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Unas the slayer

Moderator
Staff member
Jan 1, 2017
1,863
Northern Italy
I have started to build some terrains, basically just for 40k, but in the future i will do the same thing also for fantasy.


The plan is to have lots of pieces, made as cheap as possible, using materials such:

- polystirene
- junk
- discarded bits
- other occasional cheap materials

This thread will contain both VIPs and pictures of the completed pieces. Feedbacks and suggestions will be appreciated.
 

Unas the slayer

Moderator
Staff member
Jan 1, 2017
1,863
Northern Italy
I decided to build "trenches" (more a thing similar to Wall of Martyrs). Modular was the key value, so i did some measurement befor cutting and i created also some angular connector between the bigger pieces.

polystirene food trays is a wonderful material.
A cutter, some glue and just acrylic paint was the first step too obtain dirty & quick fortified positions.
These ones have been made with just one food package.

After the assembling, i gave them a more concrete effect, using glue, water and toilet paper Trincee 02.jpg Trincee 03.jpg
 

Unas the slayer

Moderator
Staff member
Jan 1, 2017
1,863
Northern Italy
Time for bunkers!

Again, starting from a single food package cut in half and used on the top, plus a polystirene foil for the base.
VIP after cutting, assembling and glueing with water and toilet paper.

VIP 1.jpg

Final result, after painting and the use of bits from the Munitorum armoured containers set for the back doors.

Bunkers.jpg
 
Last edited:

Unas the slayer

Moderator
Staff member
Jan 1, 2017
1,863
Northern Italy
After the basic lines of defense, I also wanted something more important. Not exactly a centerpiece but a vital area.

What's better than a Skyshield Landing Pad?

I've had some plywood, a hard cardbox tube (for plotter A0 paper), many sprue from 40k buildings (taken from the sprue box in our gaming shop), the usual polystirene and an A3 printer.
I've also picked a column of a terran empire temple, to turn it upside down and create a radio beacon
Good, i also took the measure of the exact size of the real one.


VIP (after the cutting of the plywood and the tube):

VIP 2.jpg


The satisfying final result.

Skyshield 1.jpg

Skyshield 2.jpg
 

Unas the slayer

Moderator
Staff member
Jan 1, 2017
1,863
Northern Italy
Thanks guys!

THe next project is a massive construction, which i intend to use in Apocalypse games, or even in standard games but with particular rules.

It's basically the walls of a fortress (if you have ever seen Boylan's Helsreach, you know what I'm talking about), built with various polystirene material (TV packaging, polystirene foams cut, polystirene food trays…).
2 section, each wall is 46" long.

this is the assembled first wall, still unpainted:

Fortezza 1a.jpg

Fortezza 1b.jpg

Fortezza 1c.jpg

Fortezza 1d.jpg
 

Unas the slayer

Moderator
Staff member
Jan 1, 2017
1,863
Northern Italy
Here's the first one of my 2 fortress' defensive walls!

Many small imperfections, but after all this is a defensive wall, and who knows what heavy damage it suffered, and what kind of reparations were done to it?
Who knows, maybe (or probably) in the future i will add some damage effects.

Fortezza 1a.jpg

Fortezza 1e.jpg

Fortezza 1b.jpg

Fortezza 1c.jpg

Fortezza 1d.jpg

Fortezza 1f.jpg
 

Unas the slayer

Moderator
Staff member
Jan 1, 2017
1,863
Northern Italy
I've put my hands on some treasures…. namely a bunch of PC cooling fans, destined to waste (a good thing i have a friend that deals with PCs for work)


So, here we are: a big ventilation turbine for a subterranean AdMech complex. It can be fitting for Mars, Tallarn, Armagaddon… any place.
clear.png



here's the VIPs:

Turbina VIP 1.jpg

Turbina VIP 2.jpg

...and here's the final result!


Turbina 01.jpg

Turbina 02.jpg
 
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Unas the slayer

Moderator
Staff member
Jan 1, 2017
1,863
Northern Italy
First of all, tnx for the comments. xD

Now, back to work!

I love PCs packaging.
So many great possibilities… here's the starting material: it will be a great fortified position for heavy weaponry.

Platform 1 VIP.jpg


VIP after assembling and glueing with newspaper

Platform 2 VIP.jpg



Final result, with some details to give the fortification more life.
Basically I've added some "official" decorations, some combat damage and finally what the grunts could use to embellish the place, when left by themselves (propaganda phrases, hit markers by the heavy squads…)


Platform 4.jpg

Platform 5.jpg

Platform 6.jpg
 
Jun 29, 2019
6
Pennsylvania
I really like the fan design. Covering styrofoam with newspaper is a fantastic idea! Do you prepare the newspaper like paper mache and soak it in water and paper? Or is it easy enough to just squirt PVA on the piece and stick newspaper to it? Also can you prime the piece without the foam melting then? Lol sorry about all the questions, but I've never seen anyone do that and its very cool.
 
