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Hi guys

Ive been wanting to buy some GW barrels as some scatter terrain for a while now but they are just so expensive so i was wondering if guys had sneaky ideas of how to scrathc build them for cheap. Im thinking of going to a hardware store and just buying some straight copper pipe couplings with the indented stopper and just adding some plasticard to the top and bottom. I was also thinking of just using 15mm OD PVC pipe and cutting them to size much the same.

Any help would be much appreciated

Regards Ub

Scour eBay is my best recommendation, I got loads of cheap sand bags and barrels from there.

If you're looking for 40k/general sci-fi ones, take two plastic bottle lids, glue them together, put a strip of plasticard or even card around the join to hide it, paint them up, basically 'free' scatter terrain assuming you buy anything that comes in a bottle anyway.

I like the Tamiya kit

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Military-Minatures-Jerry-Cans-Set/dp/B000WNCDLO

Hirst arts has some silicon molds with barrels if you want to make them (worth the investment for the other bits imo too) - bit of an outlay plus learning to cast process

armor cast and I think secret weapon both make or have barrels

ebay is a pretty good option too

so is your local craft store, like Michael's, Hobby Lobby, etc - you can get various size birch wood barrels. Nice thing about this approach is just that they have a good weight to them, useful when your cat invades the gaming table.

anyway just some ideas

I use 20mm corrugated conduit (or flexible conduit).
You can get it at any electrical supplier. It's also fairly cheap but you do have to put in some elbow grease.

6 "rings" makes a nice height and you can get hole punches for 20mm rounds also to cap them.

I saw this on adamsouza's blog:

 adamsouza wrote:
I find it hard to get good WIP shots of making the barrels since both hands are in use.

Cut strips of paper 1" x 8.5"
Put a bit of glue on one side.
Roll the paper around a AA Battery.
Cut out a circle of thin card the same diameter as the battery.
Stuff cirlce into one end.
Apply glue to inner lip to stick it in place.

Cut 2 thin strips of card, 1/8" wide, and wrap and glue them around top and bottom lip


If your feeling ambitious, glue circle on other end.

They end up looking like this:

 adamsouza wrote:
Built a few more....

I made a few like this myself. Super simple, looks pretty good, and costs basically nothing. Hope that helps!

Depending on your countries regulation diameter for copper piping you may find some plumbing couplings to be a perfect size. Some even have the same pleasing 'rungs' on them seen in real barrels.



You would have to come up with a solution for capping them, although whilst perusing your local hardware store i'm sure you'd find some washers or somesuch that would do the job.

EDIT: Oh and as an aside, a pipe cutter is a pretty darn easy tool to use so don't be afraid to let out your inner plumber. Although you're on your own if you want to solder them! EDIT 2 another advantage is that copper takes paint really well, you may find things like fizzy juice bottles and other packaging will not take to paint at all. I remember as a boy collecting a huge hoard of old film canisters only to find they wouldn't take paint or even glue unless sanded to an ugly rough finish.

Easiest things ever, ill take some pictures when i get back home forgot to do it last night, Bought some couplings i got 10 for the equivalent of about $2 probably able to get them cheaper, they had a groove around the middle and were cut to the perfect height.

I just held them with some pliers and heated the copper up and punched holes in a blister pack that had some hot gluegun sticks in and made tops/bottoms then i just used hot glue to stick the ends on, sprayed them grey and a quick overbrush with brown and they look all rusty, ill make some more and make them look like hazardous waste.

In South Africa my problem is Ebay is a nightmare and places like Tamiya dont deliver out here so it makes ordering stuff waaay harder

I used Tamiya 1:35 barrels for this:

 Ubl1k wrote:
Easiest things ever, ill take some pictures when i get back home forgot to do it last night, Bought some couplings i got 10 for the equivalent of about $2 probably able to get them cheaper, they had a groove around the middle and were cut to the perfect height.

I just held them with some pliers and heated the copper up and punched holes in a blister pack that had some hot gluegun sticks in and made tops/bottoms then i just used hot glue to stick the ends on, sprayed them grey and a quick overbrush with brown and they look all rusty, ill make some more and make them look like hazardous waste.

In South Africa my problem is Ebay is a nightmare and places like Tamiya dont deliver out here so it makes ordering stuff waaay harder

I second that, shipping is a nightmare, our own postal service can't even be trusted to send stuff from one province to another.

Obviously, this depends on luck (or your willingness to buy a ton, no really, a ton) of stuff.

My work had loads of these 1g desiccant cylinders: http://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Silica-Gel-Cylinder-Desiccant_1916312022.html?spm=a2700.7724857.29.1.hrBNny&s=p that were past expiry, two of them stuck together painted up with some home-made hazard symbol decals make quite a convincing barrel that is around waist height to a (based) Space Marine.

 Ubl1k wrote:

In South Africa my problem is Ebay is a nightmare and places like Tamiya dont deliver out here so it makes ordering stuff waaay harder

I can confirm this too. Not to mention, I have serious doubts about trusting our postal service with anything I do manage to buy.