Lead Adventure Forum
Other Stuff => Workbench => Topic started by: oldskoolrebel on December 01, 2010, 08:10:39 PM
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Good Evening All,
I found myself starting a new project tonight, its inspired by all the stunning boards that I played on at BLAM especially Captain Blood's. I don't expect to be able to reproduce something to the same standard as the Bloodmeister, but I'll give it my best shot.
Stage 1- visit BnQ, purchase a 4 pack of pink foam, some filler and a couple of sanding blocks. Order some cork bark.
Stage 2- Plan, look over examples, sketch, re-sketch and finally mark the foam.
The plan is to design a 3.5' by 4' board (using two foamboards). I spent a bit of time planning it to ensure that the board can be changed order slightly (see layout 1 ad 2 below). Before I start sanding and gluing, I wanted to get the opinion of other people. How do the layouts look? Should I change anything?
Layout 1
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/7/2367_01_12_10_9_05_36_3.JPG)
Layout 2
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/7/2367_01_12_10_9_05_35_1.JPG)
Sorry for the poor quality photos.
Cheers
Andy
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so far it looks like you have a slid plan, my only sugestion would be a wood frame for the foam, i made a simple 2.5x2.5 board, mounted on hardboard, and even then the edges, and corners start to see some wear, VERY quickly, even with minimal transportation, and careful storage.
just something to think about in your planning .
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Looks good so far.
Whats it for?
A question for the man who mentioned a new era!
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Thanks for the advice DD-Chris, I'll give it some thought. I would also like to know how Captain Blood gets around this.
Colin, its going to be predominantly fantasy; I've got a whole load of LotR stuff that I've never painted so I'll do that. Hopefully it will be useful in more than one era!
Cheers
Andy
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If you don't want to go with the wooden frame add some masking tape wrapped around the corners. It will help strengthen them and will give some protection.
The layout looks fine, should be versatile. Can't wait to see them progress.
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Looking good.
For my pink foam boards, I added a bit of protection by binding all the way round the edges with a ring of gaffer tape.
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MY boards all have wooden frames, but they don't see much use anyway lol I'll be keen to see how you hand this dilemma...
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Great idea to make the layout variable, very good thinking.
One question though - is my local B&Q the only one that doesn't sell pink foam sheets? Looked for years and never found any... >:(
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Hello jolly bob they're sold as
knaud space board
I found them relatively difficult to find in my store, but they're hidden in the dingy loft insulation corner. If your near the Glasgow Great Western Road store they stock them.
Have you tried ordering online? I'm sure that there must be some way to get some to you.
Cheers
Andy
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here :)
linky (http://www.diy.com/diy/jsp/bq/nav.jsp?action=detail&fh_secondid=10647762&fh_view_size=12&fh_eds=%3f&fh_location=%2f%2fcatalog01%2fen_GB%2fcategories%3c%7b9372016%7d%2fcategories%3c%7b9372050%7d%2fcategories%3c%7b9372230%7d&fh_refview=lister&ts=1291301573669&isSearch=false)
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Oooh. Nice one Andy :)
Layout plan looks good to me - that's exactly how I do mine. Just draw the roads, rivers and hills onto the foam, and get carving, sanding and building up.
I've now done 10 of these exact same loftboards from B&Q and I don't bother doing anything with the edges at all. They're perfectly rigid, and providing you're careful, the edges won't deteriorate through natural wear and tear - although clearly if you swing one against the sharp edge of a door frame, it's going to dent!
Looking forward to seeing what you do with them 8)
By the way, some branches of B&Q don't carry them as a stock item, but they can get them in within 24 hours if you ask for them.
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Thank Richard! I was just wondering how deep you sanded the river? I don't own a dremmel but I'm instead using a standard drill with a sanding drum.... hmm
Thanks
Andy
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I'd say I took the river down by about 5mm. It needs a dead flat bed. Once you've buzzed out the bulk surplus material, you might find it easier and more accurate to use a bit of sandpaper and do it by hand, to get a fine flat finish.
DIY power tools do have a nasty habit of ripping dirty great holes in pink foam :D
For added depth, I also build up the banks of my rivers a bit in places, using little pieces of balsa covered in B&Q ready mixed filler.
