Making basic terrain Tutorial

[manrogue]

So i've been making some basic terrain using nothing more than cardboard, PVA glue, sand and masking tape to create something like this-

and turn into this-

nothing amazing, but cheap as anything to make and makes for interesting battlefields!
over the next few weeks or so i will create various bits of terrain (from ruins to rivers) using this cheap and quick method and update the thread with step by step guides.

[Gareth]

Tidy. I'll bring my book. Intact digging it out now, seeing as I forgot last week.

[manrogue]

Tidy. I'll bring my book. Intact digging it out now, seeing as I forgot last week.

Much appreciated, i'm going purely from memory and experimenting at the moment, so would be a great help!

[manrogue]

So i started on some more terrain today, took me around about 30 mins to get to end of stage 1 (gonna do this as a 3 stage thing!), so lets go from the start.
I use basic stuff that can be bought or found around the house. so lets list the stuff for stage 1-
PVA glue(essential stuff!)
Masking tape(so adaptable and can be vital sometimes!)
scissors or a modelling knife depending on prefence
Thin cardboard(cereal boxes are ideal)
Corrugated cardboard(the thick kind)
which all kinda should look like this-

First thing that should be done is cut your thin cardboard into a base for your ruins, if there are any holes on the card, worry not as you can just cover them with your masking tape like so-

Next we are gonna cut our card into ruined wall sections like so-

[Luke the Squig]

Nice, I'm gonna give that a go, as it looks absolutely awsome .

[manrogue]

I've decide this ruin is going to have a section of flooring still attached to the wall, so i have shaped some card to fit the tallest wall section like so-

its best to measure this first otherwise you might end up with sections that won't fit.
What i have done next is put a nail (Young uns, this is the part mom or dad helps you with!) through the card to support the floor as the last thing you want is it collapsing after it has been built and destroying that model you spent weeks painting! It should look like this-


Once you are happy with the positioning and where the floor is going, apply plenty of PVA glue and fix into position on the wall, and PVA your wall section to your base like so-

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Next up we are gonna add some effect to wall and put some rubble around the base of the ruined wall section.
this is again just from the corrugated card, Just cut it into random pieces that look kind of like sections of wall that have fallen down, kinda like this-

have a play around with the card and decide where you would like to put it, once you have finalised the position you want it in, apply the PVA and stick it down. You can also have a browse in the garden for some small stones and add them as well, i usually leave it till stage 2 though. it will look kinda like this then-

Repeat this process for all your 4 corners, i normally go for 2 big corners and 2 small corners, and put some more card around, making it look like so-

Its worth mentioning that if your wall sections move while you are waiting for them to dry, apply a bit of masking tape to the side to keep them in position, as you may have noticed i have done.
Which brings us to the end of stage 1! I would normally leave it a little less cluttered around the centre as this would be grassed normally in later stages, but am experimenting a bit on this piece.
Will update with stage 2 once the piece is dry!

[manrogue]

Onwards and upwards to Stage 2 of our terrain making affair.
What you will need for this section is as follows-
Good old PVA glue
Sand, preferably builders as you want it hard and stoney. though any kind is fine.
masking tape or filler (the kind for your walls)
a mixing tub
an old paintbrush and tooth brush (only required if using filler)
To start with we need to get rid of the cracks around the edge of the wall sections and other areas. you can either apply masking tape like so-

or use filler like so-

once we have gone over everything it should end up looking a little like this-


you should leave the piece to dry out for a while if using filler, if you using masking tape carry on to next bit.

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THis is the final section of stage 2 and also the messiest! what we want to do now is create a coating to go over our terrain, using PVA as a base to harden the terrain up and give it some stability, but also to make it look more war ravaged. Using a kind rough mix of sand, PVA and water (Roughly 30% sand, 40% PVA and 30% water, mix water in last while mixing to the required consistancey) which should be like this-

Next up you should coat the ENTIRE piece in this mix, making sure not to miss any bits. it should look like this after-

Just noticed those green bits in the corner? I added some clipped down sprue pieces into the mix and positioned them into the corners to appear like rubble, these should be applied at the of the process with the remaining mix if you would like a similar effect.
Now we just have to wait for it to dry, which should be a 16 hour job (overnight) just to be on safe side.
And thats the end of stage 2. next stage- Painting and finishing touches!

[manrogue]

So we are at Stage 3 now, which is just the final finishing touches.
All you need for this stage is an old paintbrush and your paints, maybe paperclips and static grass too but they are optional.
First we undercoat the whole model in black like so-

once this is dry, get some gray paint( i use codex grey but whatever shade you like really) and drybrush the walls and anywhere you dont want grass like so-

this should give it a burnt out concrete look, so next we get some green paint out and paint anywhere we want to look grass like, like so-

you can leave it here if you like, leaving you with some reasonable looking terrain at a very cheap price!
But you can also add some small finishing touches, like adding cut down paperclips to the wall sections to make them look like support beams(matchsticks work here for fantasy)-

The final finishing touch is to add Static grass to your green painted areas if you like to give it a more grass like look like so-
(picture to be added later, not had time!)
And there we go, some terrain for your gaming table all for no more than £5! (poundland is your saviour for most of the stuff used here, though any discount retailer should be good.)

[manrogue]

Thought i would bump this so people can use as guide if they would like to try hand making terrain for the club. Ideally would be a good idea to use MDF or plasticard to make these though as is more sturdy.
Though the ones i made out of card seem to have stood the test of time reasonably well.

[Embolden]

Wow, awesome stuff mate!