Hails to all that read this. Welcome to the start of my scenery / terrain blog. It has been a long time coming and I have a list of people to thank for helping me get to where I am right now. My IRL buddy Daichallar who has helped me build mountain terrain before and had some excellent ideas for the road system we started. Moltar for being an intellectual inspiration with our conversations about terrain and the effect it has on the physical and psychological aspects of the game. Terraformer because he is a wargames terrain GOD and also because if it hadn't been for his link that I followed here through a Google search I may not have ever stopped in at Dakka. More recently I started sharing ideas w/ dsteingass on his amazing Necromunda Project where he is taking the original Necromunda cardboard sets and faithfully reproducing in plasticard. He was the final push that got me going on this.
To them and many more I haven't mentioned, thank you.
Ok. Quick background that will bring all this up to speed. I started working on terrain as soon as I got back into playing wargames in Nov 2009, had taken quite a long break prior to that. I've always tried t offer the best table I can when I host games, and this time around I wanted to make sure I didn't settle for spray painted cardboard tubes and clumps lichen from the local craft store. I wanted my terrain to look like the Grimdark had partied in my game room and passed out on the table. With that end result as my goal, I set to work.
Some earlier examples of terrain I tried were stones for my "Ash Waste" look, but wound up using it more for WFB than 40K:
They went with a large project I had but unfortunately I was more focused on gaming and painting miniatures than terrain so what could have been a much more impressive landscape was pretty basic:
When I started working on smaller projects I gave them a lot more attention:
Hasty barricade:
Industrial Pond (I love that sign):
Objective Markers / Random Terrain
Outbuildings / Necromunda Trading Post
Misc Power Station / Whatever
And some action shots with a lot of my newer stuff combined:
All the above has brought me to the next level. I want to make the best terrain I possibly can, and after gleaning as much information from other people as I can, here's where I'm really "starting".
First project is to recover a few pieces from Necromunda that I used to like a lot. I'm not going to recreate the entire set, just a few pieces. I have a lot of other ideas I want to figure out as well.
All that said, on to the project!!!
So I'm starting out with 16 12X12 sheets of .060″ (1/16″) Thick High Impact Styrene. I'm using a Necromunda template for design.
Cut cut cut later, and I have this:
But there's a problem. The .060 is too thick for the bulkhead channels. So I had to cut down the knobby bitz that are in the channels:
After some more work, all bulheads are in place:
Also found that I can only get one of these platforms out of a 12X12 piece of HIS:
...so time to cut some supports:
First support cut and laid up for reference:
I kept working after the last pic was taken, have 6 supports total. Man it is one time-consuming task, but the results have been worth it. I'm looking forward to going as far OTT as I possibly can w/ this. What you see right now is very basic. Much more is coming.
i hope there will be more of that... this is a real good thing to hit this board... in my opinion there is not enough and can never be enough terrain threads^^ because let´s face it we need terrain to make a good game happening...without a good terrain even the best painted mini looks out of place and the least we want to happen is something like that...^^
i really like that sign on the watertower too... the sense of that wording is what makes government so hilarious sometimes^^
also those trading posts... awsome... if possible i would like to see how you did that wodden texture there...that is a special interrest in me to make serious looking wooden planks and other stuff...
and by the way i really dig that winter hill terrain assortment.... looks really good and no hint of looking just basic!
since dstein is out now you have the time to get closer to his build i say^^ so good luck to you and be productive^^
cheers, vik
by the way you are pretty determined and dedicated to quality... i really like that!
@ Viktor von Domm- Thank you for the compliment. I've seen your work before and you have my respect. I'm hoping that this thread inspires someone else to give it a try, much like other threads motivated me to do this myself. I wish I could tell you the wooden plank technique, but the entire building is an O-Scale train model.
@ dsteingass- I'm going to keep going until I get sick of it or seriously injure myself. Let's hope I get sick of it first.
No pics in this update for now, just a quick "hello" on a Friday night and letting folks know that I have a lot of progress on the tower. It has 2 complete levels and I'm starting work on the "3-D" detail that separates this from printed cardboard. Currently I have things gluing and I'm digging through my bitz box.
I'll have pics tomorrow. This weekend is supposed to be wet rainy misreable (meaning not a good weekend to ride) so expect numerous updates.
Skalk loving your table . Wow you still got some Necromunda pieces still?!? Man I did'nt see those parts since the mid 90's glad to see you got them.
Can't wait to see more.
Ok Skalk, looking at your pics sober now, they are still full of win!
I really like the water still by the pond, is that an O gague railroad water tower?
The hasty barricade enables my container and barrel and small cover fetish! And that piece looks liek a great place for a last stand mission.
I really like the Misc Power Station / Whatever. what was that originally? What did you use for the floor grating? I could see stacking those to make one of those abandoned factory pieces where nothing is left except the reinforced concrete (I Imagine the sheet metal would.ve been stolen for something else in the underhive)
I could only get one platform out of 1 piece of plasticard too, however, I just cut the excess into straight pieces, it was helpful to have perfectly straight stock pieces for replicating identical plates for me. Your method of fitting in the support pieces is a good idea too.
And finally the old wallpaper in your room! It is the same wallpaper I had in my bedroom as a kid in NW Ohio!
Fan tastic Skalk! really! A good table definately enhances a game, I am in total agreement.
@ GD1- Thanks! It hasn't seen much play yet because it's still WIP, I'll PM you some of the "advanced" shots, trying to keep it a surprise for the local guys. And yes I still have most of my Necromunda stuff. I replaced all the cardboard with plasticard when I was running a League, had to tear it all apart so I could transport it in my last few moves. This time I'm rebuilding everything right. If I move again, I'll box this stuff up carefully, I'm not taking this apart again.
@ Viktor von Domm- The scales I have found that work best are 1/32, 1/48, and O. Not everything works though because (surprise surprise) the concept of "scale" is subjective and seems to change from manufacturer to manufacturer.
@ dsteingass- Glad to know my works still stands up under the scrutinizing eye of sobriety! The water tower is HO scale, I tore off all the things that would betray the scale specifically. As it is right now it makes a great Water Still and a pretty important objective depending on the scenario. I have TONS of barrels and containers and small cover items! I can (and have) choked a table w/ so much stuff that people asked where they were supposed to put their miniatures. Ha. The Misc Power Station / Whatever is from a Hot Wheels playset bashed with a Matchbox playset, the combination of parts would not likely occur by accident again. But I see what you are talking about, a huge rusted hulk of ancient technology surrounded by the crumbling ruination of decay. And that wallpaper is 100% pure Kvlt Metal wallpaper! One of these days I might change it, but for now my time is consumed by other things.
Ok, short update with a little bit of progress. I cut the 2nd level and fitted it, alsi started gluing the supports. The bulkhead on the bottom isn't glued, it's merely acting as a spacer to keep the supports properly aligned while the glue is drying:
Everything is glued and I'm starting a few "detail" features.
3-D action!
3rd level is going to be a "walkway" instead of a platform. Decided to change things up a bit, and also preserve some of my card until I check some other designs out. The top walkway is not permanent and is easily removed.
Adding some features to the walkway:
The structure overall is starting to come together. The paper shapes were cut and glued to give the appearance of texture but remain as flat as possible, especially on the 1st platform because moving miniatures around on a featured surface can be a problem after 4-5 beers. This will allow for a different look but still be mostly smooth and flat. The cabling is (inside joke here) stripped from a Cat V networking cable. All of the wire / cables you will see in this project will be from that same length of Cat V. The framed screen is another "illusion" and a lesson re-learned- DRAW OUT YOUR IDEAS AND CUT BEFORE YOU GLUE. It's not like I didn't know that, I just didn't think of it... duh.
Again, not a 100% faithful reproduction of what once was. It's not supposed to be 100%. It's certainly inspired by and based upon, but with my own vision thrown into the mix.
Viktor von Domm- Cool that you noticed that! I'll be doing that a lot, over and over during this project. I like to take bitz from different sets to help tie the piece together. And yes, those clamps are intended for much larger jobs. Using what I have until I can get what I want.
More progress. I finished the 1st walkway. It is not removable from the bulkheads anymore for obvious reasons, but I think that's going to work out ok here.
The side rails are made from molding I bought at Home Depot. The mesh is something I picked up at a hobby store, I use it a lot because it looks cool. The paper on each end of the walkway is from my super glue packet. And you can bet if I had the bitz I would put a skull on every one of those squares on the side rails for that "Imperial" look and feel. But I don't have the endless bitz box when it comes to skulls, and if I can't make it look right w/ the skulls I have then I'm not going to do it at all. But I had to mention that I wanted to do it, because I really did. And yes, I looked to see how many I had. I didn't have enough to even do every other space (unless I hacked up some of my WFB Skeletons, and that isn't happening).
And finished, complete with support braces and rust. At least I think it's finished. What do you guys think?
Perched atop the platforms to give an idea what the entire piece will look like:
I have run into a major snag. Two of them in fact, but one specificaly throws a wrench into this process. My jig saw is broken and is not repairable. Having torn it apart and rebuilt it myself twice I can saw w/o hesitation that there will be no 3rd time. But even more significantly is that I have no rivets. Can't make them (nothing to make them with), could not buy them when we went out today, and nothing ordered yet, so I can't finish any platforms etc that require riveting until I get some.
That said, I have a bunch of work I can do, but I won't be painting any of my platforms until I can rivet them up.
Man I really like that molding! very cool shape. and I definately see why you want to skullify them, I would too! THe walkway is totally badass! I need more skulls too, I've seen people make a simple mold out of clay for a master then cast them up using a lid or something as a mold. Molding and casting is something that I have always wanted to get into but never really had the supplies for.
@ dsteingass- I found some skulls on eBay that look cheap enough for the amount of skulls you'd get. I might pick these up later but I have other considerations for the immediate "right now".
Last update for tonight I think because later I'm supposed to be playing Chaos in the Old World. Figured I'd get one last post done. Here's the start of my first truly 3-D recessed project. It will bet the first of many if this goes well.
Those are cool skulls, but metal. I think i'd rather have them in plastic for ease of slicing them in half. I can't wait to see your construct there man!
wow... that one was a quick one... already painted...what a demon you are mister!!! or do you have a demon stuffed in your cellar doing all this work for you....*shudders*^^
well as for riveting... we had the holepunch discussion so i wont stress that...er... did it yet again^^
and funnyly i too had that piece of molded wood in my hand the other day when taking a stroll through the hardware store...and left it there... a very good idea to use it like this... instant thickness as requiered and good looking too!!!
@ dsteingass- I'd prefer them in plastic as well, but might pick those up sometime anyway just to check them out.
@ shasolenzabi- Fallout was my favorite game for a long time! I got the sampler along w/ my Balder's Gate game back in the late 90 something. Thanks for the comment, it's a genuine compliment to me.
@ Viktor von Domm- That's what she said. No really. My wife said I finished that modeling project very quickly. The rivets remain an issue because I can't find my leather punch. I have an idea where it is but I have been too focused on building to take a break and look.
@ Young_Logan- Thank you, I'm glad you're liking what you've seen so far. Come back now and then as there's a *lot* more coming.
Lots and lot of work today. Was going to go ride the Harley but it never got much above 50 and I'm still not feeling 100% (I think my cold has sunk into my chest. I'm expecting to die from pneumonia sometime next week). so I decided to wear my pajamas all day and do nothing but model (that's not how it worked out exactly, but it was great while it lasted).
One thing I remembered is that in the grim darkness of the far future, there is only war... and balsa wood. Normally I would not even consider that kind of material for a project like this, but I wanted to experiment with it because it is a fast material to work with and I have a *lot* of it.
Here's how things started out:
Not so bad so far. Kept going:
Still pretty decent. Nothing so bad that I want to tear it apart yet. Kept going:
And then for some bizarre reason I stopped taking pictures of this project. But I did take pics of other stuff I was working on while I was waiting for glue or paint to dry on this. Here's a fre other things I did today:
Got out all my old Necromunda stuff and decided what I was going to rebuild. Have decided on these for the time being:
I played both of these back in the day. Have 2 more that will be coming out before long. I'll be adding a lot of detail to them and try to get past the plain vanilla look they have right now.
I also started work on another walkway. Used the same side rail because I wanted to have some continuity in the project and also because it looks so cool. Did a different walkway platform this time though, thought going for the same mesh grate looks would be too much. Also decided to add some reinforcements on this one by taking an HO scale train bridge. Hope this looks decent.
Still needs paint but the build on it is done.
So anyway, at some point I started taking pics of my main project again. I had to admit that the balsa wood did not look anything like metal no matter how I painted it. But it was so cool. It had to work out some way. So I got thinking what the structure "is", what the purpose of it would be in my Underhive setting. All of a sudden it hit me- the walls were Plascrete instead of steel, and that would make it a bunker... which means that my PDF now has a substation in this part of the Hive.
I am wicked psyched with how this part (recessed pipers and cables) turned out. It way more work than it shows and it looks a lot better in person:
I think it is mostly done. I see a couple things I forgot to do, like add the outdoor light and hinges on the front door, will probably wash the front w/ Dev Mud to darken in the shadows a bit, but other than that I think it is done? C&C welcomed and openly requested.
Last but certainly not least... not least at all... a huge "thank you" to my wife for letting me move all of my stuff to the kitchen table and keep it there all weekend.
@ dsteingass- Dude, you need to lay off the codeine cough syrup, it's really messing w/ your judgement. You scratch build everything. I'm taking pre-fab stuff and gluing it together. You are the Master. I am merely following your lead. But thank you for the compliment, if I'm hitting that close to the mark then I'm on the right track.
@ shasolenzabi- I want the new Fallout series so much but I know that I'd lose a couple thousand hours of my life playing it. I'd sooner lose that time painting miniatures (a.k.a. another bunch of junk for the estate auction. Ha.)
Bridge is finished. Here are some "action shots".
In other news... I just won an auction on eBay and scored 14 more bulkheads! If any of you were bidding against me... thanks for driving it up to $24.95. If you had bid 10 cents more it would have been yours.
I'm going to focus on the next plasticard design and figure out how to tie it in w/ the 3 structures I decided to rebuild. The basic design remains the same as my old League days, but the new incarnation demands a significant upgrade to detail.
To much awesome stuff to comment on, lets sum it up with: Great job, I'm loving this. I think my favorite piece is the first walkway, the mesh floor looks awesome, and I have to mention the hazard stripes since they're so lovely. Another detail I like is the mesh on the substation with the cabeling underneath, the effort you put in was worth it!
