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Supposed to be set in a kind of arid/rocky/desert type place. What do you think? I made some mistakes around the base of the ruin which I will watch out for on my next piece but for a first attempt, I am quite pleased. If possible, please vote for them in the gallery - Thanks!

From a technical point of view all is good.
The colours are chosen theme apropriate, the terrain has been cleanly manufactured, painted and drybrushed.

From a gaming point of view all is good as well;
It functions as are terrain,
It will probably be able to hide a real small squad of infantry,
It will most likely be able to provide covers to vehicles parked within.


Artistically though I find it quite plain and Boring.
Go look at pictures of actual deserts, because while you might think there's no vegetation, most deserts are actually full of it.
Add some wood or somesuch to the ruin, sticking out of the walls, the wooden remains of the roof. Put some bright green small plants on there, and bigger ones in the shadow of the ruin.

BAMM and it will be a diverse and nice looking piece



A little more work and you're there

I think from a game perspective that this is a phenomenal piece of terrain. It is interactive (models can move in/on/around it) and it can function as provide cover, covered firing positions, or completely break line of sight. I wish we had it at our game store.

From an aesthetic perspective it doesn't have anything wrong with it, it just doesn't have anything to make it stick out in any fashion. It's kind of monochrome, and there's no bells or whistles. While archont's suggestions are good, I could throw up a few more if those aren't to your liking.

A. A skeleton of some beastie. Goes with the desert theme quite well.

B. Some sign of original habitation on the ruin, such as a wanted poster, a tattered flag, a sconce for a torch, or the remains of some kind of ironwork for blocking the door (like a broken portcullis).

C. As a corollary, some sign of secondary habitation. A bird's nest atop the wall, grafitti along the walls, some kind of barbed wire or gun emplacement along the shorter wall. (Although not too high, otherwise models can't stand behind it and fire over it while using it as cover. That's one of the reasons I like this piece.)

Other possibilities exist. While this is certainly not a bad piece of terrain (in point of fact it is fantastic for a first attempt, and I wasn't joking when I said I wish we had it) it needs something else...a dish that is complete, if you will, it just needs a little parsley.

Thanks very much for the input - much appreciated. I must admit that I had been looking at it and thinking about adding some grass effects at least but as it's my first attempt, I didn't go for anything more difficult than the product you see here.

But, since it seems that I am close to having a very nice piece I think I will take it upon myself to add some more detail - once payday comes around (in just a few days) I'll order some more stuff and try to enhance this - thanks again.

Makes me think of Tatooine

A Black Ram wrote:Makes me think of Tatooine

Perhaps a shadow of Lord Vader on the wall would be appropriate........

A Black Ram wrote:Makes me think of Tatooine

Heh, that's what I was thinking, too. I'm in the process of making some simple dwellings atm and I'm thinking 'Tatooine'.

Wow that is really big... did you make this out of clay or plaster or something else. I am not into terrain projects but just curious.

40k Ninja wrote:Wow that is really big... did you make this out of clay or plaster or something else. I am not into terrain projects but just curious.

No, it's just styrofoam and wood covered with glue, sand and paint. Pretty easy really.

I made a piece of terrain with a ruined wall on a styrofoam base a while ago.

One good tip that I found when I was making it was to chisel out a small groove where the wall is going to sit so that it can be pushed into the styrofoam, this makes it look like the walls have been built in foundations and really adds to the realism.

Might be worth giving it a try if you decide to make any more pieces in a simiilar style.

Feels like a blown out Tau building or the ruins of a building you'd find on tatooine.

The paint job is simple, but it fits and I like it!

Everything looks good from here, but I'd love to see some closeups of Coteaz. His color choice is very cool, but I'd like to see the detail! You could try basing him too - basing really completes a figure, and you could even tie him in to the cool piece of terrain you built or your gameboard, if you have one.

He looks lonely there all by himself.

Hendie wrote:I made a piece of terrain with a ruined wall on a styrofoam base a while ago.

One good tip that I found when I was making it was to chisel out a small groove where the wall is going to sit so that it can be pushed into the styrofoam, this makes it look like the walls have been built in foundations and really adds to the realism.

Might be worth giving it a try if you decide to make any more pieces in a simiilar style.

Ah, well, this particular piece is actually a styrofoam wall on top of a thin piece of wood (the bottom of a drawer) so i couldn't do that for this piece but I will keep this in mind and use this technique for anything that I can do it with because as you've clearly noticed, that is an area that I struggled with so, thank you very much.

Brother SRM wrote:Everything looks good from here, but I'd love to see some closeups of Coteaz. His color choice is very cool, but I'd like to see the detail! You could try basing him too - basing really completes a figure, and you could even tie him in to the cool piece of terrain you built or your gameboard, if you have one.

A picture of that Coteaz is actually in my Gallery, although it's not the greatest photo - for some reason the detail doesn't seem to show up on it but feel free to have a look. As for the basing, a friend of mine keeps telling me to do it, too so it looks like I'm going to have to. I'm just worried about basing models that are already stuck to the base in case I get glue on them or something - any tips on basing a painted model already stuck to the base would be greatly appreciated.

ColdSadHungry wrote:
A picture of that Coteaz is actually in my Gallery, although it's not the greatest photo - for some reason the detail doesn't seem to show up on it but feel free to have a look. As for the basing, a friend of mine keeps telling me to do it, too so it looks like I'm going to have to. I'm just worried about basing models that are already stuck to the base in case I get glue on them or something - any tips on basing a painted model already stuck to the base would be greatly appreciated.

If pictures aren't showing up very well, try using the macro setting on your camera. It should have a little flower next to it.

Basing is very easy and you can base painted miniatures quite easily. First, you need PVA glue. You can get this at any art supply store. It is distinctly different from Elmer's glue, but some people don't know that. It's archival which means it's meant to last, and it dries clear and flexible. Squeeze some glue out onto a palette of some sort - just something to get the glue on. I use a bottlecap from a soda bottle. Get an old brush and spread the glue around the base of the model, avoiding the feet or whatever parts of the model are touching the base. Then you just dip the base (holding by the model) into your basing sand or whatever, wait for that to dry (often overnight) and just paint it.

Sorry for the bump but just wanted to say tyvm Brother SRM, useful advice and I've already started basing my models (knocked Coteaz's arm off in the process too >.< )