World Building

[EricF]

Thread Contents

• Windmill
• Barn
• Graves
• Barriers & Walls
• SciFi Windtraps
• Processing Plant
• Ponds
• Ruined Cathedral
• Cargo Containers
• Black Cauldron
• Outpost Vents
• Orc Totem
• Craters
• Barrel Barrier
• Wizard's Tower
• Outhouse
• Ruined Inn
• Fuel Dump
• Watch Tower
• Beacon Tower
• Gothic Ruins
• Crashed Flyer
• Fuel Pipes
• Chaos Skull
• Shattered Aquilla
• Temple
• Large Rocks
• EPIC bunkers
• Wire Fences
• Ramshackle Hut
• Snake Pit
• Rocks
• Bunkers
• Crystals
• Graveyard Tombs
• Chaos Portal
• Dungeon Treasure
• Field Walls & Fences
• Chimera Dugout
• Dugout
• Barrels & Crates
• Chapel Graveyard

Going on the premises that I enjoy seeing photos of miniatures and models on this board I thought I'd plough through some of my terrain and hope you enjoy seeing it. We'll probably visit a few old pieces (assuming I can lay my hands on them) that would be oldhammer in age, but most will be newer pieces since I started painting again. Hopefully either way you'll find something interesting to look at.

I've a few photos in the can so there are a couple of posts I can kick off with. So lets start with my lockdown project, yep back in the day when things were going to be just a few weeks and I fancied a fun project. I thought perhaps I'd give an MDF kit a go having always been curious about giving one a try. So I picked the Gloomberg Old Mill model - I'm a sucker for a good windmill. This is the kit in question:

I've always disliked the blocky nature you sometimes see with MDF kits and I think that's still justified. The other concern was how well the laser etching shows up under paint (quite well actually) and how 2D it looks (too much for my taste). However I think with a bit of work they can make a good basis for a nice bit of terrain. The kit itself was nicely cut out and the instructions were clear and easy to follow. The areas I was concerned with off the bat for this model were: The roof tile etching; the stonework at the base; the rope and hoist hook; the stonework columns at the top; the crates; the ropes on the support framework.

Lets jump to the finished result:

So onto the detail and notes. The door had an engraved door knocker which just looked wrong so I sculpted a replacement from green stuff which made all the difference. I also took the opportunity to etch (just with the top of a craft knife) more woodgrain detail into all the planks to give a bit more texture to the planks (I carved out a few chunks as well). I wish I'd done that before some assembly, but alas only decided to do it after I'd started gluing! I also carved all the edges of the steps and boards to make them look more rustic and less uniform. I think the edge carving made a big difference to the model. Finally I used some watered down premixed filler to add some texture to the panels. You can see the limitations of MDF kits on the hoist platform just on the edge of that shot with the corner. I painted mine as metal, but looking at it now I expect the long spars are actually supposed to be rope going to rings at the corners.

The base of the windmill is supposed to be stone, the etched texture is okay. However you have huge gaps where the edges butt up against each other. So I covered the whole lot in Aves Apoxie Sculpt. Expensive stuff, but great to work with. Spread some on, carve out the basic stone work. Use a stone to add some texture and then tidy up the edges a bit as things cure. The mortar was done with some pigments washed in with the excess cleaned off the stonework. The crumbled plasterwork was just some plaster from the rock molds soaked in wash to give it some colour.

Onto the top section then. The columns that support the roof are supposed to be stone, but just look bad as they are. They would probably have been better making them out to be wood I think. Anyhow I ended up coating them with Apoxie Sculpt again and carving some texture in. Overall I think it was an improvement, but it's not perfect. I probably should have made them a little wider or something at the bases or perhaps added some cross braces, as they still look a little spindly. The roof had a reasonable texture on it, but it was going to look out of place with the rest of the model so I tiled over that with cardboard shingles. I also added some purlins underneath to add some texture. You can also see the string I added to replace the MDF "rope" on the hoist. This didn't have any texture on it and just looked silly so I put some corse string in it's place - here it's actually stick to the original MDF "rope" because I didn't want to compromise the strength of the model. On the more visible sections I did cut away the MDF and just had my string in its place. You can't see it in the photos but I added some strips of card under the top platform to represent the underside of the planks. There isn't any texture etched on that side and the large slab of MDF needed something. The strips just gave a hint of the planks and broke up the surface a little.

