use to do sand paintings and such . Using scenic sand , I can also pick the color . I prefer black , since it helps make a nice dark texture paint .
Once I paint the rocks a dark gray , from this point , its pretty much all going to be dry brushing .
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 .
Let it dry for at least 3 or 4 days to make sure its completely dry . The reason it takes longer is because the texture paint is thicker , and so it holds moisture better than regular paint .
So now its time to seal them . First a good coat of the Krylon , make sure you coat all the surfaces , every corner and side except the underside . This is the coat that REALLLLLLLY protects the paint . So make sure it’s a good one .
Let that dry for AT LEAST several hours .
Now you will notice its too shiny , even when dry . So apply a light coat of the Testors dull coat lacquer . The purpose of this is JUST to eliminate the shine , so it doesn’t need to be heavy , just enough to lightly cover the surface .
Now let it dry at least over night .
It is very important that you seal these well . While we all try to take care of our miniatures , and the terrain wont be handled nearly as much , these are YOUR babies , and other players are not nearly as likely to treat them as carefully when they handle them . Following my directions , you should produce a slightly sturdy piece of terrain , but the paint is only a surface treatment . So you need to protect it .
Now you can decorate it how ever you want . I have applied a little bit of slightly watered down glue , and added static grass , moss , and a couple trees .
The finished project is not indestructible , but its better than most of what you will find people making and selling on EBAY , and sturdier too .
I have been a minis gamer for 20 years , and I have seen pretty much every thing that has been tried in one form or other for terrain making , and as I look at this , I would be hard pressed to tell that this isn’t a mass produced piece made by some big company , and if I didn’t build it , I would never believe it was just a bunch of spruced up cardboard . I know the pictures lose some of the details , but in person , its just that good , and its something that anyone can do .
Here are some other examples of terrain I have made using cardboard , like the rock time , and using the same techniques to get drastically different end products .
Now as I have written this , you need to realize that while its not as easy as I made it look , its not much harder . It just takes a little practice to start getting good . If you saw the mangled things I made when I started gaming about 20 years ago , you would be surprised that this is where all that led .
So don’t get discouraged if your first few attempts look like "ashtrays" , if you practice , you will get it .
Practice it a few times , and you will get just as good , its just a matter of a little experience .
And if you get good enough at it , and with a little forethought , you can create "masters" to use for making molds from to create your own resin terrain pieces .
|
|
