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Made in gb
Maniacal Gibbering Madboy







The Dust board looks fantastic, where did you get the lights?
   
Made in us
Committed Chaos Cult Marine





 Bonegrinder wrote:
The Dust board looks fantastic, where did you get the lights?


They were some Christmas village diorama lights I picked up a several years ago.
   
Made in ie
Regular Dakkanaut




I made cornflour/ silicon moulds based on modular fortress wall pieces I'd made and then plaster cast a bunch them. I haven't painted them up but I was delighted with how they turned out, I might post a guide if anybody thinks it would be of use?

(I used regular craft plaster, but that dental plaster would have been much better, and from what I understand, lighter)

I use a mixture. My scratch built stuff stays put, but I have a Conquest subscription and have a bunch of terrain pieces from it, I like how well it lends itself to being shuffled around for a change of, well, scenery.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2019/08/25 20:59:54


 
   
Made in ca
Knight of the Inner Circle




Montreal, QC Canada

They were some Christmas village diorama lights I picked up a several years ago.


Man Christmas Diorama stuff you can get every year is the BEST for making terrain. It's not even that expensive, I can easily fill a table with it.

Commodus Leitdorf Paints all of the Things!!
The Breaking of the Averholme: An AoS Adventure
"We have clearly reached the point where only rampant and unchecked stabbing can save us." -Black Mage 
   
Made in de
Battlefield Tourist






Nuremberg

The lighting is really effective for that board. Good job!

   
Made in ie
Longtime Dakkanaut




Despite "being in the hobby" for some 20 years, I hated building terrain as a kid, and I still hate it. It's fussy, fiddly, messy and takes up time I could spend playing the game or painting models. Or gluing them I suppose (which I would also dearly skip if I could, I miss one-piece models from GW et al.).

Point is, I'd rather buy the terrain than have a miserable few hours trying to turn a heap of scraps into something resembling a house or a hill.
   
Made in us
Committed Chaos Cult Marine





 Da Boss wrote:
The lighting is really effective for that board. Good job!


Yeah. I quickly found out that if you want people to ask about your game at your FLGS, put together a nice looking table and make sure to put in some lighted scenery/effects. You'll have people that never even considered miniatures war games before come over and ask about it. One of my other favorite accessories I made was the tea light, pillow stuffing and black paint fireball/wreckage marker. They are so easy to make yet look so cool. It is kinda a shame that 8th edition doesn't have persistent wrecks unless placed as terrain beforehand.

Spoiler:

Photographs don't really do them justice.
   
Made in de
Battlefield Tourist






Nuremberg

Planning to make some myself, but the tea lights I could get locally are not the flickering kind that I think make the best looking markers. Might need to order some.

   
Made in us
Committed Chaos Cult Marine





The flickering tea lights definitely look the best.
   
Made in ie
Regular Dakkanaut




That tea light/ stuffing thing is a stroke of absolute genius.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2019/08/27 22:17:01


 
   
Made in us
Powerful Phoenix Lord





Yep, those have been around for a long time - you used to be able to find them readily on eBay (pre-built "blast markers") though they disappeared when people realized how easy they were to build.

You can still find them for sale at conventions here in the states.
   
Made in au
Unstoppable Bloodthirster of Khorne





Melbourne .au

 John Prins wrote:
Time is money. You reach a point where your time is more valuable than the money you'd spend on commercial terrain.
Unless you really enjoy building terrain from scratch, then by all means, do that.

Yeah, I'm now past that tipping point. It doesn't mean I won't go the extra mile to make a purchased bit of terrain look extra good, but I'm (mostly) past the point of having the time to create my own multi-level scratch-built warehouses with staircases and all the fixin's.

Elbows - bloody amazing layouts, mate. I really like the way you've integrated the low hills to give depth to the water areas. I've got to rip that one off myself!


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Shotgun wrote:
3D Printing. A <$200 Ender3 and a $20 roll of PLA. There are dozens of free .stl out there to choose from or pay a bit and get some amazingly nice files.


The issue with 3d printing right now still is the learning curve/lack of easy plug n play. I could buy a 3d printer literally every pay cycle (and even claim it as a deduction) - and I'm not rich or anything - far from it - but I don't have the time to self-teach how to properly use one. Well, not without sacrificing a ton of my existing painting and blog-hobby-gaming-time.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2019/08/28 05:03:05


   
Made in us
Powerful Phoenix Lord





Azazel, all I can say is that I found the idea on YouTube ---- upholstery foam.

