right, ATM I'm doing some terrain, basically just for 40k (who knows in the future). The plan is to have lots of pieces, made as cheap as possible. the first one(s) is 2 walls sections of a fortress. HERE you can find the thread where i was asking for help and you can see the VIPs. when it will be completed, I'll post here the final result
polystirene food trays is a wonderful material. A cutter, some glue and just acrylic paint was the first step too obtain dirty & quick fortified positions. The very first try was good but not as good as hoped. Needed a little more work before painting, and also a more precise plan, rather than building pieces at random
I decided to build "trenches" (more a thing similar to Wall of Martyrs). Modular was the key value, so i did some measurement befor cutting and i created also some angular connector between the bigger pieces. These ones have been made with just one food package. After the assembling, i gave them a more concrete effect, using glue, water and toilet paper. THen paint. this one was much more what i was looking for, and i can plan a series construction.
at the same time, I also wanted something more important. Not exactly a centerpiece but a vital area. What's better than a Skyshield Landing Pad? I've had some plywood, a hard cardbox tube (for plotter A0 paper), many sprue from 40k buildings (taken from the sprue box in our gaming shop), the usual polystirene and an A3 printer. I've also picked a column of a terran empire temple, to turn it upside down and create a radio beacon Good, i also took the measure of the exact size of the real one. VIP (after the cutting of the plywood and the tube): final result. Very satisfied by it.
Time for bunkers! Again, starting from a single food package cut in half and used on the top, plus a polystirene foil for the base. VIP after cutting, assembling and glueing with water and toilet paper. Final result, after painting and the use of bits from the Munitorum armoured containers set for the back doors.
Cheap, indeed. The only expenses are the paint and the glue. All the materials used for the constructions come for free, as they were unused (bits forgotten in the game store) or destined to trash can… so that was 100% recycling! NOw, i think i will explore the immense potential given by egg containers.
That is some great use of economical materials. I especially like the use of toilet paper. I may have to give that a try at some point!
I've managed to complete the first one of my 2 fortress' defensive walls! it's made (once again) with cheap / free materials: polystirene material: TV packaging, foams cut, food trays. other: glue, paper, banners printed on paper, twine, some sprue taken from the sprue box in our gaming shop. The wall is 46" long. Many small imperfections, but after all this is a defensive wall, and who knows what heavy damage it suffered, and what kind of reparations were done to it?
I like your terrain! And how you have built it to be modular, I like doing that for my projects. Some ideas perhaps... Spoiler: egg carton 40K terrain Might do some of these in the future myself, we shall see!
For the moment, I'm leaving the egg carton behind, as i still need to find a piece for what I have in mind. But in the meantime, I've put my hands on some treasures…. namely a bunch of PC cooling fans, destined to waste (a good thing i have a friend that deals with PCs for work) So, here we are: a big ventilation turbine for a subterranean AdMech complex. It can be fitting for Mars, Tallarn, Armagaddon… any place. here's the VIPs:
I have seen some great terrain projects with old PC cooling fans before, than will be fantastic when it is done!
That's a very nice piece. I always find it amazing how some people can turn something completely random into epic terrain. It takes a good eye and even better creativity & foresight. It's a skill I wish I was better at, as I always find myself condemned to building everything from scratch.
So looking at the terrain again, I noticed that it is very "clean." Obviously the tech-adepts are working overtime to keep their equipment in top shape, but are you considering doing some weathering work? I bring this up because I noticed the surface you photographed the terrain illustrates a bit what I am talking about... little bumps, smudges, rocks, cracks. I think that step will really make the terrain come alive and be less just straight grey!
Yep, i am thinking to add something. I will probably do some try on expendable pieces and see the results, before applying to the real terrain pieces.