With less than a month to go before the quarter's Necromunda Terrain Builder's challenge entries are due, I took stock this morning and decided to alter my plans yet again. The Sump Princess has been pushed further back in the production line, to do with the difficulty in both making the bridge and a slight bit of dissatisfaction with the ship's hull* - it's a build that I want to get more right than wrong, so rushing it won't work for me.So I dusted off my dock pieces, worked out what else I'd like/need and set the goal of making another ~dozen boardwalks etc and a square 24-inch terrain board in which to place them all on. By making 24-inch sides, it's my intention that the board can be used with my other "Spoils" 12-inch square boards. If the urge takes me, I may even create some more water-type boards in due course should I be struck with a sudden surge of inspiration.
*I stupidly used a very old green wash that I had retired from my mini painting collection to my shed where I build terrain. Why did I retire it? Because it doesn't really act like a wash any more. So why the !@#% did I use it on my terrain and expect it to work??? That alone I could likely live with, but I also think that the hull needs a little bit of a decline/angle in it to make it really work. Not to worry, I can come back to it again later.
The Boardwalks
 |
| Hint: use a serrated knife to cut corks in half - so much easier than a saw or craft blade. |
I recently was gifted a whole bag of corks, so I hot glued them as pylons onto various assemblies - I had intended to magnetise the pylons, but I didn't want to expend the necessary time today.
Previously I used hobby knives and an iron file to distress the wood, but today I had a brainwave and used my Dremel instead - much quicker!
Once they were built, I sprayed them with matt black rattle-can paint and let it dry. An hour later I roughly painted them - brown-to-white and used a little orange dry brushing to add some character.
I am particularly fond of this hanging rope bridge I made - I've now made two and they look so cool that I may just have to make some more!
 |
| I used wire to keep it all together so that it can be bend it to fit between platforms etc. |
The Terrain Board
As mentioned above, I decided to make a 24-inch square board. I had an idea: if I was able to base the bottom of the river/canal with metal, I could you magnets to stick terrain to it. Why? Well, I like the idea of these sort of things:
I still had another piece of from my Ikea desk - some flimsy manufactured wood that had a large thin metal panel, that was intended to be used as a whiteboard or magnetic notice board. I measured it up, cut it to size and used the excess to raise the banks some. I was toying with the idea of creating some more organic curves in the banks, however, ended up sticking with straight edges - my thinking is that it may have actually originated as a man-made feature that has slowly become encased with filth.
In the bottom-right you can see I used a pre-mixed filler to add some texture etc - it worked pretty well but I also applied some toilet paper mache to give it a slightly more organic look. Next, I sprayed it matt black and then started blending it to a light green at the banks using a brush and sponge.
Once that was dry, it was time for a test! Onto the board I chucked some of my dock pieces.
 |
| Note the sumps and barrels in the water? All magnetised, so very stable. |
 |
| See the hanging bridge? Love it. |
Yep, that's hitting the spot indeed! I cleared away my toys and invested a bit more tender love and care into the banks - various dark paints working my way up to whites and light greens closest to the canal.
Finally, I mixed and poured some polyurethane tinted with green acrylic ink over the canal proper - you can see the reflection on the surface in this video. Sorry for the poor lighting!
So in about 24 hours time I'll get some better lighting and post some more picks/vids. Watch this space!