It's more expensive than pink foam and soaks a bit more paint, but you end up with flexible non-chipping/non-cracking/non-stiff hill sections. I have a whole sheet of 2" stuff I've been meaning to chop out into more hill sections to add more height/variance. You do end up with the classic wargaming "stepped" hills,but they can't be beat for ease and ruggedness. You could also do a simple trench board using the same stuff (probably would want taller foam, like the 2" stuff).

This is just the foam you buy to stuff into car seats and stuff. It's not super cheap, but reasonable at least in the US. Nice thing is that you don't end up with that chipped pink foam showing through after a lot of use. I've got enough to stack some of them...but I need to crank out the extra 2" height ones!
   
Made in de
Battlefield Tourist






Nuremberg

I think it is really great that there is such a variety of commercial terrain and also that youtube has made scratch building more accessible for a lot of people.

I am really enjoying scratch building at the moment, but I totally get not having the time, space or inclination to do it.

   
Made in au
Unstoppable Bloodthirster of Khorne





Melbourne .au

 Elbows wrote:
Azazel, all I can say is that I found the idea on YouTube ---- upholstery foam.


Elbows - does this look the sort of stuff that you're talking about?

https://www.spotlightstores.com/curtains-blinds/furnishing-trims/upholstery-accessories/tontine-500-x-100-mm-square-foam-fill/BP80141444
https://www.spotlightstores.com/curtains-blinds/furnishing-trims/upholstery-accessories/tontine-350-x-50-mm-square-foam-fill/BP80141440

   
Made in us
Powerful Phoenix Lord





Azazel,

I can't tell by that packaging, but here's what you're looking for:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/High-Density-Upholstery-Foam-Seat-Cushion-Replacement-24-x-72-24-x-108/263084419000?hash=item3d410da7b8:m:mNrgQamDfhY5dPvI4X3MVjg

Automotive high density upholstery foam comes in a big sheets in various thicknesses (the stuff I have pictured is...1" I believe, though I have some 2" I'm working on). You can find way more expensive and small bits at local stores, but I'd skip it. Buy it from an automotive style supplier and you get a massive 6' roll wrapped in plastic, etc.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2019/09/02 02:19:00


 
   
Made in us
Dakka Veteran





Columbus, OH

Elbows inspired me, so I went out and got some HD upholstery foam to try it out.

It's amazing! It was also pretty quick, longest part was waiting for the wood glue on top to dry. This was just a test hill, there are some things I'd do differently next time but I'm pretty happy with it as is.



It was super easy to make, barely an inconvenience!



It's a lot sturdier than I thought it would be, I was pretty skeptical at first.



After a few coats of spray paint and clear sealant, it's pretty rough and tumble.



I'm going to get an electric carving knife eventually, but even on the 2" foam the scissors worked pretty well.

Thanks for showing me the way, Elbows!



This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2019/09/02 16:34:53


Thanks,

MegaDave  
   
Made in us
Powerful Phoenix Lord





Awesome! I hope you get many years of service out of them. I've only had mine done for a year or two, but so far, holding up good. Had a little annoyance trying to find the right water/glue mixture to flock mine.

I think I saw this originally over on Beasts of War or something. I agree a quality knife would help!

I found the most annoying bit was plucking the edges of the hills - just using your fingers to shape it enough.

As you can see, the foam ones are lightweight, flexible, shouldn't chip or break, and can't really be crushed or broken. Like all flocked things they might need a touch up in a few years, but solid idea and far better than pink foam!

EDIT: I like your 2" foam because most 40K models actually get cover behind it, and can't be seen by infantry on the opposing side. It's a great height! I need to finish mine now...(looks over at 2" foam sitting half-cut next to me)

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2019/09/02 19:17:07


 
   
Made in au
Unstoppable Bloodthirster of Khorne





Melbourne .au

Thanks for the link, Elbows - found some broadly similar stuff on Aussie eBay so I'll order some this week when I get paid.

 MegaDave wrote:
Elbows inspired me, so I went out and got some HD upholstery foam to try it out.
It's amazing! It was also pretty quick, longest part was waiting for the wood glue on top to dry. This was just a test hill, there are some things I'd do differently next time but I'm pretty happy with it as is.
....
Thanks for showing me the way, Elbows!


That looks Tight!

So Wood Glue/PVA to stick down the flock... does it cope with aerosol spray cans okay for painting/protective coats, or does it tend to melt? I wonder if I still have any wood-style flock left? I may have thrown it all out years ago when I switched to sand and static grass.

   
Made in us
Dakka Veteran





Columbus, OH

That looks Tight!

