… working on the renovation of my Army of the Commonwealth of Avalon and making some 10cm/4-inch terrain squares. Having these two projects running side-by-side means that I can switch from one to the other whenever I start to feel a bit bored or in need of a break.
I am using pre-cut thin ply squares bought via Amazon as the basis of the terrain squares.
For the flat terrain I am covering the squares with coloured felt, which I am gluing to the plywood using a thin layer of PVA glue. Once the glue has dried, I will trim off the surplus felt using a fabric cutting wheel. (I saw these being used on the BBC’s ‘Great British Sewing Bee’ and bought one as they make cutting fabric easier than using scissors or a modelling knife.)
Hills will be created using thick cork mats I bought from IKEA. These will made by gluing a plywood square to the mat using wood glue and then, once the glue has thoroughly dried, breaking the excess cork off. This should leave a somewhat ragged edge to the hill, which I can smooth off using a modelling knife and sandpaper if I think that it needs it.
I plan to seal all the terrain tiles using a coat or two of thinned PVA glue. This should make them hard wearing. I may also add anti-slip material to the back side of each terrain square to orevent them moving during a wargame.
BOB,
ReplyDeleteGood to hear about your Terrain Project which should go well as you have done some planning ahead on how to go about it. Looking forward to seeing your Commonwealth Avalon Army when completed. Regards. KEV.
Kev Robertson (Kev),
DeleteI enjoy making terrain, and it makes a pleasant break from renovating figures.
All the best,
Bob
I always find making terrain and buildings very relaxing, though I must admit that Jan does all of the artistic work, especially on the buildings. I get all the messy pollyfilla and scenic work to do
ReplyDeletePaul Leniston,
DeleteMaking terrain can be very therapeutic … and the messy stuff can be particularly so!
All the best,
Bob
My wife has been using cutting wheels for years (she is a quilter) but I've never thought of repurposing them. I wonder how well they work on thin card and plastic? I suspect that some blunting and wifely objections might result given the way she reacts to any misuse of her dressmaking scissors, but new cutting wheels are not exactly expensive.
ReplyDeleteMike Hall,
DeleteI’d certainly advise buying your own fabric cutting wheel as I know from my own experience that dressmakers and quilters are very protective of their scissors etc.
Mine will certainly cut thin paper and felt, but I’ve not tried using it to cut card or magnetic sheet. I plan to buy a slightly more heavy duty one that comes with spare cutting wheels for this project.
All the best,
Bob
Setting yourself some interesting tasks, could be both hard work and 'therapeutic' when done at leisure; if 9x9 grid its a lot of tiles even without varying options. Pace yourself Bob. Look forward to future reports from your 'tin men' reconnoitering your new tiles. All best Carl
ReplyDeleteCarl,
DeleteThe one thing that I’m not doing is setting myself a deadline to get these projects finished. They’ll get finished when they are finished, and I stop work on them when my concentration and/or enjoyment begin to wane,
I’m aiming to produce enough terrain tiles for a 5 x 5 grid. Initially they will all be plain green tiles, then I will add three or four hills, then some with roads and rivers.
All the best,
Bob
Rock and roll Bob, that sounds like my idea of a good time, wife is walking away shaking her head as I type ... and quite rightly too!
ReplyDeleteGeordie an Exile FoG,
DeleteIt’s my experience that wives are very understanding of our hobby … just as long as we do the things that they want done when they ask.
All the best,
Bob
I find making terrain to be a nice break from figure painting as well and I'm looking forward to seeing the finished product. P
ReplyDeleteMark Cordone,
DeleteI feel exactly the same. By switching backwards and forwards between these two projects, I don’t become bored or lose concentration, and as a result I seem to make better progress on both.
All the best,
Bob
It's always interesting to read how folk go about doing things. Making the undersides non-slip is definitely not something I would have thought about.
ReplyDeleteNundanket,
DeleteI have some self-adhesive, non-slip material that I have used before, and it has not only been very easy to fit and cut but also stops stuff from moving about.
All the best,
Bob
Hello there Bob,
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to seeing how these turn out - especially the cork hills. I like the idea of the cutting wheel - I was also thinking that perhaps a pizza cutter might work as well.
All the best,
DC
David Crook,
DeleteI’ve made a couple of prototype pieces, and will put photos of them on my blog,
This morning I bought a bigger, better cutting wheel from HOBBYCRAFT and hope to try it out later today. I’m not sure how sharp a pizza cutter is, but I suspect it might be too blunt to cut felt.
All the best,
Bob
Bob -
ReplyDeleteConvergence! Just the other day, riffling through some old paper - I seem to generate a heap of paper; my version of 'counting buttons, probably - I found a couple of downloadable buildings of the Usbourne type. Reinforced with card, and as they were minus roofs, made them up with cardboard (which went to solidifying the whole) and painted them over with some Rowney 'burnt sienna' fixed brown colour that I've had these 50 years, near on.
One can never have too much terrain.
Cheers,
Ion
Archduke Piccolo (Ion),
DeleteIt’s amazing what one finds when one has a bit of a sort out!
Over the years I’ve made all sorts of items of terrain, but I’m hoping that this will be the last big terrain project I undertake … although I suspect that it won’t be! This project is specifically linked to FP3x3PW, but should work for bigger PW battles (5 x 5, for example).
All the best,
Bob