Damnit, between you and dsteingass, I'm actually going to have to go and start work on my Necromunda stuff too. I bought a copy of the game recently for exactly that reason, but have done nothing with it yet...
the balsa wood has sure its place in terrain building... for me it looks like splattered on concrete... for my taste i would have painted it grey...but that is just me^^ the material fully justifies more use!!!
to use the railroad railing (RRR^^) as a support to a walkway is a hell of a clever idea...
about your older necro towers... the one on the right looks like you recycled a cutting mat rofl^^
i had often seen those bulkheads on ebay... but they are a pricey buch...so i have kept put for now... one day i make my own^^
@ Limbo- Hey brother, thanks for checking this out! I'm going to be using that mesh a lot in this project. I have a huge sheet of it and it looks too cool to not get used. The hazard stripes are printed on high-res paper and cut into strips of whatever size I need. I've been using this method for a while and it has significantly improved the finished look of my models.
@ Fifty- It's a sign. When there's so much inspiration and activity similar to the project you want to get working on, do it! dsteingass' project was what finally motivated me to really get this going. You're next. Get crackin', bud! Let us know when you are starting, I'm all about sharing ideas and community support!
@ Vik- I was really skeptical of the balsa right up until I figured out what the structure would be. Now I'm looking at making quite a few more w/ similar dimensions (small bunkers) and all from balsa. I went with the Shadow Gray instead of regular "concrete gray" because I wanted the "tie-in" for my PDF (they wear Shadow Gray uniforms with black trim). The rebuilt towers are going to see some MAJOR changes, including efforts to make them look less like plasticard straight out of the bag and more like neglected industrial platforms. Bulkheads are worth getting, but I agree they are stupidly expensive and had it not been for this project drying up my available stock I would not have purchased more of them. But I feel I got a good deal on this so I'm not complaining.
@ Joe- Gorkamorka!!! Oh man there's something I do NOT need to be thinking about becasue I absolutely love that game! One of the issues I have locally is that none of my current gaming buddies are into these games. I'd love to get back into Epic and Blood Bowl and Gorkamorka and Necromunda and Mordheim... but my kids won't play w/ me, my wife thinks all this is dorky, my current gaming buddies don't seem interested, and I live to far away from people that would play. Gah. I need to move.
@ dsteingass- Don't tempt me. I mean it.
No pics in this "update" because I'm at work, but I got a lot of work done last night. I am working on this currently:
...and let me tell you, there's nothing that has made me hate doing this project quite as much as that piece. It drives me mad to think I'm going to cut 2 more of them. If you're curious why I hate it so much, try cutting a perfect circle out of the middle of .060 plasticard. Yup. That's why I am hating it. But I am sure the result will be completely worth it in the end and I'll forget all about the process involved to build it.
Won't be any updates tonight because I'm playing an RPG w/ my regular gaming group ( anyone ever play Changeling ?) but I'll have some progress to share over the next few days for sure.
More of this looking great SKalk! It's like you and Dstiengass have with terrain what Vik and I have with scratchbuilt tanks going on! It is a good thing as it is sharing ideas and ways of doing things.
That damn circle is why I made my tower perfectly hexagonal and the floors made of wood! I used a hole saw chucked in a cordless drill then built up the detail in plasticard around mine. good luck!
@ shasolenzabi- I'm really psyched to be working on a project "along side" with dsteingass. The timing could not have been more prefect, the motivation is completely there, the techniques are shared back and forth, etc. Yet another reason why I enjoy Dakka so much. There's no way I could have accomplished what I've gotten done in the last year w/o the support and feedback from other Dakka folks. I really enjoy this place a lot.
@ dsteingass- Ahhhh! You cheated! Sort of like my Balsa Bunker... ha. I'll finish this up soon, and there's no way I'm doing another circle. MAYBE a square to make a service lift. Maybe.
Why in Sci-Fi are there always big industrial structures with cavernous drops to your death added for no apparent reason. I mean look at the Death Star or Cloud City, or every ship or station Ripley has woken up in ..miles and miles of steel plating and not enough left for safety railings? lol
Why in Sci-Fi are there always big industrial structures with cavernous drops to your death added for no apparent reason. I mean look at the Death Star or Cloud City, or every ship or station Ripley has woken up in ..miles and miles of steel plating and not enough left for safety railings? lol
I've wondered the same myself, and while I think shasolenzabi has the literal mundane answer, it does make you wonder what the conversation was like when the structure was being planned.
Planetary Governor (eyeing blueprints for the new Imperial Plaza): These plans are ridiculous! Why is every building in the Imperial Plaza 4 miles (6.43738 kilometers*) high?
Random Adviser: It's the Construction Union, my Lord. They hired a moonlighting Inquisitor as their representative and then renegotiated their contract to get paid by the foot (.30480 Meter*)
Planetary Governor: *shoots Random Adviser in the head* Emperor preserve us! How are we going to pay for this?
LMAO. That's probably about right. I don't think there are too many committees in 40k, as long as the Governor supplies his tithe he gets to do whatever he wants more likely
Skalk Bloodaxe wrote:
...and let me tell you, there's nothing that has made me hate doing this project quite as much as that piece. It drives me mad to think I'm going to cut 2 more of them. If you're curious why I hate it so much, try cutting a perfect circle out of the middle of .060 plasticard. Yup. That's why I am hating it. But I am sure the result will be completely worth it in the end and I'll forget all about the process involved to build it.
Viktor von Domm wrote:i own that thingy and i am not really pleased... it tends to be as unprecise as you may want... and it even slides out in a spiral...
and i too would have used a holesaw first.... maybe to get the first cut at least...
have fun RPGing^^
I have found it very good indeed. You can't do it all in a single cut or you do get spirals, as you say, but if you do multiple passes, you get through fairly well, and can always do both sides, then pop things out.
@ Fifty- I just cut my last hole tonight. I've decided to not go for a 3rd level. But thank you for the idea, anything that makes modeling easier makes me happier
@ Joe- That thread is already so full of win! It's going to be epic! I'm really excited that there are so many good terrain projects coming together at the same time. Everyone benefits from shared ideas, we're all motivating each other to strive for excellence, and it really reinforces the concept of community.
@ everyone else-
Short update tonight. Finished cutting out the 2nd (and last) platform tonight. Now comes the detail work. Really going to lay it on this one because dsteingass set the standard on his and I feel compelled to at least make an attempt to show my appreciation through imitation.
That's some pretty ace detail schematics right there, eh? I missed my calling as a freehand illustrator.
Another this that happened tonight is I ran out of bulkheads. Yup, it is official. I am out of bulkheads until that batch I ordered shows up. But no worries, I have a lot of stuff to keep me wicked busy so I'm all set. Don't want to get too far ahead of myself or I'll feel overwhelmed.
The self-adhesive drywall tape idea is perfect! I experimented with a couple things after I took pics of the current platform project and it's really good. It looks great, the adhesive makes working with it amazingly simple, and no doubt it will paint and glue just fine.
More coming soon! I won't be able to work at all tomorrow night but I'll post a few pics of the drywall mesh tape in action.
Lookin good Skalk! Me? set a standard? Usually I am the one failing to live up to a standard. Your drawiing is great, just waiting to see how you do that detail in 3D, keep on Rockin
I started 3 new projects for this and I am building some peripherals for it as well. Also repainted the original terrain and looking forward to bringing that to the table for a massive overhaul soon.
I need rivets. Looking into that this weekend, even if it is simply cutting up a plastic rod. I want to put some of these buildings on the "finished" list.
Damn Skalk you and I are going to fall out soon. Every time I log into dakka you have done loads of cool stuff and I seem to have found next to no time for modelling! Grrr...
I can't fall out again anytime soon. I just got back into this after a 3 month "break" from Dakka and modeling. I'm just trying to catch up right now.
I keep sending people to your Undead Guardsmen as my primary inspiration for many of the models I've built for the Cult. I still have hope that you'll open that bacj up someday. It is epic and so full of 100% win, it deserves to come back to the front page again.
WOW! The bridge kicks ass! What in the world is that grey x-beam thing you used! That is a fantastic bit! I was just in the hobby shop admiring the HO Scale bridges but didnt buy one.
These are the most useful parts of the Bulkheads IMO, I cut every one of these I had like this, used a benchtop electric mitre saw.
dsteingass wrote:WOW! The bridge kicks ass! What in the world is that grey x-beam thing you used! That is a fantastic bit! I was just in the hobby shop admiring the HO Scale bridges but didnt buy one.
These are the most useful parts of the Bulkheads IMO, I cut every one of these I had like this, used a benchtop electric mitre saw.
Mmmmm.... removing the windows to use it for a SoB building and replacing it in the bulkhead frame by something more necromundian should be a great way to recycle all these religious bulkheads I don't know how to use...I have to try it!!!
@ shasolenzabi- And how. So many possibilities. I am going to have to choose wisely. I need to have some that are left over and "loose" for the "add on" platforms I have. All total I have 19 bulkheads total. I should keep at least 6 out. We'll see what happens.
@ MrDrem- I am interested and I've downloaded those, can't get to work on them "soon" but just having them is quite awesome and a decent tool to have access to for future. Thanks for sharing that.
@ dsteingass- PM sent (but you already know that).
@ Hyenajoe- Uhm... it was an accident.
Setbacks, workweek, obstacles, and whatever else aside, I finally got to focus on the terrain project again for a while. Here's some of the work I did:
PDF Bunker #2-
After disassembling my first attempt, I took the opportunity to add some features.
Plasticard "L" piece is simply a glued brace to hold the mesh screen down better.
After a while, I had this:
...and is at the moment looking like this:
Lots of work left to do on it but I'm ok with where it is right now.
Improvised Walkway #1
Most of my Underhive stuff is uniform, symmetrical, etc. That's mostly because I don't want it to look like Ork terrain. But after some thought and consideration the fact that in the Underhive people would over time start to build and / or repair things because there's only so much urban industrial decay that can occur before something needs to be fixed. So I'm going to try this and see how it turns out.
But in all the madness and chaos, I was able to finish something. I really like it. This is what you can do with a set of HO train girders, a piece of plasticard, and some drywall mesh tape. That's all there is to it (other than glue, paints, and hazard stripe printout):
THIS is why I like the drywall mesh tape:
Is that awesome or what??
And a couple "action" shots for scale:
I was going to write more about the materials used and the process and whatever, but I didn't.
@ Eddicus- Glad you like what I'm doing here, thanks for checking it out. I've thought a lot about LED, just haven't looked into it enough to figure out if I genuinely want to try or if it's simply a cool idea.
@ dsteingass- That tape is going to get used again and again. I've got plans for it. Muuahhh. Muuahahah. MuuUAAHAHHAHAHA!!!
@ GD1- I'm not making any boards, just terrain. Just terrain. I mean come on, you make is sound like I have a secret project behind the scenes that I haven't shown my IRL buddies (you know, the guys that read my threads on Dakka?) That's plain silly talk. Boards. Ha.
@ poda_t- Thanks for the compliment. If you are into what I am doing, also be sure to check out The Necromunda Project that dsteingass is doing, and Hell Comes to Mektown which is a Gorkamorka terrain blog by Hyenajoe. And before long MrDrem will have his Necromunda Blog running full speed. Dakka has a pretty tight terrain community going on right now.
Well I got thinking about my current project PDF Bunker #2 and kept looking at it. For those with short memories, this is what it looked like:
Lame. What was I thinking? Lazy shortcuts, uninspired detail, ridiculous color scheme... Nope. That's not going to work at all. It's a contemptible embarrassment to this project, an inexcusable waste of time and material, and it reflects poorly on me as a wargame modeler and a person in general.
RRAAAAGGHH!!! SKALK SMASH!!!
.
.
.
Just kidding.
I did take the top apart again, and created a new insert, and this time I set the wires so they actually went where I wanted them to go instead of all over the place:
And topside view of cable network and whatever those pipe things are supposed to be:
And here it is assembled. It's almost exactly what I wanted, and it's way better than it was before:
Once I had that done I was liking the project a LOT better and kept going and eventually wound up with this:
Excuse the wet look, it still was when I took the pic.
The "Scavvy" bridge is coming along but I don't know if it is going to fit the rest of the theme I have going on here so not sure if I want to finish it as is or tear it back down a bit and make it more in line w/ the other things I have going on right now. I guess we'll know by my next update.
Thanks for everyone checking this out and spreading the word.
@ Vik- Yeah, the mesh is going to see a lot of use. I am staggered that I never thought of it before, and how easy it was to think of when I was trying to come up w/ something for someone else. Ha. I'm going to try really hard to completely overuse it.
@ Capitansolstice- Thanks, I appreciate you checking it out!
@ Fallen668- Steal away! If there's anything here that inspires you to try it for yourself then that is absolutely awesome. I pull so much inspiration from other people, it's decent to be able to pass that along to someone else.
@ Briancj- Hey, welcome back! dsteingass and I were trading those links back and forth the other day. The only kicker to that deal is they are metal so it would be more intensive to convert / work with, but depending on the kind of metal it might be ok. I've kept the link and am giving serious consideration to picking up a bag to try. If they don't work out, no problem. I'll give them to my Berzerkers as sacrifices to the Skull Throne.
Ok. The "DIY" repaired bridge is complete and finished (unless someone sees something I missed... and don't say "rivets", I don't have any) . I have to say that I like it a lot, and that's surprising because usually I'm kinda sorta ok w/ the stuff I make. I really like this one.
Left to right:
Right to left:
And action shots w/ everything I've built today:
And yes, my computer speaker is part of the Grimdark. All hail the mighty BOLT THROWER!
but i think this one is complete and in a very good way too....hell this really looking cool as i can full imagine that peeps in the hive would fix such things that way...!
THis is a conspiracy by Vik! more rivets, more rivets! Did you guys see my latest walkway in my Necromunda thread? NO ONE ever said to me "more rivets" not once! Probably because now I am brainwashed and just put the damn things on now before even posting a pic.
dsteingass wrote:THis is a conspiracy by Vik! more rivets, more rivets! Did you guys see my latest walkway in my Necromunda thread? NO ONE ever said to me "more rivets" not once! Probably because now I am brainwashed and just put the damn things on now before even posting a pic.
@ dsteingass- It is Evergreen Scale Models 1/8 H-column (which is kinda dumb, isn't an H just I on it's side?)
