TerranScapes - Surfacing the 'Big Hill'

Shows the work done so far to finish the surface of the hill including adding rocks and cliffs. A description of Sculptamold is provided as well as a brief description of how the rocks were cast. The hill is designed to accommodate the Ruins of Amon Sul from Forgeworld. New viewers are recommended to see previous videos describing its design intent.
(earliest listed first)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-ivQY5Jx4c
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aeUoQ0quhI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZEk0ZAcSN0

Category:

Gaming

Tags:

• wargame
• terrain
• weathertop
• weather
• top
• ruins
• amon
• sul
• lord
• of
• the
• rings
• miniatures
• LOTR
• hill
• sculptamold
• casting
• rocks
• cliff
• face

[thesuperjohn57]

does your cat sometimes hide your paints or supplies? :P

[Terranscapes]

@thesuperjohn57 No, but they try to eat my grasses, and knock down the miniatures I have for scale comparisons. :) Now they have a satellite water station on the work bench, so they are regular work companions. Lucky for them that they are so loveable.

[chicophi220]

love these more vertical pieces, I think the extra dimensions than a flat board make for some interesting engagements. Would a thin piece of sheet metal for a base of the hills help with the edge/chipping weakness problems of the foam? I dunno about sharp edge/ wobble of unsupported sheet metal but could be more durable.

[Terranscapes]

@chicophi220 I'm not confident I can work with sheet metal. I have used hard board in the past and it is sufficient. I probably should have done so with this piece, but the budget provided, didn't really allow for it. I went way over budget (my time, not customer money) on the project as it is. You'll see what I mean in the upcoming finished video. :)

[Terranscapes]

@perceptal Sounds like a cool project. I would love to see a video of it when its finished. I made a folding game table a while back and its so heavy, its a bitch to travel with. :( I would love to do a better one down the road.

[perceptal]

@Terranscapes Excellent. I can see now how getting a square edge for each board piece must be very difficult, if you are using a hot wire - even if it's fixed in place.

I've got some designs for a set of 600mm square boards set into a folding wooden frame. I've no idea if it'll work but I'm confident. No idea when I'll find the time to get it done though! Your work provides lots of ongoing inspiration and motivation.

[Terranscapes]

@perceptal Thanks. :)

I cut the foam for square edges using a hot wire table I made. I tried using a table saw originally and its a bit dicey. Not recommended.

For the rocks, I am casting them in tuf-stone. I use woodland scenic molds that I have remastered using latex. Its more flexible that way.

[perceptal]

Your work is top-notch and your YouTube channel is now my favourite - thanks!

I have a couple of quick questions, if that's ok?

First - how do you cut the polystyrene boards (and keep them square)? Are you using a jigsaw, or a (possibly fixed?) circular saw?

Second, when you cast rocks and such, are you using the tuf-stone? Do you have permanent moulds made for the rocks and cliffs, or do you make temporary, single-use moulds for each project?

Thanks! Happy New Year.

[Terranscapes]

@unkhter Merlin's magic by any chance. Dental plasters tend to be quite a bit more expensive. Not a problem for hobbyists though, but when I go through 100lbs of plaster every 3-4 months, it starts to add up. ;)

[unkhter]

@Terranscapes thx

Friend of mine used a kind dental plaster as an alternative (though for other purposes: mold making). thought it was a bit lighter than regular plaster but very expensive, tough as rock but with a very short cure time and it was difficult to remove from any tools you use :)