P.S. Clearly you need a Dremel for Christmas! Best present I ever got, seriously. Soooooooo useful - for cleaning up figures as well as all sorts of terrain making purposes.
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Point taken! I'll persevere with the drill just now. Can you recommend a Dremel model? There is a 300 on Amazon just now for £35... is it worth it?
Cheers
Andy
PS I'm surprised how easy the pink phone is to work with!
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Mine's a Dremel 395 multi tool (like this one - http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Dremel-Multi-Tool-Pro-395VR-accessories-/120653448559?pt=UK_Home_Garden_PowerTools_SM&hash=item1c1781856f)
I think the 300 is a slightly newer version. Sure it will do the same range of things (pretty much everything in other words!) :)
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Many thanks for the tips, chaps, may yet see if the feckless idiots in our local can get me some. :)
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Yea, new board to play on! It almost gives you that warm fuzzy feeling inside! :)
Don't know if your planning any buildings for your table, but have you seen this site?
http://www.tabletop-world.com/index.php (http://www.tabletop-world.com/index.php)
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Just ordered a dremel 300, just aswell its my birthday!
Andy i'd love some of the tabletop world stuff but its pretty expensive!
Cheers
andy
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At last an update, I've spent some of today working of the first board, lots of sanding, cutting and gluing. The Dremel has come in really handy. I've still to use Captain Blood's icing method.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/7/2367_11_12_10_5_42_43_0.JPG)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/7/2367_11_12_10_5_42_43_1.JPG)
Cheers
Andy
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Looking good!
Your parents are going to hate the mess that'll be causing.....
Is that a road going through the river?
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Andy, you have the route 1 terrain-building approach nailed sir! ;)
The icing is the best bit :D
How do you like the dremel?
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Cheers, finishing icing on the second board tonight.
The dremel is great, although its seems to cut the foam rather than sanding! So i finished alot by hand. Still really speeds the process up.
I'm looking at static grass, not sure what to go for- soo many different choices, plus i've never used static grass before. Any advice would be great.
I'm editing to avoid double posting
I'm just finished 'icing' both boards. They still need to dry and be lightly sanded.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/7/2367_14_12_10_9_28_03_0.JPG)
I'm planning on using the above layout as a 'forest' or as a single cottage in hill terrain
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/7/2367_14_12_10_9_28_03_1.JPG)
I'm planning on using the above layout for perhaps a small Carpathian village
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/7/2367_14_12_10_9_28_04_3.JPG)
A short ruined section of wall, to break the board up. A 20cmx15cm base will fit quite comfortably in the wall. I'm hoping that this will fit most buildings. I'm not sure what to do to fill the holes. Would watered down PVA work?
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/7/2367_14_12_10_9_28_04_4.JPG)
A wee copy of the Captains idea he used (the two riverside cliffs facing each other). As yo can see the filler needs a wee bit of a sanding before I'm finished.
Comments and critiques welcome!
Cheers
Andy
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Looking really good and as you have said very versatile in the way the boards can be arranged. Looking forward to seeing the next stages.
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Don't know if it's still possible, but you could cut the board into quarters. That would give you more versatility. It would only work though if the river was in the middle of each section...
Still, coming along nicely Andy!
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Good icing there Andy :D (It's fun isn't it?! Onto cakes next... terrain cakes for wargamers, now there's a marketing idea... ;))
I would say that one or two of your hills look perhaps a little steep sided - that may have been your intention, but if not, you can always build up another layer of filler to spread the hills out slightly and make the slopes shallower.
Obviously, you can't lay the filler on too thick though - as you've probably found - cos it just stays soggy and doesn't 'go off'!
For the holes in your wall, I'd mix some filler into some PVa so you've got a kind of gruel consistency, then paint that on. You could let it half-dry, then wipe off any excess, so it fills the holes without obscuring too much detail on the stones themselves, although it probably wouldn't do any harm just to slather it over the whole thing. It will certainly bond it in position!
Don't forget to scatter some gravelly / rocky / rubbly bits around the edges of your cliffs to represent minor rockfalls.