@ shasolenzabi- My FLGS (if you consider 45 minutes "local") has absolutelt stunning terrain. The guys that own / run the shop are genuine gamers and have made incredible improvements to their tables over the years. I've played there only once but it was a decent time for sure. Terrain really does make a difference.
@ Briancj- Ha. Read on, you're in for a surprise.
@ Vik- Thank you for the feedback. I really like that piece a lot and it doesn't look Orky at all to me (which was a major concern when I first started the project).
@ shasolenzabi (2)- Yeah, YOU make rivets.
@ madmartykmf- Hey, thanks for stopping by and checking this out! I really like the work you have going on in your blog (everyone go and check out his City of Death thread) and am humbled by your compliment. I have to refer you to dsteingass and his Necromunda Project to see some absolutely stunning work.
@ marmaduke- Thanks for checking things out and I really appreciate the feedback! I can't remember where but I've seen some of your work recently, love the DP you have. More work coming soon!
Ok. So I spent much of last night drinking beer and painting zombies. I was in a mood to paint instead of build, and it's likely I did myself a favor by putting down sharp pointy things for a while. Nothing was finished, but I got a LOT of work done, and when I finally present the new batch in my 40K Cultist thread I think people will be surprised. I went a bit nutty on them.
But anyway, whatever. You're not here to read about Plague Zombies. On to the terrain.
This was the last piece of my original Necromunda terrain. I tried "improving" it for my Necromunda League, but again backl then Iw as way mroe about playing the game than I was about terrain or painting. I did make terrain, but it was the most basic functional I could go with. I got better as time progressed by I never went back to fix old projects. So for the last 15 years my entrance has looked like this:
It's been this mess for many years. Time for a change.
That's all the stuff I took of it. There is even a Space Marine pauldron (aka shoulder pad) in there. I was really inventive back then, eh? I figured something more durable would get me through the next 25-30 years.
... and that's it for this piece for now. I got sick of it and went to paint Plague Zombies. I haven't done anything else with it.
Later on (when I needed a break form Plague Zombies) decided to do something safe that didn't include sharp pointy things, just glue. This is what I went with:
It is absolutely complete coincidence that everything fir together as well as it did, I grabbed that base board at random from a bunch of stuff I have. I'm guessing it it is a processing station or some other thing like that. Bottom line is that it is hard cover for anyone inside.
Odd thing happened here though, and it's something I thought about a lot before deciding to share it here. All those pieces are cast from hydrocal and I bought them online from a guy who's link I can't find right now. Anyway, I've had this stuff for like 2 years or something. I've been waiting to use it since I got it, but at the same time would look for excuses to not try anything. I finally figured it out last night. It is anxiety. I didn't want to use them for anything, I just wanted to have them because I knew I *could* do something with it later. If I used it, I wouldn't have it anymore. Thoughts become jumbled and convoluted from there, contradicting idea vying for attention... it doesn't matter. When I realized what had really been happening and what it really was, I used as much of it as I could. I can always get more if I like it that much. And if for some reason I can't get more, it doesn't matter. THIS piece is going to look good.
Since taking the pics above I've sprayed it base black. I'll have more on it later.
Happier thoughts- SUPPLY DROP!
I FINALLY HAVE RIVETS!!!
A week and a half later, but feels like forever. I bought a 1/16 hole punch and some 1/16 plastic rod. I also picked up some .035 rod which is insanely small, will likely use that on my miniatures for weapon conversions, etc. I bought a decent assortment of I and H beam, figured I'd experiment and see what I like / dislike from this batch and go from there. I have a lot of ideas and those will start to show up soon as I move forward in the next couple weeks. Overall I'm pretty excited about the myriad of possibilities I have open right now, just need some focus on what I want to try.
You'll notice I picked up some glue. This project has wiped me out! These are the casulities of this project so far:
That's a lot of glue. And the blades are still good for some stuff I do so I'll be keeping them for those things, but as far as cutting plasticard- forget it. It would be easier to chew through it with my teeth than use any of those blades.
I gave riveting a try earlier:
...and decided that I absolutely hate it. HATE it. I will keep going, but man if there's something I hate worse than cutting big circles from the center of a piece of plasticard it's gluing tiny tiny little circles that are supposed to be symmetrical and straight. Gah. I might start making Ork scenery by default.
Finishing up this post on a high note- here's a shot of everything I've done so far that is finished and looking good.
I've really enjoyed this so far, but above and beyond the building and painting it's the HAVING that I'm enjoying the most. I made these. They are mine. I created these out of random parts and brought it all together myself. There's a bit of pride there for sure, and knowing I've got the best looking game table (that I am aware of) around these parts is pretty awesome.
That's all for now. I'll have a lot more coming soon.
Odd thing happened here though, and it's something I thought about a lot before deciding to share it here. All those pieces are cast from hydrocal and I bought them online from a guy who's link I can't find right now. Anyway, I've had this stuff for like 2 years or something. I've been waiting to use it since I got it, but at the same time would look for excuses to not try anything. I finally figured it out last night. It is anxiety. I didn't want to use them for anything, I just wanted to have them because I knew I *could* do something with it later. If I used it, I wouldn't have it anymore. Thoughts become jumbled and convoluted from there, contradicting idea vying for attention... it doesn't matter. When I realized what had really been happening and what it really was, I used as much of it as I could. I can always get more if I like it that much. And if for some reason I can't get more, it doesn't matter. THIS piece is going to look good.
THAT is a feeling i have on a dayly basis... it comes from my times doing RPG ´s and rather perish than use any potions at all...well that is me^^ so i know your feeling here kind of... also you kill all possibilities when you start using materials...any OTHER possible uses that is...
the new materials hopefully won´t fall under these musings^^ and will be used for our all delights!!!
which you rightfully ignited by the last groupshot of your terrain^^
I also stall projects for fear of using up limited supplies. The GWCoD walls and panels especially. I have a ton of old Armorcast resin pipe walls that I am afraid to use up for fear of not getting any more.
You can't let fear rule the day on that. Parts suppliers come and go, and if you don't use the pieces, they'll just collect dust, and not become cool terrain. Plus, there's always NEW terrain people coming into the market. Yeah, it is tempting to go 'but I could cast/copy these, but I don't know how". That will just stall you.
Build awesome stuff, NOW, while you have the time and parts.
@ Foxtale- The do it! In my opinion it is one of the best (if not THE best) games GW ever released, and believe me I have played most of them. Blood Bowl is wicked cool, Mordheim is awesome, Battle Fleet Gothic is fun, Epic is amazing... but Necromunda tops the list. By comparison, 5th Ed 40K is way, way down on that list.
@ dsteingass- I have an idea that I'm going to try next time I start doing rivets. If it works I'll share it. If it doesn't work I'll keep the shame of failure to myself and find another method.
@ Vik / dsteingass / Briancj- At least I'm not the only one who has felt this, and cool to see you understand it. I'm going to make more of an effort to break out of that prison because I'm collecting a LOT of stuff and it seems the longer I have it around the more "precious... myyyy precious" it becomes. The stuff I just bought has no "attachment" and I will be chopping it up with gleeful zest. However, the ladder set I bought from the same company back in ... way, way too long ago... that makes me anxious. So I'm going to use it ASAP and I know exactly what I am going to use it on. So I am going to use the stuff I have to build more awesomeness to play on.
@ madmartykmf- Thank you for that link. Different place than where I have bought my stuff before, but it's from the same Hurst molds. I have some ideas for the diamondplate flooring and once I get back to where I can spend a few $$ again I might go with that project.
Just a text update. I'm going to try more rivets tonight so long as I find something I am looking for today at the local hardware store. I'll likely take a break from terrain for a couple days this week as I have a HUGE zombie project that is so very close to being finished, a final push and I'll have a very impressive update for my Cultists.
Also, I might go back and take pictures of terrain I have already built and display it as a reference point for the improvements I have made, and also to share more techniques / ideas for entirely different types of terrain.
Whatever I do next you can be assured it will be awesome.
@ dsteingass- Why are you wasting time posting on my thread? GET BACK TO WORK!!!
@ Vik- Don't encourage him. Have you ever seen what he does to people? I have a Dreadnought I don't even want because of him!
@ GD1- No prob, glad you are digging it and I'm wicked looking forward to finishing things up. As if anything I do is ever truly "finished", I just stop working on it eventually.
@ poda_t- Supply drop? Already on it.
Ok, here's the Skalk Bloodaxe Rivet Tutorial. Pay attention, because there's only 4 steps and 10 pictures. The process is really, really fast.
Step 1: Gather the standard materials. In this photo I have my plasticard (test piece for this demonstration) file, T-square ruler, pencil, straight cutters, 1/16th rod, and 1/16 hole punch. NO GLUE REQUIRED!!!
Step 2: Draw out design on the plastic.
Step 3: Punch holes as needed.
And here's the genius part of the project
Step 4: Insert rod and clip. Be sure to push rod ALL THE WAY THROUGH. You have rivets on both sides at once!
The next piece was my "final exam". It took me just over 5 minutes to do this one piece. I grade myself with a C on this (but if If I were building an Ork fort I'd be an Honor Student). If I slow down a bit I'll come up to B+ for sure. I don't have the patience or natural talent to to be great, but I am really good at being above average. Ha.
Bottom line of this is that I've found a way that is EASY and FAST for me.
Two shots, different sides of same piece:
Left facing:
Right facing:
So there you go. I have rivets. And a side bonus is that you make MORE rivets when you punch the card.
"But Skalk, what about pieces that you can't use your hole punch on?"
i am shocked...havent thought about this way of doing rivets... but well this amazing methode only works when you use walls that have rivets on both sides?... what does the average small diameter plastic rod costs? one day i fear i see the limitations of cardbpard and have to switch over to plasticcard for good...then all your testing and showing will be handy in quite no short order!
Don't encourage him. Have you ever seen what he does to people? I have a Dreadnought I don't even want because of him!
lol...that would be a good reatiler i think^^ oh and i am totally feeling your pain here... if you want relieve i would feel the need to take your dread off of you^^ if that would make you feel better^^
I don't have the patience or natural talewnt to to be great, but I am really good at being above average.
spectacular^^ that made me really laugh out loud man!!!
I'm always looking for faster / easier. I think the end result will be worth it, and for things I can't fit the hole punch around I have my 1/16th pin vise bit that will do the job quickly.
Limbo and tipios goaded me into making a Dreadnought for my Death Guard. This is how it turned out:
And you know, reading this:
I don't have the patience or natural talent to to be great, but I am really good at being above average.
If I didn't write that myself, I'd sig it. Ha.
Nothing to update right now, except that everyone that reads this thread should go check out the absolute awesxome that is omgitsduane's blog. It is excellent and deserves to get some more attention.
Oh Skalk, you just dont understand how great your stuff really is. You know, I'm sure that if you made another dreadnought you'd realise how great the first one really is =)
Skalk Bloodaxe wrote:@ Foxtale- The do it! In my opinion it is one of the best (if not THE best) games GW ever released, and believe me I have played most of them. Blood Bowl is wicked cool, Mordheim is awesome, Battle Fleet Gothic is fun, Epic is amazing... but Necromunda tops the list. By comparison, 5th Ed 40K is way, way down on that list.
At risk of diverting your awesome thread, what is so special about Necromunda? Compared to Mordheim, for instance, since that is what I have experience in.
that is clear to me dstein...thought there would be some special rules or circumstances that would seperate the games from each other than the mere time periode...
thanks madmartykmf for your link!
That dread is looking so plague ridden it is almost fearful to pick it up, else get some disease!
priceless....and in a same manner i thought about that model too^^
Well, yeah I suppose Mordheim o any fantasy game is smewhat less shooty than a sci-fi game, but the fundamentals of points, gear costs, etc. remain the same. I see the differences purely as different opportunities for terrain myself. Same concept of multi-leveled buildings and walkways over which to have fun gang fights. SOmeday I will do the same terrain project as my Necromunda project for Mordheim, but not just yet. Please don't tempt me.
@ Vik / shasolenzabi- Thanks for the compliments on the Dreadnought. It was fun to build, I just hate playing it. Having a 33% chance that it will do something amazingly stupid at the beginning of any of my turns doesn't make it a list choice I feel comfortable with unless I'm playing a beer-soaked slobberknock where I couldn't care less if I win or not, I just want to play and see what happens. I've had some spectacular failures at horrible times w/ Dreadnoughts. One of the most notable was both Dreads spazzing out. First Dread goes "RRRRaaagghhh" and charges forward. Second Dread had Fire Frenzy, and ther closest target was the Dread that just charged forward. Blasted it in rear armor w/ a Multi-Melta. Ka-boom. The Dread that blew up his buddy was pasted the next turn because it didn't get to move the turn before and was stuck in the open. A barrage of fire from a couple Leman Russ tanks took care of the 2nd Dread and I had almost 400 pts of craters on the table. Wheee. Fun.
@ Limbo- You sound a bit like my wife. She has been getting on me recently for being much more critical about my work. I'm not ever fishing for compliments when I talk about my work, I'm being honest about how I see it. I don't have an answer. I'll try to be better about it.
@ Depraved- Thanks, I was wicked excited when that idea came to me. I'm going to put it into practice this weekend and see what I get for results when I'm genuinely concentrating on doing it "right".
@ Capitansolstice- YES!
@ everyone that asked about Necromunda- Yes I will, but it's opinion based on my personal preferences. As far as game mechanics are concerned, there isn't much difference between Necromunda, Mordheim, or Gorkamorka. And bear in mind that I really, really like Mordheim so I'm not disrespecting that game at all. The same holds true for Space Hulk, Gorkamorka, Epic, etc. The only game GW has put out that I don't like nearly as much is W40K from 3rd Ed onward. 3rd and 5th are complete train wrecks as far as I am concerned, but again it's opinion. Every version has something different, something broken. .
But back to Necromunda. I connect w/ the background and storyline of Necromunda on a lot of different levels, from comic books like Judge Dredd and Rogue Trooper to old GW releases like Confrontation and Rogue Trader. I like the "story" that writes itself in each game and adds a RPG aspect. I like how there's a check and balance for taking down even the strongest player / model on the board, and the possibility of the most green Juve being the hero of the day. Granted, that can occur in Gorkamorka and Mordheim as well, so there needs to be more to my attraction.
