MAKING TRENCH SCENERY
Since I like my scenery to be incredibly durable and easy to store, I had to come up with my own way to make trench scenery that didn't rely on styrofoam and cardboard. As it turns out, even sturdy trenches are easier than you might think, as trenches are pretty messy by their nature, and thus forgiving of quick work. The techniques described below can also be used to make rivers, sumps, mines, catacombs, junk piles, even ship wrecks!
TOOLS AND MATERIALS LIST
FILLER (Also known as joint compound, spackle, or
Polyfilla). Hardware / DIY will have this stuff. I actually found a super
cheap brand at Wal-mart in their hardware section! There are two kinds- premixed
(in a plastic tub) and powder (in a box, mix with water).
ATTENTION: SUPERIOR
FILLER MATERIAL FOUND! You can buy pre-mixed CONCRETE PATCH for just a few
dollars more. You can work with it just like filler, but it is more grainy
and thick, and has actual concrete in it. This stuff is incredibly strong!!!
once it dries, not chalky like most fillers. It also sticks to almost anything,
if you dab at it long enough. I've even rubbed it over smooth porcelain to
get some texture on it. (thanks to Cory for this find).
CA GLUE (aka superglue, crazy glue). My favorite brand is Zap-A-Gap, available in hobby shops. And whenever using CA glue, be sure to have a squeeze bottle of BAKING SODA handy (available at the supermarket). once you have put the CA glue on, squeeze the bottle to blow baking soda dust onto it- this cures the glue quickly, and helps fill gaps! Do this in layers to build up a massively strong bond across any gaps between pieces you want to glue together...
CAULK (you can also use silicone glue). All hardware stores carry caulk. There are many types, as caulk is used for installing tile and glass, sealing windows and cracks, and numerous other jobs. Almost anything will work for making scenery, though try to find stuff that will bond well to rocks and wood, and is somewhat flexible when dry. The more flexible caulks tend to have more silicone in them, which is an ultra-strong bonding agent and slightly rubbery when dry (thus less likely to crack). You'll need a caulking gun to apply caulk, but they are cheap, plus most homeowners (like your parents or neigbors) already have one lying around.
WHITE GLUE (aka PVA glue, Elmer's glue, wood glue).
PAINT BRUSH and DISPOSABLE CUPS Not for painting, that comes later. This is for applying a glue coat. Your brush should be as big as possible and still be able to fit down into your disposable cups. A typical house painting brush works fine.
PLIERS Get yourself a big, chunky pair of pliers with nice wide teeth. These are useful for breaking up your fiberboard into manageable, natural looking chunks. They are also good for bending metal (like that hard-as-steel perforated scrap metal you found).
NIPPY CUTTERS (also known as diagonal cutters, clippers, hobby cutters). No great model builder is without a pair of these- great for trimming plastic, and also good for adding battle damage to plastic and wood pieces! I got mine cheap at Radio Shack (electronics supply shop known for cheap components).
WOODEN STICKS All manner of sticks can be used- popsicle sticks and coffee stir sticks (for floor boarding and fence posts), toothpicks (for spikes or real fine floorboarding). Popsicle sticks are also good for applying filler- you can get a big box of 'em cheap at most crafts shops.
CORRUGATED, PERFORATED, OR REINFORCED SHEETS Metal or plastic are fine (though plastic is easier to work with). I found some perforated metal (metal with holes in it) in a metal recycling center down the road (lucky me). I also found that some miniatures bases look good for reinforced metal- and the old Milton Bradley Battlemasters infantry stands look awesome on the bottom! GARDEN ROCKS You can use any kind of rock, really, but those artificially made, red volcanic looking garden rocks work great! They are light, strong, and have a great texture that paints up well. You can get these in some Hardware/ DIY shops, and most garden / landscaping shops, or just steal some from your neighbor's front yard when they aren't looking.
FIBERBOARD (a.k.a. hardboard, press board, masonite, HDF board). Most hardware / DIY stores sell this stuff cheap. Get the 1/8" thickness, as it is plenty sturdy and easier to work with than the heavier stuff. You can pick up a 4' x 8' sheet at Orchard Supply Hardware for about 3 bucks. Pegboard can also be used, though you have to hide the holes so it's a bit more work and not quite as strong. SAND I actually use cat litter, as it is more aborbent (and thus sticks better) and comes in a variety of grain sizes (the cheaper brands tend to be more coarse). But you can grab a cup of sand at the local playground in a pinch.
MORE WOOD I found some great looking tree branches in the park, perfect for dead tree stumps.
CROSS STITCH GRID (aka "granny grating", cross stitch cloth). This looks like plastic grid, slightly waxy and flexible. It comes in a variety of colors, so try to find black or brown if you can. Be sure to sand both sides so it glues better and holds paint.
CORRUGATED PLASTIC, METAL I found some plastic window blinds (the vertical kind) that have ridged detail on them, perfect for representing corrugated metal! You can use corrugated cardboard (packing material, craft shops) or scored plastic (hobby shops) too. I got some soft, corrugated aluminum from an auto junk yard (part of a hose or something).