So here you can see a few of the crates and barrels I scattered around the model. The ones that come with the kit are cute, but just look like small lumps of MDF stuck together so they went in the bin and I used various resin pieces from the bits box. I did keep the cart that was included (not in the shot) but added some wheel rims from card to make it less flat. You can again see the extra texture on the decking I added, it does make a big difference to the dry brush and make the wood more convincing. I also carved some additional bits on the handrails to make the various pieces more distinct and avoid it looking like one large piece of continuous wood. You can see one of the ropes I added to the bottom frame in this shot. Overall I don't think they worked that well. Better than the MDF originals, but in retrospect I think I'd probably just loose the original elements and not replace them, or if I did use finer string. I also added some nail heads using Vallejo plastic putty to add some interest to the planks making up the supporting frame. The base was some XPF foam roughly painted and flocked with a mix of sawdusts and static grass. The path (not in this shot) was dusted with pigments to give it a nice dry look and lots of tufts and clump foliage added to make things more interesting. The rocks (not in the shot) are some casts from Woodland scenics.

Finally the sails. I added a spare shield to the sail hub which was looking bit plain. I still think the hub lets the model down a bit, but wasn't sure quite what to do with it. The sales were made using tissue paper stuck down with PVC and then wetted with dilute tinted PVC and torn and distressed. The end result being a stiff cloth like texture. You have to remember to choose an orientation for your cloth to droop in of course! I made half a dozen mockup sails first trying out various different tissues and colour tints before committing to the final go. I think it came out looking rather good.

Overall it was fun to build and paint. I don't see myself buying more classic fantasy MDF terrain. Some of the Malifaux-esq stuff perhaps and maybe the odd sci-fi piece, but most of my other terrain is resin and the ascetics don't match (not that they are liable to be on the table at the same time given the size of this piece). Besides I think when building terrain I actually prefer scratch building from nothing. I'm very pleased with the model, I think it looks good and it was nice modding it to give it a bit more va-va-voom.

So ponds or a barn next I wonder...

 

[dieselmonkey]

That's fantastic! It's a nice enough model to start with, but you've taken it to a whole new level with the detailing. The one thing about mdf scenery that I hate is that most of the time it still looks like an mdf kit even when it's painted, and this really doesn't, it looks like a completely scratchbuilt piece.

Also, I've not actually seen the base model before, it's really nice, I might have to try and pick one up and do something similar for my walled city board project. I wanted to do a mill that was haphazardly built up the side of the inner wall, facing out to catch the wind, and I think that one would work really well.

Great work!

 

[EricF]

Thanks. Totally agree on the "it's still and MDF kit" feel generally. I think if you can cover over the 2D etched elements and any edge joins (why I threw the crates) it can become something more exciting. Otherwise they feel a bit like quick club/tournament type terrain solutions to me, which given I've always been more into the worlds and modelling aspect of the hobby doesn't really appeal to me.

A windmill built up the city walls would look great on your board. Very Ian Miller. If you want any specific measurements or pics just PM me and I can take some snaps or hop on a video call with a tape measure to hand.

 

[dieselmonkey]

If you want any specific measurements or pics just PM me and I can take some snaps or hop on a video call with a tape measure to hand.

Cheers, but sadly I've been in touch with Warcradle and the whole range has been discontinued, which is a real shame.

 

[EricF]

Well that sucks. Despite my grumbling about MDF kits, they had some nice models. I guess perhaps there was/is too much competition in the fantasy market or something? I'd have thought there wasn't much issue in keeping MDF kits alive - minimal storage space or cut them as required. I mean packaging for the kit was just shrink-wrap round the instructions and the boards. It's not like you even need to keep moulds or anything around, just a digital file.

I now feel bad about the next piece I was going to post - since I think it's also out of production!

 

[dieselmonkey]

I now feel bad about the next piece I was going to post - since I think it's also out of production!

Please do! I'm just going to scratchbuild my own mill, with blackjack, and hookers.

Anyway, apparently Warcradle 'have no plans to continue selling unpainted mdf models', whatever that means, but it was the direct quote I got from them. I was half considering asking if they'd sell the rights, but I really can't afford to get into mdf production at the moment.

 

[EricF]

Now I want to watch Futurama again! As an aside I did try to convince the other half that a laser cutter would be a sensible investment the last time our dog needed a new collar tag, alas I failed.

Onto the next piece of terrain. We have a simple resin barn. What to say - well I think it came from Stronghold terrain before they split into two parts, but I forget the name of the other section who I think must own the rights on this model. Maybe someone can refresh my brain. It's a classic flatpack resin model so is a little limited in features. I added the barrels and crates and bits from the bits box, but otherwise the model hasn't been modified. Painting was mostly with the airbrush to lay down the main colours and to do the plasterwork. Then dry brushing to bring out the roof tiles and wood texture. I did a range of washes on the wood planks and roof tiles to give those a bit of colour range. A few pin washes help increase the contrast between planks and other elements. The most time-consuming bit was painting all the nail heads black then silver!

