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I really want to do a canal system, I've got this bottle of water effects I've been meaning to try out, would it be easier to just use the varnish? The cost either way doesn't bother me.

That all came out really nicely, but I'd like to see more details put into them. Thats jus my opinion tho =)

Looking back through your posts, I've just had an

If you pour another layer of varnish on the choked water-way, let it set, sprinkle on some patches of flock, then add another layer of varnish it might add some "depth" to the algae rather than just a stippled surface. Repeating this a few times, whilst time consuming, should just enhance the effect and slightly smooth out the finish. In fact, this could even be used with small peices of modelling lichen I expect !

Just a thought.

This looks amazeing. I hope my 40 k terrain will turn out at least half as good

LuigiX wrote:

Dude! Be careful, I suspect your wife may be tainted by Chaos. You daughter has a thumb growing out of her ear...


Unless its YOU who is tainted!


*dum-dum-DUMMMMMMMMMMM*



Ghidorah

jabbakahut wrote:I really want to do a canal system, I've got this bottle of water effects I've been meaning to try out, would it be easier to just use the varnish? The cost either way doesn't bother me.

The varnish was pretty easy to use, but it did take a loong time to dry- I've never tried the water effects, but from my research, they seem to be pretty close to the same stuff (though the water effects hopefully would not have the same problem of cracking when dry if poured too thick...)

Wehrkind, Reaper6,& Sicarious85 wrote: Needs more detail...

When I started all this, I had plans for plasticard windowsills & door frames, foamcore staircases, curbs, and streetlights. Once I got going, I realized that in order to meet my deadline of completetion before the baby was born I would need to cut some corners (and details were said corners). One day I may go back and add many more details, but for now it suits my needs just fine (plus, I discovered that I'm really not very good at cutting straight lines in foam core )

Lanky-feck wrote:do you have any measurements for your buildings or even for the whole thing would be good

I'll work up some measurements on the buildings in the next couple days & post them here.

Reaper6 wrote:Very cool algae idea

That is an excellent idea. I've got a small test sqare going in my basement now- I'll see how it turns out, may be a plan for future works.

Ghidorah wrote:Dude! Be careful, I suspect your wife may be tainted by Chaos. You daughter has a thumb growing out of her ear...

After watching the birthing process, I suspect she may be an agent of the Lord of Change... And we're hoping that thumb-like appendage is a tentacle nub- that would be sooo cool

And thanks to all for the compliments on the terrain & spawn As more progress is (eventually) made, I'll be sure to post it here.

um hi i am new here and love your stuff, and since its been about a year have you worked on it any?, and if so could i sneak a peek?

ps. i think the greensteela klan are awesome! any news on them?

I do miss playing with hand crafted buildings like this as the individuality of design makes for a more varied gameplay experience.

Now a days it is usually all plastic GW kits to be found, so props to you for going all nostalgic/old school...

That massive building is great.

The only thing that looks "off" are the craters. Since you have what looks to be foam basing why not dig the craters in as opposed to building up the "doughnuts" typical of free-standing craters? I think they would look a lot more convincing and add to the feel of the board...

Regardless, good stuff!

Great work! I was looking for some Spray Paint that didnt melt the foam, So thanks!

I would love to play heroclix on this board, would be win!

Awesome work!

Krylon H20 spray paint is foam safe.

You should be able to get it in the US.

mattisuber16 wrote:um hi i am new here and love your stuff, and since its been about a year have you worked on it any?, and if so could i sneak a peek?

ps. i think the greensteela klan are awesome! any news on them?

Thanks for the compliments. Unfortunately, nothing new on my terrain. I tried building a cathedral using the windows I cut out as bricks, but I couldn't get it quite right. I still like the idea and hope to get back to it when I've got more free time, but for now, as I've got 3 usable boards, the city is on the back burner.

Some thoughts, though, on the boards now that I've been playing on them for about a year.

-The foam is suitably durable. Though I've had a few accidents, it's very easy to simply reglue the broken part and move on. And the light weight makes up for it- since I've got to lug 3 sections out of the basement everytime I play, I'm glad I didn't do wood bases

-While it looks really cool, nobody uses the top floors of the skyscraper. I figure 3 stories is about the practicle maximum of any of my buildings- we just don't put figs any higher than that. At 7 stories up, the distance disadvantage outweighs the vision advantages. Even a lascannon has a tough time reaching another board section from up there.

-The crowded section is awesome, but it really is a pain for tank armies. Even though all the streets are wide enough for a land raider, all it takes is one figure to completely shut down the street to traffic.

-Our favorite section to play on is the sewage treatment plant. It's really the most characterful section and the open spaces combined with impassible walls make it a real blast to play over.

hello again luigiX i was going to do this project but i noticed that the link you posted to the foam cutter is sold out and when i looked on amazon they had these things that didnt loo right and costed 600$ soo could you lend a helping hand once again? o and did you try the algae idea? it sounds really cool and i am very curious to hear how that turns out...


with curiosity, MJS

I've really just skimmed through it, thougj it is amazing what you have done here. I don't think I could do anything like it if I tried!

