Expanding a Barricade pt3

Terrain Gardening

Hi all,
         Here is the third part of my Terrain expansion idea, what to do if you are all out of models to build. It's not exactly kit bashing, but not far off. Find an existing bit of kit and embellish it to your satisfaction. That can be things like adding debris, junk, tools, boxes etc to an area on your model. Adding more defences, barriers, tripwires, nets, pits, anything to give your models extra grief getting through them in one piece.

If you have not checked out my other instalments, please do so now, so you are all caught up on the process and where I have come from with this.

The Previous Build

Side view, showing an old pathway.

Materials you will need.

Filler or grout.
Lolly stick
Sand.
PVA Glue or Modgepodge.

Apply the filler around the base with a lolly stick or your fingers.

Smooth down around the edges.

Apply fine sand over the still wet filler, press into place and allow to dry.

Add more or less texture as you fancy. Paint if required.

I would have done more texturing, but I had run out of sand. Such is life.

Wooden baracade that can be moved when needed.

Once dry, seal with watered down PVA glue or modgepodge. Allow that to dry. Apply a second coat if needed. Then touch up any bits that need doing with paint.

Happy modelling, folks,

Ivor Cogdell

Expanding a barricade pt2

Terrain Tweaking

Hi all,

          This is my second installment of terrain enlargement on here. The first part was designing and building a barricade for a fortified position.This installment is probably what I should have done first, which is to mount it on a base. Better late than never, goes the saying.

Tools

A craft knife.
Acrylic paints, brush and mixing tray.
Base board of your choice.
Sandpaper.
PVA glue.
Optional - Flock, foam core stickers, bits of wall or junk pile.


Prepare your material

 Carefully cut down the edges of your board to the required shape, smooth down with sandpaper all over to give adhesion to the paint. Prime the board if needed. Distress the board now if needed. I added in the lines of the path now, but they did not show up very well. Paint the surface as desired. I mixed the pale green and Terracotta for the dry soil and plain Terracotta for the rest. Acrylic yellow for the path.

Add optional terrain pieces. I placed foam core stickers to add an optional pathway and pier bases to the scene, plus a couple of spare wall pieces. Paint the excess glue once they are dry.
.

Add the main terrain piece.

I adjusted the position of the barricade from the original design so that it can be shut or open, sliding left or right as desired. So I now have a checkpoint or a toll booth for the table.

Shut.

Open.

You could add extra junk around the walls to beef them up, but that could block line of sight and give cover to enemies, your choice.

"Who is in charge ?" That's for you to decide and then fight over.

Have fun terrain building, even if they are little bitty things..

Ivor Cogdell

Expanding a barricade.pt1

Terrain Tutorial

Hi everybody,

                    Picture this, we are all on jankers duty and restricted to barracks, you have run out of coal to paint white (you hope), the Sgt. Major is ordering more rations and PT kits from HQ for a bit and you are thinking "What can I do now?".

                   Well, I may have the solution for you today, embellish one of your old bits of terrain. In this case, I have a rough barricade made from a scrap bit of plastic that I had to hand. Couple that with a few carved up lolly sticks and scrap bits from laser cut models (optional), then we will see what we can make. I am using PVA wood glue here, but if you have a glue gun that should work too. This can work for a variety of model eras, from fantasy to bolt action and wild west. This is also a good tutorial if you have some new recruits with you, as no blades are needed..

Pick your terrain piece

First part to be fitted to the barricade,

Now in place.

The lolly stick has been carved on the edges with a craft knife to distress the wood and remove the straight edges. It goes along the piece in a roughly 30 degree angle to the right, attaching to the piece sticking out on the right.

Now in place.

Rear view.

 Now for the other side. The two square holes in the side wall planking do not give much cover to those inside,so with two more small bits of lollies broken along their length, I will convert the hole nearest to the corner to a mere slit to peer out of and leave the other one to shoot out of.

Before fitting.

I have added extra planking to reduce the target area on the left while still having a reasonable arc of fire and viewpoint.

Back to the left section of the barricade. I added a small wooden bar to the middle of the circular opening to prevent potential entry.

The bar in place

The Archer in action.

Inside showing shutter details.

 The central panel has had its face distressed, showing Dwarf axe blows and arrow dents.

Before painting.

 I now add whites and browns to the central area to blend it in more with the rest of the model.

Painting time.

After rough splashes of paint.

Added grunge.

More additions were made to the left edge of the barricade forming extra support for the plank sticking out, this has the benefit of attackers having to travel further round the hazard, giving the defenders more opportunities to shoot at them, or throw rocks if they are out of ammo.

Here we see our lone Elf defender against two Lizard Folk..

"Time to even the odds".

A close up of the supporting struts.

"An easy target".

Not up to professional standards, I was "winging it" as I went along, but sometimes that is all that is needed to put a bit of terrain on the gaming table.  I hope that gave you some inspiration to spruce up a model or even do a scratch build with some leftover materials, such as making rocks with foam core and filler, adding a standard to a wooden meat skewer. I add a base to the model in part two.  You may even have chance for a quick game before the Sgt. Major comes back. I hope so.

Stay safe everybody.

Ivor Cogdell

P.S. No Lizardmen were harmed in the making of this diorama.

Terrain - Building 4Ground Corner Ruins Type 3 Plus D.I.Y Additions Part 3

Hi all,
          This is my next stage photos of my d.i.y. section of the ruins.

"My knife must be here somewhere."

There are still bits of final decoration to add.

Added more wall, texture, and floorboards.

 Some of the floorboards were supplied, (I did not use them all here, I saved some for later use on other projects), others were made from more lolly sticks. The texture is made from brown umber paint and sand.

I think that will do.

"Anybody home ?"

With better lighting

More defences were added (mainly against nasties) from floorboards.

The spike section, lower right, is removable for entrance / exit. 2 spikes then remain.

Diagonal spar now removed.

Can you see the broken glass in the window?

With added walkway

Some of the defences still need painting, but I thought it was about time I posted again with something new and this was all I had.

I'm pleased with the results. Are you going to buy one now and see what extras you can add to it?

Thanks to 4Ground for putting in the effort and making great products.

Ivor Cogdell

P.S. It has now taken residence in Mordheim, along with other goodies. See The Journey and WHF - Arrival at Mordheim.