So Wood Glue/PVA to stick down the flock... does it cope with aerosol spray cans okay for painting/protective coats, or does it tend to melt? I wonder if I still have any wood-style flock left? I may have thrown it all out years ago when I switched to sand and static grass.


It was super easy, barely an inconvenience! I sprayed straight onto the foam with black, then brown and a light dusting of tan. Straight wood glue for the flock. Covered it all in a matte clear coat, no problems with anything melting.

Can't wait to see what you come up with!

This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2019/09/09 00:46:40


Thanks,

MegaDave  
   
Made in au
Unstoppable Bloodthirster of Khorne





Melbourne .au

Yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah!

I just ordered the foam from eBay, and will get some flock ordered when I get home from work. Hopefully it all arrives by early next week.

   
Made in us
Fresh-Faced New User





USA

I'm a huge fan of scratch building. Similar to what someone else mentioned earlier in the thread, I find it as fun as painting miniatures or playing the actual game!

I just built a dedicated 4x6 gaming table a couple weeks ago. It's a mix of 3d printed parts, household bits and pieces, foam, left over resin sprue and gates, etc. Time consuming but fun.

Here are a few pics of the nearly finished product:
Spoiler:





This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2019/09/09 11:02:19


 
   
Made in fi
Locked in the Tower of Amareo





Well this is one of my first terrain pieces in ages nearly done. I added lichen to it, put flock to the edges and think I'll add some dark green clumps(think I have that). Then needs just PVA/water mix sprayed over to reduce flock getting off.

Fairly trivial to do but loooooots of waiting in between stages.
[Thumb - IMG_20190907_150148[1].jpg]


2024 painted/bought: 109/109 
   
Made in fi
Longtime Dakkanaut






That's a great looking table, warchild40k! Nice mix of interesting details, cover and model friendly platforms.

#ConvertEverything blog with loyalist Death Guard in true and Epic scales. Also Titans and killer robots! C&C welcome.
https://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/717557.page

Do you like narrative gaming? Ongoing Imp vs. PDF rebellion campaign reports here:
https://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/786958.page

 
   
Made in fi
Locked in the Tower of Amareo





 Sherrypie wrote:
That's a great looking table, warchild40k! Nice mix of interesting details, cover and model friendly platforms.


Agreed. Would work nicely in some skirmish game. For 40k not very playable though depends does it take additional pieces over it. But lovely.

2024 painted/bought: 109/109 
   
Made in us
Fresh-Faced New User





USA

 Sherrypie wrote:
That's a great looking table, warchild40k! Nice mix of interesting details, cover and model friendly platforms.


Thanks!

tneva82 wrote:
Well this is one of my first terrain pieces in ages nearly done. I added lichen to it, put flock to the edges and think I'll add some dark green clumps(think I have that). Then needs just PVA/water mix sprayed over to reduce flock getting off.

Fairly trivial to do but loooooots of waiting in between stages.


That looks awesome, very nice!

tneva82 wrote:


Agreed. Would work nicely in some skirmish game. For 40k not very playable though depends does it take additional pieces over it. But lovely.


You are correct that it is setup for skirmish games at the moment. I can add terrain to it of course if there needs to be more cover. It is also in 3 pieces, each 2x4 so you can insert/add/replace sections if desired. I haven't built those other sections yet but its designed so that it can be modular. For instance you could take out the middle section, slide the two road sections together, turn them 90 degrees and add more road sections to create a long road type table for say a tank battle or some Titan fun. Or keep it as is but add some sections between the road and center section that are barricades, trenches, etc. Right now it is how I need it for some game testing but it is intended to be adaptable and modular.
   
Made in gb
Longtime Dakkanaut




never occurred to me to use the upholstery foam, have been looking out for the blue/pink rigid foam insulation but since the subsidy for it was removed its basically vanished to be replaced by the horrible yellow stuff.

that furniture stuff is easy to get hold of and from the looks of this may be well worth a go for more blocky hills
   
Made in us
Powerful Phoenix Lord





It's definitely the way to go. Give it a whirl!
   
Made in au
Unstoppable Bloodthirster of Khorne





Melbourne .au

I've got my sheet of foam. I think it's going to take awhile to flatten out properly...

   
Made in us
Powerful Phoenix Lord





That's what coffee table books are for! Actually I don't recall mine being an issue, but I live in a hot/humid climate so maybe that helps? I know if I stash my hills on stuff they'll bow slightly, but they always return to shape before the game even starts.
   
 
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