Flesh Boards (Terrain)

A little while back I made an entry for the Necromunda Terrain Builder's Challenge that I called The Flesh Price.  Why?  Because it looked like flesh.  Alas, I didn't win the crown but was pleased with how the build turned out, and more importantly, discovered the joy of melting and dissolving polystyrene foam.

The foam is so easy to find and work - provided you have a well-ventilated area!  I really need to get myself some hotwire cutting/sculpting tools so I can raise my game some.  Once it has been shaped, all it takes is some PVA to coat it and it goes from being soft and spongy to varying degrees of hardness.  It all depends upon how many coats you use and whether you mix stuff (like flour) into the PVA.

While I was building my Challenge entry, I also worked on a large board, just to explore the techniques further and see how things worked out.  The board was simply a big hunk of foam, glued upon a large piece of honeycomb cardboard (my other favourite hobby find of 2020) which I blowtorched and used solvents to create some interesting wave- and flesh/vein-like patterns.

It was a pretty successful piece.  I learned the hard way that despite many layers of PVA, the solvent in the gloss I was using for a water-type effect was strong enough to eat through to the foam.  I rescued it, but it wasn't exactly what I wanted.  What did work was using clear silicone chalking gel with the polyurethane sealant - it made for some great bubbly messes that really gave an impression of a wounded landscape - a technique I further explored in my next piece.

I actually was half intending to make it as a feature of my study's Ikea desk, however, the piece of foam was about 5-10cm short of the span I needed.  Bugger. But it was fun to do.

Once I had completed the above build, I cut up four 12-inch square bases of wood to try yet another.  This one was a little different - I wanted to see whether a flatter surface would work, with a vision that I could use such a board to base my Zone Cardboardis creations upon.

I was really happy with the colours that came through in the end.  There's actually quite pronounced oranges and yellows that contrast nicely with the red.  I used a green tint in my water/wound effect that compliments the red really well.  Colour theory - well it works!  Here are some more pictures under a different light.

Also, just because I liked them so much, here are some closer shots of the silicone and polyurethane together - such disgusting lumps!  My wife shrieked upon seeing them.

A regret (I have a few), is that I had to use two pieces of foam on two of the bases - the join is quite visible and if I had the materials available, I would have just used a single piece.  That's a lesson for the future.  The thing is I kind of like these boards as 'art'.  I wonder if I could get away with hanging them on one of my walls inside the family home?  Maybe I'll try and see if the wife notices :-)