BATTLEFIELD ACCESSORIES and DEBRIS The Drums, crates, and tank traps sold by GW on sprues is perfect. You can also use wooden drums, wooden crates, and all manner of battlefield debris (empty .22 shells for artillery shells, parts from tank model kits, bits of metal or plastic from other projects, etc.) Also, be sure to scour toy and discount stores for army toys that might have cool accessories (I found some great barbed wire pieces in a very cheap army play set). Even plastic sprue can be used for barbed wire fence posts, wreckage, I-beams, tank traps, etc. Even the old Epic bases with the round holes in them look great as reinforcing plates.
MAKING THE TRENCHES
STEP 1 - THE BASE
First, cut
or snap off a chunk of fiberboard (I like to start with pieces about 2' square).
Take your pliers and grab an edge or corner, then bend upward to snap off
some of the fiberboard at the edge. Continue along the edges, taking bigger
or smaller "bites" out of the fiberboard to make a rough, irregular shape.
This should produce a ragged edge that looks WAY more natural than a round
cut or (heaven forbid) a perfect square! Next, grab a pen (permanent markers
or sharpies work great) and draw out rough lines for how you want to run your
trenches. Remember to make your trenches AT LEAST 1" wide- when you start
putting in wall details, the trench width can shrink, so I usually leave at
least an inch and a half of space when drawing them out. Typically trenches
are straight lines (easier to build) that zig zag back and forth in crazy
angles, so be creative when drawing your lines! Curves look good too, but
are much harder to make. Now get your caulking gun handy and grab some of
those rocks. Squirt some caulk to the bottom of a rock, then press it down
onto the fiberboard to glue it in place. If the rocks are really irregular,
just use more caulk to make sure it forms a good bond. Don't put too much
on or it will squish out over the sides and make a mess. Eventually you'll
need to cover up any exposed caulk with filler, as the caulk does not paint
well. Glue the rocks along in a short row on both sides of your planned "trench",
and anywhere else on your base that you want to raise up. Avoid gluing rocks
too close to the edge of your base unless you want a "cliff" edge. Try gluing
rocks in a circle to form a mud pit or crater!
TIP: Caulk is fun, but EVIL, so avoid getting it on you. Put a drop cloth over your clothes, and if you have some, wear rubber gloves. Keep some paper napkins handy for cleanup, and remember to turn the caulking gun OFF by pressing the little lever at the back- otherwise, the squeeze pressure will continue to ooze caulk out of the gun wherever you left it! I keep a cardboard box handy to set the gun in while I'm not using it, so it contains any mess.
STEP 2 - FORMING AND LINING THE TRENCH
Now you need to build up the inside
walls of the trench itself. You can make the wall and floors out of whatever
you like- heck, even mix your materials up for a really random look! If you
have perforated or corrugated metal, cut it with tin snips or a hacksaw into
strips as wide as your trench. Then cut lengths to match your drawn out trench
layout and glue them to the press board with CA glue or caulk. You can also
make wood floors by cutting or snapping lengths of popsicle stick or other
wood to match the width of your trench and running them crosswise along the
trench floor. Glue them down with white glue or CA glue. For the walls, use
the same materials as for the floor, but glue them to the rocks along your
trench with caulk. Don't worry if there are massive gaps on the outside- as
long as the inside matches up with the floor, you'll be fine. You may need
to glue some wood "brackets" to the base and your walls to the brackets if
your rocks don't run close enough to the floor... Be sure to keep an unpainted
miniature handy to check scale- you can make sure the trench is wide enough
for a 1" base, and high enough to provide cover (but not so high that you
can't see over the edge, unless that's what you want!). You can also form
trenches quickly by using U-channel or something like it the right size. A
friend of mine used HO train cars with the bottoms ripped out, turned upside
down and glued into place! These are just wide and high enough to form a trench
when glued end to end. Once your walls are up, you may want to go back and
add more rocks to fill in some of the big blank spaces. When you're happy
with the basic layout, LET THE CAULK DRY OVERNIGHT. It's probably past your
bedtime anyway! (At this point, I have to admit that I cheated when I made
my trenches- I used some of the Armorcast Terraform trench pieces, and glued
them directly to my base with caulk. This is much faster than forming your
own trench, but not as chaotically cool looking, and a lot more expensive.
HOWEVER, I still used all of the construction methods to make the trenches
look more real and deep, like they had been cut out of the ground, rather
than perfectly formed on top of the table).
STEP 3 - SUNKEN DEBRIS Okay, your caulk is completely dry, right? Now grab those battlefield accessories, wreckage, bits of scrap metal, I beam, and anything else you want to be partially submerged in dirt. Use CA glue to glue it to the base, to rocks, or to your wall sections. I recommend gluing to some of the shorter rocks- that way, you're sure it will stick up high enough to avoid being completely buried. This is a fun time to add a skeleton or zombie body somewhere on your piece... poor guy!
At this point, your piece may look something like this:
STEP 4 - FILLING IN THE DIRT
Now grab that Filler! If you need to mix up some,
follow the directions and use a sturdy plastic bowl or other disposable container.
