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Post by c0d3monk33 on Jul 25, 2005 8:37:35 GMT 12
That terrain board is looking good! What dimensions is it again? Two 2' x 4' strips? How'd you get the foam cut so cleanly? Or was it pre-cut like that? Also, where did you pick the foam up from? Plastic Box? Or somewhere else?
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Post by dustand on Jul 25, 2005 12:39:39 GMT 12
Yup, 2'x4' sections, the polystyrene is regular 'Place Makers' medium density crud, I got top sheets but the wanker ened up trying to convince me a skim was a sheet.
In terms of hardware polystyrene it come in to variety. Sheets and Skims, Sheets are a regular height and a good product $15 for 25mm 4'x8'. Skims which they usually try to pass off as sheets ar uneven and may start at 50mm in one corner and be 10mm on another, These are worth about $4 and the pricks dont get it cause all it is is wall filling to them.
I got a slightly damaged sheet and one of the best skims I have ever seen, less than 3mm variance on any give edge (Thats a BIG difference if you doing modular work) for the price of one sheet, I still got ripped off and i am interested to hear how foremans goes, if anyone tries =]
My trick to cutting it is a coping saw, sandwich the foam between 2 pieces of board, the boards edges must line up. then use your coping saw in fast small movements, tiny teeth means smooth cut and fast small cuts means more friction means more heat means smoother cut. The fissure were butchered with a craft knife then melted and 'sculpted' with a soldering iron, a confession is that the board edges still need to be sanded down to fit together seamlessly.
The painting is comming along but one side i put on a second coat of green and I should have left some bits darker like the other half is (if anyones looked at the other pics too).
The other board has its detail carved in but needs to have rubble glued on. it has smaller fissures and doesnt have a fissure spanning across it.
I saw $2 shop jungle plants in takapuna when I was with my girlfrind, she wouldnt let me stop (WARGH!!!) so I got to go back. on the plus side the $2 shop is about a minute away from the vagabond store =]
Brought some black ink to wash my bases with, cant believe that I have finished painting all the orks bases, I thought it would take me longer.
Ahhh working till 3 then i can go get models and do painting at work when i come back for 5 - 10 tonight.
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Post by c0d3monk33 on Jul 25, 2005 13:12:24 GMT 12
I'm definitely going to try Formans at some point in the future...possibly once I've accrued some more modelling funds  . I'll certainly post what I find up here... I've built a cheap little hot wire foam cutter in the past...it's fine for cutting foam hills and the like...basically any natural structure that doesn't need a clean edge. I'm glad to hear you're sandwiching your foam between two aligned sheets of MDF because that's what I was going to try in conjunction with the hot wire cutter to get a straight edge. Your terrain boards look like they're about ready for a resin pour as well! |
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Post by dustand on Jul 25, 2005 14:08:47 GMT 12
That one is almost completed as far as painting but your words of caution hauntingly ring in my ears, I want to flock before i pour resin, i rationalise that there is about an inch betweem water and flock.
I have to figure out how to paint my fissure to look like a murky bottomless trench, got to get away from the black undercoat and I was going to glue pillars of crumbled into the center of the fisure, but then i thought Nah, the water churns to much, but i have to add something in there. and the trenches needs sealing. I dont know how I am going to do that.
The aligned MDF is the only way to go, unless there is a better machine which I dont know about
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Post by dustand on Jul 25, 2005 14:11:02 GMT 12
That one is almost completed as far as painting but your words of caution hauntingly ring in my ears, I want to flock before i pour resin, i rationalise that there is about an inch betweem water and flock.
I have to figure out how to paint my fissure to look like a murky bottomless trench, got to get away from the black undercoat and I was going to glue pillars of crumbled into the center of the fisure, but then i thought Nah, the water churns to much, but i have to add something in there. and the trenches needs sealing. I dont know how I am going to do that.
The aligned MDF is the only way to go, unless there is a better machine which I dont know about
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Post by c0d3monk33 on Jul 25, 2005 14:16:50 GMT 12
Ooo it's going to look lovely once there's some painted water effects and a bit of resin in there!
I have a friend who's a framer...I suspect she's got some fiendish machinery that could cut foam perfectly straight...she's diced up sheets of MDF into 1' square for me in the past...that's what the Mordheim table is built on.
