TerraiNation V

Welcome back to another installment of TerraiNation!  This weekend was spent working some on the club gaming table terrain, and who better to share the progress with than you guys!  These shots are still in the building phase, but they will soon be getting paint in March, so stay tuned for more updates on the biggest terrain project currently on the World Wide Web!
This part of the board will house a Cathedral, several blown up buildings a couple of strategically placed bunkers and some VERY unique weapons from our friends at Quantum Gothic.  The cathedral will be heavily defensed with the two parapets seen in the pics.

 I wanted to showcase some of the tools that I use for all my terrain projects.  Above, you will see all of the various tools that I use for the building process:  Bar clamps, side cutters, sanding belts, Plastruct plastic welder and Testors glue.  For the more major/custom work such as the first TerraiNation, I used a Dremel and miniature lathe and mill.  I also occasionally use a laser cutter for completely custom jobs!

Khorne Terminators and Abaddon

Hello all, a quick WIP for your scrutiny.  I have been working on too many projects at once, which leaves too many in various stages.  Have a look at what I have been working on.  Enjoy!
WIP Khorne Terminators:  Paint scheme VGC:  1)  Dark Sepia  2) Gory Red  3)  Bloody Red (highlight)  Wash with Ogryn Flesh.  Abaddon has some orange in the highlight.

Abaddon nearing completion:

How To Cast In Resin Part II

Well, we're back with another installment of "How To Cast In Resin."  Today I will be documenting the steps that I take to cast my resin pieces.  Let's get started!
     You will need everything mentioned in the previous post if you wish to follow along EXACTLY, but there are substitutions.  A few items that i may have missed in the prior post are discussed below:
     Surfactant-  This stuff is used to keep the resin from sticking to the mold and causing damage over time.  It allows your casts to slide right out of the molds.  You can use a mix of Jet Dry dishwashing detergent and water, but I prefer to use this:

       Jet Dry-  I still use the Jet Dry in a bucket of water to treat my molds prior to casting.  About a 1:10 ratio is all that is required.
Step 1:      Just soak while you are preparing the rest of the items that you will be using.  Fill up a bucket of your Jet Dry mix as a first step so you can let them sit.  When you are ready to grab your molds out, agitate them a bit with your hands as shown.  Stick your fingers down into the recesses to get out any residual powder residue.  Remember that your first cast will likely not be perfect but the subsequent casts following this will turn out nicely if all is done correctly.  You can always use the first casts for rubble.

Step 2:     Once you have your mold out of the water mix, slap it several times against a towel to remove all the water and sit it out on your work surface to air dry while you are preparing the resin.  This should do the trick if you cannot afford the mold release.  Some may prefer not to release at all, strictly preference here. 
**Note that you do not want to pour the resin into a wet mold!

 Step 3:     Measure out equal parts of A and B.  I use a scale for this.  It is not super critical, but this resin cures in under 3 minutes.  If you manage to put in more catalyst than required, it will harden even faster so please be cautious.  Also noteworthy, once this resin begins to turn white, it hardens almost immediately.  Do not take your time getting this into the mold.

Step 4:     Pour your A and B cups into a larger cup and stir together.

Step 5:     Place the mixture into a vacuum chamber and turn on the pump.  You want to get as close to 29 HG as possible, note that 30 HG is Full Vacuum.  You will notice all of the air bubbles rising to the surface, and at 29 HG, the bubbles will begin to boil up and pop.  Once this begins, you are okay to turn off the vacuum pump and SLOWLY let air back into the chamber.  If you perform this step too quickly, you will have a huge mess to clean up. 
***Remember the cure time of your resin here, taking too much time on this step will result in a block of resin in your cup.  Do not throw this out though, because i can be used as a display base if you can put it on a lathe. 

     If you do not have a vacuum chamber, there is an alternative, but this can be messy and somewhat inconsistent.  This method is known as "Bombs Away."  What you need to do is place your mold at least 2 feet below a shelf or something above your work surface.  Place the cup on this shelf and poke a very small hole in the bottom of the cup.  The resin will be allowed to escape the cup in a very thin stream where no air bubbles can collect.  Drop the resin directly in the mold and turn the mold a few times to even out the pour.  **Sorry no pics**  I think Tap Plastics does a tutorial of this method.