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Unas the slayer

Moderator
Staff member
Jan 1, 2017
1,863
Northern Italy
I really like the fan design. Covering styrofoam with newspaper is a fantastic idea! Do you prepare the newspaper like paper mache and soak it in water and paper? Or is it easy enough to just squirt PVA on the piece and stick newspaper to it? Also can you prime the piece without the foam melting then? Lol sorry about all the questions, but I've never seen anyone do that and its very cool.

Glad you like it!
i prepare a mix of PVA and water, then i "paint" the styrofoam in the sector i need, place one of 2 fragments of paper (overlappping them), then add on them some more water+glue.

as alternative to newspaper, which i used on the bunkers and on the ventilation turbine, is toilet paper: it gives that crispy effect that recalls rough concrete
 

vg11k

Skeleton
Oct 5, 2017
70
Orleans
It is simple but damn, the idea to add the pens and fans add so much "life" to your buildings. And that "cadia stands" "special delivery" is very funny, it bring the feeling of a last-standing bunker. Nice work !
 

Unas the slayer

Moderator
Staff member
Jan 1, 2017
1,863
Northern Italy
It is simple but damn, the idea to add the pens and fans add so much "life" to your buildings. And that "cadia stands" "special delivery" is very funny, it bring the feeling of a last-standing bunker. Nice work !

Glad you liked it!



Now, here we are.
The next one is one of the central pieces for my "scenario".
Things as the ventilation turbine and the missiles silos are what you see on the surface of a gigantic subterranean complex by AdMech (and Imperium).
In this complex there is, obviously, also a subterranean hangar with tanks and robots.

So the next piece is the "exit point" of this hangar. Basically another bunker, that this time has been built around the fortified sliding door which is the exit for the tanks (they went out tnx to a double conveyor belt).
On the rear side of the bunker, there will also be a lifting platform to take on the surface things as Kastelan robots.


VIP for the Subterranean Hangar.

Material:
- polystirene
- plywood
- unused bits from GW
- 2 strips of nails from a carpenter nail gun


VIP 1.jpg

VIP 2.jpg

VIP 3.jpg

VIP 4.jpg
 

Unas the slayer

Moderator
Staff member
Jan 1, 2017
1,863
Northern Italy
I've made a quick "bridge" to connect the Bunker-Hangar with the Bunker-missiles silo.
i've made the 2 pieces of scenery with the idea of the connection already in mind, and now it has been completed!

the (pretty satisfying) final result:


insieme 1.jpg

insieme 2.jpg

insieme 3.jpg

insieme 4.jpg
 

Shadespyre

Vampire Count
Aug 11, 2012
1,023
You're really getting stuff done!

I never get around to scenery projects because they seem time consuming and expensive, and I could be spending that time and money on miniatures, but you're reminding us how it doesn't have to be that way.
 
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Unas the slayer

Moderator
Staff member
Jan 1, 2017
1,863
Northern Italy
You're really getting stuff done!

I never get around to scenery projects because they seem time consuming and expensive, and I could be spending that time and money on miniatures, but you're reminding us how it doesn't have to be that way.


Well, i cannot say it's not time consuming, but at least it's not expensive and the battlefield is improved and more unique.
I'm also working on some way to cut the time needed for some necrons scenery.
 

Unas the slayer

Moderator
Staff member
Jan 1, 2017
1,863
Northern Italy
Glad you liked it!


and as promised, quick and cheap it will be.
For the moment i will leave Imperium (not for long), and i will start with something more… exotic. Necrons.


For a narrative mini-apocalypse, with TWO gaming tables (one for the surface of the tomb-world, one for the subterranean complex), there was the need for something to let the units move from one table to the other one, with relative ease… what's better than "Necrons Teleport Platforms"?

This is my actual record for "building" something with the lowest effort.

Materials:
- small shelves from a broken IKEA CD holder
- a printer and a couple of collages using many necrons symbols (the design of the Platform was the more "difficult" part)
- some peel-n-stick glitter gems from the forgotten old gaming box of my daughters (energy crystals, baby!)


VIP

VIP.jpg



Final result:

Platform 1.jpg

Platform 2.jpg

Platform 3.jpg
 

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