I use woodland scenics 'medium turf' (lots of different colour choices, depending on the climate / landscape you're going for) with a bit of static grass mixed in. The 'turf' is basically foam rubber powder. I prefer the finish to out-and-out static grass, but whatever your preference. Static grass will work. Most model shops / model railway shops carry a huge range of scenic scatter materials.
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Looking great Andy :-* :-* :-*
What, when and where are we playig on it?
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Progress has been slow with Christmas and being ill this week (which is why I never made the game on Wednesday Colin). So far the board has had some detail added (in the form of scree, a couple of cairns and some mortar added to the wall), I've also sprayed it black and have started to apply the base colour.
For the base colour I've chosen "Raw Earth" by Fired Earth; they're a company that produces wallpaint. I managed to get a couple of samples from my local BnQ. In my estimation this colour is pretty similar to GW's graveyard earth which I use on the bases of most of my miniatures (and if I remember correctly so does Gamermac, not so sure about AndyM.
(http://www.firedearthshop.com/WebRoot/FEStore/Shops/FEShop/Products/Images/m/10161.jpg)
I've ended up brushing the first coat on, as I found that I couldn't get a good enough coverage with a borrowed airbrush. To be honest I think it's more to do with my lack of airbursh knowledge than the brush itself! Still I feel competed enough to use it for the remaining highlight coats.
A few days ago I submitted a fairly large order to Antenocitis. I'm hoping that it should contain enough scatter material to cover the board. I also added some trees into my basket, I was that impressed with Captain Blood's ones. Gamermac and AndyM have some pretty nice trees made from twigs, but I'm too impatient to set about gather sticks, I think in this instance I'll take the easy way out.
Don't know if it's still possible, but you could cut the board into quarters. That would give you more versatility. It would only work though if the river was in the middle of each section...
Still, coming along nicely Andy!
Cheers Andy!
I had considered doing it this way, but I'd have need some boards to rest the segments on, so I decided against it (I don't have a big enough table to comfortably and securely sit board segments on). I'm not convinced if I've come to the correct solution, as each segment would probably be useful for .45A. I'll maybe try it with the next board.
Good icing there Andy :D (It's fun isn't it?! Onto cakes next... terrain cakes for wargamers, now there's a marketing idea... ;))
I would say that one or two of your hills look perhaps a little steep sided - that may have been your intention, but if not, you can always build up another layer of filler to spread the hills out slightly and make the slopes shallower.
I'm not sure about cakes- Anytime that I've tried to make flapjacks they fails spectacularly! Although I do like the idea of edible terrain and counters, infact ever models. When you take a casualty remove the model and eat it! Perhaps your opponent should eat it rather than you!
I agree with you about some of the hills looking a little steep sided; they where the first ones that I started to work on. I'm going to leave them as they are and call it a 'learning opportunity'.
Also thanks for the advice about scatter material!
Looking great Andy :-* :-* :-*
What, when and where are we playig on it?
When it's finished of course Colin! lol
As for games, I have a few ideas. I'm painting some of my Lord of the Rings miniatures at the moment. I also fancy Chaos in Carpathia. However I have a .45A game planned for one Wednesday night using the soon to be released Fenris Modern Adventurers, although I think I will wait until the 2nd Edition .45A rules are released.
Cheers
Andy
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Fired Earth paints eh? You must have deep pockets.They aint the cheapest, but a nice range of colours.
Looking forward to seeing the next stage. :)
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Fired Earth paints eh? You must have deep pockets.They aint the cheapest, but a nice range of colours.
Looking forward to seeing the next stage. :)
Alot cheaper than using GW paints lol.
What I'm not telling you is that they where reduced... bashed tins! Plus they where only samples. Thank you Mr Kevin McCloud!