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Post by PitYak Studios on Jul 25, 2005 14:20:32 GMT 12
Although somewhat dangerous, I find one of those knives with the snap-off blades quite good for cutting foam - just wind out the whole length of blade and cut with a sawing action. oh, and also be very careful.
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Post by dustand on Jul 25, 2005 16:04:40 GMT 12
Using those blades I tend to find that you have to keep a perfectly smooth action ore it will tear, and the blades wear out so quick. I guess I'm the only sap in the world whos craft knife gets dulled by polystyrene. I do use that technique but only for small projects with the stuff.
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Post by c0d3monk33 on Jul 25, 2005 16:21:12 GMT 12
Nah it's not just you Dustan. Both foam card and polystyrene are terrible for dulling an Xacto blade pretty quickly in my experience. That's why I resorted to building a hot wire cutter (from a $20 ac adaptor and $3 of ni-cad wire from Dick Smith). Check out: www.tabletop-terrain.com/index.php/archives/2004/08/12/230/ if you haven't already seen it. Trying to get Forman's to price me their insulation sheet via email...just had to admit to their trade representative that I was a 'model railroad hobbyist' looking for a couple of sheets . |
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Post by dustand on Jul 25, 2005 17:13:14 GMT 12
I have toyed with the idea of making a hot wire cutter, I got power supplies and nicrhome wire in ample supply, I never really needed it much, most off my polystyrene work got covered in plaster.
I never really got into those stylised wavey rock faces. they look to tidy. and I use cork tile for most of my buildings.
Its one of those things where GW has always made me feel like i needed one but i have always just gone without.
I do want a length of #8 wire to jam in my soldering iron, for longer straight edge
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Post by PitYak Studios on Jul 26, 2005 8:19:55 GMT 12
I must admit too, when i carve foam with a hot tool or blade, that is never the finished surfaced - I only use foam as a skeleton, onto which I build my terrain with whatever I'm using
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Post by c0d3monk33 on Jul 26, 2005 8:59:54 GMT 12
No I agree with you...that foam cutter was used to make a couple of hills...but frankly a cut foam surface looks pretty crap no matter how well you paint it. My current WHFB hills will be scrapped and replaced with a cut foam base detailed with wood chips for the rock faces at some point in the future.
Wood chips just drybrush so incredibly well it's crazy. Plus they're ridiculously easy to use.
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Post by dustand on Jul 26, 2005 9:12:09 GMT 12
And cheap as the dirt in other people garden  |
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Post by c0d3monk33 on Jul 26, 2005 10:10:40 GMT 12
I splashed out and spent $6 at Mitre10 for a 20L bag 'lifetime supply' of modelling wood chips . |
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Post by dustand on Jul 28, 2005 19:37:24 GMT 12
Well only a couple days out and the task of 54 figures and scratch building a trukk is killing me, I spent about 15 hours to get 13 models to the almost finished state of the first 17. NEVER NEVER painting a split unit again, I will paint them in groups of five but (that is if I need a break I have to finish up to the next factor of 5). Thank good for finding out about the heads and arms though, Getting one ork to near finished in an hour is pretty respectable.
Near Finished to me is, Teeth and claws, eyes, choppa hilts and handles, gloves, arm bands and the extra details that will make the special weapons and Nob stand out a bit more. I wonder if I should start just completing models instead of moving through doing one colour at a time.
Still having 54 figures on the bench is killing me =[
Aside from gluing the basing material onto the grots I have hardly touched them. Though the slaver and the squig have had their bases done.
I still need to get a cocktail umberella or two for making my custom force field generator on the mek, he just needs arms and 50% more of his paint job.
The Trukk has had most of the details picked out, The drivers head and gunner are nearly done and gots to add some transfers and Glyphs.
The Dock is the closest to completion, needs just one arm to be painted =\.
The battle board is leaning against the wall in the kitchen, I am thinking of roping my girl into helping (Shes intrested in trying the painting and diarama side (should nurture those feelings more)).
God, I know I asked last time as well and I should be more organised. Please give me the stamina to stay awake until Monday painting
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. I'll certainly post what I find up here...
