Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Hi got given this for Xmas and have been spending a little time looking at YouTube and doing a bit of research here and there and have a some steps in mind about how to go forward with this.

Wash boards
Prime boards (Army Painter grey)
Varnish gloss
Army Painter Strong tone
Small roller with different tone of grey
Pva glue diluted with water sand and gravel mix applied to hilly sections and several other random areas.
Highlight cliffs and crack bits
Paint skulls and add blood stream feel with water effect stuff
Spray Matte Varnish

or buy the GW Realm of battle flock, paint pack and do it that way with flock, grass style (not really what I want)

Help please, have I totally got it wrong? Won't be starting it to May time when the weather perks up a bit due to spraying outside

I did mine the standard GW scheme. I find this scheme attracts non-gamers as well to watching the game, as it's a neutral yet attractive natural lush appearance.

The way you have it planned out will indeed suffice, since the boards are just the bases for themed scenery. Keep in mind that with gravel and pretty much any kind of texture (including flock/sand/static grass), there will be shedding over time as it's transported around and played on and whatnot. Even with the PVA glue only slightly diluted and sealed, it's still going to shed the texture.

Have fun with this board man, it's a really fun project once you get going with it. Good luck!

To aid with the sheding of texture, perhaps use something better than pva? I often use Liquitex gloss medium to attach texture to the bases of models and seal in sand by letting a drop of airbrush medium soak through it. Most acrylic mediums are archival quality adhesives as well as paint mediums.

Table Top Terraformers Did an AMAZING ROB board a few years back. I commissioned an X board space theme from them after that. . . They are (IMHO) one of the best terrain designers out there though they are really short handed these days. . .

Congrats, enjoy the boards, they really are fun to play on and if you do them up right, they can last forever. Just don't buy the GW terrain kit, or their flock either. Go to any good Model railroad shop (or online retailer) to get WAY better prices or all the supplies you'll need. I don't know any good shops in the UK, but in the states there is Walthers.com.

I primed mine in black, then used artist acrylic tube paints (well thinned) to cover the boards. Cheaper than almost any other kind of paint. I used Raw Sienna, Burnt Sienna and Raw Umber for the ground colors, and grays for the rocks. Then I used a mix of PVA, Matte Medium, alcohol and water to stick the flock down with. There is a whole set of posts on my blog, if you're interested.

You might even be able to get a head start on the boards (before May) if you were to rough them up very lightly with really fine grit sandpaper and used a good coat of acrylic tube paint. If the surface has some 'tooth' to it, most acrylics will bond well enough to last. You'd have to test that though.

Whatever you do, have fun with it!!

Bill