I'll dump some pics of the building process as well. These were mostly quick snaps with my phone during construction, so the quality isn't that great sometimes.
Step 1: the boards. I chose really thick styrofoam/insulation boards because I wanted to cut and shape without worrying they would break.
Some screws and woodglue to bond those together, as they were only about 24 inches wide.
They were a bit too long though, so I'll add a lesson you hopefully didn't learn in the past; cutting those with a styrofoam cutter is nasty work, invest in some sort of saw.
Step 2: masking the joint (both sides, I made a road/thoroughfare on the badlands side) with wood filler, also generously apply wood filler to the sides because the cuts are crooked. I used large planks of balsa wood to cover up the sides and give a bit of an edge so flock and foliage can be applied and won't be damaged when I turn the board over. At a later point, due to the rather crude sawing, let's say those planks don't line up perfectly. I also started cutting out the creek and swamp bits (using a straight foam cutter).
Lesson learned; get some sort of saw-like device to finish up the boarding properly.
Step 3; apply basecoat and fill the creek with decorative grit. I didn't take a picture, but because I carved out the swamp side too deep, I used plaster to bring the level up a bit. This was a bit tricky, and had some unexpected consequences later.
Step 4; add cheap, textured craft store paint in random splotches to break up the terrain. Basecoat that.
Lesson learned; go online and try to find a cheap bandsaw or something.
Step 5: Wash the basecoated brown bits, and add flock. Spray entire surface with hairspray or matte varnish to seal the flock and bits of foliage added. Then pour in the resin. I added some dried twigs and flock to the river bed as well.
IMPORTANT LESSON LEARNED:
- always flock and seal BEFORE pouring. If you don't, the resin might get a matte shine or turn white, and "bleed" through unsealed flock adjacent to where you're pouring.
- glue any debris in your river or pond with a clear glue or clear-drying wood glue. Otherwise it'll float to the top.
- put a cover on your stuff after the pour so dust won't adhere to the surface (the resin I used had a drying time of 24 hours, though after 12 it was pretty solid and non-sticky)
-It's better to work in thin layers while pouring, otherwise it'll take longer to dry. And you'll have a chance the deeper crevices won't dry at all.
Swamp side pre-pour:
I used a dark green for the swamp bed, with black for the "deeper" bits. This'll shine through and give a bit of a depth effect. I added aquarium (or rather terrarium) plants to edge of the swamp, so they would be submerged a bit. I used a toothpick to tease the resin in hard to reach areas. An ancient pot of GW green ink mixed with some Agrax Earthshade gives a nice green swampy feel.
Post-pour:
apparently the paint didn't seal the plaster in completely, and it leaked through, causing these white clouds. Fortunately, it doesn't look too bad imo.
That's about it I guess. It was a fun process, and I learned a lot building this board.
Total build time was about a month (not including scenery), because I have the luxury of an entire attic to myself and don't have to clean up everything between steps. So it's easy to spend a couple of hours here and there after work and leave everything to dry.
The colour of the swamp water might not be 100% realistic (and the flock might be a bit too bright also) but I didn't want to end up with a board that'd be too drab.
A quick edit for spelling and hitting the post button too soon
Welcome, Guest. Please 
April 18, 2024, 11:58:23 AM