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Its all coming along smartly. Looking forward to seeing some more photos. ;) :)
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Yep. Looking forward to seeing it :)
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The weekend has been eventful. I've finished painting the board... well almost. From the picture below you can see that I've still got the field-stone wall and the river to paint. The next step with the wall is to dry-brush it the mid gray that I've used for the cliffs and scree. Once I've complete this I will then paint individual stones at my leisure.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/7/2367_10_01_11_9_18_39_0.JPG)
I've never painted a river section before so I'm looking to get a bit of advice and practice before I attempt it. I imagine that I won't paint the river until I've 'greened' the board.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/7/2367_10_01_11_9_17_12_1.JPG)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/7/2367_10_01_11_9_17_11_0.JPG)
This is a picture of my attempt at a ford. I'm quite happy with it all in, although I'm a bit apprehensive about what will happen to it once I've used realistic water.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/7/2367_10_01_11_9_17_12_2.JPG)
I'm quite happy with the cliffs and the scree, what I'm not so happy with however is the obvious join between the board and the filler. I'm not sure how I'm going to fix this one... possibly in the greening stage.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/7/2367_10_01_11_9_18_40_3.JPG)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/7/2367_10_01_11_9_18_39_1.JPG)
I'm not sure if it' clear at all here, but I've attempted to add a small beach at the base of the left most hill. I might need to add a slight yellow tinge to the colour, as currently I think it blends in to the landscape around it.
I've enjoyed this project so far, its been refreshing to use techniques and tools that I've never used before. Also Captain Blood's excellent tutorials have been a great help. Although just now I think the board looks more like a post-apocalyptic wasteland than health country side!
My package arrive from Antecoitis, containing all sorts of lovely scatter material. Predominantly the ground will be covered by Burnt Grass. I decided on this because I didn't want the 'neon green' GW approach to flock. It will be interesting to see what it looks like when its on the board!
(http://woodlandscenics.woodlandscenics.com/images/NewWSWeb/options/FT-BG_d_1.gif)
Not sure if I'm going to get any greening done tonight. But expect pictures tomorrow night!
Cheers
Andy
*Edit*
Almost Forgot, comments, critiques, hints and tips welcome as always!
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Looking very good, I like the muted colour scheme for the ground work.
For the river you either go for a light browny grey or a dark browny green depending on your personal pleasure and the advantage is it's not to much of a problem to paint over it if you're not too happy :)
Just start with the darkest colour and paint the whole river and then start to add lighter shades towards the edge but don't keep it even, randomise the contrast somewhat.
You could cover the rock join by a creeping plant or low hugging bush rather than just grass :)
cheers
James
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Looking great Andy :-* :-* :-*
Do what Jim says and it will finish it off nicely.
Have you already got the water effect stuff?
If not why not use varnish?
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I like it alot, it will lose the post aporkyclypse look once you grass it.
I used Realistic water for mine and I think using lots of layers of yacht varnish as Colin says would have exactly the same effect.
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Coming together beautifully, I especially like the cliffs!
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Very nice indeed Andy. Looking forward to seeing how the grass works out.
Dont mean to hijack your thread but when it comes to giving the river its sheen, whether varnish or realistic water etc., I take it anything laid down should be in thin layers with drying in between?
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but when it comes to giving the river its sheen, whether varnish or realistic water etc., I take it anything laid down should be in thin layers with drying in between?
Certainly should old bean :)
And I'd go for the yacht varnish aswell, you get a loverly sense of depth :)
cheers
James
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Beautiful tones and the cliffs are great. :-* :-* :-*
Cork cliffs are proving they are the way to go.
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Very nice indeed Andy. Looking forward to seeing how the grass works out.
Dont mean to hijack your thread but when it comes to giving the river its sheen, whether varnish or realistic water etc., I take it anything laid down should be in thin layers with drying in between?
I don't know, some people just can't help themselves can they?!? ;)
Actually that was going to be one of my next questions, so well done that man!
Thanks all for the kind words, I'm still undecided on the varnish versus realistic water front. It will take me a wee while to decide! A few people have recommended yacht varnish, which I assume is alot cheaper than Realistic water.
Cheers
Andy
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Yacht varnish will be considerably cheaper, get yourself back to Wickes or Homebase and pick up a tin of varnish for probably 1/2 the price.
It will go alot further too. I used a whole bottle of Realistic water just to do a 6" wide 4ft long river.
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Looking great andy, really nice colour scheme.
If you go down the varnish route then lots of thin layers are essential. On mine I got over excited and poured on a few mm of an acrylic varnish and it took several months to cure!