That's where the modeling aspect comes in. I have made some stunning terrain for WFB and have rec'd many compliments on it. Problem is, I don't enjoy making "historical" scenery nearly as much and the overall application for it is limited. Terrain for Necromunda winds up on any of my 40K universe tables. Right now game group is looking at a campaign based on CoD and most of the terrain I'm building right now is going to be employed in that game. If we were to play Planetstrike or APOC the same would be true. So I can take 1 piece of terrain and play it in any of the numerous sci-fi based games we have going on.
Also from a modeling aspect, I feel the possibility for conversions and application for those miniatures after the fact is also greatly increased. An Orlock Juve becomes a Conscript for the IG, or can play as Traitor Guard / Chaos Cultist. One miniature, many applications.
Then there's the familiarity aspect. I was an Arbitrator for a Necromunda League from 96 to 98. Same league the entire time, many of the same players retiring and starting new gangs, the story kept unfolding and renewing itself, and it is still today the most enjoyable and rewarding timeframe I've had with any wargame I've played. I can't "go back" but I can bring what once was up to today's standards, which is a huge motivation behind the purpose of why I am building new terrain.
If I could find a game group that played Necromunda I would likely not play 40K at all (unless 6th Ed is amazingly awesome).
No photo updates for a while, I'm dead in the water motivation-wise. I'll get it back together by the weekend, this work week is sucking the life out of me and I feel like I'd rather set myself aflame. It is a small matter, it will pass and things will sort out. Until then I'll be more than happy to chat about stuff. Next "project" I have coming up is to finish what I've already started before doing anything else. I can't let this get too far ahead of me, I need to finish a couple things.
that is the probably the hardest part of the hobby to me... i always get disatracted by any new input i get and of the enormous amount of creative particles zinging around in my head...i think i have to get drunk to actually finish a whole platoon for once^^ otherwise i would gather up a new force...er...what is my current modus operandi...just ask all that know me here on dakka^^
as for the description of the different games and the way you place necronunda in the context of the 40k universe...it is almost seizable how much you are inflamed by the game...and to tell a truth here... all that stuff you fair guys bring on with `munda is making my mouth water and i think it wont be long before i will make my own gang...the stuff you talk about is really making my mind fizz^^
Ah, now I understand, but if it happened frequently, then yeah, I would also stop taking chaos dreads for that kind of constant erratic behavior, I have seen other players never have a problem with their dreadies, I prefer the Defiler with all close combat weapons.
if i ever had played yet a game of munda or 40k i would probably used dreads for that same reason!!! when i play cards or even backgammon it is i either aim for a big win or an even bigger loss...i can´t do with inbetweens...sounds insane but i rather loose big time than get a mathhammer win... i like the aspect of chance and wild card luck...^^ makes life in those gaming moments a little more fun^^
Skalk nice tutorail now fasteddie will be more distracted after seeing this you know he is a plasticard fien and now he is on a terrian junkie rant this will slow his army build.
But with your dred being done maybe it will motivate him on finishing his smurfs and work on his Khorne marines.
Keep up the awsome work.
hmmmm that is a nice idea....although i have used up all my kilted chaps^^ for the black devils...^^ well i am maybe able to kae do with a bit of GS then^^ bare skinned legs shouldn´t be to hard to come by...
looking really good here, I thought after the comment on my blog the least I could do is check out some of the things you've done and there is a lot of intricate pieces here. Glad to see terrain isn't just my favourite part of the hobby and there are other people out there.
@ Vik- I can't really tell what that miniature is. I'm also guessing that you have hundreds of unpainted miniatures already Just guessing, but that is true of most gamers I know.
@ omgitsduane- Thanks for checking this out! There are a number of project blogs going on right now, most notably by dsteingass and Hyenajoe. We're all sharing ideas and inspiration. Welcome to the "club".
Last night I got home from work around 8:30 and promptly fell asleep on the couch. I was woken up so that I coud go to bed. Got up around 3 and did some amazing work on my Plague Zombies. Really happy w/ how it came out, and I'm likely going to FINALLY finish that project tonight or Saturday at the latest, then I'll get back in gear w/ terrain.
I honestly do not like riveting, and know I made a mistake by getting the .060 plasticard. Next time I'll take the advice of dsteingass and get .040 instead. I'm also trying to figure out how to cut straighter lines for when I'm cutting access panels (like on top of my PDF substations) and similar to trusses and braces like dsteingass is doing on his tower. I'll likely pick up some card stock this weekend (the heavier stuff used in stamping / card making) to do the "detail work". I'm also not above using balsa wood again, but I'll need to sand it well because the gritty look is not going to give me the look I am going for next.
I'm still interested in this project and I'll keep going until I have at least a few more platforms done.
I had a birthday a while back and because my wife is so very incredibly awesome I got these:
I haven't started working on either one yet. I'm hesitant to do it becasue of the "once I use it I won't 'have' it anymore" issue I have. But I also know I can buy 100 of them if I wanted to spend the $$$ so I will likely let go more easily once I decide to open those projects up.
Before I do ANYTHING else I still need to finish this:
...and this:
...and this:
...and this.
A couple are slam dunk easy, will jump on those first. Just have to get those Plague Zombies done.
Someone in one of the threads we follow showed us a rotary cutter, which appears to be perfect for scoring straight lines in plasticard for score-and-cut.
I just use my old faithful 6" and 12" steel rulers as a straightedge for cutting. THose are good presents! I have the platformer set, haven't used it much though. Out of sight, out of mind I guess.
@ Briancj / dsteingass- I saw that and my wife has one for her card stuff. It's not the long straight cuts I have the issues with (not so much anyway) it's the geometric shapes I'm cutting into the card (windows, doors, outlines of supports, etc). I'm having a difficult time w/ those. I change my blades frequently, make multiple light cuts instead of one or 2 crushing slashes, use a straight edge ruler... maybe I'm just not... heh... cut out for it.
@ elliot the black templar- Thanks for checking out the thread, more coming soon.
Haha, the whole "Before I get a new project I have to finish this... and this... and this..." sounds very familiar.
Thanks for the rundown on Necromunda. Do you find it's very terrain heavy? It seems like it would be about as much, if not more, terrain than Mordheim.
Skalk Bloodaxe wrote:
I had a birthday a while back and because my wife is so very incredibly awesome I got these:
I haven't started working on either one yet. I'm hesitant to do it becasue of the "once I use it I won't 'have' it anymore" issue I have. But I also know I can buy 100 of them if I wanted to spend the $$$ so I will likely let go more easily once I decide to open those projects up.
Mate, can you please tell the manufacturer of that stuff?
@ Foxtale- If I live to finish every project I have right now, I'm going to be a very, very old man that quite likely will be rather sick of all this by then. Necromunda is a very terrain-intensive game but I can't say in general application it has any more or less than Mordheim except that I have a lot more terrain for Necromunda so by that standard yes it really does on my table.
@ logg_frogg- Thank you! More is coming, I'm just dead in the water right now. I'll get back on it pretty soon.
@ dsteingass- Thank you for the catch as well.
@ poda_t- It was a lot of short, shallow and really, really careful cuts with an X-acto knife that took a long, long time to do. Once I had that done I used a rounded file to take out any burrs or weird edges. It took way longer than the effect is worth to me, I won't be doing another one.
I have absolutely nothing to report for updates. I'm very close to finishing the last of my Zombie project and I am so, so looking forward to the last of the last of this being done because honestly I am so sick of painting Zombies that I don't want to even look at them right now but I'm so close to being done I can't give up and it's the barrier that is standing between me and more terrain awesomeness.
Thanks for reading, thanks for sticking around even during the "dry season", and thanks for believing that more is coming.
yeah well i wish for some pics but you can´t have it all to your liking each day^^ so if it is dry we keep it at least a tad moist with our tears for not having cool updates to oggle upon^^
Yep..It forces us to fill your blog with odd OT conversations while we wait.
Like, have you ever noticed how a bowl of Cocoa Puffs in milk looks JUST like dog food? Yet you eat it anyways because it is yummy good and leaves you chocolate milk to drink.
i would have played that table without terrain even! wow... and with all your stuff...
i see pink and understand what it is.... but what the heck did you use that blueish stuff for or is it just a table cover?^^ lot´s of work you have already flooded in it and seeing some parts i think there is plenty of work still needed... i especially like those lava ponds... and there is yucky water too...and bridges and god knows what not... i sure hope you have a great time playing and kicking the snot out of those wolves...^^
@ Norn King- Thank you for checking this out and commenting. More coming later!
@ shasolenzabi- I appreciate the compliment, and I'll offer the gods as fair a fight as I can but I have a feeling today is not going to be an awesome day for the Cult. I'm taking (literally) hundreds of foot troops but not a lot of heavy hitters. A few Plasma guns here and there maybe, and the odd Heavy Weapon, and likely a few Lenam Russ tanks.
@ Vik- If you mean the blue under the pinkboard, it's the edge of the plywood. If it's blue on the pinkboard, it's a combination of a few different paints I had custom matched at Home Depot (U.S. DIY store, but you probably knew that... just making sure). I took GW pots of Space Wolf Grey and Shadow Blue, plus a pot of Ral Partha Slate Grey. Base the entire board black, build up some areas w/ Slate and others w/ Shadows, highlight most areas w/ Space Wolves Blue. Hmm... maybe I'm giving the Space Wolves an advantage by playing on a tabled colored after them? We'll see.
@ dsteingass- Yup, if that's what he meant.
@ Briancj- I think that's going to be happening sooner than later. I'll send a PM.
So yeah, the battle is coming. I have a few other projects going that I haven't posted about, and I'm trying to get my Plague Zombies done by game time. I'll be back, hopefully w/ a post on my Cultists thread so I can show off my latest work and give you some idea why I've been slower with updates lately.
As always, thanks for following along w/ me. I'd be doing this stuff anyway because I enjoy it (mostly.... ha) but it's more fun to be able to share it w/ other people.
Holy now thats a game table!! Skalk brother you did a great job on the terrian and the board. Man I cannot wait till you and your buddy take the field with your armies.
Take alot of photos of the game. Man cant wait!!
Well Skalk, I hope that you overwhelm them with sheer numbers over his troops. Dropped plenty of "Pie-plates" on his head, and outnumbered him in men and attacks in HtH as they inevitably will do.
Give um hell buddy! I am excited time see your Batrep! Your table is looking good to . From the looks of your layout, it's going to be decided in close combat. Role lots of 6's!
@ GD1- I really appreciate that, because you know I'm sick jealous of your table and terrain.
@ dsteingass- Absolutely!
@ storag- I've taken "miniature perspective" Macro photogtaphy of my table setups before. It's a strange world they live and die in.
@ shasolenzabi- Great advice, and I put it to use.
@ Vik- Thank you. All the luck I can get.
@ GiraffeX- Thank you for the compliment on the table and the Dreadnought. I need to re-base the Dread, and about 100 Plague Marines. That old flock is going to go.
@ madmartykmf- Thanks for the compliment on the table. You can see where I am at, and you know where I want to get to.
Nothing done today that I can post, but I've been working on stuff behind the scenes etc. More later.
Battle Report is finished. I lost 3-2 but it was an awesome game with some amazing surprises. Check it out here.
Great battle report and close game!! Wow your buddy must be banging his head wondering how his TW failed .
Great battle and great pictures. Looking foward to your next game.
Those are the Pegasus Gothic Ruins panels, if you haven't heard of them, you have now. If you don't have any, go get some! They are 100% Steiney approved!
Wow, activity on my Terrain thread! Looks like I'm going to have to get some projects started back up. Thanks for posting! I'll be back as soon as I finish my Defiler. And maybe my Land Raider.
Seconded, I look forward to seeing more of the old Necromunda terrain. I just got a job lot of minis off eBay that to my surprise contained a Goliath gang, so I may embark upon this sort of terrain project myself soon. Thanks for the epic picture content too, its always cool to see projects like this in wip shots.
@ Lennysmash- I've got a lot of terrain ideas on deck, just been very distracted by my Death Guard again. I'll get back on this again as a "primary" project again before much longer.
Yes, a real update! With pictures and everything!
Last night I was playing a game w/ Daichallar and once again it became apparent that if there's going to be a huge canal in the middle of the board there needs to be bridges that vehicles can cross it with, otherwise the canal is kind of pointless.
For some reason I always build something after playing w/ Daichallar. Feldenglas and Kalt just don't seem to inspire me the same way. Anyway, here's the newest addition to my collection of terrain.
First step was digging out all my terrain-building stuff. Wasn't as easy a task as I had hoped as I had moved a lot of things around and didn't label the box it was in. Eventually found it, and pulled out a sheet I had cut a Necromunda platform out of previously:
A few score / snaps later, I had my main shape:
Skipping a few steps here. To get to the next photo I measures out the railing, trimmed it a bit, grooved channels on it so I could slide the plasticard into it instead of just glue the railing to the top of the card, scored and BENT the ramps (didn't want them to come off) and placed a "test" piece of self-adhesive drywall mesh to the card. Aspiring Champion for scale:
Repeat above steps for other railing, laid down my mesh, laid another strip on the bottom for durability, and found myself here:
I used my Xacto knife and a file to score the plastic in the center of the bridge so it didn't look smooth and clean. I then took it outside in the dark cold windy snow, sprayed black, brought back inside (qiuckly becasue being outside was not fun), hairdryer to dry paint, liberally brushed w/ Tamiya Bronze then created rusty highlights w/ Tamiya Copper. Here's how it looks on the table:
Don't worry about those Plague Marines. They have 2 Melta Guns and the Champion has Melta Bombs. That Demolisher is about to become Imperial scrap... unless it's their turn... hmm...
Anyway, this took me about an hour from start to finish, and 1/2 of that time was trying to figure out where my stuff was, and how I wanted to do this. Now that I know the process I could knock one of these out in 20 minutes or less. And as with all projects, the mistakes I made on the first one won't be replicated on the next one. I know I'm going to make at least 2 more of these, so watch for them before too long.
That's it for this one. Updates are slow right now because I'm neck-deep in other projects but this thread is far from over. I'll be back again (hopefully soon) with more terrain awesomeness!
hey mate! now that was desperatly needed!
what with dave gone all painting minis the last weeks^^ now you have to hold up the flag for the terrain ogglers^^
nice quicky with the bridge! i was thinking to add some flaked off white stripes ...like you get on roads? for a bit of contrast?
that self adhesive mesh... i think i have to search out for that... dry wall use you say? hmmm... this might come in handy for noumerous uses...