You want the consistency of oatmeal, so add filler or water as needed. If
you have the readymade stuff in a tub, you're ready to go! Stir it up to get
an even consistency. Now, grab a popsicle stick and scoop out a big blob.
Use another popsicle stick to scrape it into the gaps between your rocks.
You can tap it, blow it, or mash it with your finger to get it to coat all
the gaps. Don't be afraid to get some up on the edges of your debris, and
go right up to the edge of your trench walls to make them look as deep as
possible. Try dabbing at the filler with a stick or your finger to form irregular
shapes in the surface so it isn't glass smooth. You can even dab some into
any exposed floor areas of your trench to represent mud or dirt! Be sure to
put the coat on pretty thick- if it's less than 1/16" thick it is likely to
chip off when dry. Leave as much of your rocks exposed as you like- you can
have jutting crags or completely cover them over. Once you are satisfied with
your "dirt" level, sprinkle sand everywhere you want a dirt texture, then
carefully press the sand into the filler so it sticks. Anywhere you want a
muddy look, avoid getting sand in the filler (like inside your craters).
STEP 5 - GLUE COAT
The reason why I avoided using sand and filler in the past
was it was never strong enough! Even after priming and painting, bits of sand
and filler would just chip off, leaving behing nasty white scars and making
a grainy mess on the table every time we played. Well, the cure has arrived!
First, put down some newspaper to work over- this is a VERY important step
if you don't want to glue your trench to the table!! Take a disposable cup,
and fill it about 1/8 full of white glue (PVA glue). Now put the same amount
of water in there, and mix it up real good with your big paint brush. Scrape
the sides, dab the bottom, and stir well to make sure you get a good mix.
Now load up the brush, and dab it on over EVERY area that has sand or filler
on it. Be sure to put the coat on real thick- I usually bend the brush against
the piece to force glue out, then dab or stipple the brush up and down over
the glue to get an even spread. Don't worry if some of the sand comes up-
it may stick down again as you go. Once you have coated all the areas, rinse
the heck out of the brush in warm water (if you forget to do this, it will
turn into a very strong stick). Now leave your pieces to dry overnight. Please.
Go to bed already, it's 2 AM!
STEP 6 - SURFACE DEBRIS
Like step 3, only now you're gluing items right to
the top of the dirt. The glue coat should be good and strong, so you can CA
glue right to it. Try to glue pieces resting in a natural state- ammo crates
and oil drums can't magically stick to the side of a steep slope; they'd more
likely slide down until they caught on something! You can also glue plates
of perf metal on, bent to fit over rocks, edges, etc. This is also the time
to install barbed wire if you want. I like to use pieces of sprue for the
posts. Drill some holes for your posts first, and CA glue them into the holes.
Now for the quick and chunky method of making barbed wire... Get a pair of
scissors and some of that cross stitch grid. Cut straight along a grid line,
so that the cross lines leave behind little stubs or "barbs" sticking out
along the edge. Now cut along the other edge of the line to get the same effect
(it will look like a bunch of capital I's stacked on top of each other if
you've done it right). Now glue one end to your first post with CA glue (baking
soda helps form a good bond)- wrap it around the post once if you need to
get a better bond. Now start twisting the strand lengthwise- the "barbs" should
form a spiral pattern down the length. Keep twisting until the barbs look
almost randomly distributed. Now wrap once around the next post, glue, and
start twisting again, etc. until you have run out of line. You can double
back or run double strands for extra nasty looking barbed wire.
STEP 7 - PRIMING aka UNDERCOATING
Before you prime, it's a good idea to rub the whole piece
down with a stiff brush or your hand. This will remove any loose sand or filler
that didn't get bonded on by the glue coat. You'll be surprised how little
comes off- that glue coat really does the job! Now start spraying the piece-
I recommend using flat black primer. Be sure to get a good coat on- check
the piece from all directions, as most of your materials are light colored
and will look bad if they aren't primed over. For a bit more color depth before
you start painting, hit the piece with just a hint of rust red primer. Don't
overdo the rust- you'll get plenty of color on there when you start painting!
Yes, it's time to let the piece dry overnight again. Now for the paint- you
can get results like this below very quickly with drybrushing...
STEP 8 - PAINTING
If you don't have a LARGE drybrush yet, now's a good time
to get one. Try discount stores and look for cheap, made-in-China style brushes.
Get one with a head at least 1" wide, and cut the bristles down to about 3/4"
long or until they are good and stiff. Now you just drybrush on the colors
in layers! Here's how I usually work:
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Dark Brown- drybrush over everything. If some areas came out too light, I usually hit them with a dark brown wash, but otherwise you're done!
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STEP 9 - WATER (optional) At this point, you can add clear cast resin or layers of clear laquer to any craters, mud pools, etc. that you want to make "wet". This really adds depth to the piece! Make sure the areas to be filled are painted dark at the bottom, gradually lightening up to the sides. You can read more about clear cast resin on the Docks page...
by Scott I think scott@necromundicon.com
