A first attempt at homemade 10 mm terrain: Bridgehead

[Pruneau]

I have been testing how to make 10 mm terrain for a few weeks, more like a month now, without any great success.  I tried corrugated, à la kamloopian, but once I started cutting out windows it messed up things.  I tried foam, but I can't seem to cut aout a perfect cube, always skewed.  I tried clay, but it is too blunt a material for 10 mm, corners become too rounded.  Now I am working with 1 and 2 mm plastic board, and the results are better.  I still struggle with windows, but at least I managed to finish this little bridgehead, and I have a factory hall with removable roof coming up.

Edit: putting up the blog page since the photo turns out to be huge:
http://runequestfun.blogspot.com/2010/10/10-mm-ww-ii-terrain-bridgehead.html

[Aart Brouwer]

Looking fine, my man. A little dry-brushing with pewter might help with the metal look. But the structure as such looks very solid and convincing and the knoll is well-done, too. This is practically commercial quality

Scratch building has a learning curve, but thank heavens it is quite steep. Once you find the materials, colours and tastes that suit you, there is no end to the landscapes you can make.

Cheers,
Aart

[Pruneau]

Thanks for the encouraging words Aart, and it's true that you just have to persevere and in the end things will improve.  I'll try a dry brush with tin bitz, that's the closest to pewter I have available.  I was thinking about a bit of sand on the road, as it looks too perfect now, but I worry that it'll mess things up.

[Aart Brouwer]

I was thinking about a bit of sand on the road, as it looks too perfect now, but I worry that it'll mess things up.

Since when should wargamers refrain from messing things up?  

It always makes me laugh when I read some wargamer's blog and the guy describes how he has picked up some N or Z gauge houses and stuff on eBay and how he went about their total 'make-over' by dry-brushing, adding flock and assorted dirt and making them generally messy and 'realistic' from a wargamer's point of view. Let's be honest, some of the model train tables with the neat Faller houses and squeaky clean streets just make your butt cringe, don't they.

Whatever suits you, Pruneau. Good luck.

Cheers,
Aart

[Pruneau]

Since when should wargamers refrain from messing things up?  

True,true 

[lentulus]

the neat Faller houses and squeaky clean streets just make your butt cringe, don't they.

They live in a fantasy  world of nostalgia, perfection, and the trains on time.  We live in a fantasy world where having burned-out versions of all your building is considered a good idea.  Different fantasies.

[nikharwood]

Don't get me started on different fantasies 

This looks great Pruneau: if you are worried about overdoing it with the road, you could take a very slightly lighter tone than its base colour, mix in some PVA & sand, thin it a bit & paint it on...let it dry before giving it a featherlight drybrush of a lighter tone still to 'lift'...you'll get some definition & texture but it'll still look like tarmac 

[Pruneau]

Thanks for the feedback,guys.

[fred.]

The bridge looks good. Reminds me a bit of the half bridge that came with the Matchbox Sherman Firefly plastic kit...

Your miniature photo booth looks interesting - do you have some more details on how you made it? I could do with a smaller photo booth. I have a commercial pop-up one that is about 2' on each side - which is good but is rather big for day to day use.

[Pruneau]

Here is a view inside the booth.  Construction was very simple:  It was made exactly wide enough for a A4 sheet in landscape, so that I can vary the backgrounds easily.  The booth is made out of white 5 mm foamboard and PVA glue, it is about 30 cm wide and 25 cm deep.  Into the corners I have glued extra pieces of board, at a 45 degree angle, so that the inside is an octagon.  I did this hoping that it would improve light diffusion, and it seems to do just that: not a shadow in sight  On top there is a big round hole that exactly fits my desk lamp.  I use a coloured film for effect, I have red, yellow and blue.

Main thing is, I can make pictures without flash, and still have 1/30 shutter time, so I could even make pics without the tripod.  It weighs 200 grams and the display base is made out of 1" foam with some spackle and flock, the normal stuff, quoi.  It fits neatly next to my KR cases.

[fred.]

Thanks for the info. Very helpful  it looks quite easy to make I might give it a go myself in the next week or so.