Barely in the world and she's giving it the V sign

Gratz to you and partner on beautiful Vivian Mae *wub*

Super terrain work
Like =I= Syphonious have just skimmed through for now, but inspiring stuff so will peruse at leisure.

The sewage plant will be handy for ncking ideas from.
Was thinking of using Johnson's Klear/Future for water.
What did you use for the bend sections of pipe please?

(apologies if I missed it on the first run through)

It's great that people are still getting soemthing out of this project- I'm really glad it's been helpful.

The hot wire cutters can be hard to find, but if you've got alot more technical know-how than me, you can build one. There are lots of tutorials around, but this is the fanciest I've seen http://www.instructables.com/id/Hot-wire-foam-cutter/.
And here are a couple I found like the one I use http://www.amazon.com/Styro-Wonder-Knife-Cutter-Plus/dp/B000PCWKUG http://www.joann.com/joann/catalog/productdetail.jsp;jsessionid=49EEFED2504F7DDDA7DCC254EB6284DB.a4p2?CATID=cat1125&PRODID=prd58087 I'd recommend trying your local Michael's or Joanne Fabrics- any large craft store might have one.

For the pipe, I just walked through the plumbing section at Home Depot until I found something that fit my needs. This happened to be white PVC.

I'm not familiar with Johnson's Klear, but if it's glossy and won't melt foam I'm sure it'd work fine. Heck, if you had a large quantity of GW 'Ard Coat I'm sure that would do the job.

I tried the algae idea on an experimental basis (in an upside-down GW base), and it looked pretty good- I may try it if I do my planned park with fountain.

And I'm very convinced that following my techniques, nearly anyone can make a city like this and probably make it look better. It's all just simple cutting and glueing. The most essential tool I used was the drywall T. It made every single cut sooo much easier.

Been a while since I've done anything with this, but I've finally started on my long delayed 4th board section.

First, a few things I've learned playing on these boards for the last year:

-I'm glad I used foam. It's not quite as sturdy as wood(as you'll see in the pictures below), but the light weight more than makes up for it everytime I lug the sections out of the basement.

-I never use the skyscrapers. They look super cool, they were really easy to build, and I still love the idea of them. But, after the novelty of a 6 story building wore off, it's the least used board section. Awesome building, but tedious to play on. Now, if I ever play Heroclix or some other urban skirmish game, my tune will likely change

-While city fighting's fun, it's nice to have open spaces for typical play. Every time we play, the sewage treatment section sees most of the action for one simple reason: it's wide open. It's just easier to play on than the crowded urban block. The crowded block is still plenty used, but more open areas would be nice(hence the design for my next section)

-Foam is easy to repair. I've had a few accidents, but fortunately the foam was very easy to fix with just a little wood glue.

For my 4th section, I decided on a much more open design. This is meant as the ruined remains of a large building (maybe an imperial cathedral). The "altar" in the middle is something I thought looked cool and works to give a minor point of elevation on an otherwise flat board.

great stuff

Here's the 4th section painted. I went with the easy method I used for the skyscraper section:
1. Base coat of "Krylon H2O" spray paint(safe for use with foam)
2. Coat of flat black primer(the H2O is glossy)
3. Light spray of flat gray primer focusing on the buildings
4. Very light spray of flat white as a highlight

The end result isn't the best possible effect, but it's quick, easy, and looks good on this style of crude city. I'm looking forward to seeing how it plays next week.

Wow that is some great terrain, and you've spent way less cash then the GW alternative. I'm gunna have to drive to Pit and steal it!

This is absolutely inspiring to see someone make such awesome terrain i'm gonna have to take a swing at it. Nice to see someone else who balances being a dad and playing wargames. My lil man is 5 Months and sometimes i feel like he could do a better job

Amazing thread! Really impressive stuff... I'm going to give this a try soon. Thanks for taking the time to share a "How-to" with us

Cool terrain. I like the sewage canal.

this has inspired me greatly (why dont you put an ordance wepon on the top floor of your sky scraper and say some imperials put it there or something)

Awesome work! And now i know what im going to be working on while i wait for my DE to get released.

I love it when people build their own stuff. City fight buildings have great detail and all but they all look the same. the universe is not walmart of gw supplied. Your stuff looks awsome. i have been putting together a worker hab ruin set that is modelled after stalingrad WW2. mine are all built out of old milk crates. yours look great though. when i get some pics of my buildings up i will send you some.

Would an air brush work on the foam?

I am considering trying this foam stuff as opposed to my regular foam board.

Ma55ter_fett wrote:Would an air brush work on the foam?

I am considering trying this foam stuff as opposed to my regular foam board.

Some airbrushes may have the same problem. The melting effect comes from the accelerant in aeresol cans, so if you're using an accelerant can powered airbrush(such as GW's) you would need to take precautions to seal the foam first. If you've got an air compressor powered airbrush, you should be fine(though I'll still do a test piece first).

sennacherib wrote: i have been putting together a worker hab ruin set that is modelled after stalingrad WW2. mine are all built out of old milk crates. yours look great though. when i get some pics of my buildings up i will send you some.

Very cool- I look forward to seeing it.