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Sounds like Varnish is the way to go...
No pictures tonight, had problems with the bloody trees... Advice is really needed here! I'm using woodland scenics trees, along with there super special hobbytac glue... hmm... super special indeed. The idea is that you cover the branches in the glue, leave it for 15mins and then 'dunk' them in the foliage. Instantly it stuck... I couldn't believe my eyes! Unfortunately 15mins later the foliage disintegrated in front of my eyes, falling onto my desk >:( Advice, help please!
Cheers
Andy
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I haven't used the woodland scenics trees (and to be honest am not sure what they look like) but had a similar experience with my own that I made from pan scrubbers and twigs. I brushed dilute PVA onto the foliage, dipped in flock then stepped back to admire my work. Unfortunately, the next day most of the flock just fell off. Now I use a much more robust approach, painting undilute PVA onto the foliage and then, when it's dry, giving it a short blast of matt sealer.
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Thanks for the advice SI, i tried anothed test piece lastnight, 'slopping' the glue on as they do in the scenics video- i had to waitat least an hour for the glue to go transparent. Oi added the foilage and left for some 7 seven hours. I still had falling foilage but most stuck. Tonight is our gaming night so i'm not going to work on the board, aloowing further time to dry. Tomorrow i'l add want extra foilage needed and then seal with clearkote.
Further advice, would be great- this seems and unnecessarily tardy process.
Cheers
andy
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Hi,
I've had similar issues with foliage on trees and found a solution that satisfied me with simplicity and robustness.
When you have stuck the foliage on the tree skeleton and it begins to dry, leave for an hour and then spray with a 70/30 water/pva mix from your standard spray bottle (found full of chemicals under your kitchen sink). Leave it to dry and then turn the tree upside down and spray again. Job done.
After all, nearly six years o_o in a GW store teaches you how to make robust scenery! :D
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Try here, it's where we get ours from at work :)
http://www.modeltrees.biz/ (http://www.modeltrees.biz/)
cheers
James
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Idea just occured for your 2 boards edges meeting sides. Put a strip of similar colored felt on the inside edge of each board so when they are pushed together for the battle the felt meets felt? The very top edge could be painted to the same color as the board, taking care not to saturate and there by stiffen the felt? Dont know if this would work cause it just came up. Have to give it a try on a small scale and see if it does as the bad joint edges has always put me off of small boards.
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Damas
thanks for the advice... If this method can with stand damage cause in a gw store it should all the trees to survive for at least one night woith my group! I'l try your method and post the results.
alfrik
i'm not sure about placing felt on the sides, sure it will protect the sides but it will enlarge the already unsightly gap! Still there is a casll for felt on the bottom... After all who doesn't like their bottom felt!
JimB, nice site its a pity i've bought all the trees i need!
Cheers
andy
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Ah yes, sorry Andy, should have mentioned - Woodland Scenic glue is sh*t and doesn't work if you try to add foliage clumps to tree armatures in the method they suggest. They glue is too feeble and untacky, and the clumps all just fall off!
I use superglue to stick on the bigger clumps. A bit laborious, but works. Once you've got the basic shape of your tree with the major clumps stuck on individually, then you can dollop on PVA and sprinkle with smaller bits. Wait for the glue to dry before shaking the excess off. You might need to repeat a couple of times and gradually build up.
Then, once you've stuck on enough foliage to give you the shape / bulk you want, drench the whole thing in a liberal spray of 'scenic cement' (which is just watered down PVA), which helps fix and seal the lot in place.
Good luck!
The boards are looking great :)
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Hmm, was thinking the felt on the sides, when the 2 boards were pushed together would compress against each other and fill the gap, still figure to give it a test go, or very soft weather stirping on one board edge?? (more hmmmm)
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The gaps between boards can be a visual pain. The boards can also slide around if knocked which can be even more frustrating.
When playing, I bind mine together with a run of masking tape around the perimeter.
The masking tape is only a partial solution as there isn't enough pressure to fully close the gaps. I have wondered about cutting out channels in the matching faces and embedding some velcro tape but it seems like a lot of work. Then again, maybe I just need to get one of those ratchet operated cargo straps......
