Lead Adventure Forum
Miniatures Adventure => Future Wars => Topic started by: Daeothar on March 16, 2025, 07:34:44 PM
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OK, so originally, I was painting astronauts for Lunar, then I got distracted and started the minis for a one-off DnD campaign for my daughter and her friends, but I got distracted again and dug up the two unpainted Armadillo shuttles I still had lying around, you know; as a little palette cleanser after all those fantasy characters. But as those are stalling a bit because of my quest for the right decals, yesterday afternoon, after some chores and assorted other real life activities, I had a bit of spare time on my hands, so I decided on a quick terrain project I've been wanting to do for, well, forever...
Just a small, quick project. I've got all of the components, the weather is good; there's some time to spare, what could possibly go wrong? Right?
So I set to work, cutting some bases form a scrap piece of MDF with my jigsaw and beveling the edges with a hand sander. This took all of 30 minutes, and I ended up with 5 small bases, which I figured should be enough. I then hot-glued different sized styrene balls together, using cocktail sticks for pinning when putting two or more balls on top of each other.
(https://www.d1-games.com/ForumPics/Terrain/Cacti/Cacti01.jpg)
After that, I decided to pull out all of the stuff I have accumulated over the years, because they're meant to be used and not just hoarded after all. So I dug up my precious pot of Mod Podge. Because that stuff is not easy to come by in these parts, and I picked up a pot about two years back, and that had been sitting around waiting for just the right project.
This one, as it turns out.
The stuff is great, but feels to me to be exactly the same as the wood glue I've been using for decades. It looks, feels, smells and behaves exactly like the trusty Bison Wood Glue I've used many liters of over the years. It's just more expensive ::)
Anyway; I used the Mod Podge with some green coloured paint, baking soda, tile grout and sand to create a pigmented paste, which I first painted onto the styrene balls. Then, using the same brush, I stipled the paste, to get rid of any brush strokes.
(https://www.d1-games.com/ForumPics/Terrain/Cacti/Cacti03.jpg)
(https://www.d1-games.com/ForumPics/Terrain/Cacti/Cacti02.jpg)
I let this dry for the time being, while I broke a ridiculous amount of cocktail sticks in two and pinned them into a scrap piece of styrofoam. Using a dark red spraypaint, I then basecoated the lot. And when that was dry, I highlighted each individual pin with Blood Red, a Dark orange and finally a very bright orange.
(https://www.d1-games.com/ForumPics/Terrain/Cacti/Cacti04.jpg)
(https://www.d1-games.com/ForumPics/Terrain/Cacti/Cacti05.jpg)
By this time, the green paste was dry (enough), so I did a couple of quick drybrushed highlights on the top of all of the spheres working towards yellow.
(https://www.d1-games.com/ForumPics/Terrain/Cacti/Cacti06.jpg)
And after adding some basing material I started applying the spines by first pricking a hole with the sharp end of a cocktail stick and then shoving the red spines in there with a dollop of wood glue. I had made so many, that I had figured I might use the surplus for maybe another base, because I had in the meantime seen a YouTube video by Minisodes in which he made one of these cacti, but it had been partially blown apart by some explosion (a bolter round perhaps?), with ooze gooping out of it and I wanted to emulate that for sure.
But as it turns out, many painted spines was just not enough spines. At all! So I discovered I had run out of spines halfway my fourth base (with the largest one still to go).
However, it had become late already, and dark outside (and cold), and I had obligations in the morning, so I broke the same amount of cocktail sticks on two as before, put them in the existing holes in the styrofoam and decided to wait till the morning to spray them.
This left me with just the basecoating of the bases, which would at least have plenty of drying time overnight.
So Sunday afternoon, after lunch, I was able to spray them, and quickly apply the highlights, just like before. This way, it's actually really quick.
