Modelling your own battlefield decorations is fun and adds that touch of individuality to your alien landscapes. The materials you use do not have to be expensive and in most cases are normally thrown out as useless rubbish. So the next time you take out the trash, have a rummage through. You might find something that will turn out to be your latest battlefield decoration.

For your models you will need some basic modelling materials such as building plaster, lime, sheet styropor, cardboard, and model foliage but most of my stuff either comes from the trash or nature itself.

Model foliage comes in different forms. I use flock for bushes or trees, icelandic moss for bushes, loose static grass or static grass matting for grass. You can pick this up at any good modelling shop. You can also use artificial plants and flowers; just take them to pieces to get the different size you require.They have the advantage that you don't need to paint them, but I would avoid the plastic type and go for cloth or silk reproduction. Plastic flowers have that plastic sheen to them.

Using artificial flowers for foliage also has the advantage of adding variety to your models. If you simply push the metal stems into the styropor bases you can swap the foliage around and so end up with a unique model for every game you play.

I also use sheet styropor or even better styropor insulation sheeting. You can get this from any DIY centre. The insulation sheeting has the advantage of not crumbling all over the place when you cut it. This stuff costs about $1.50 for a square meter.

I don't make stones - nature does a much better job and they don't cost anything and don't need to be painted! If you use them however be sure to wash them before trying to glue them to anything.

A word on GW transfers and GW varnish
I varnished 3 IG tanks with GW spray varnish - and watched the tranfers start to bubble and blister!
Staff at a local gaming store said if you were using GW spray varnish you have to put a thin coat of PVA over the transfer before spraying the model or else it eats at the transfer. I coated the transfers on the other side of my tanks with a clear polyurethane paint (revell airbrush paint) first before spraying with the varnish and this time they didn't bubble. Wonder what's in the varnish that makes the transfers bubble?
I now put a layer of clear gloss paint on the surface, where the transfer's going to go, before affixing the transfer. When the transfer's dry, I coat it again with clear paint. This not only seals the transfer before spraying but the first gloss coat hides the carrier film of the transfer.

So now onto my models!

Bunkers		Landspeeder Base		Jungle Landscaping
A Chaos Monument		An Eldar monument		Space Marine Raptor
A Khorne Temple		A Crashed Pod		Paintbrush Fencing

HOME