You should try sponging on charadon granite on the truss in spots to look like chipped paint, then when that is dry, in the center of each charadon granite spot, paint some chainmail or rust It gives each chipped paint spot a 3D appearance. If you then highlight around each chipped paint spot whatever color the truss is + a little white, it'll really pop.
Hmmm.. Likeit! looks alot like a plantoon bridge form WWII Ive got a old airfix on somewhere for my little men and a costal deffence fort which I when through thrase's of likeing.
@ Vik- I figured SOMEbody has to pick up the "terrain torch"... but just poking fun at dstein. I've said it before in this thread, if it hasn't been for him and his awesome Necromunda terrain I'd never have started this thread. As for extra detail, I agree it can use a bit more. But I'm going to skip the "center line" unless I build one that is large enough for 2 Rhinos to cross at the at the same time, and scale-wise that would be HUGE and look out of place. We've had the "40K scale" discussion before and you know it starts making me a bit nutty, and considering the time of year (dark, cold, miserable) I'll skip a topic that I know is going to push me that much closer to the edge of sanity. That said, my next bridge will be large enough for a Land Raider / Battle Wagon to cross. Wish I had measured out before building this one, but I was using scrap so it worked out ok for what it is.
@ Fifty- I got the trusses on eBay, was a lot of 10 for super cheap. They are Chinese knock-offs and if I were doing a model train set I'd have been CRANKED becasue the quality is very low, but for wargames terrain it's absolutely perfect! I can't find the same item, but it's similar to this. As for where to buy the mesh tape, I checked some UK DIY sores online, and found it here but I image there has to be more places than that.
@ dstein- All very good ideas and I agree, it could use more, though it won't be as good as the one Ash did (but then, what is? Ha). I though about adding permanent supports that were the right depth for the canal I have, but that would make it a "one trick pony" if I created other terrain features that I wanted to span (after I made this bridge I thought about having it connect between two of my mountain pieces, that would be pretty neat). But as for weathering, distress, etc, yes. The "quick and easy" made it playable, but I don't have any games coming up that I am aware of so I'll make it look more like it's been beaten and used.
@ madmartykmf- Weathering powders are somehting I've not tried yet, and likely won't until I decide it's time to take the next step to the next level, and that (to me) involves an airbrush. It's on the list of things I'm doing in 2012, but it's not anytime soon ($$$). As far as the idea, steal away! Part of the purpose of this blog is to share ideas and generate interest in making better terrain. I bow to your mastery of the craft and I'm glad that I could offer and idea that you liked.
@ HAZZER- That's exactly that I was going for, except I didn't "hinge" the entire bridge, just the ramps. Again, this was the "quick and -lazy- easy way to get the project on the table. If I were to REALLY do this right, it would look more like this:
I'd have cut it into sections (including the support trusses) and added....
Spoiler:
RIVETS!!!
But I'm lazy. I settle for mediocrity in almost all things. I should strive for loftier goals, but I'm having a hard time moving outside that "comfort zone". If I make somehting that looks too awesome, everything else i have looks "less" than it was. Or maybe that's just a cop-out. Hard telling.
I have an engineer buddy in the army that is wanting me to scratch out a bridgelayer for him. I am thinking it could be done with actual hinged bridges on semi-articulated pistons si that it actual folds out off the top of the track. That would be a cool piece for an army. Rules would have to be discussed, though.
ROFL dave... and guess what...commies seldom use shotguns...eh? see there is a major flaw of them right there...
as to skalk...
If I make somehting that looks too awesome, everything else i have looks "less" than it was.
well i can see your point there...who in his right mind would want to redo from scratch every time he learns another trick...well me mostly as i have wasted an redone terrain whenever something new turned up... i´ve built ruins and castles before...and when i saw that they don´t worked anymore to my new standars...well the wastebin...we do live in a throw away society...
BUT!
I settle for mediocrity in almost all things
no cheap selling please...that is one feat i truly hate... your stuff is by far mediocre...that at least i can without a doubt say and many of this threads followers will back me up on this! (it is in fact mostly sub par...but who is taking record here... )
you do realize when someone is using sarcasm on you?
also you do realize also...you then should have renamed that thread in "building a mediocre battlefield"... which doesn´t drag too many followers to a thread...now do you?
ah and of course there was that rivet thingy...
also... i am totally with you on that specific scale issue! that would look ridicoulous and in game i think such a wide bridge would be next to meaningless...
anyway...carry on and don´t let me detain you any further of your work
@ mxwllmdr- I know the sort of vehicle you are talking about. I don't remember the name specifically but I'm sure if you searched military models you'd find what he's talking about.
@ dstein- I have to disagree. If you don't have rules as a standard to measure against then how do you know how very, very bad you have been?
@ Vik- I'm testing your theory.
So I got to thinking about my terrain, and I've decided that I've been going in the wrong direction completely. Too much time, too much money, and way too much effort. Fast and efficient is the way of the future, and I'm going to evolve to stay up with the times.
I did a bit of work on this, but I think it was worth it. Here's my new game table:
The mat itself is very important and sets the tone for the rest of the terrain. I took this from my wife's failed sewing project box. It is serving a higher purpose now.
Terrain is as follows (clockwise from top right):
* Solar Power Plant. You'll notice the reflective surface, and the efficient cylindrical design. Another great part of that terrain piece is that you can easily add and remove height based on your scenario needs.
* Pile of pipeline. Provides cover on the battlefield and enhances the overall atmosphere for an "industrial" look.
* Water Treatment Facility. You'll notice the discharge pipe that connects to the main drainage system.
* "Heroes of the Imperium"- a dedicated memorial in the center of town, a fitting tribute and also a very cool terrain piece that is at once visually powerful and practical for any scenario.
* Chemical Plant. Every battlefield in the far future needs one of these, and again above and beyond the practical application it really helps set the atmosphere for the table.
* Alien Vegetation. On distant planets the vegetation would likely be weird to us. These pieces illustrate how foreign and different these worlds could be.
* Imperial Bunker. An imposing edifice that commands respect and makes an excellent objective. Can also be used in Planetstrike, so you get double-duty out of one piece!
Here's a couple more pics from different angles to give you a better idea of how these pieces tie together and create a functional and visually attractive battlefield.
actually i feel drawn even more to this place now...think of all the time you have wasted previously... and it was always there in your head...hmmm... i feel like a fool now to have urged you on for greatness... man do i sometimes take a wrong turn...
by the way... those soggy tissuepieces... are those the plants...they apear way more alien then i thought they might be...which of course is a testament to their looking the part feature... i really think this thread should now be moved to articles...as it could be an education for younger players...
also i have to recommend you for your interactive terrainpiece... the solar powerplant is off the scale...shading and reflexes for zip effort... now all those other terrainmakers will feel mighty stupid...
@ Vik- Thank you for appreciating me as the true visionary I am. I am making it my personal goal in wargaming to change the standard of tabletop scenery as we know it.
@ Capitansolstice- Thank you. It's nice to know someone recognizes quality when they see it.
@ mxwllmdr- WIP in due time. I'm not ready to release my secrets to the world just yet.
@ madmartykmf- I know, I know. If you'd like I'll send an autographed picture. Of the terrain, not myself.
@ HAZZER- Thank you. I'm just trying to be an example for all gamers.
@ Moltar- I'll let you in on a couple secrets, but you have to promise not to tell anyone:
Spoiler:
use full cans, not empty ones. They are much more difficult to dent. As for the pencils, a spot of superglue will keep them together quite well
Short update tonight as I have more amazing things in the works, but I had to share a new piece of terrain I picked up the other day. Behold the Imperial Bastion!
My Plague Marines are making a frontal assault. The pathetic Ultramarines are doomed.
The Icarus Lazcannon explodes in a searing white flash of death!
One odd thing though. When I got the box it made a weird rattling noise so I opened it up and found it full of all this plastic stuff:
well, at first i thought... a bit boxy as a terrain... but a great block of LOS... so i think it is good value...
what to do with plastic...
what to do with plastic...
what to do with plastic...
what to do with plastic...
hmmm.... you could give it to me... i am currently recycling quite a batch of plastic garbage to the nearer dump...it would bother me no end if you would be burdened with that stuff...
by the way... your visionary spirit is only bested by your modesty...true story bro!
Heh... I was expecting a Wiley E. Coyote moment with a Plague Marine or two running to attack the Ultramarine and smacking themselves up against the box.
Ultramarines, the Roadrunners of the 40K Universe. You can chase 'em but no chapter can ever catch 'em (as long as GW keeps writing their uberfantastic fluff).
@ dsteingass- Yes, something I haven't smelled in a long time.
@ Vik- Thank you. I'm really trying to not be such a whiner. I know my work is decent. Intellectual understanding vs. emotional acceptance.
@ mxwllmdr- Ha!
@ HAZZER- Right back at you
@ JB- I was at work when I first read that and I cracked up out loud while I was on the phone w/ a customer.
@ MakersHitstheMark- Thanks for checking things out and leaving a comment! I'm back on track for sure, stay tuned for a lot more updates as I have a bunch of new toys I'm going to be bringing out soon.
@ Briancj- I missed a post from you earlier I think. I'll send a PM, but yes it would be awesome for you to come to VT and meet the gang / play a game!
Ok, play time is over, back to work.
Not much to show, but wanted to share this, I'm back on track:
I sprayed the inside black so the gun sponsons would not look weird. I had to fill a few gaps, this was my first Bastion and I made a couple mistakes but nothing that would ruin the model. I expect to be picking a few more of these up and as I build more I'll get better at it.
I'm being really careful on painting this, painting individual pieces before they all get glued together.
By the time I posted this the entire outer building was painted Shadow Grey (the official color of any of my Imperial stuff) and I'm going to have it completely done by Friday as I have a game w/ Daichallar and Kalt.
That's all for now, thanks for looking and for sticking w/ me during the "slow" moments, I really do have an interest in keeping this thread going, I just have so so so many projects!!! I haven't updated my Cult in weeks! Gah!
dsteingass wrote:Those are the Pegasus Gothic Ruins panels, if you haven't heard of them, you have now. If you don't have any, go get some! They are 100% Steiney approved!
@ shasolenzabi- thanks for stopping by, haven't seen any updates from you lately?
@ Vik- I've learned this the hard way too many times. I could have easily made the same mistake on this model as well. Sometimes I have to stop and think about what I am doing.
@ HAZZER- Thanks! I'm looking forward to it being done!
@ mxwllmdr- Busted. Yeah, I know... I said I'd get some pics up but what happened was I got busy with another project and one thing lead to another and this fell off the "to do" list for a while. I'm about 75% done, but I'm trying really hard to finish a project that has been really intense and I'm going to finish that up before anything else.
@ Galorn- Considering most of the people I talk to on Dakka are in France and Germany and Australia, Boston is practically my next-door neighbor.
Yes, another awesome thread I started that has fallen pages back due to my inactivity. It's not over though! I have some things I started to work on that were going quite well but I took a major sidetrack and I have every intention of getting things going again once I clear the decks. For what it is worth, I'm not working on my Plague Marines Raptors right now either. Can't tell you what I'm doing yet becasue it's a surprise, but I'll get back on this shortly w/ a completed Bastion and a few other things I've been thinking about.
My next terrain is likely to look very Orky. I don't have any real Ork terrain and I play against Orks frequently. Why Chaos and Orks are constantly fighting it out on an Imperial world I'm not sure. I think it's time to give the Legion a couple drop pods and pay Da Boyz a visit on their own turf.
Hey Skalk,
Big fan of your DG blog, only just stumbled upon this: cracking work mister! Loving the retro joy of Necrofunda, and interesting to see where you'll go with more "regular" terrain. Sub'd and then some
Hey, Skalk, I realize that not everyone has the free time that I do, currently not having a very demanding workload at the j-o-b and all, but when are we gonna see some more?
Loved the Hummer, btw. Having driven them for twenty years now, I actually have wanted to cut one into smaller pieces for a long time...... LOL
@ Vik- Orky terrain will be very fun, and will make doing rivets a lot easier becasue they do not have to be neat and tidy (unlike Imperial rivets that need to be evenly spaced, straight line, etc.
@ inmygravenimage- Hey, thanks for checking this out! I really appreciate the feedback all around. I'll be doing some work on terrain again soon, just not exactly sure when. But stay sybbed, more is coming!
@ mxwllmdr- See below, and
@ Galorn- Ha! I'm happy to say I'm on the mend and will be 100% again very soon.
I'm posting this on all of my active threads (Plague Marines, Cult, and Terrain). I'm not going to be posting any updates for a while. Nothing is wrong so no worries there, but I have some things that I need to manage and it is going to cut into some of my modeling time. That coupled with the fact that I'm really needing to take a modeling "break" has brought me to this. So rather than just disappear like I did last time I figured I'd at least offer an explanation up front so folks know that things are ok and also know that I'm not being lazy w/ updates, I'm simply not doing anything right now.
I will be back, hopefully sooner than later, but in case some time passes I have a specific request:
Please do not post on this thread until I update it next.
I do not want the thread to be locked by Mods and have to go the whole "please unlock my thread" thing w/ them. If you're digging on what I'm doing here, send me a PM. I expect I'll still be surfing Dakka when I'm at work now and then and will try to stay up w/ the threads I am actively following, I just won't be posting any new stuff here for a while.
And again, just to verify- nothing harsh or bad going on here, I just have some stuff that requires more attention than I have been giving them and I'm going to see a pretty genuine decrease in my modeling / online time at home. I will be back, and w/ any luck I'll have some new stuff to share.
Short update- I'm working on getting back to Dakka. I've cleaned out my gaming space and I have been putting all of my "hobby" attention into organizing my workspace and focusing on improved terrain. I have no pics to share yet but they are coming.
67 plastic bulkheads. Wow. All the other stuff is great, but the modeling possibilities I have coming with those bulkheads are staggering. I'm not going to do anything with them until I finish some projects I have open right now, but I expect they are going to go rather fast as it's essentially creating "area" terrain from the hundreds of little bitz I have already painted. It's part of my attempt to bring more things into play and provide more options for my gaming group. It doesn't matter how cool something is if it never gets used, and if it never gets used there's likely a good reason. No one is going to stack 15 barrels by hand, so I'm creating area pieces that have have the barrels (crates, etc) glued to it, thus making it more function for setup and more visually striking as part of the overall layout.
