Friday 13 July 2012

Construction begins...

I haven't started casting any blocks yet, but I have started building something, using blocks I acquired from Jez.  This was meant to be a small test piece to see how the blocks glued together, how things worked, etc, but as per usual, it grew into something a bit more interesting (and hopefully useful).


The majority of the blocks are from the Hirst Arts 4" Circular Fieldstone tower mold.  A few of the bits  didn't come out perfectly, with large air bubbles, hence why they hadn't been used, but I've started to fix these with a rounded metal work file.  As this is a ruined building, it actually looks better with holes and battered brick work!  It's mounted on a (now useless) CD, which is just about the right size.  There are a few bits from the larger 6" circular tower (e.g. the right hand arrow slit) which I've sanded down to fit.  Some more work is needed on some of these areas to "line up" the blocks in the walls.  The grey stones are Woodland Scenics coarse ballast, I'll be using more of that stuff to make the broken walls much less regular looking.


From the other side it's no where near as interesting - the structure is going to be used more as a back drop for photographing and displaying miniatures (with them standing inside the ruins), but it will come in useful as a terrain piece if required.   It does go to show how you can just grab a load of bits and throw them together to create something quickly - I still have plenty of work to do, but it's been a blast so far. I'm planning to paint it a grey-brown colour, and have loads of moss growing on it, maybe with some creeping ivy.

The back is most definitely on the mend, so painting should recommence soonish - off up to London this weekend though, so I'll be popping into Dark Sphere to get my hands on more goodies...

As always, comments and criticism welcome!

8 comments:

  1. Glad the back is on the mend and a nice piece of real estate Andy....

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  2. Have you thought about what models would go well in the structure when it's done?

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    1. Lord of the Rings to start off with (I have a few on the go), then loads of random fantasy. It does depend on the base though - the GW standard 25mm round ones fit nicely on the level floors, but the 30mm lipped bases favoured by Privateer Press and Wyrd won't...

      Something to bear in mind for future projects, but that's the point of these test pieces. :)

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  3. This is something I absolutely have to learn how to do. I can't afford to buy scenery for my figures and having something I've built myself will mean more to me. This is just wonderful.

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  4. Looks excellent to me, can't wait to see the real thing if this is just a test piece!

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  5. That is a cracking start, can't wait to see further progress reports.

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  6. Anne - do you have a HobbyCraft (or something similar) near you? I've seen loads of stuff that could work as a starting point for scenery, then they sell plenty of sculpting stuff too. The only problem I can see with the Hirst Arts molds is that they're an expensive initial investment - they're based in the US too so shipping is an additional cost.

    Ray and Michael - I'm really worried I've peaked early with this, but hopefully it's the start of something good! :)

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