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This project looks smashing!
I'd probably go with Yacht varnish too on the water areas - but make sure you get one that is UV-light resistant, or it will yellow over time.
On the subject of holding modular boards together, what about using magnets? You could recess them into the edges, and then put some strong tape around the the board sections.
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Thanks for the tree advice everyone.
The method I've settled on is, Superglue foliage on, then spray with PVA mix, and finally spray varnish.
I'm not in a rush to finish the board- I'm on the detailing stage now and I really want to take my time with sticking on bushes and other bits and pieces. Still I don't want to disappoint you so I've included a few pictures of one of the sections (still some work to do).
Comments, critique, and suggestions are always helpful!
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/7/2367_13_01_11_9_47_40_0.JPG)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/7/2367_13_01_11_9_47_40_2.JPG)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/7/2367_13_01_11_9_47_40_1.JPG)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/7/2367_13_01_11_9_47_40_4.JPG)
^ I think this beach is looking more like a beach now with the inclusion of the long grass!
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/7/2367_13_01_11_9_47_40_3.JPG)
Hmm I just notices that the bushes at the bottom of the hill are maybe too deliberately placed?
Cheers
Andy
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Oldskoolrebel, been watching since the start but first comment. Lovely, lovelystuff :D I've never quite got the nerve to build a whole scenic board, I've done bits & bobs but watching it grow from pink foam to what looks a very nice set up. Looking forward to more.
:-*
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lovely work Andy,
your hard work has totally paid off :-*
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It's looking great. 8)
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I like that a lot :-* :D
You're right about the bushes at the bottom of the hill, try google imaging for 'English common land' and you might get some good ideas for the placement of foliage etc.
A little bit of colour variation for the grass would be good as well :)
cheers
James
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Oldskoolrebel, been watching since the start but first comment. Lovely, lovelystuff :D I've never quite got the nerve to build a whole scenic board, I've done bits & bobs but watching it grow from pink foam to what looks a very nice set up. Looking forward to more.
:-*
Hey Cholly, thanks for posting.
I understand your trepidation about building an whole scenic board, but I really do think that its worth the extra effort. It would have been quite easy for me to make this one more modular than it is, to allow a lot of variety. Personally with the removable trees and the ability to add buildings, ruins etc I think that the flexibility of the board is preserved.
And don't worry more is on it's way!
It's looking great. 8)
Thank you Steve (sorry if I got the name wrong I'm terrible with them!), although it had quite a bit to live up to with your forest table!
Cheers
Andy
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Really coming together now Andy :)
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looking good Andy.
My only comment would be that the long grass/reeds look a bit lonely ???
Maybe bulk them out a bit or add different sized stuff?
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Cracking Andy! That's going to be great when you do the river!
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I like that a lot :-* :D
You're right about the bushes at the bottom of the hill, try google imaging for 'English common land' and you might get some good ideas for the placement of foliage etc.
A little bit of colour variation for the grass would be good as well :)
cheers
James
Oops sorry Jim didn't see your post,
Yeah I think I got too involved in 'micro-placement' of bushes rather than looking at the whole picture!
Interesting point about the use of additional colours of grass/turf. I'll have a wee look at Antenocities and see what jumps out at me.
Also the google search of English Common land has thrown up plenty of examples. My original inspiration was:
(http://i594.photobucket.com/albums/tt24/oldskoolrebel/Ring%20of%20Steall/P1010822.jpg?t=1294957873)
Really coming together now Andy :)
Cheers Richard!
looking good Andy.
My only comment would be that the long grass/reeds look a bit lonely ???
Maybe bulk them out a bit or add different sized stuff?
It does a bit, doesn't it?
More bushes, different coloured grass or what?
Cracking Andy! That's going to be great when you do the river!
Thank you,
To be honest I've still not decided on a colour yet or psyched myself up to try... Maybe this weekend's Vietnam gaming will inspire me!
Cheers
Andy
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Almost a month later, and I still haven't finished this project!