 

[EricF]

Lets throw up some of my graveyard terrain, which has admittedly been seen on my Undead thread, but these are clearer photos I took some time ago:

These pieces are all MDF bases I picked up from someone on eBay I think. The graves are a combination of those from Tabletop World (who are releasing a new stunning Graveyard set soon) and Renedra, there is the odd other random grave and bit from other suppliers. I distressed some of the Renedra stones on their backs because they are not textured.

I think the tall column on that piece is from Zealot, the rear wall is part of the GW Walls and Fences set.

I tried to make sure the graves were generally all facing in the same direction, since that's how graveyards actually are. I think I may try to do a few more small pieces to mix into the set at some point. Rocky outcrops are casts from the Woodland scenics rock moulds range.

This last one I built up a little in order to have open graves, one empty with the coffin waiting to go in and one where you can see the coffin top in the bottom of the grave. Graves set at jaunty angles are generally the Renedra ones just chopped up a bit - those plastic graves are well worth picking up to have in the bits box!

I tried to get a mixture of colours on the stones to stop the pieces looking too boring. Otherwise a combination of dry brushing and weathering with various washes (Secret Weapon: Sewer Water was used extensively.

The bases were my normal mix of sawdust flock, with some additional static grass, tufts and foam clump foliage.

 

[twisted moon]

they all look great.
fancy posting the graveyard in the deadcember thread in the painting challenges forum?

 

[EricF]

Thanks. I did wonder, about Deadcember but they were painted some time ago, I'd hoped to do my Zombie dragon this year, but got distracted with my Boar Boyz!

Continuing with some older terrain painted a few years back we have some resin barricades. Now I can't off the top of my head remember who made these crate piles. Can someone jog my memory - were they older ForgeWorld castings? The joys of being a terrain junkie!

And some tumbledown drystone walls. These were from eBay and were not great castings, lots and lots of air bubbles. The final results came out okay, but they took a lot of preperation.

 

[EricF]

Right, since I still have a couple of photos to go before I run out of stuff I've shot lets jump over to SciFi stuff for a moment... We have here the Tau Ceti Windtraps from Micro Art Studio. I bought these along with a few other pieces of hardfoam terrain (which I just need to do photos of).

The vanes in the middle are MDF with expanded hard foam castings either side. They are nice models, but I do have some criticisms.

If you want something quick to throw on the table - fine, they are pretty much ready out of the box - throw on some paint and done. If like me you want your terrain to be a major part of the hobby then they take a lot of work. The foam parts don't really match up to the MDF that well - quite why I don't know - maybe they shrink a bit on curing or maybe the molds are not solid enough or something.

Anyhow I had to do a lot of building up with filler (and subsequent sanding) and some trimming of the MDF to get a good alignment. I put them on bases because I had to pack the bases of the tower out to get them to sit flat. Anyhow a lot of effort to get a decent base to work on. However once that was done they looked good.

I laid down a primer and did the base coat with the airbrush - also doing the basic blue glow highlights with the airbrush. I then moved onto some washes to add a bit of dirt and streaks to the large flat panels and to make the channels a bit darker, then it was mainly edge highlighting to accentuate things. There are some large highlights applied to the top of the main panels to just brighten them a bit. Finally some brown and black pigments just to add some grime (like the dirt by the vents) and accentuate the shadows and make the dents in the foam look intentional (blasts or some such)!

 

[symphonicpoet]

Sometimes a salvage job can be particularly satisfying. I was deeply disappointed with the fit of a Plast Craft kit I bought a few years back. Lots of fiddly filling like you describe to make all the pieces fit. (Resin windows in a foamboard wall in this case.) But when it's done you can sit back and feel pretty good about it. The streaks by the vents are a particularly nice touch, and I can respect the need to add some wear and tear to cover up minor constructional sins. Well done!

 

[dieselmonkey]

For a reconstruction job, they turned out great!

It's one of the reasons I generally make my own scenery, I'm generally unhappy with the finish on a lot of stuff. Whether it's bubbles in the casting, badly fitting parts, or even stuff looking not 'realistic' enough, I usually find it's not that much more work to actually build the models from scratch.

 

[EricF]

Thank you.

The only resin terrain I've never really had any issues with is the stuff from Tabletop World. No residue, no bubbles, no flash. That said a few of their newer pieces I bought a couple of years back did have a couple of bubbles - I mean literally only one or two, but it did come as a shock given how perfect they normally were!

I used to do a lot of scratch building when young. Now I'm doing a mix of some easy scratch builds whilst working through the back catalogue of terrain I seem to have acquired. I do rather fancy doing a mine entrance at some point soon (you may recall that build from White Dwarf - someone will no doubt chip in with the issue #). I also have a Dwarf related project in mind when I have the time. I think given the time I would probably do more scratch building. Overall I think it's more fun.

I agree that a salvage job is particularly satisfying, there is something about the rescue that just makes it more rewarding once you're actually going.

