Project: G2 Glacial Rift of the Frost Giant Jarl, full 3D.
Mar 7, 2018 17:52:21 GMT
tauster, skunkape, and 3 more like this
Post by sgtslag on Mar 7, 2018 17:52:21 GMT
Here is a link to a slideshow of the work in progress. I've been working (very s-l-o-w-l-y...) on this since around 2016.
Progress has been limited, but it is moving forward. I have around 36, 60mm Vikings to paint up as Frost Giants: maybe 10 are done, thus far? With Human figures being 25mm tall, the Frost Giants need to be 60mm tall, per the description in the 1977 1e AD&D Monster Manual, which is what I am modeling my project after.
I am using DM Scotty's glitter glue technique, to give my modular wall sections some glint. I really like the effect: simple, fast, and effective. Can't ask/expect more!
One thing I would caution, for others wishing to use the foam floor mats for terrain bases: spend the money on the Harbor Freight mats (HF; wait until you have a coupon -- drops the price to $6.99/four-pack, saving you $2 each set!), rather than using another type, from e-Bay, or any other source... The foam used in HF's mats is superb for this project, and relatively inexpensive. It can be used for many years, with virtually no wear -- you could likely hand it off to your grandchildren to use in their games.
I bought a large pack of knock-off floor mats, from a source on e-Bay. They came pre-painted in a wood-grain floor pattern; on top of that, the smooth, painted surface, actually has a minute, 1mm-square, 3D pattern molded into it, which is noticeable after painting it white (clearly visible in the slideshow). I thought this would not be a problem, but it is: the latex (emulsion) paint I used to cover the pattern, peels off, easily! I may end up scuffing the factory-painted surface with fine sandpaper, to allow the latex paint to adhere more durably (hoping this will eliminate the grid pattern, as well...). The HF mats are paint-free, their bottoms are perfectly smooth, and acrylic craft paint adheres quite nicely, to them (have not tested latex paint, yet). Besides, I did not save much money using the alternative source, in hard cash; couple that with the extra work involved, and... HF looks better and better, all the time.
The glacial wall sections are high-density, pink insulation foam, cut into shapes with a Band Saw (did not have a hot wire foam cutter yet, will likely use the hot wire cutter in the future: faster, easier, less mess, much more fun to use than the saw); I cover the wall surfaces with strips of crumpled, and flattened, brown paper grocery sack material, adhered with Low-temperature Hot Glue (High-temperature Hot Glue melts the foam!). The crumpled paper gives a very nice, carved/chiseled texture, which is stiff enough for the job. This technique is highly effective, but it is very labor-, and time-intensive. Used the same technique, initially, for modular rock caverns, until I got my Hot Wire Foam Cutter...
For rock caverns, I recommend a Hot Wire Foam Cutter, instead: incredibly fast, most texturing is done with the Cutter, immediately. Cut-off's may prove to be just as usable as the main pieces, reducing waste! The Hot Wire Foam Cutter I highly recommend is the Proxxon 37080 Hot Wire Cutter Thermocut. Spendy, but oh, so good, and easy, to use! By angling the cutting wire, and moving the foam in a wiggling fashion, you can create passable, sloping walls, which allow the figures' arms to not bump the walls, even though their bases are in contact with the base of the wall section (need to write up a post on this topic, alone...).
I applied home-made, texturing paste, to the tops and bottoms of the foam sections (non-flexible, search YouTube for instructions on how to mix it up, very inexpensively). Then I painted them white, dabbed them with a sponge with blue paint applied, lightly brushing the sponge over the surface, to create highlights; then I applied silver glitter glue, as a hardener, and protective finish.
This design is very much based on DM Scotty's Isometric Tilescapes. The base floor mats, are awesome. For the ice caverns, I did not need to cut a square grid pattern into the mats, which saves tremendous time, and effort.
For the G3 - Halls of the Fire Giants, I will need to cut grid patterns in the floor mats, as the wall sections will be 3mm-thick, 2D cardboard, covered with printed wall sections (same concept as I used for G1 - Steading of the Hill Giants). I know this will work, quite effectively, as I have done a proof of concept, small build, to test them out. The grid pattern was cut using a Table Saw, with a 120 TPI blade (Teeth Per Inch), set for 1/4-inch (6mm) depth. The mats are 1" (25mm) thick, so you need to be careful not to cut too deeply. The kerf on the saw blade is roughly 1/16" (1.6mm), which allows for the 3mm thick cardboard to be pressed into the slots, easily, but still be relatively firmly held in place.