(https://www.d1-games.com/ForumPics/Terrain/Cacti/Cacti07.jpg)
Once dry, I added the spines to the last two bases. Then it was on to some quick highlighting of the basing material (exactly the same as I do on all of my miniature bases) and the adding of some flock and a few tufts. And because this is 40K, I also added an ork skull somewhere between the cacti, and then they were done!
(https://www.d1-games.com/ForumPics/Terrain/Cacti/Cacti08.jpg)
Had the spines not run out, I would have finished the cacti in one afternoon and evening, with a hands on time of approximately 3 hours. Now it took a little bit more, but al in all, I have not spent more than 4 hours working on these.
I've been wanting to have a bunch of these for almost as long as I've been in the hobby (1989), and now I finally have some to grace my (2nd ed 40K) table. I'm actually giddy with joy. This project was FUN. It brought back memories of old White Dwarfs, and the tongue in cheek silliness that permeated 40K back in the day, before everything went full on grimdark and serious. I love the sense of accomplishment this quick project gave me, and the good time I had doing it. I might well do some more of these simple (and iconic) 2nd edition 40K projects, to populate and entire table.
And to sign off, here's a picture in the best White Dwarf style of a squad of Imperial Fists Space Marines disembarking from their Rhino in the middle of an alien cactus forest... :)
(https://www.d1-games.com/ForumPics/Terrain/Cacti/Cacti09.jpg)
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They look cool - more spikes could have fitted too! I am amazed at how many spikes you made, and then they don?t look that dense on the green spheres.
Can you explain the modge podge, tile grout, sand and baking soda mix a bit more? I get the sand and glue components but am unsure what the others add.
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Yeah, about that..
In the original 'How to make Wargames Terrain' book, where these are introduced, they use glue and baking soda for some texture. So I added the baking soda, but quickly found it did not add enough texture.
So I wanted to add some sand but in the rush, I nabbed the wrong tub and added tile grout instead. I corrected this immediately after by adding the sand ::)
It might actually give a bit more strength to the surface now, who knows? :D
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They look magnificent! :-* I'm currently working on some 15mm Badab War forces. I may need to see how small those polystyrene spheres go and make some in 15mm.
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Yeah, about that..
In the original 'How to make Wargames Terrain' book, where these are introduced, they use glue and baking soda for some texture. So I added the baking soda, but quickly found it did not add enough texture.
So I wanted to add some sand but in the rush, I nabbed the wrong tub and added tile grout instead. I corrected this immediately after by adding the sand ::)
It might actually give a bit more strength to the surface now, who knows? :D
Aah! I?d have thought baking soda would dissolve. I think for tile grout I was thinking the pre-mixed stuff in a tube not the powdered stuff.
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This is very classic and you did it well.
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I got a load of calcium carbonate powder for casting and I've mixed that in with PVA wood glue with good effect - not sure I'd use baking soda though. On a slightly different note, I once mixed thistlecoat (fine finishing) plaster with pva wood glue - took longer to cure but set like concrete! I might take a leaf out of Daeothar's book and try pva, calcium carbonate and fine sand next time.
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I know it's a minor thing but now I've noticed one of the cocktail sticks has an unpainted bit showing I can't unsee it.
Great work though, sometimes you just need a simple win to get you going.
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I saw that too and it's since been fixed. Air bubble pushed the stick out of the hole; I just pushed it back in and the tackiness of the glue did the rest ;)
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I enjoy these a lot. Nostalgic, but really well done. And why would alien flora be the same as that on Earth anyway? Nice touch with the yellow highlight
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Ooh, well done and classic!
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Classic and with a how-to to boot, what is not to like! :o
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Those look great. :)
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I've got some of those in 30mm and 40mm diameter earmarked for my smoke/fog ball project. As far as I'm aware they go down to 20mm diameter - smaller than that and you have to use beanbag chair ones (which do make good small puffball funghi).
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Fun project.
I'm in the same boat as you with modpodge; it's hard to come by, far from cheap and I'm not convinced it's any better thsn good qualitg pva.
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absolutely miles beyond the inspiration... these are superb