Tim's Terrain Instructions

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" height=80 BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF" bgproperties="fixed" background="04100500dvldtc.gif"> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="theseekers Warhammer Pages Lustria Cit"><U><B>Home</B></U></A><B> | </B><A HREF="home.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="theseekers Warhammer Photo Page"><U><B>theseeker's Warhammer Photo Page</B></U></A><B> | </B><A HREF="lustria___cities_of_gold.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Lustria: Cities of Gold"><U><B>Lustria - Cities of Gold</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id27.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Table of Contents"><U><B>Table of Contents</B></U></A><B> | </B><A HREF="id33.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Bretonnians"><U><B> Bretonnian</B></U></A><B> | </B><A HREF="id29.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chaos"><U><B>Chaos</B></U></A><B> | </B><A HREF="id121.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Dwarves"><U><B>Dwarves</B></U></A><B> | </B><A HREF="id40.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Empire"><U><B>Empire</B></U></A><B> | </B><A HREF="id135.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Elves"><U><B>Elves</B></U></A><B> | </B><A HREF="id28.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Lizardmen"><U><B>Lizardmen</B></U></A><B> | </B><A HREF="id30.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Orcs"><U><B>Orcs</B></U></A><B> | </B><A HREF="id34.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Skaven"><U><B>Skaven</B></U></A><B> | </B><A HREF="id31.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Undead"><U><B>Undead</B></U></A><B> | </B><A HREF="id56.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Monsters and Allies"><U><B>Monsters & Allies</B></U></A><B> | </B><A HREF="id42.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Terrain"><U><B>Terrain</B></U></A><B> | </B><A HREF="id78.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Historical Fantasy Prints"><U><B>Historic & Fantasy Prints</B></U></A><B> | </B><A HREF="id87.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Painting Tips"><U><B>Painting Tips</B></U></A><B> | </B><A HREF="id35.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Warhammer 40K"><U><B>40K</B></U></A><B> | </B><A HREF="id184.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Mordheim Warbands"><U><B>Mordheim</B></U></A><B> | </B></div> <div> <A HREF="id179.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Awards"><U><B>Awards</B></U></A><B> | </B><A HREF="id50.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Web Rings"><U><B>Web Rings</B></U></A><B> | </B><A HREF="id18.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Favorite Links"><U><B>Favorite Links</B></U></A><B> | </B><A HREF="id19.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Contact Us"><U><B>Contact Us</B></U></A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" height=400 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> Tim's Terrain Instructions</div> <div> There are tons of easy ways to make trees and such- GW gives out </div> <div> alot of advice in WD, terrain books, etc... The one overlooked </div> <div> area, is bases. I only use Foamkore (foam layer sandwiched between </div> <div> two sheets of chipboard), or it's cousin Gatorboard (a more rigid </div> <div> cousin). A local banner and sign shop was able to supply me with a </div> <div> (literal) trunkload of scrap. alot is 4-6 inches x 36. Some is </div> <div> 11x14!!! This was all acquired gratis, which represents a </div> <div> considerable investment if I had to buy it all. I prefer to use </div> <div> board that is black, as it saves on a bit of painting and looks </div> <div> better if you miss a tiny spot. I cut it into squares large enough </div> <div> to hold a building, plus a large border area for interesting </div> <div> moddelling area, like sprue rubble, paving stones or casualties and </div> <div> signposts. for wood or debris areas (or whatever) I cut oval and </div> <div> peanut shapes. I picked up a special knife for foamcuttting at the </div> <div> office store for 5 bucks. It is similar to a carpet knife, but </div> <div> holds an exacto blade, it cuts on a ruler edge for straight cuts, </div> <div> but also does grooves and 45 angles. A "rolling" ruler will also </div> <div> help measure out the board fast. (It's a tool for drafting and </div> <div> mechanical drawings).</div> <bR> <div> Consider the flock/gravel you use. The ground is not monotone, </div> <div> and your base should not be either. I mixed two flavors of </div> <div> "Woodland scenics", a green grass color, and a yellowed grass </div> <div> color; with some black and some tan HO railroad tallus ballast for </div> <div> rocks and dirtclods. I just poured off little bits into a canning </div> <div> jar, till I had good looking proportions. About 1/4 is tallus, </div> <div> about 3/4 is the grass mixes. Next step was to affix it to the </div> <div> gatorboard.</div> <bR> <div> I made a trip to Sherwin Williams. Personally, I use a standard </div> <div> color called "Wild Planet". It's sort of green but very dark. I </div> <div> bought a bunch of 79c foam brushes too. (Out here, we're a bit </div> <div> water-concious and the small cost of the brush was negligible in </div> <div> comparison to the gallons it would take to wash the thing out- it's </div> <div> also easy cleanup.) The paint was around 10 bucks, but still </div> <div> cheaper and easier to apply than model paint. Working over </div> <div> newspaper, and in a box (from GW mail order!) I painted the top </div> <div> surface of the base. If I slopped on the edge, so what! It was </div> <div> black board, so I wasn't too concerend with coverage. I applied </div> <div> the paint sort of thick, rather than like I would if I was actually </div> <div> putting on a normal coat. Just sort of slop it on.</div> <bR> <div> I poured the flock mix onto the board, heavy. Spread it around </div> <div> with your hand, and try to keep the flock on top of the paint rather </div> <div> than the other way around. Press it into the board with your palm, </div> <div> or another sheet of board. After drying, I give it a coat of matte </div> <div> sealer to insure the flock stays put (though it is held VERY well by </div> <div> the paint). The base is now ready to have plants, balsa bits, minis </div> <div> or whatever attached to it. If a building goes over it, sometimes </div> <div> I'll add a floor using hot glue. It's not worth it to me to save </div> <div> the little bit of flock from that surface area compared to the ease </div> <div> of a full coating.</div> <bR> <div> Hope that helps you get started. The boards look great just empty, </div> <div> as patches of difficult terrain, and to break up open areas of </div> <div> playfields. If I get a digital camera, i may expand on this!</div> <div> -Tim </div> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>