My Death Guard and Cult are on extended hold and will not see any additional attention until after 6th Edition has been released and I fully understand the rules. In editions past I have made the mistake of working on models that were suddenly obsolete once the new edition was released. And even then I am skeptical the DG will see any major upgrades or inclusions unless there is a clear 6th Ed benefit of my doing so because 10K+ points of DG catapulted me way past a playable army and landed me smack in the middle of unhealthy obsession.
Pictures of terrain coming in the next couple weeks. I would sincerely prefer to make that happen sooner opposed to later because I genuinely miss being here, but I'm going to hold off on nailing down a specific time frame as chaos is not only on my tabletop these days.
Hails to all my Dakka buds that read this, and welcome to anyone new just checking this out. I'll be back with content as soon as I can.
67 bulkheads, imagine the possibilities! I went off into a daydream about building them into a real life house, but you'd probably need even more.
I'd forgotten about that tiny cardboard watchtower from 4th edition Fantasy Battle, strange seeing it pop up in those eBay photos. I had an Amelie gnome moment wondering how on earth it got there. Once upon a time that was the only scenery I had, many a battle was fought for control of it, useless though it may appear.
Skalk Bloodaxe wrote:Short update- I'm working on getting back to Dakka. I've cleaned out my gaming space and I have been putting all of my "hobby" attention into organizing my workspace and focusing on improved terrain. I have no pics to share yet but they are coming.
67 plastic bulkheads. Wow. All the other stuff is great, but the modeling possibilities I have coming with those bulkheads are staggering. I'm not going to do anything with them until I finish some projects I have open right now, but I expect they are going to go rather fast as it's essentially creating "area" terrain from the hundreds of little bitz I have already painted. It's part of my attempt to bring more things into play and provide more options for my gaming group. It doesn't matter how cool something is if it never gets used, and if it never gets used there's likely a good reason. No one is going to stack 15 barrels by hand, so I'm creating area pieces that have have the barrels (crates, etc) glued to it, thus making it more function for setup and more visually striking as part of the overall layout.
My Death Guard and Cult are on extended hold and will not see any additional attention until after 6th Edition has been released and I fully understand the rules. In editions past I have made the mistake of working on models that were suddenly obsolete once the new edition was released. And even then I am skeptical the DG will see any major upgrades or inclusions unless there is a clear 6th Ed benefit of my doing so because 10K+ points of DG catapulted me way past a playable army and landed me smack in the middle of unhealthy obsession.
Pictures of terrain coming in the next couple weeks. I would sincerely prefer to make that happen sooner opposed to later because I genuinely miss being here, but I'm going to hold off on nailing down a specific time frame as chaos is not only on my tabletop these days.
Hails to all my Dakka buds that read this, and welcome to anyone new just checking this out. I'll be back with content as soon as I can.
Welcome back my fellow new englander. I look forward to seeing your latest constructions.
welcome back skalk, old chum... that was a huge absence of yours... just yesterday i thought of you and your terrain thread...coincidence? hmm.... well that ebay haul is verging on the massive... totally looking forward to more of your stuff here!!!
Skalk! Good to see you again - I've really missed seeing your updates. Hope you managed to get everything sorted in your absence. And that is one hell of a haul, can't wait to see you put it to use!
Wow, did you guys all still had me subbed? I hope to reward your faith in my return with truly epic creations that awe and inspire.
@ tipios- Yeah, me too. The test sets I've built have turned out quite well I think. Pictures coming soon.
@ Briancj- I am stunned that I walked away with that for less than $100 (including S&H). If the auction had been only the bulkheads and nothing else, it would have been only $1.48 per bulkhead. But wait, there's more! I get barrels and a barricade and lots of great templates I can trace onto plasticard! Dstein sent me the link to the Necromunda building template PDF and it was very awesome, but this... this will endure the ages if I take care of them properly (which I fully intend to do).
@ Bruticus- I am honored and humbled by your attention to my meager efforts and lacking results. Dstein sent me the link to your thread a while back and I was staggered. In my opinion you share a top seat with a very small and elite class of master terrain builders. Your table is truly an inspiration for me and is a standard to strive for. One request I have of you (and everyone that read this, btw) is to call me on my shortcomings and point out when I cut an obvious corner. Sometimes (especially once a project is reaching the 90%+ finished stage) I inexplicably say "good enough" and post pics of the "finished project". I've been busted for that a few times and the reworks has always resulted in a superior finished product. Appreciate you checking out my work and I'm looking forward to seeing more of your work as well. (for anyone that hasn't seen his thread, click here )
@ Galorn- Hails from your Northern Neighbor! Man, the Sox are tanking this year, eh? New terrain stuff coming as soon as I get pics and a couple hours computer time at home.
@ Vik- Thanks for stopping by and posting! I really miss the camaraderie here. I had no intention of being gone so long and I'm not completely "back" yet, but it's going to happen. Really excited about those bulkheads. I am very much looking forward to getting to work on them as soon as I have completed the other projects I have on deck. Now if I could only do something about those rivets...
@ inmygravenimage- Terrain is the only thing that will be on my table every single game, and is the only thing that is almost completely guaranteed to still be on the table at the end of every game. I'm hoping to produce some quality pieces that take my project to the next level (whatever that is...) and I'm looking forward to sharing it here. Thanks for stopping by.
@ Scarper- Thanks! I'll have some new stuff soon, and I think you'll see the difference from the older stuff. Not so much in skill but in concept and application. I'm really hoping that my time away has given me a fresh perspective on what I want to do. We'll know soon.
@ dsteingass- Hey, wow! I need to catch up on your project, it's been too long. In fact I have a LOT of things to catch up on. I think the next rainy weekend I have I'm grabbing a rack of beer and doing a lot of reading / commenting. I'm going to take an extra day just for your thread. What's it up to now, 800 pages or something? Ha. Looking forward to catching up w/ you soon. And oh yeah... jealous much? http://www.ebay.com/itm/270975698404?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649
@ Moltar- It's like a class reunion! I will have to count up the total number of bulkheads I have now. It's going to be a ridiculous amount, which means I'm getting close to having just enough where I don't feel like I need anymore until 1/4 of these are used for something. Ha.
Ok, that was just lame. It's been so long since I posted that I had forgotten what I was using for a divider (but at least I remembered the coding this time...). I really want to get back to working on projects and start posting here again, and all of you are the reason why. I could do this stuff in my back room all by myself, but this is way more validating and rewarding. I post on Dakka because I enjoy the community, and you guys ARE the community. I am doing everything I can to get back on track and make good things happen again. Thanks for sticking around, thanks for reading, thanks for being so cool, and I'll be back as soon as I can.
@ SelvaggioSaky- Thanks for checking this out and taking the time to comment. It's a huge motivator for me and it's appreciated.
@ dsteingass- I finally feel a little balance now. That monstrous haul of plasticard and rods and tubes etc you scored many months back had me twitching with jealously. Not that I'd have actually DONE anything significant with it in the same timeframe that you did, I just wanted it.
@ Hyenajoe- It looks like it. Making a genuine effort at least. I'll have some of my recent work to share soon, just need to take the time necessary for pics and upload.
Not an "update" per se, more of a reminder for myself so I don't forget the ideas I just came up with. I just re-read this thread and looked at what I have done so far. What kept coming up time and again was the techniques I was using and the results they provided. My #1 challenge was cutting the plasticard and I'm not looking to repeat the things that stagnated my progress. Cutting by hand w/ a hobby knife was a slow process and frequently resulted in uneven cuts. I addressed the uneven cuts by filing them down, but again the results were less than I had hoped for. This process was annoying and was instrumental in my waning interest to continue.
Recently I've been getting back into woodworking (mostly for home repair) but part of that was using my jig saw and table saw to create the area bases that the fiddley bitz (barrels, crates, etc) are being glued to. After some consideration I had an idea- if I can use my power tools to create bases w/ hardboard, maybe I can try those same tools to cut the shapes I want for my platforms, support struts etc? Why not use my drill to cut hatch holes? Why not use my sander to create a rough textures surface?
If I have any time tonight I'm going to take a test piece of plasticard ("test" meaning I won't miss it if I ruin it) and try a few of these ideas. If it works out I'll post pics. If it doesn't I'll just say it didn't work. And yes, I know... power tools ignore armor saves, so I'll be careful. I imagine my motivation to model would suffer a significantly negative impact if I were suddenly missing a finger or two.
1) A chopper, be it from Micro Mark or from NWSL. Make repetitive cuts a breeze.
2) A good bone/hacksaw and a cutting jig. Cheap, easy, guaranteed straight lines.
I have been using a guillotine paper cutter (the one with a base, and the long bladed arm) to make very straight, very long cuts in plasticard. It can handle .040" easily, and the base has a measuring grid.
None of these tools are overly expensive, for those of us (like me) on a budget.
@ Briancj- Dstein told me to buy .04 but of course I bought the .06 because I was concerned w/ stability. Then I learned it didn't fit my bulkheads (had to chop the slots to make it fit) and when I tried my guillotine paper cutter it made a nice curved cut because it cannot manage the thickness. It wore out at least half a dozen Xacto blades during the limited progress I achieved, didn't work well with the "score / snap" method at all (was more like "score / bend card / score / bend card more... repeat until *snap*) and really dragged the entire process down.
*sigh*
But all is not lost. I have ideas for the plasticard I have and learned a valuable lesson- listen to people who get results.
@ Vik- Really, isn't that the justification for almost all things we do? Ha.
@ dstein- I think nowadays if the bank can't get the $$$ out of you they just kill you. I remember hearing something about that during the Wall St protests. It'll be an election topic later this year I suppose.
@ GiraffeX- Good to be back. Hoping I can keep up.
Ok, first true update in months. Here we go.
Around Dec / Jan I started having an incredibly difficult time with this entire hobby. I've joked about my ridiculously unmanageable miniatures collection, the incredible amount of "scenery" parts and bitz that filled numerous boxes, and the constant revolving mess that moved from one part of the room to another. The entire situation had become overwhelming and I had to accept that in order for it to change I was going to have to let some things go. I asked myself what was going to go, and to my surprise the answer was "almost everything".
Once I realized what had to be done, I made it happen. I've spent the last few months sorting through every single thing I had, from small boxes full of little tiny broken bitz to monstrous plastic totes and 4X8 sheets of polystyrene. All total I removed 5 contractor bags of "scenery materials", probably a dozen or so moving boxes, and well over 1,000 models / miniatures. As of last weekend (my final cleanup) decades of hoarding things in the name of Wargaming ended.
I can see the concern on your face. Don't worry, I've kept the really cool stuff. I'm keeping my CSM, WoC, Genestealer / Chaos Cult, Tyranids, IG, and VC Undead. Admittedly it is still a considerable collection, but it's manageable and easily stored.
I have no regrets and with the reclaimed space I have created the most organized and functional game / hobby space I've ever had in all my years of doing this. Here are some before / after shots. I wish I had taken some actual "before" shots before I started this massive haul out, but the pictures from over the ages will provide enough representation of what was compared to what is.
The old days:
Notice the boxes of junk under the table. Also notice the incredibly plain terrain and my painting table covered in junk:
052212_10
Random boxes of junk under my painting table and random tool / miniatures / misc junk hanging on the wall by nails:
This is what my bench looked like on a good day. I would clean it up again and again, but in a few days it was like this again, usually much worse:
Going forward:
Organized and efficient with purpose and order. Most significant above all else is that my table is now collapsible and allows me to take the 4X6 down between games. It has re-opened the room for all sorts of other things from jamming music with friends (table down completely) to M:TG and regular boardgames. My daughter has even started doing her homework on the folding table.
From L to R my "current projects" shelf, and also a can of my smaller rods / pipes / etc that are too long to fit into a drawer. Items on this shelf are officially "on deck" and my efforts will be to complete these projects before starting anything new. Top of desk is similar to what it used to be, except I removed an unnecessary lamp and replaced it with more storage that allows me to sort my bits more efficiently. Bottom of desk where I store every remaining peice of terrain building material I kept. For the very first time it is sorted and I know where everything is. I have unfinished buildings that are not "on deck", my unfinished Pegasus Hobbies Gothic Ruins (which takes up the entire drawer, I have a lot of that stuff), my "wood" collection of balsa, poplar, coffee stirrers and similar wooden things. I also have all of my unpainted scenery that is built and based black but not on deck, a collection of formed plastics like GW bulkheads, cake pillars, styrene card, and a drawer full of random plastics like old military model parts, O-Scale terrain, and selected broken toys that will find new life in the Grimdark. I also keep all my gallon paints and scenery flocking materials here. In the corner I keep my yard stick, foamcore board, and a poster mailing tube full of long rods and trim for new buildings later on. Disregard the amp, it belongs to my friend and it's only there because it didn't go home last time we jammed.
Closeup of the "on deck" projects. Details coming later in this post on what I'm actively working on.
A closeup of the desk. I didn't know how annoying that flash reflection was until I saw the pic on my monitor. Sorry.
I took some pics of where I am storing my completed terrain now but they came out pretty bad so I'll re-take them later for another post. That said, on to the new projects!
(by the way, say "hello" to Dark Lord Caen. He was my favorite and most frequently played Chaos Lord from 2nd Ed. He's graciously agreed to provide scale for the following photos. And yes, he wants to rip the soul out of your body and offer it to the glory of Chaos United)
I have dozen and dozens of loose bitz like this. Crates and barrels make up the vast majority of that collection and while they had a specific purpose in Necromunda (a single barrel provided Hard Cover) they haven't seen much time on the 40K table. I want to change that. Here's a few examples of where I've taken loose bitz and put together small area terrain that is easily accessible, quick to set up, and has both functional and aesthetic value.
With the exception of the black crates and barrels above, none of the pieces are actually glued together because I need to finish detail painting. They are put together to show where they will end up once finished. I expect a lot more detail, and I'll be using a lot of random bitz from the various IG plastics, Necromunda, etc. Stay tuned because these will start cranking out soon.
I've also decided to re-purpose all of my old Epic rooftops into playable 40K terrain. Here's an example of what I'm trying to do:
I'm not sure how it is going to work out completely, but the layouts I've done have had some interesting combinations and I expect things will work out well.
Remember the bland rock scenery (and bland tabletop) from the first picture? Here's what's happening to change all of that:
The tabletop is my 4X4 sheet of plywood that I did a test on. It came out really well I think and I'll be taking my 4X6 outside to give it the same treatment in a week or so when I buy some more paint. It's a simple mix of flat black latex paint and a bag of those tiny crushed rocks you can get at a craft store for a few $$$. Let it dry and then hit it lightly w/ a can of flat gray spray primer. It would be optimal to have an airbrush to do this with, but I'm going to hold off on that and keep going as best I can with this method for now.
