Terrain: Garden of Morr 001

It's been a busy week for me. I've been working non stop on half of a Sigmarite Mausoleum or as it used to be billed, The Garden of Morr. I always liked the death cult in the old WFB Empire. There were some excellent conversions around... ah the nostalgia!

 I started with giving everything a coat of primer while still on sprue. I then clipped out and assembled the tombs. After that everything got painted Rob Hawkins style... I know I'm not the only one to have been inspired by his work on this particular project lately. I painted all the walls and fence pieces while still on the sprues, clipping them off when I was ready to start applying shades.

This is the part where I skip some of the step by step photos for the last couple steps before being completely done. The next step is an all over wash of Nuln Oil and then some spot drybrushing. I'm pretty happy with how it's come out so far. Stay tuned to see it finished.

Cheers!

CJ

Terrain: Sewers 002

The sections for my sewer are largely ready for paint and I decided to try something new instead of the usual PVA, paint, and water.

This stuff is pretty good. Your mileage may vary but I got all the main pieces of my sewers triple coated with spray primer. I think with extruded styrofoam sheets it will work better. The expanded polystyrene just has too much exposed area to do any less...

This is my fault. I gave this piece two coats of primer and didn't give it time to dry properly before giving it a coat of black. You can see I ended up getting a cool looking texture for my efforts. Seeing this patterning was enough to make me slow down and give the other pieces time to dry properly.

Overall I like this foam primer. I'll probably keep using it in the future since I have quite a few projects planned to use all this foam I've accumulated.

Cheers,

CJ

Terrain: Sewers 001

Remember this from a couple weeks ago? Well most of it is still there but in different shapes. I've been at it with a big knife forming interesting sewer-ish shapes.

Here's the first one just about ready for some paint. I've used some scrap wire to make the cables attached to the wall, and flexi-straws to make the pipes. ½" metal cloth mesh I scavenged from somewhere or other is what I used for the guard rail, and thin card on the back side. This piece will sit on a 24" tile, one of the corners. All styrofoam pieces on the edges will be clad in cardboard to help protect it. The ladder is from the Cities of Death extras frame.

I don't plan an overly complicated sewer, and hopefully this will help me to finish this project in a timely manner... yeah right.

Cheers!

CJ

Workbench Update

Just because I don't have a decent camera doesn't mean I've stopped working. My Abhuman Techno-heretics have gotten some reinforcement.

I've also gotten some ideas to coalesce from fragments into something actionable and have set upon this heap of styrofoam.

The Witchhunter's Retinue has a new member...

And I've got lots of new characters to paint up or convert. This is just a few of them.

I should have my good phone fixed this week, Stay tuned for progress on a few fronts.

Cheers,

CJ

Planetary Empires 001: Hive Primus

I've been splurging on eBay for this and that lately, like the Chimera Bunker. The latest has been both the Mighty Empires and Planetary Empires sets, including the hive city tile and the wizards tower. The Mighty Empires set I really don't have a plan for too much past using the tiles to supplement my Planetary Empires set... and the plan there is to build a world (maybe more) for all my little plastic men to have adventures on. The first step in the plan is of course the Hive Primus for the world as yet unidentified.

I had an idea while I was clipping out tiles and putting things together. It struck me as an idea worth exploring for my Hive Primus.

I started by thinking about my project and hacking up these mountain tiles, then gluing them together. Next I set to cutting out the hive from the rest of its tile. It took quite a while but in the end it was worth it.

After a quick rummage through the bits box I started building up the base tile. I have a very specific inspiration for this hive...

I think I'm on the right track.

Cheers.

CJ

Terrain: Chimera Bunker 001

This is a terrain piece that GW still sold when I got into 40k. This, the Jungle Trees, and the Gothic Ruins were pretty much it back then, not counting all the FW goodies. I came across it on eBay a short while ago and decided that I couldn't pass it up. I've always thought it a characterful piece. The guys in the Design Studio did a great job using bits to add flavor to the scene. I can see my Imperial Command fitting in this bunker.

Of course, I can be counted on not to leave well enough alone.

The first thing I did was use a lighter and carefully burnt away the static grass.

Next I got out my trench segments and marked out a good spot for them to intersect the bunker. Using my razor saw and stencil knife I carefully cut away a bit of the foam detail and set it aside.

Next I cut a base out and marked the bunker entrance. I used my drill to bore the holes for the bamboo skewers that will secure the foam bunker to the MDF base. Tacky glue holds the foam to the MDF while the skewers are held in foam with the wood glue. I beveled the edge of the base with my stencil knife.

With the foam Chimera Bunker securely fastened to the MDF base I built up the new entrance with styrene H bar and coffee stirrers. The transition ramp is black plastic canvas, textured plasticard, and of course grit. I used spackle to blend the bunker to the base and cover up the remnants of the static grass. Once the spackle set I gave it a coat of grit. I also added a bit of barbed wire at the 'low' side of the bunker.

One of the things I considered when this piece first arrived was to cut off all the sandbags and replace em with smaller ones. That way all the sandbags on my board at any one time would match. Then I decided that maybe there's a Pioneer Corps detachment wandering around with some indentured Ogryns who can easily pack sandbags that size... It sounds like a fun project to take on some day.

Anyhow, all that is left to get this piece finished is painting. Stay tuned.

Cheers,

CJ

Terrain: Technobridge 001

Some years ago I got myself a Pegasus Technobridge. I still think its one of the coolest simple terrain kits to come along ever. Nothing ever got done with that first bridge past assembly. I had ideas aplenty but just wasn't comfortable enough to try em. I did end up using Google Sketchup to mock up a couple things.

Fast forward to the present and I've got four technobridges in my stack of terrain material. I scored two for the price of one on eBay over the holidays and when they arrived I couldn't resist...

I took a few measurements and got to sketching.

As it came together in my head and notebook, I told myself I wouldn't let this one get away from me like the (still incomplete) drawbridge project or sump ruin... but the bridge is 24" long to begin with. This project was already out of hand. The overall footprint will be 24"x18". Two inches of foam will form the base that the bridge ramps will sit on, The deck will be 3.5" above tabletop. I plan to add pylons made of CoD tiles and a pedestrian walk to one side. Under the bridge will be a canal and some pipelines.

I've got a pretty good idea how this will all come together in the end. As far as materials go all I need is bit of MDF for the base and some 2" foam; everything else I have already. This is very much a project still in planning. In reviewing prior builds I've come to realize that I lose momentum and focus when I don't have a proper plan. This project has a lot of little things to get knocked out before I start putting it all together. If I do it right though, the final assembly will be like putting a Lego set together.

Cheers,

CJ