90's inspired 40,000 terrain

@EricF As you like my storage planning, here comes the 2nd level of that ;)

With the rock spires I did plan storage in x and y dimensions, but did not spend any thought on the z axis. So I ended up with one very tall spire, requiring a very tall storage box, with a lot of open space at the top.

So I checked how far down I would be able to insert a second floor in the box.

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Transferring the cutout from my test card board piece to 3mm ePVC and 5mm MDF boards, I planned the size of the parched ground scatter pieces.

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I don't like the fact, that modular scatter terrain that represents depressions in the ground has them sit on top of the ground level. But with modular scatter terrain, that can't be changed. Given that fact, I like to keep the depression as much to the ground as possible. So using a 3mm base, then building up a rim on top would create a small mound. This would not cut it for me.

I can't dig into the ground, but I can dig into the base of the scatter terrain. So I cut out the outline from the base, then cut away a lid from the bottom, to be able to insert a 0.25mm plastic sheet at bottom level of the scatter piece base.

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After glueing in all the plastic card bottoms, I had to fill some gaps and create some kind of smooth transition. I have a box of Milliput that starts drying up on me. So I'd better use it up before it dries completely. After I peeled the dry skin from the darker of the two rolls, the Milliput was still workable.

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Raffles

Member
This is awesome, I have a copy of that WD and thought how cool the scenery was, I may be inspired to hand a go myself one day.

Still trying to get hold of the mythical citadel grass mat in the meantime, I have a dark green jungle one from Lidl which would look good with these plants.
 
This is awesome, I have a copy of that WD and thought how cool the scenery was, I may be inspired to hand a go myself one day.

Still trying to get hold of the mythical citadel grass mat in the meantime, I have a dark green jungle one from Lidl which would look good with these plants.
Thanks :) I have ideas in mind for a custom mat.
 
I primed the pieces with an Army Painter black rattle can.

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The inside I painted a dark brown, the rim with the same mid brown as the rest of this SiFi terrain set.

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To create the parched ground effect, I used diatomaceous earth, mixed with watered down PVA glue. I saw this technique on the TWS YouTube Channel and wanted to give it a try for some time. The price gets much cheaper when you buy bigger bags, but for a first try I went with a smaller box.

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Diatomaceous earth comes in different colors, by chance I bought a brown one, I think I might stick with that color.


 
The diatomaceous earth took over 24 hours to fully dry, and got much lighter. Still intend to stick with that colour.

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When dry, I decorated the rim with the same sand/flock/grass as the rest of the SiFi terrain.

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To visually deepen the cracks, I mixed an oil wash and applied it.

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ManicMan

Member
Ah, a bit late but just flipping through first edition 40K.. The plants are 'Spikers'. As with alot of the original flora and fauna, It can attack anyone near, can fire it's spikes up to 6 inch at any animal target with the strength of 4. You can also fight it hand to hand if you like. Classed as one of the most dangerous plant forms in the entire galaxy. Though I think the ones in WD are kinda bigger (claims about 2 metres and upright but can be any size.
 
Finally, I applied matt varnish.

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Into the box of the spires I first glued 4 wood strips, then secured them by hammering some nails into them from the outside.

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The MDF board nicely rests on them.

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And the scatter pieces can be placed on top of them.

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Anybody remember the craters shown in White Darfs in the '90s? Like for example on the back cover of issue #158. I always wanted to build some of these, but so far never tackled such a project. Time to change that.

I started by drawing the rough shapes on an A4 sized piece of ePVC, to be able to store the finished craters in one of my typical storage boxes.

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I don't like the fact, that modular scatter terrain that represents depressions in the ground has them sit on top of the ground level. But with modular scatter terrain, that can't be changed. Given that fact, I like to keep the depression as much to the ground as possible. So using a 3mm base, then building up a rim on top would create a small mound. This would not cut it for me.

I can't dig into the ground, but I can dig into the base of the scatter terrain. So I cut out the outline from the base, then cut away a lid from the bottom, to be able to insert a 0.25mm plastic sheet at bottom level of the scatter piece base.

IMG_20230830_214316_159.jpg



 
I finished inserting all the plastic card bottoms.

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To build up the crater rim of thrown up earth, I glued in some card board strips.

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I had to fill some gaps and create some kind of smooth transition. I have a box of Milliput that starts drying up on me. So I'd better use it up before it dries completely. After I peeled the dry skin from the darker of the two rolls, the Milliput was still workable.

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To sculpt the crater rims, I used Sculptamould. For the first time ever. Basically, I liked using it, but I guess I did the mixing ratio wrongly, as after only 3 minutes or so the whole mass became one quite hard block already. I was able to scrape slivers off it and still work with it, but that can't be normal, I guess...?

Oh, and after fully dry, the Scukptamould did cause some warpage in the bases... :(

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I primed the pieces with a black Army Painter rattle can.

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The inside of the craters I painted dark brown.

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The outer rim I painted in the project's mid brown.

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The mid brown was then also drybrushed over the dark brown.

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I applied a final drybrush with mid brown and white.

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I used the same sand/flock/grass as for the other SiFi terrain pieces.

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I applied an oil wash of black and brown to the crater centers, and feathered that wash out up the inner crater walls.

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