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Taking the CC from oadie I attempted another terrain piece trying to mask the donor pieces. While it is still rough, I believe it is better than the one I made before.

I can still make out most of the parts - I think I've been collecting junk for terrain for too long; I can't un-train my eyes.

You're quite right to think, though, that you're moving in the right direction. There is sensible interplay between the various donor objects - supplemental pieces don't looked haphazardly tacked on and the core structure is more than just junk glued down and painted to fill space. Individual pieces and their respective placement makes sense.

This piece also has more... how to put it... feeling than the last. Add a dish, for example, to the base of the top piece and it wouldn't look too out of place in an old sci-fi movie - it feels rather like a retro-future deathray or comms tower. While the exact function of the building is a little gray, it still has a plausible one. The last build did, as well, but the tighter execution and vague "theme" of this one makes it feel more like it's meant to be in a given setting (pulp, sci-fi, etc.).

It is, as you said, still rough, but improvement is nothing to scoff at. My suggestion, if you want to really hone your skills, is to get away from recycling found objects for a while. Start designing terrain from the ground up, then consider whether you have something that might work for the build. It will get you thinking more about what you want to achieve than what can be done to the things you have.

Don't simply try to mask a soda can - design a chem storage/treatment facility, sketch it out, then think about the build. The likelihood that you can and will use that soda can is high, but so is are the odds that the focus will be on a more coherent structure, into which the can is "naturally" incorporated. Masking the parts' sources will become a byproduct of the build, not the goal, which will make the process easier for you and more convincing upon completion.

That, and painting. Seriously, what's with that green?

The green was my wife's idea. Also, I have a limited paint supply at the moment, and I am trying to keep my best ones for my models.

I was trying to shoot for a comm / defense tower look with the model. It was also made from a small Sunny D bottle, a medicine dropper, some line from a weed-eater and a childs medicine despenser, plus a piece of lego and a part I ripped out from an old toy.

I need to work on my cardboard cutting skills, as the edges of the platforms look like gak, as well as working on my glue gun skills. Hence the use of a lot of flock in places other than the ground.

It was also my first attempt at basing a large terrain piece.

Thank you for your feedback, it will be put to good use, as the next piece I need to build will require planning and sketches.


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Plus I need to get used to painting green, I'm building an ork horde.

Debbin wrote:The green was my wife's idea. Also, I have a limited paint supply at the moment, and I am trying to keep my best ones for my models.

I assumed something like that was the case. Had to mention it, if only for the sake of completeness of criticism.

I need to work on my cardboard cutting skills, as the edges of the platforms look like gak, as well as working on my glue gun skills.

If you plan to keep going with terrain, I'd suggest investing in some foamcore/foamboard. It's reasonably strong, not particularly expensive, very lightweight, and while the cut edges will have some texture, they lack the annoying voids of corrugated cardboard. Either one's edges can be dressed up with a simple rim of masking tape, for the time being. Cut slits to allow for overlap (outside) or gapping (inside) and you can run it around curves. Keep the wraparound short and a thin piece of trim on the surface will cover it right up, as well as enhancing the look of the face. Alternately (ideally, I might say), you can seal it with PVA (foamcore only - voids in corrugated cardboard are too big) or drywall filler and sand it smooth.

Thank you for your feedback, it will be put to good use, as the next piece I need to build will require planning and sketches.

Happy to help! I'll look forward to your next piece, then.

Plus I need to get used to painting green, I'm building an ork horde.

All the more reason to stop! Trust me, it's not a matter of getting used to it; it's a matter of forcing yourself to keep going.

oadie wrote:Happy to help! I'll look forward to your next piece, then.

The last thing I need is pressure. I don't do well under pressure, [Insert Gene Wilder scene from Blazing Saddles here].