Anyway, I hope to post updates to this thread as progress is made on the project. Don't expect updates to be frequent, however. It is not a high-priority project. I actually thought I had posted on this project before, but I could not find it when I used the search function. If this is a duplicate thread, I apologize. After digging through five pages of search results, and coming up empty, I decided a new thread was in order. Cheers!
Progress has been limited, but it is moving forward. I have around 36, 60mm Vikings to paint up as Frost Giants: maybe 10 are done, thus far? With Human figures being 25mm tall, the Frost Giants need to be 60mm tall, per the description in the 1977 1e AD&D Monster Manual, which is what I am modeling my project after.
I am using DM Scotty's glitter glue technique, to give my modular wall sections some glint. I really like the effect: simple, fast, and effective. Can't ask/expect more!
One thing I would caution, for others wishing to use the foam floor mats for terrain bases: spend the money on the Harbor Freight mats (HF; wait until you have a coupon -- drops the price to $6.99/four-pack, saving you $2 each set!), rather than using another type, from e-Bay, or any other source... The foam used in HF's mats is superb for this project, and relatively inexpensive. It can be used for many years, with virtually no wear -- you could likely hand it off to your grandchildren to use in their games.
I bought a large pack of knock-off floor mats, from a source on e-Bay. They came pre-painted in a wood-grain floor pattern; on top of that, the smooth, painted surface, actually has a minute, 1mm-square, 3D pattern molded into it, which is noticeable after painting it white (clearly visible in the slideshow). I thought this would not be a problem, but it is: the latex (emulsion) paint I used to cover the pattern, peels off, easily! I may end up scuffing the factory-painted surface with fine sandpaper, to allow the latex paint to adhere more durably (hoping this will eliminate the grid pattern, as well...). The HF mats are paint-free, their bottoms are perfectly smooth, and acrylic craft paint adheres quite nicely, to them (have not tested latex paint, yet). Besides, I did not save much money using the alternative source, in hard cash; couple that with the extra work involved, and... HF looks better and better, all the time.
The glacial wall sections are high-density, pink insulation foam, cut into shapes with a Band Saw (did not have a hot wire foam cutter yet, will likely use the hot wire cutter in the future: faster, easier, less mess, much more fun to use than the saw); I cover the wall surfaces with strips of crumpled, and flattened, brown paper grocery sack material, adhered with Low-temperature Hot Glue (High-temperature Hot Glue melts the foam!). The crumpled paper gives a very nice, carved/chiseled texture, which is stiff enough for the job. This technique is highly effective, but it is very labor-, and time-intensive. Used the same technique, initially, for modular rock caverns, until I got my Hot Wire Foam Cutter...
For rock caverns, I recommend a Hot Wire Foam Cutter, instead: incredibly fast, most texturing is done with the Cutter, immediately. Cut-off's may prove to be just as usable as the main pieces, reducing waste! The Hot Wire Foam Cutter I highly recommend is the Proxxon 37080 Hot Wire Cutter Thermocut. Spendy, but oh, so good, and easy, to use! By angling the cutting wire, and moving the foam in a wiggling fashion, you can create passable, sloping walls, which allow the figures' arms to not bump the walls, even though their bases are in contact with the base of the wall section (need to write up a post on this topic, alone...).
I applied home-made, texturing paste, to the tops and bottoms of the foam sections (non-flexible, search YouTube for instructions on how to mix it up, very inexpensively). Then I painted them white, dabbed them with a sponge with blue paint applied, lightly brushing the sponge over the surface, to create highlights; then I applied silver glitter glue, as a hardener, and protective finish.
This design is very much based on DM Scotty's Isometric Tilescapes. The base floor mats, are awesome. For the ice caverns, I did not need to cut a square grid pattern into the mats, which saves tremendous time, and effort.
For the G3 - Halls of the Fire Giants, I will need to cut grid patterns in the floor mats, as the wall sections will be 3mm-thick, 2D cardboard, covered with printed wall sections (same concept as I used for G1 - Steading of the Hill Giants). I know this will work, quite effectively, as I have done a proof of concept, small build, to test them out. The grid pattern was cut using a Table Saw, with a 120 TPI blade (Teeth Per Inch), set for 1/4-inch (6mm) depth. The mats are 1" (25mm) thick, so you need to be careful not to cut too deeply. The kerf on the saw blade is roughly 1/16" (1.6mm), which allows for the 3mm thick cardboard to be pressed into the slots, easily, but still be relatively firmly held in place.
Anyway, I hope to post updates to this thread as progress is made on the project. Don't expect updates to be frequent, however. It is not a high-priority project. I actually thought I had posted on this project before, but I could not find it when I used the search function. If this is a duplicate thread, I apologize. After digging through five pages of search results, and coming up empty, I decided a new thread was in order. Cheers!