Step 6:     I like to place my mold in the pressure pot and pour it in there.  This keeps the mess isolated only to my pot.  Do not pour the resin into a cavity, pour it onto the top of the mold near a corner of a cavity and let the resin roll into the mold.  When you are finished pouring, put the lid on the pot and blast air into it.  Keep the pressure below 60 PSI, as you do not want to damage your pot.  Notice the closeup of my setup.  There is a ball valve located just after the input to lock the pressure in.  This is also used to let the pressure out.

     Another option would be to get a vibrating table.  Instead of pressure casting, you could set your mold on top of a vibrating table and pour it while the vibrator is on.  Not everyone has pressure pots and vacuum chambers, so I figure this is worth mentioning.  I ordered one a long time ago and it came in a discretely marked package at my doorstep.... Wonder what the neighbors thought?

Step 7:     When the resin in your cup is nice and hard, remove the mold from your pot, and de-mold your pieces.  If everything went well, you should be well on your way casting bubble free pieces.  Good luck and if there are any questions, please ask them in the comments section.
~TTG~

Weathering Techniques: Oil Paints

     Welcome back to TTG for another tutorial.  I had been asked by one of my readers "How do you get such a great weathered look on your terrain sets for the store?"  Well, I decided that I'd share this process for all of my readers along with some pictures snapped periodically throughout the process.
     Lets take a look at the materials:
          1) Earth tone oil paints, black oil paint, white oil paint.  Do not overspend here, just keep it simple.
          2) Turpentine.  If indoors, get the less smelly stuff.
          3) Junk paintbrushes.
          4) Hair dryer (optional) 
Step 1:  Load up a napkin or something disposable with blobs of the oil paints.

Step 2:  Randomly "dot" the entire model with small blobs of the oil paint.  Less is more here, we are not trying to saturate the finish already achieved, merely age it.

Step 3:  Dip your brush into some oil based thinner or turpentine and load the bristles up slightly.  Place the brush directly on the model and streak the brush slowly downward.  The longer the line, the more consistent the aging effect.

 *** Note, this process may be a little scary at first when the colors begin to look like they are totally changing the paintjob, but no worries, as we will be streaking the turpentine over and over again until you essentially have just a mask of paint over the model.***

  This is what it will look like still wet but blended.

 An overnight dry will be required, so set it and forget it.  Below you will see what the effect looks like when finished.  Please note that this is still WIP so obviously there is plenty more work to do.  NOW GET OUT THERE AND PAINT!

How to Simulate Battle Damage

So, we're back with a quick and dirty battle damage tutorial for your viewing pleasure!  The bastion kits come pre-molded with some bullet holes out of the box, so no drilling was done in this step.  There are million tutorials out there on how to create battle damage and this is not intended to be one.  The focus here is to show you how to very quickly paint the battle damage in a metallic color with minimal effort.  Remember that all the steps in painting should not have to take forever and use the tiny 000 paintbrushes and magnifying glasses.  Battle damage is random and does not require a lot of time or energy, so without further adieu:

Step 1:  Find an oil based paint pen in metallic silver.  For this demonstration, I'll be using the popular Sanford® uni-Paint Marker, Medium Point, Metallic Silver.  Find it <-- there.

Step 2:  Make your bullet holes or blast damage, or use the pre-damaged bits like I did.

Step 3:  Grab the pen and gently push the tip into the bullet hole, allowing paint to flow ever so slightly.  Be very careful in this step, as the paint tends to flow quite fast if you aren't careful.

Step 4:  Hit the freshly painted battle scars with a sepia or black wash, and, VIOLA.

ENJOY!

TerraiNation IV

Hello all, I just wanted to post some of the progress on my TerraiNation project.  I did some painting and weathering on a bastion kitbash that has turned out quite nicely.  Sorry, photos are unedited...Let me know what you think!

Great Deal for Commission Painters

    
     Just a quick note to all the commission painters out there, I have found some EXTREMELY cheap Vallejo paints on sale.  This is a KILLER DEAL that you should not pass on.  The Panzer Aces 48 paint set is selling right now for 50 bucks!  That's right, 50 dollars for 48 paints!  That is unheard of!  Click here to find this great deal!  Tell em' TTG sent ya!
Truly,
   TTG