I've finally built up my nerve and started to paint the rivers. The following pictures show the still wet paint on the rivers (It's not been varnished yet, honestly!) Before I start varnishing I was wanting some advice on the river. How do they seem to everyone? I'm quite happy with it so far, although I'm planning on adding very light green lines at the inside bends etc to simulate the fast flowing river.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/8/2367_14_02_11_3_44_57_0.JPG) (http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/8/2367_14_02_11_3_44_57_0.JPG)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/8/2367_14_02_11_3_44_57_1.JPG) (http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/8/2367_14_02_11_3_44_57_1.JPG)
Also how suitable is this varnish for the river?
Clicky (http://www.diy.com/diy/jsp/bq/nav.jsp?action=detail&fh_secondid=10298510&fh_view_size=10&fh_location=%2f%2fcatalog01%2fen_GB&fh_search=gloss+varnish&fh_eds=%C3%9F&fh_refview=search&isSearch=true&skuId=9261399&_requestid=44929)
Cheers
Andy
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Hey Andy, its looking good to me and that varnish should do the job. The more layers you put on the better it will be so perhaps look at quick drying ones to.
Perhaps as you say some lighter patches around the bends of the river where silt would build up to repesent shallower waters.
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Looking good to me :-* :-*
The varnish will finish it off nicely.
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In these images, you might also add a bit of rocky colour just under the surface in the narrows between the two prominences.
If you use gel medium of the clear gloss variety you can get some good ripples and depth to the look. A half pint (or close to that) is probably only two to three times the cost of a pot of GW paint pots.
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Looking good Andy! Very impressive! The only advice I'd give with the river is lighter shading to give it some depth as Malamute pointed out. Have you thought about reeds or other flora you might find growing at the rivers edge?
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It's simply elegant how much a difference flock material can make between fertile land and an arid wasteland.
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Thanks all for the advice, I had to redo the river as it dried too dark. However I did manage to buy some quick dry varnish, so hopefully I'll get a chance to put some on later tonight.
With my brushes pretty much dying on me I cannot paint any more miniatures, although I have put in n order with wayland games for some Army Builder brushes. Hopefully they'll arrive soon!
Instead of painting I've been trying to sort out some scenery. A little while ago I bought two ruined Hovels from Malamute, and Today I managed to get around to tidying one using my dremel and the engraving tool. Some of the most effective terrain pieces 'tell a story' and that's what I'm aiming to do with mine. So rather than starting another thread I'm going to post it here.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/8/2367_14_02_11_8_38_30_0.JPG) (http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/8/2367_14_02_11_8_38_30_1.JPG)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/8/2367_14_02_11_8_38_30_1.JPG) (http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/8/2367_14_02_11_8_38_30_1.JPG)
I hope to post more later.
Cheers
Andy
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Sorry Double-post heaven (or hell lol)
I managed to get the first coat of varnish on both board sections tonight; thanks to Nick's recommendation I bought the 1hr dry stuff. I'm planning on layering multiple coats tomorrow; can anyone give me an idea of how many I'll need? My plan is to start at 9 and then add an additional coat every hour until about 3. So about 7 coats including the original tonight. Will I need more? I know that Silent Invader poured a couple of mms of varnish on his river. ;D
I also took a couple of photographs of my attempts at the ford. The varnish isn't dry in these. I painted over the entire ford with the lightest green that appeared in my river (sadly loosing all the work I'd done on it) and then dry brushed the basic ground colours, after this I stippled on white- in an attempt to show foam. Finally I carefully drybrushed (if you can say that!) the colour selection that I used for loose stones/scree. I'm hopeful that with a few more layers of varnish this will really look good!
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/8/2367_15_02_11_1_32_43_1.JPG) (http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/8/2367_15_02_11_1_32_43_1.JPG)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/8/2367_15_02_11_1_32_43_0.JPG) (http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/8/2367_15_02_11_1_32_43_0.JPG)
Hopefully it won't be too long before I'm playing a game on it!
Cheers
Andy
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Its looking really, really good now. :-*
I like the fact you can hide the base of the house behind the stone wall. :)
I reckon ten coats of varnish will give you the depth you need, but hey do as many as you can. :D
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Good stuff! Just watch that your coats of varnish are dry before you start the next one. Maybe even take more time between coats. It'd be a shame for something bad to happen at this late stage!