The ledges have the same treatment. Ledge on the left is one I already had made and it just got resurfaced. I need to repaint the "ledge" effect to clean it up, but overall I really like the look of it and feel it is going to come out very well for the table overall. The ledge on the right is brand new from a chunk of foamboard that I cut into terrain a couple days ago. I didn't have a place to store it as a chunk of foamboard, and when I cleaned up the room I got rid of a lot of my old ledge terrain. The pieces I kept are going to be resurfaced and repainted. The space I created by getting rid of the stuff I didn't really use (poor design, etc) is where I'll be storing my new ledge terrain pieces.
Here's an example of old meeting new. These are both hatches I made for Necromunda (or an objective marker, or whatever). The hatch on the left was built just the other day and is almost finished, just needs some weathering and washing. The hatch on the right was built back in '96-'97 timeframe for Necromunda. It was repaired as I found the broken pieces during my cleanup and sorting. Glad to have it back. It needs some work but it still has a place on my tabletop.
Another thing I've been wanting to do for a very long time is make craters to represent destroyed vehicles. As they are right now they will at very least satisfy the game requirements of indicating difficult / dangerous terrain. Once I am done with these they will look very different. I have drawers full of bitz for Rhinos and Land Raiders. If this works out well I'll be doing a few for IG tanks as well.
Lastly, my first official completed scenery piece since October 2011:
It took me a few minutes to do that. The pieces are from an O-Scale model set and came pre-inked. Lame? Maybe. Looks great? Absolutely.
That's it for this one I think. Hope there's enough content there to have kept you busy for a few minutes. I can't make a genuine prediction of how long I'll keep this up, but it feels a lot different this time. I've already noticed a positive change in how I model- I stop projects early so I can clean up before doing something else so every time I return to the table it is clear and ready to be worked on. The cleanup is a quick process because for the first time everything has a specific and intentional place. And because I know where absolutely everything is (and within easy reach) I get more work done in less time on any project I am doing because I'm not spending time looking for something.
Huge thanks to my wife and my friend ktbb22 for all the help and support during this process. And a huge thanks to all of you that stuck around during my absence. The feedback I get here is always welcome and is a great motivator. But more importantly to me is the camaraderie I've found here. There's quite a collection of personalities on Dakka, and you are some of the coolest ones I've met. Thanks for helping make me want to do this.
that´s got to be the most epic cleaning up and reorganising job i have seen... my hat is off to you sir!... i am still in that state of regular small scale cleanup work myself... seems i have to mature one day like you did... all cleaned up like this i really can imagine that your hobby engines are finally kicked into high gear again...
the whole update for yo was more than worth the long wait... all these very interresting upcoming pieces... specially the epic rooftops idea is "ground" shattering^^... the tank craters i am particularly interested in seeing soon...
anyways... i hope you can keep it all clean and tidy from now on... for me that would be the hardest part... your desk before looked all to familar to my own^^
Oh you have the same little plaster crates that I have, and bizarrely you have one on a little palette like I just made. What a strange cosmic coincidence.
Did you ditch the magnifying lamp? Was it no use or did it break? I like the idea of those but I am not sure if I would get annoyed with it pretty quickly.
Organized and efficient with purpose and order. Most significant above all else is that my table is now collapsible and allows me to take the 4X6 down between games. It has re-opened the room for all sorts of other things from jamming music with friends (table down completely) to M:TG and regular boardgames. My daughter has even started doing her homework on the folding table.
Good clean, good crafting. I seem to remember that you had a thread called "Shelf of shame", could you point out this infamous shelf in your workspace? =)
@Briancj- No chance of that. My new rule is "a place for every thing", and the space I have available is spoken for. Granted, a new individual piece of plastic junk here and there is going to happen, that's part of the hobbyist in me. But when it does happen it will have specific purpose. What won't happen is scooping up the entire "free" pile of broken toys from a yard sale.
@ Capitansolstice- Thanks! It really does. And it's nice seeing it being used for other purposes that benefit everyone now.
@ DemetriDominov- Thanks for checking this out! Always good to hear from new folks. I'll have more work coming in the next few weeks, stay tuned
@ Vik- The cleanup really has kick-started my motivation. Main issue w/ productivity is time, and a close second is distraction. I'm hoping to change this soon.
@ Galorn- Thank you. I have exorcized the daemons of Tzeentch and restored the balance of Chaos Undivided!
@ inmygravenimage- If nothing else, may I serve as an example to make the lives of other gamers easier.
@ Bruticus- Perhaps great minds think alike? The "palettes" were made from a dollhouse picket fence set I bought years ago and have lost most of them since, these were the last of the last I had. I looked them up on eBay just now and found it: http://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-MARX-PLASTIC-MINIATURE-DOLLHOUSE-GARDEN-PICKET-FENCE-ACCESSORY-TRAIN-SET-/300717450670?pt=Model_RR_Trains&hash=item46042825ae . I'm almost tempted to bid on it. Yes, I ditched the large magnifying lamp, specifically becasue it serverd no purpose and took up a lot of space. I never actually used it for the magnifying glass, I used it for light on the center of my painting table. I'm going to find another extendable shop light and mount it to the wall later on.
@ Ma55ter_fett- That wallpaper has made famous on Dakka. Ones and twos of people have commented on it. I love that workspace, and I know how fortunate I am to have it.
@ Vik-
@ dsteingass- Thanks man, you know I envy your workbench. I am still thinking about a pegboard for my tools. The drawer is a good enough space for them but the peg board thing just looks really cool.
@ Styrofoam04- I'm particularily happy w/ the Space Marine poster from GameStop. It was on display, I stopped and asked what they were going to do w/ it once the promotion was over, they gave it to me on the spot. I walked through the mall holding it up above my head waving it back and forth. My wife really appreciated that part.
@Briancj- White Dwarf 245, May 2000.
@ dsteingass- My wall has a combined front armor value of 380.
@ RSJake- That made me literally laugh out loud.
@ Limbo- That shelf has been officially retired. The things I have left are projects I have a genuine interest in. The things that are not done yet are simply that- aren't done yet. I expect I'll be able to get to most of this in my natural lifetime now.
Man, I have got to get back here more often if I'm going to stay on top of things. That took a long time to write!
No update tonight, just a bit of bragging. This is for those of you that have always wondered what 67 Necromunda bulkheads next to each other looks like:
I am so happy right now. The barrels and barricades are simply bonus, the bulkhead collection is by far the gem of this lot. I have absolutely no idea what I am going to do with them yet, but be assured it is going to be something awesome. And really... how can I go wrong with these things? Slap a few pieces of plasticard between them, hit it with black primer / drybrush metal... *ta-da* awesome terrain. Ok, so maybe there's a bit more to it than that, but they do really add something that I could not replicate from scratch.
So yeah, no work since the last time I was here. I really need to change that. This weekend is supposed to be miserable rain so maybe I'll take a few hours for myself.
When I do get back to work, I have a few ideas on what I want to do. First and foremost is finish the "bitz to platforms" project, should be able to knock that out if a few hours and be happy with the results. After that I'm going to get back to work on this:
This was the first piece that started this thread and it is still not finished! Oh the shame! It's next on the list.
Once I'm done with that I'm done with that, it's time to finish this:
I will likely do work on both the above projects at the same time as I still need some support girders cut, so it would make sense to do that all at once as I test out my "power tool" theory and see if it is the time-saving process I'm hoping it is. Depending on how it works out I may just start drawing out pieces from templates and do all my platform project cutting at once. I'll let you know how that turns out.
After that I'll probably get working on my vehicle craters. I expect that is going to be a lot of fun and a welcomed break from the tedium I am expecting towards the end of the platform projects. Not burnout, just really wanting to do something different.
That's it for this one. I'm hoping to be back around again this weekend. Thanks for the responses, I'll see what I can do to keep up with you all. Ha.
Skalk Bloodaxe wrote: No update tonight, just a bit of bragging. This is for those of you that have always wondered what 67 Necromunda bulkheads next to each other looks like:
I am so happy right now. The barrels and barricades are simply bonus, the bulkhead collection is by far the gem of this lot. I have absolutely no idea what I am going to do with them yet, but be assured it is going to be something awesome. And really... how can I go wrong with these things? Slap a few pieces of plasticard between them, hit it with black primer / drybrush metal... *ta-da* awesome terrain. Ok, so maybe there's a bit more to it than that, but they do really add something that I could not replicate from scratch.
I hope you know how lucky you are that there's an ocean between us, preventing me to launch a raid to your house to get this precious loot!
@ Hyenajoe- I believe I have said the same to you once or twice.
@ dstein- Eh. Sorta. Whatever.
@ Vik- here you go.
Have a few new works to offer. I'm really pleased with these. I know there is more detail work I could do, but I'm satisfied with the results. I will be doing more of the same on the next few of these I make. I intend to do this with the majority of my loose bitz, but of course will keep some things individually for flexibility during setup.
*apologies for the pics in advance, I didn't see the blur until after I started to post here. I'll make sure to take clearer ones next time I update*
First project took more time than I had expected. Painting the bands around the crates was time consuming. I used brass on the darker boxes and silver on the lighter for distinct contrast. I also tried to break up patterns in the pile by painting different boxes different colors. To give the piece a purpose in the "fluff" on my table, it's a PDF resupply with combat gear.
This next piece is something I always wanted to make anyway, just never got around to it. I've gotten around to it now, and I really like it. I'm also happy that I found a place for that Chimera support plate. I never built them into my models, I kept them so I could do something with them later. For one of them, "later" was finally "today".
The "leaking fuel" effect came out decent on the gravel but not so much where the base is more smooth. I am going to experiment with a few things and possibly go back to the oil puddle with a better technique. The rust effect was a couple washes of Sepia and then a flat rust drybrushed with a wide brush. I might seek out more barrels and make a couple more pieces. I think a couple more of these next to my storage tank would make a good refueling point / refinery setup.
Next is another PDF supply drop, only without any visible gear. It is possible that I will go back and add some if I feel it needs more detail, but I'm quite happy with the strength of versatility this piece has. The two palettes are removable and can be used anywhere on the board. I can also take any other item and use it on this base. One new thing I tried this time was instead of painting red and then use Bolt Gun Metal to do drybrush highlights, I painted Bolt Gun first and then covered it with red, then rubbed the red off through a series of techniques. It gives it a lot more detail than I was going to do originally (paint it Bolt Gun and then slap some Sepia on it- done) and I'm interested in trying more detail w/ this technique on other pieces, so you will see it again (and hopefully improved).
Next up are my barricade crates. I'm doing them next only because they are the last of the "on deck" items for this project. I really have no interest in doing them, I'd much rather work on those destroyed vehicle crates (have been thinking about them a lot, ha). But I also know if I skip past them they could remain flat black for eternity. I absolutely will get to the craters. I'm not so sure I'd make time for the crate barricades. I just barely told Limbo there's no more "Shelf of Shame" so it's getting done next. I really wish I had painted each individual crate before I based it, would have been a lot easier. Another modeling lesson learned though, as I did paint all of my crates first for my PDF resupply crates. I built that piece after I had made the crate barricades.
Not sure if I'll be back tonight, but I'm hoping to get a couple more things done this weekend.
I like that scuffed red effect - mind giving more details? I have a load of those exact same crates on my painting desk at the moment...
I love painting scenery and barrels especially, my technique is to paint them a bright colour like my favourite - deneb stone. Do that with a massive brush and it takes no time at all. Then wash them a few times with sepia or whatever looks good. Finally use a sponge to dab on some metal and paint some fine line scratches. Anything where you get to use a sponge and lots of wash is fun in my book.
i think that scrubbed off red methode you must explain further indeed...how and with what did you do it?
the leaking barrels look very good..the effect made me lol even a bit as i think it has a bit of comic relieve even in it... but where i had wished a bit more in depth thouroughness from you are all those horrible moldconnections... i think with a slpa of LGS this could have been avoided quite easily...tho don´t get me wrong here all those paintjobs here are more than neat... just saying^^
@ Bruticus (& Vik)- I used my last container in that piece, I do not have any more. I will find something similar and try the same technique soon, and this time take WIP photos w/ description of what I am trying to do.
@ Vik- I was going to smooth all the mold lines and fill the joints, but I didn't. It doesn't mean I won't go back at some later date and do it, I just don't have a quick and easy way of making it happen right now. At very least I lined them all up so it looks sort of intentional instead of just bad connection seams. Thanks for the compliment on the oil leak, I'm trying to get more "detail" into my pieces.
@ tipios- Glad you are liking what I am doing. I'm pushing my ideas out of my "comfort zone" and trying to achieve results I haven't been able to reach yet. I really do have to find better technique for making "oil puddles" though, that one part of that piece just bugs me. Not sure why, it's just not "right".
So last night I was looking for a bottle of Tamiya rust and could not find it anywhere. The last I could remember using it was months ago when I was doing the terrain earlier on in this thread. It was driving me mad because I have everything put away neat and organized and taken care of. There's only one place it should have been, and it wasn't there. Thinking... thinking... and then it hit me. I remembered a box, a huge box full of stuff that I just stiff-armed into it when I was "cleaning off" my painting table before the huge haul-out. This is what I found in it:
It was like winning 20 eBay auctions and having them all arrived at once. I spent *hours* sorting through all that stuff, found some genuine treasures, and threw away a grocery bag full of junk. Should have gotten some sleep, but eh, it was going to rain all Sunday so no worries, I'll just sleep in.
Surprise.
Up at 7am and it was the nicest day outside it's been in a week. Sunny, 70-ish, beautiful day. My plans for a rainy day were ruined, there was no way I could stay inside all day doing modeling stuff. I really was going to paint those stupid crate barricades to get them done. But no hobby stuff for me. There's a huge yard to be mowed and bottles to return and garden to be tended to... and going for a ride was out because I've been blowing off all the above (and more) for too long. Today was the day to get things done outside. But hmm... beautiful sunny day, have to work outside... I decided it was time to finally do my table!
This is what it looked like when I took it outside:
Plain old boring blaagh. Played many games on that table, and every time I did I knew I wanted something better. Well, here's what "better" looks like:
Cold stone and blown ash Chaos wastes. Now you know why I started to re-base my Plague Marines and all my new Cultists have the same bases. It's why all my new terrain looks the way it does. Now it all ties together right here and will look amazing going forward. I am very happy with the results I achieved and I'll be taking some "action shots" in the coming updates w/ the new terrain prominently displayed on the new tabletop.
