A few terrain items for FWW (and Figures - WIP 11 Aug 2020)

[Hacksaw]

Latest build, the first part of a water processing plant. This started life as a shaker of Parmesan cheese. Some changes were made. Cheers!

[Ultravanillasmurf]

Nice tank.

[has.been]

Good bit of scenery.

[Hacksaw]

Some more for the water facility, two large storage/processing tanks. The water needs some work, I managed to make it shiny but it can be worlds better. More bits to come like a walkway across, etc. I made these from takeaway plates, corrugated cardboard, and foam. Cheers!

[Ultravanillasmurf]

Nice, and recycled as well.

For your water, this might be useful.
http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/entry/terrain-spotlight-derelict-water-tank

[has.been]

a) Nice
b) Effective
c) Recycled
d) Cheap   

What is there to not  like?

[CookAndrewB]

Oh, those look truly inspired. Dang, that is good stuff right there! I've got some terrain building to do! Be right back!

[Hacksaw]

Thanks for the kind remarks! This project is a learning experience to be sure. Here is the main pump building, still needs some signage and maybe some graffiti. My first time working with tile grout as a concrete texture (pretty sure it shows), I think going forward I will be able to get a bit smoother result. The HVAC system is a 3D print.  Cheers!

[CookAndrewB]

It is interesting how there ended up being bubbled areas. What caused that? I was going to guess that it looked a bit like cardboard puckering, but that doesn't seem to be the case as the building looks like it is foam? Perhaps the grout mix wasn't blended well enough? Honestly, I never have played with the stuff but I'm curious to hear what your experience has shown.

For cement textures I prefer to use texture pastes found in art stores. Not as heavy, applies mostly like paint, and has been very easy to work with.

Graffiti, posters, and a few other greeblies will really make this building shine. Maybe sponge paint on some lighter/darker spots or even some green for moss or lichen? Breaking up the field of grey will help, however you set about it. Maybe throw up some boarded up windows? No need to make an actual window, you can just slap a bunch of boards up to give the appearance of a window being covered? That would add some browns higher up on the wall. Maybe add some sand or fine gravel around sections of the base (or roof) where you don't anticipate placing scatter terrain against the walls? You could also add some grates or access plates here and there. Even down near the ground like windows looking into a basement level, perhaps. Lots of room to tinker!

Great work! 

[Hacksaw]

The lumpy texture was due to my convoluted (and poorly executed) method of application. I brushed on glue over the foam, applied the grout - and instead of waitiing for it to set and brushing off the excess I applied more glue with a brush on top of it. Epic fail.

Next time I will wait for the glue to set and then brush off the excess. I will also find a better container to disperse it from.

I will be adding some signage and markings along with some bits on the treatment tanks. Cheers!

[CookAndrewB]

Sorry, it sounded a little like you applied the grout dry? More like grit than a wet mortar? Did I follow that incorrectly?

I'm not familiar with how tile grout works, but will it stick to the foam if applied directly (wet, like you would use for tile work)? I assume it will, but that it needs extra time to set up, and then going back over it with PVA would seal it all up. I'm thinking that perhaps the first coat of PVA isn't needed? Or, you could mix the grout/PVA together so that it all sets up at the same time. I used to make PVA "muck" by just mixing in a couple different types of grit and applying it that way. I have since backed off of that because PVA tends to really contract and warp cardboard (which is primarily what I build with), where just acrylic paints have a far more subtle effect. For foam I can't imagine it would matter much, but I've seen PVA bend and warp a plastic CD, which is impressive.

[Hacksaw]

Yes, glue then a sprinkling of dry grout. At that point I should have just let it set up and later brushed off the excess. Instead, I took more glue and applied that onto the grout and it ended up making a very horrid mess. I will know better for the next time.

It is a dry powder so it needs the glue to help it adhere to surfaces.

Putting it on wet (on purpose) may work well too, so that will be an experiment to see which gives a better end result. Likely either would be better than the way I ended up doing it!

Cheers!