Monday 5 July 2021

Old School Recycling

This weekend, I got the itch to make a little old school wargaming terrain for my Stargrave figures to fight over. Now, don't get me wrong, I love a table filled with beautiful, commercially produced or 3D printed terrain, but I also find something charming about the rough-hewn look of hand-made stuff.

More importantly, there is something greatly satisfying about using your own hands to create something out of nothing. Okay, not quite nothing, but mostly out of stuff pulled out of the bin.

The house is made out of corrugated cardboard, held together with dress pins and white glue. I used masking tape to cover the exposed edges. Then I brushed over the whole thing with plaster and, once that was dry, with watered down glue to help hold the plaster in place. Then I just primed it, dry-brushed it, varnished it, and called it done!

The little tank/silo was even easier. I cut a bit of cardboard for a base, taped the edges, and then glued a small can to it. I added a bit of sand around the edges. Then I primed it up, gave it some rough paint and a varnish. I didn't actually aim for the two pieces to be the exact same height, it just worked out that way.

I'm pleased enough with this little set that I might do some more. I like the idea of a town where every house has it's own tank next to it. Maybe it holds water, or silage, or alien grubs, who knows.  

11 comments:

  1. Great job!
    Yes, its true it's great to be able to get highly detailed plastic or 3D printed kits, but I agree that there's something else about doing your own terrain pieces after.
    Top job on yours, congrats!

    Cheers,
    Axtklinge

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  2. Much of the commercially produced stuff (esp. from Citadel Miniatures and people emulating their style) is far too overly busy and choked with detail. I prefer the “less is more” approach.

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  3. I like the retro feel of these homemade pieces

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  4. I also have a certain fondness for scratchbuilt terrain like this.

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  5. Nice work. They turned out great.

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  6. Custard.

    I'd move to a town where every home was accompanied by a 4000litre tank of custard. Hot and cold running custard. No wonder people fight over the place.

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  7. Drywall tape (available at most hardware stores) makes for subpurb grating/fencing/grid patterns when used in DIY terrain. Dirt cheap, too, as a single roll will give you a lifetime supply, basically. Since it's tape, it just sticks to surfaces no problem.

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  8. It is good to see your marines protecting the primary power wall. No thieving renegades are going to get their sticky tentacles on those outlets.

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  9. The tank idea is great. It wont take long to build up a settlement like that!

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