That's it for now, and probably it for a while. Weekend is over, back to the grind of work and the insanity that is the rest of my life. It was a really good weekend and I am pretty happy with the things I got done. I'll be surfing Dakka this week (catching up w/ my subbed threads) and with any luck I'll have a crate barricade to share before the end of the week.
Thanks for looking, thanks for posting, and thanks for the encouragement. More is coming!
holy gak... i know that feeling when you desperatly search for that little something... you knew it was there...argh... but it brought out lots of treasures... that is something nice nevertheless^^
and boy it seems you have a huge garden... mowing must take ages...good you found a better use for your time^^... table looks very good... so i am looking forward to see those actionshots then^^
i bet these could do pretty well as barricades for your FO3 related table... just add rusty and bended metal plates and you are set...looking then like those makeshift walls in the subway tunnels...
FYI corrugated cardboard makes for easy corrugated metal (once fortified with 50/50 PVA/water mix) or just get a crimper and make corrugated metal bits ala bugbait.
The board looks fantastic, and I love all the different barricades - the PDF supply dump in particular is ace. So good to see you back, and can't wait to get a shot of it all together!
@ dsteingass- You are welcome. Check out the entire Hurst line, there's some really amazing stuff! And as far as plastic fences go, those are from my toy box that I have kept for decades. My plastic Army men, cowboys and indians, etc. Maybe I'll do a group shot someday just to show them off. A logn time ago I wrote up rules for them to use in skirmish wargames.
@ Vik & Galorn- I love the look of corrogated metal and have been wanting to try my hand at it for a very long time. I've always been skeptical of the structural integrity though. I will try the PVA glue idea for sure, but I really like the idea of crimping thin metal plates (would likely be brass because it is softer than sheet metal of the same thickness). Have to put that idea on my list of things to try. If it works out the impact on my future terrain projects would be significant, and I would very likely revisit some of my older pieces for an upgrade.
@ Scarper- As soon as I get some free time (this weekend at the latest) I'm going to set things up and take a few shots of the table. I did a scene a while back w/ some of my smaller pieces, may pull that stuff out as well for a massive "group shot" of every new bit I've made since I started this project.
Not an update, just some random thoughts.
I've been looking at my "on deck" projects and have been wondering if the direction I am going in is solid or if I need to rethink things. My main questions right now are the following:
1- Tower from the WFB Fortress Tower. I've had it for years and have kept it with the intent of converting it into a Mordheim scenery piece. Facing facts, I'll very likely never play Mordheim again, it has no place on my Grimdark table, and I haven't played WFB since before the new edition came out. Great ideas, great intentions, absolutely no perceived purpose. I think I need to let that piece go.
2- Birdhouse I was going to convert into a WFB / Mordheim building. See above. I do enjoy making those things, and I have used them in WFB, but how many do I need? I already have 4 of them, and WFB is not known for having a lot of terrain. I'm thinking this is going to go as well.
3- O-Scale houses that I was going to turn into burned out buildings (still fully intact, just w/o doors / windows and painting to look like a fire gutted each building) but again, looking for the application on my table. The awesome of those things is that they are hard plastic and would be quite durable. The down side is I have no idea what I would do w/ them once they were finished. I still haven't made up my mind on them, but they are sitting awfully close to the junk pile.
4- Multi-level tower that I put together with a lot of cool bitz, the intent was to make it look Orky and build a small Ork outpost for 40K and Gorkamorka. Missing from this photo is the huge crane on top that would have a Stompa head attached on a chain, and it was the companion piece for a Mekshop I was going to build with it. The likelihood of actually following through on that project is reletively low compared to other pieces that I genuinely want to do, like this:
I have to say that the tower is one of the most detailed and cool looking pieces that I've built, and I would enjoy seeing it on the tabletop, but without some significant changes it would look like an Ork tower in the middle of my Underhive / Imperial Outpost scenery pieces. Maybe I should take some pics of it for better representation. I would be open to ideas on it because of all the above pieces, it's the one I've put the most work into and would like to see it get used for something. If nothing else I could tear it apart and recycle the bits into Necromunda scenery.
Overall I'm frustrated because I'm really getting back into this and have ideas that I really want to work on, but I have so very little time to pursue it. It was easier when I just let it all go, but I missed it the entire time. I really don't know what to do. I feel like taking a day off from work and just stay home to work on... whatever. Just do what I want, 100% Skalk time. I used to stay up all night doing this stuff, can't afford that at all right now. So yeah, I'm just frustrated. And yes, I would very much like some cheese and crackers to go with my whine.
Skalk Bloodaxe wrote:
@ RSJake- ...or maybe a Plague Tower? Hmm. Ok, maybe it has a chance of making the cut. Will consider this applicationn and report back.
Yeah, I'm not as familiar with Nurgle forces, I figured they would have their own tower, but I didn't know for sure. Of course you might need a Baneblade or similarly sized model tank to make it, but I'm sure you will consider all options. I hope it makes the cut! I'd like to see it!
Skalk, I am taking 3 back to back Hirst classes on Sunday during GenCon- I'll be bringing home a LOT of hirst castings and probably invest heavily in some molds while I'm there too I'd like to concentrate on getting the architectural molds before I delve into stuff like the crate molds.
Skalk Bloodaxe wrote:@ tipios- Thanks for the cheese, but I didn't understand the fuel line?
Woooops, I didn't give the best description. Your picture with all the arrows pointing at it, looks like fuel tanker or pipe, could be used as a fuel depot.
Ah. That's actually a pic from ARKURION. I think it is time to make another list of current terrain threads I'm following or have been greatly impressed by.
Make sure to ask questions! Lots of questions! You'll enjoy those, I took a Hirst Arts class at Adepticon. You WILL need to have a spare bag for your castings! Suggest a box to mail them home in.
Note: Dental Stone is AWESOME, but two part resin is, really, the way to go for lightweight and sturdy.
Skalk, the tower would fit in a Necromunda collection in my opinion, ditch the crenellations/top section, add some bulkheads and walkways going around it. Maybe glue the orky tower thing on the top and the plastic houses around the bottom!
The thing about Necromunda is that it's all built on top of itself, maybe one year someone builds a stone tower, then someone else comes along a decade later and repurposes it, then a century later a different building falls on top of it... I've found it is possible to combine all sorts of different bits so long as you can link them with some consistent colours and details.
Alternatively, chop it in half and use it as two foundation blocks/risers for other buildings or bridges to go between. Each wall must be nearly 6" high, or 3" chopped in half, perfect to go together with some bulkheads. I'm tempted to get one myself now.
Skalk Bloodaxe wrote:Good to see you're starting with the easy stuff like gothic arches and flying buttresses before diving into things like crates and barrels.
Skalk, if you want to include some bulkheads to your WHFB tower to build a plague tower, here's a detail pis of mine if it can be of any help:
Forget about the pink chubby flesh (not rotten enough), but that's what I did to nurglify my bulkheads. Knowing what you did with your vehicles I'm sure you can make something far better.
@ Briancj- I agree that dental stone is awesome. Have never used it, but have seen pieces made from it. It's the most durable stuff out there short of 2-part resin.
@ Bruticus- Those are some good ideas, especially the one where I just build the walkways. I'm thinking on this one more and more.
@ dsteingass-
@ Hyenajoe- That looks amazing! I love the detail you put into it! I don't know what I'm going to do w/ all the bulkheads, but I'm keeping this in mind.
@ DemetriDominov- Hi. I'm guessing you were saying that to Hyenajoe.
@ Hyenajoe and Vik- Yeah, HJ totallt nailed it. It looks great and I have to admit I'm feeling the urge to create somehting similar, but... must... resist!!! I have a lot of work to do before I get back to bulding things that go w/ any army.
Not officially an "update", more of a "where I am so far" sort of thing. I took some time last night and took a lot of pics.
However, it's a BEAUTIFUL day, I've already been out for a ride early this morning (I took the day off from work- much needed brain break and 100% Skalk time) and I'm heading out again as soon as I post this, so I'm going to leave you w/ a teaser for the day and I'll be back later tonight or this weekend for a much longer post and hopefully a new piece to share.
Here's a "family photo" of almost everything I have that is "tabletop" quality, and you can see the newer stuff vs. the older w/o much effort.
Here you go. Can you find my Pit Slave gang and the Bounty Hunter that is tracking them?
Skalk Bloodaxe wrote: Can you find my Pit Slave gang and the Bounty Hunter that is tracking them?
Catch you all later.
Humm, I'd say the bounty hunter is 8 inches North of the tank traps and the Pit slaves dispatched between your awesome red/rusty passageway and the crates/barrels barricade below...Am I right?
i like those fisrt person action shots of models and terrain... yours specially remind me strongly of a certain computer game^^ must be so cool to game on that table!!! and now i am looking forward to you getting a lick of paint on that salvaged tower^^
Really great stuff and this thread, and others like it, have inspired me to make some of my own super detailed scenery. Love this stuff and keep it up!
@ Viktor von Domm- I've always enjoyed setting my camera in random places and taking a picture of how things look from a miniature's perspective.
@ tipios / dsteingass / Yellowbeard- Thank you. I'll be doing something like this again.
@ loota boy- Foam mountains have opportunity all to themselves. Flocking, scree, broken trees, etc. Have fun and if you are sharing your work please let me know!
@ GiraffeX- Thank you... and the Cannibal Corpse poster in the photo wasn't by accident, awesome that someone mentioned it.
@ Cave_Dweller- Thanks for the compliment! There are some incredible modelers on Dakka that have inspired me. There's a post toward the beginning of this thread where i listed a lot of the threads that inspired me. I'm getting ready to update that list again, so check back when you ghet a chance. And drop me a line if you start doing a terrain project, always enjoy seeing new work and offering support.
(I'm noticing that my pictures are getting a bit more blurry these days. I am not sure why, maybe it's because I changed my lighting? I'll investigate.)
Actual update with new stuff! I made some time this weekend and threw the finishing touches on a few things, and created pieces that I didn't expect but really enjoyed. Here's a group shot of everything that got done this weekend:
And here they are one by one. First up, the dreaded crate barricades. I did not want to do these, and I do not particularly like the results from a modeling perspective, especially when the object of this project is to improve on the quality of my terrain. I don't know why, but I virulently hated these crates and wanted them done. I actually thought about throwing them away just to be rid of them (which is ridiculous on many levels, bears mention as an indicator of where my head has been at for a while now) but instead I forced myself to work through it. Granted, all I did was cut some sloppy corners and slap a bit of color on them to call them done. They perform the function I want and they are still a welcomed addition to the tabletop (comparing them to based black and unused). I'll leave them as is for now, and will not dismiss the possibility of going back to them in a few months or a couple years to add some fiddly bits or to add some texture / detail. But for now they are done and they are what they are. It beats having them in the local landfill at least.
Next is something I've had kicking around in my "unpainted" box for over 15 years. I remember the yard sale in Hawaii where I picked this up. It was part of a bunch of other toys I was grabbing for my daughter and this got pocketed for my own collection. I based it black while I was in Virginia, and it has seen the tabletop before, but now it belongs there. Just a simple drybrush / wash / highlight / decal process and I suddenly have a huge shipping crate. What never ceases to amaze me is how adding a decal forces everything into scale and makes something look SO much better. If I had not added the decal it would have been a brown rectangle on the table. Now it looks like this:
Last item up is my favorite from this batch. It's a simple palette of barrels that started out as a complete accident and turned into a really cool bit for my tabletop. I had the loose barrels and needed something to put them on. I tested them on a bunch of other things and none of them looked right. I went to try them on somehting else (between working on other projects) and noticed they were on a piece of plasticard that was on a dowel. Looked like a huge palette. I made a smaller one on purpose, and there's the result:
I'm serious about sticking with my schedule. Having a clear vision and applying some discipline has really helped me produce results. It's an extension of my resolve to keep my workspace cleaned and organized all the time, and I've maintained that standard for a few weeks now. I will be keeping some loose pieces for random placement and for ease of use when it comes to Necromunda (like I'm actually ever going to play that again... I need more gaming friends) or a scenario game.
The "loose bits" project will be finished in another week or so if all goes well. I'm looking forward to moving onto (literally) bigger and better things. plastic or resin because they are tougher and will stand the test of time (in fact many already have, 15+ years and counting) but the plaster stuff (regardless of size) is not durable enough to survive on its own. I've even changed how I store my scenery bits based on the material it is made of. I have to say I really am not liking plaster as a materiel for active wargame pieces, but the stuff I have made from plaster is too cool to not have. If I use a bit more care I'll be able to keep them in good condition and get many years of use out of them.
I have a few small pieces left and then it's FINALLY time to resume the Necromunda Restoration project. I'm really excited about that, even though it is going to involve rivets. I'm looking at different methods to efficiently cut rivets that are uniform in size, applied with correct spacing / measurement, and look like they belong on the piece. If I do this correctly my membership in the LoER is all but assured!
That's it for now. Thanks for reading, and thanks for the feedback. It really is a motivator. I'll be back as soon as I can.
Thanks D! And speaking of "scale", it would have been nice if I had used a model next to it. That thing is huge (in relative terms, of course). You can fit a Chaos Space Marine (w/ backpack) under it.
lol... same as dave... i am a big fan of that giant of a crate mate! together with a model i would love to see it soon again here... this crate reminds me of frankenstein somehow... i picture some kind of shiped monster inside... just waiting to get out... maybe the mummy even^^
and seeing all these other crates and barrels... do not short sell your stuff here! they look very good!
. Wow you still got some Necromunda pieces still?!? Man I did'nt see those parts since the mid 90's glad to see you got them.
has happened?
Just kidding.
i am shocked...havent thought about this way of doing rivets... but well this amazing methode only works when you use walls that have rivets on both sides?... what does the average small diameter plastic rod costs? one day i fear i see the limitations of cardbpard and have to switch over to plasticcard for good...then all your testing and showing will be handy in quite no short order!
you know he is a plasticard fien and now he is on a terrian junkie rant this will slow his army build.
Skalk brother you did a great job on the terrian and the board. Man I cannot wait till you and your buddy take the field with your armies.
So yeah, no work since the last time I was here. I really need to change that. This weekend is supposed to be miserable rain so maybe I'll take a few hours for myself.
oh and here's some cheese
)