 

[EricF]

I just found a couple of photos of one of the other bits of hard foam terrain I bought some years back from Micro Art Studio. They don't seem to be listing the Outpost Processing Plant any more, so it may be discontinued, which would be a shame as it's a nice piece.

The two towers/silos can be split apart if you want the terrain piece as two parts. These are very much ready to hit the table and don't require any assembly. However I've found this terrain does have a lot of bubbles and requires a lot of tidying up of the sharp edges, which takes rather a long time! I also had to pack out the vertical face between the two silos to get a nice vertical face between them.

So a few notes: The ladder is from Fenris Games. Painting these was mostly a case of lots of edge highlighting and shading with pigments to bring out the panels. I used some pigments around the base to add some weathered dust/mud effects. The holes in the buttresses we filled with some black pigment to hopefully make them look more like holes (not that they look that great in the photos - better in real life)! I popped a couple of magnets in the piece to join the two sections together so I could split them apart if I wanted to. The graffiti was from some transfers from Antenocitis Workshop.

The final pieces of hard foam I have were the Outpost - Vents, and Tech Containers which I don't think I've photographed yet.

 

[symphonicpoet]

The graffiti is fun. Nicely done little buildings. It is a nice little piece. Shame if they've discontinued it.

 

[EricF]

Thanks. The graffiti was somewhat inspired by some of the work of people on here The decals were a bit of a pain to apply actually (getting them flat).
So since I've still got a few photos in stock. Lets go for some scratch building next!

I rather fancied having a play with some clear resin and doing a water feature. A pond or two seemed somewhat more contained than a river so I tried that. I started with a thin sheet of foamed PVC for the base. I then glued a thin strip of foamed PVC on its edge on top of the base to provide a guide for the shape and height of my pond (to avoid having a low spot anywhere). I then used some Sculptamold to build up the banks and added a few stones and bits to provide some further interest.

They were painted quickly with the airbrush to get a reasonable base colour down for the water and the earth/stones, bit of shading and highlighting on the banks and rocks and they were done. I then got to go to town with the flock and static grass, etc. I also finally had a good use for some of the longer rush like bits of foliage I had and some bull rushes I bought years ago on a whim. I decided on the larger pond to add a small jetty and knocked one up from some strip wood.

I practiced the resin pour (Water Clear Epoxy from CFS in this case) a few times to get a colour I was happy with and after trying about four or five shades settled on a dark grey. The final pours went okay, and I'm rather pleased with the results.

So here we have the small pond which is about 8" long.

And the larger one, which is probably getting on for more like 1' in length.

I'm still wondering if I may add some water effects or something to provide some ripples to my otherwise super still pond, but I quite like it as it is. Besides it would be annoying to muck things up now

 

[Plaiecivile]

I say leave the pond as is. It is very atmospheric, all it misses is Pippin and Merry fishing.

 

[EricF]

Thank you. I think I'll probably leave them be. Yes I can imagine the hobbits in a little boat quietly idling away the day.

So I thought I'd post up another larger project. So today we have the "Gothic Cathedral Ruins" from Mini Monsters, which is still available from the Zealot webstore. It's a large model that can be put together in a few different ways. My only criticism are the wall thicknesses - I think they feel a little thin for the scale of the model.

I assembled it a year or two ago and it sat on the shelf for a while whilst I wondered about colours. I left the cathedral a little modular so I can optionally use parts of it, all together is's probably about 14" long. I've yet to decide how to fix the doors.

I finally tackled the paint job over last winter working the stone up from an original yellow/drab type colours and ending up with greys. I added some additional rubble with some broken up cork and finished things off with some vines and scrub to help the ruined ascetic. The vines are quite delicate, but do look good. They needed a little spray with some browns to dull down the colour first.

Onto the pictures.

 

[EricF]

I managed to take a few more photos of terrain this morning so onto the next batch of terrain pictures!

Firstly we have another of the hardfoam pieces I bought from Micro Art Studio, these are their Tech Containers, which I ended up getting shortly before the GW hard plastic containers were released.

My feeling on these pieces are much the same as for the other hard foam bits. Nice models and great to just throw down and done, but they do have issues.

I found it quite hard to decide how to paint these and the finished colours came about somewhat by accident one day. Still the end result looks okay on the tabletop and they could finally move to the done pile!

The longest part of getting these to the tabletop was filling the air bubbles. I spent hours and hours filling small bubbles on the edges of sections, sometimes with green stuff, sometimes with plastic putty for the smaller holes. It was a total faff. Was it required? Probably not for gaming purposes if I'm honest. Eventually I gave up and you can still see some of the holes I left oin the photo below - I didn't even attempt a repair of the door lock keypads, I'd got rather board of trying to make good the edges and get them sharp again. Figuring that it wasn't worth it at the end of the day, the 80% I'd done was enough to get them looking fairly decent for the tabletop.