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Looking great! :-*
I echo all that has been said re varnish - caution is your watch word. Resist all temptation to pour a little deeper than the last time! ;) As well as taking longer (seemingly forever) to cure, thicker layers of acrylic varnish will also crack - though the cracks can be filled with more varnish which leaves quite a nice 'flow' effect (though it'll be about 6 months before its cured beneath).
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Also remember to minimise the dust between the layers of varnish. So after each layer has dried, wipe with a damp lint-free cloth.
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Ah, but if you're layering a truly clear varnish, by putting in a bit of green or blue in (or between) the lower layers, you can create a very nice looking sense of depth. Darker in the center of the course, lighter and greener along the banks and less colour in upper layers.
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Yar! It has been a while. I'm using an uncoming meet as emphasis to finish the board (I always have worked better to deadlines).
Since the last report, I've finished layering the varnish (I think), pictures will follow very soon.
Today was spent painting and drilling trees (16 in total) I'm considering adding the foliage to them tonight while watching Game of Thrones.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/9/2367_21_10_11_7_00_16_3.JPG)
In the group picture you can see all 20 trees (I'm wondering if this will be enough), and the two hovels buildings that I bought from Malamute. The hovels building are nice enough, but to be honest I think they look a bit bland when plonked down on the table, so in an attempt to make them more interesting I've added quite a bit of detail to their bases. I though I'd show them before undercoating and painting.
The Wood Cutter's Cottage
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/9/2367_21_10_11_7_00_15_0.JPG)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/9/2367_21_10_11_7_00_15_1.JPG)
The Ruined Cottage
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/9/2367_21_10_11_7_00_16_2.JPG)
Hopefully more to follow soon.
Cheers
Andy
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Looking good Andy. Only two weeks to go so no pressure ;)
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Keep up the good work.
Remember to build it stong, Andrew is driving :D
What is the figure?
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Nice work o the cottages, I know what you mean about them looking bland, but your detailing has made them come alive. ;D
Very much looking forward to hunting Wabbits ;)
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Looking good Andy. Only two weeks to go so no pressure ;)
To be honest there isnt too much to do. Another 7 miniatures to paint, both buildings and thats about it (i hope!) managed to get most of the trees finished although i did run out of superglue- so i'll pick some more up.
Keep up the good work.
Remember to build it stong, Andrew is driving :D
What is the figure?
It's a westwind miniature, one of the villagers iirc. Got somemore on the painting table. All the miniatures that i'm using, bar two, are westwind. May well post some pictures later, you'll get to see them on wednesday anyway.
Nice work o the cottages, I know what you mean about them looking bland, but yourdetailing has made them come alive. ;D
Very much looking forward to hunting Wabbits ;)
I hope my humble attempts don't disappoint!
Cheers
Andy
Test run of the game on wednesday
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much coolness, i can see these on a table ,very nice.
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My Nose has been to the grindstone all weekend... I've been a good boy and been working on the board (Sad I know) on the plus side I got through the whole of A Game of Thrones :D
Ok so terrain pretty much finished, well three more trees to add so love foliage to. The following pictures give a little flavour of the BLAM board set up. So without further ado, Ladies and Gentlemen welcome to Glen Faol. Excuse the pink wallpaper, my sisters room had the best lighting conditions so I used that for the photos... honest gov! (The photos ain't brilliant, I appologise for that aswell)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/9/2367_25_10_11_6_12_00_0.JPG)
The finished Woodcutter hut (ruined sadly)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/9/2367_25_10_11_6_12_00_2.JPG)
Rules, check; terrain, check; now all I need to do is finish painting the miniatures.
Cheers
Andy
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Really great Andy, can't wait to play on it ;D
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You have been busy :o
Looking good :-* :-* :-*
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Very nice! The board looks great and the extra little touches on the buildings are fantastic. Excellent work.
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Really great Andy, can't wait to play on it ;D
You'll break it! lol
Nice finish Andy, now all you have to do is get it from one side of the country to the other in one piece!
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You kept that one up your selve ya sneaky s@#?e!!
Brillant finish bud!! :o
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Great Board. So, next Year a GoT-Game?