Confessions of a terrain board virgin

[Jeff965]

These things take ages to dry. Where was it drying before? Bringing it inside at this time of year will help.
Looking better with the stippling

Cheers Col, it's coming inside tonight instead of the shed

That looks the job 

Are you sure...?

 

cheers

James

A little gentle ribbing is aloud I think, it's Xmas after all

That is coming along very nicely, Jeff.
It takes a lot longer to dry out when you keep spilling beer on it, though, mate.....
 


'Tis compulsory, dear boy.
You know that!
 

Don't know about beer Paul, I do seem to remember thinning that bitter chocolate paint down with water last summer when I painted the back of the house so maybe that's got something to do with it.

Good start on losing your board virgnity.    The first time round is a bit hit and miss.  I guess it's a bit late to suggest trying it on a small piece first to get the hang of it.   

In for a penny Gary, in for a penny.....

[Dr. Zombie]

Any comments/mickeytaking most welcome

Be careful what you wish for. There are more vicious smart bothered people round here than you can shake an unfinished wizards tower at.

It is looking like a great start.

[Elk101]

I think you're off to a good start Jeff. Once you start drybrushing,  etc the texture will show through. I bought a pot of brown artist's ink (peat colour) and diluted it with water before brushing that in. It helped with the colour contrast and as that's what I do on my bases it helps tie it all together.

[Charlie_]

That looks like a nice texture already.

Personally I just use filler and stipple that, no need for mixing up gloop, and no need to mess around with sand. Dries fast too!

I have found that you don't need much stippling to get a good drybrush-ready texture. When my filler is still wet it really doesn't look like there will be any texture worth drybrushing at all, but when it's dry... works a treat. I do a few light layers of drybrushing and then a dark wash, and it's a great texture.

My point is, you might be surprised how little 'texture' you need to work up for a good result.

[OSHIROmodels]

There are more vicious smart bothered people round here than you can shake an unfinished wizards tower at.

I quite often do 

[Captain Blood]

Looking good Jeff.

Speaking as the High Prophet of the Gloop, may I extend a sandy, sticky, gloopy welcome to the ranks of The Initiated.
Ignore all the naysayers who will tempt you down other paths. Gloop is the fastest, cheapest, most durable and robust material known to wargaming man when it comes to basing figures and making terrain   
Live only through the Gloop, my son, and the Gloop will reward you in manifold ways. Amen 

[Mason]

And so says Lord Augustus!
 

[Jeff965]

Thanks for the supportive comments chaps, I'm in the process of deciding on paint colours and static grass and I was wondering what length of static grass do you use for your terrain?
Please feel free to chuck up some photos of your work.

[Silent Invader]

It'll be a worthwhile journey Jeff!

I'm not a disciple of the gloop (I belong to the glue-sand-paint stage-by-stage faction) but grass mixes are, quite literally, above all that.  

Richard has made a number of mixes so I took his advice before concocting mine for The North. My notes say it comprises:

Grass was added using various fibre products that had been mixed in a bag:
2 x Javis Static Hairy Grass Summer No.2
1 x Javis Static Hairy Grass Autumn No.3
1 x Woodland Scenics Coarse Turf Light Green T63
1 x Woodland Scenics Coarse Turf Burnt Grass T62
1 x Woodland Scenics Coarse Turf Yellow Grass T61
The areas of the tile to be grassed over were brushed with moertaely dilute exterior wood glue, with the mix then scattered over from a small plastic tub. After 30 seconds the excess was shaken/tapped off with an electric static grass tool then passed over it to raise the longer 'hairy' fibres. Further excess was shaken/tapped off and then the tile was left to dry.

After drying, excess was brushed away using a 36mm emulsion brush.

The problem with my notes is that they are imprecise. Horrors!!! I don't recall if the listed proportions are by the bag or (more probably) for equivalent volumes. I have to make some more up soon so I'll find out then.  

[OSHIROmodels]

I am at one with the Gloop. The Gloop is with me.

 

cheers

James

[Jeff965]

I am at one with the Gloop. The Gloop is with me.

 

cheers

James

Yeh but what I want to know is........how long is your flock!

[Mason]

Yeh but what I want to know is........how long is your flock!

The way I see it, mate, is the shorter the better.
You can add areas of longer grass later, but cannot do it sensibly in reverse.
 

[Charlie_]

Thanks for the supportive comments chaps, I'm in the process of deciding on paint colours and static grass and I was wondering what length of static grass do you use for your terrain?
Please feel free to chuck up some photos of your work.

For my grass, I use a blend of different flocks and static grasses, all of which I get from https://arcanesceneryandmodels.co.uk/. The recipe includes a few of their own branded ones with some 'railway' ones like Javis Scenics. It's basically various greens, regular flock with some short static grass...

A technique I've developed:
1 - The board is textured with filler, painted, drybrushed up, and given a dark wash.
2 - I apply several patches of a DARKER flock, the ones I use are from Arcane Scenics, one brownish and one purply-green.
3 - The pre-prepared mix of green flocks / grass is applied all over, leaving some bare patches.
4 - Once completely dried, I hit it with a stiff brush, hitting it harder in some places where I want the original ground texture to show through.
5 - Soak it all in watered-down PVA spray, which when dried darkens it (the green flock can look a bit too bright for my liking before this stage).

Tips you could take from this are putting patches of dark grass before covering all with the lighter grass - they do show through subtly and add variety... And using a stiff brush to work the grass away in patches afterwards.

Here's a pic, but it's not great quality and you can't really see the colours properly.

[Jeff965]

Thanks all for the advice on flocking, well as you can see the board is now completley dry and rock hard.
I've been to b&q and I've got the paint I want so I'm going to start that tonight, I'm looking for a parched Southern European look rather than a more green and pleasant land so let's see how it goes. Once again all comments/advice welcome

[Romark]

Texture looks good Jeff,looking forward to the highlighting results