Picking up those brushes again.

Hi and welcome to the occasional mutterings of Dave Doc, a military modeller and some time gamer. Gaming and model making has given me a real education, History & Geography(obvious really), Artistry, Politics, Economics, Logistics, Project Management -you try building miniature armies without the last 3.

I will use the blog to record my creations & the odd occasion I actually do some gaming.

I have always been inspired by the aesthetic side of gaming. Playing on well constructed terrain using excellently painted units is always a joy.

Saturday 1 September 2012

Terrain time

So I have buildings and figures, time for some terrain for Serenity Flatts. Having committed to taking this game on the road as a participation game next March at the Call to Muster Show time to crack on.


Now I could buy some - but nah! I enjoy the modelmaking part of this hobby probably the best. I have drawn up a plan to give me 8' x 4.5' layout. I have been to the local DIY store and picked up some 9mm MDF and 2" thick polystyrene insulation board - the helpful chaps cut it for me to 2' x 2' - they both came as 8'x4' sheets.


The basic plan - drawn at 2 inches to the foot. The key point is that the road features leave at the middle of the 2' boards, and make it possible to change things aroun.

and with scaled buildings added from "post it's"

The basics - MDF & Poly


PVA and some tools



So it's off to the garden to make a start

11 comments:

  1. Wow, ambition! I love it, can't wait to see the results!

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  2. A great project, Dave. I´m sure it is going to be a wonderful terrain.

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    1. Thanks Juan - hope so .. well the practive will be good!

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  3. It's so much more fun to look at terrain that someone has built themselves. Best of luck to you with this project Dave!

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  4. Now whilst I wish you well and look forward to updates I have to confess I am a little confused. I seem to have lost 5 inches in all this! What happens down the middle of the boards?

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    1. Ah yes - so there will be 4 lots of 2 foot x 6 inch boards that run down the middle - which carry the the Denver & Rio Grand railroad and a road which makes u the main street. The timely or otherwise arrival of the train can give all sorts of scenarios!

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    2. Ah-ha! All is revealed, makes perfect sense now, thank you.

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  5. Not all people use this trick, but make sure both sides of the MDF and all the edges are painted with emulsion. It seals it against dust! No matter how you try, you'll get dust without sealing it.
    Next time your're down I can also show you "Tancast" foam. Its a graded urethane. You can get some that a finger can push into through to a grade that you cannot indent with a ball hammer!
    I also have a grinding plate from "Croatia" (I think) that allowed me to grind a 6 degree slope on 12 mm MDF directly. It is a brilliant tool.

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    1. Yes top tips alright, .I have sealed the mdf with PVA, and will give it a coatof e,ulsion as well.

      the strong foam sounds interesting. And yes you can't beat having the right tools!

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