AK47 Republic - Objective Markers part 2: Materials

With some initial ideas planned, the next stage was to gather my materials.  Blender, toilet paper, water, jug (here shown containing loo roll soaking in warm water), mortar dye, paint, CDs, twigs, cardboard, hot glue gun. Casting plaster also used, though I missed it off the picture below.

Lots of useful things for making scenery.

The first thing to make was the bases.  I found my box of old computer magazine CDs, saved because they contained useful programs.  Being 20+ years old, they probably won't run on Windows 4 generations removed from the original version, so it's safe to recycle them for a new purpose.

Old CDs ready for re-use.

I tore some cereal packet card into small pieces to stick over the holes in the middle of the CDs to stop my texturing mixture from oozing through and gluing them to the work surface.  I used UHU glue to ensure a quick grip and waterproof join.

Holes covered.

Next task was to mix up some sculptamold/modelling compound type mix from pulped toilet paper.  I tore off about 1/3 of a toilet roll (cheapest ones purchased for use in model-making) and left it in a jug of warm water for about 5 minutes while I gathered the rest of the materials.  Using a hand blender, I pureed it into a fine pulp.

Well-blended toilet paper.

I added some of the mortar dye.  If possible, I prefer to work with pre-coloured materials so that if the terrain piece should get damaged, you don't have glaring white patches of the material showing through.

Adding the mortar dye.

The mortar dye wasn't really strong enough, so I also added a good squirt of brown acrylic craft paint too.  The end result was just what I was after, despite looking rather unpleasant.  Having a flatulent child nearby added an unnervingly realistic aroma to the proceedings...

Make up your own caption.

I half filled a yoghurt pot with casting plaster, added an equal amount of the coloured pulp and then mixed well.  The resulting mixture was smeared onto the first few CDs, I had enough for 3. It was sculpted into the rough landforms I wanted and left to dry quickly in the sunshine.

Ingredients for the ground sculpting.

I wanted trees on some of the the objective markers.  These would be made from privet hedge clippings, in this instance carefully selected from a dead bit of privet hedge to guarantee they were already dried out.

Privet hedge clippings.

The bits of privet were cut straight at the base with a fine saw, then poked into the basing material to leave neat sockets.  When the material had dried, the trees were hot glued into position.

In the third part, I'll cover the next stages of the texturing process.

AK47 Republic - Objective Marker Competition part 1: Ideas

 Over on the AK47 Republic FaceBook group, there is a competition to create an AK47 objective marker based on an old CD or similar sized base.

You can put in as many entries as you want, I have several ideas I'm planning to make because having just got the game, I don't possess any markers at present.

I have 6 main ideas so far, shown below, plus a 7th secret idea which will only be revealed when I submit them for judging!

I sketched out the ideas and then watercoloured them using washable felt tips.  I scribble on the inside of an old Pringles tube type lid, then use a wet paintbrush to pick up the ink and apply it.  It gives a more subtle effect than colouring straight onto the paper with the felt-tip.  Using technical drawing pens with waterproof ink ensures the original sketching doesn't run.

Click on the pic to see the ideas in detail!

I'll post some more detail in the coming days as the projects progress.  I've been busy 3D printing various vehicles and accessories for these little dioramas.

Piggy store sheds

I'd seen a few other people make these store sheds so a few years back I thought I'd have a go too.  The starting point was some Britains farmyard 1/32 scale pig arcs (or "pigloos" as I've always known them).  The originals were metal as I had with my toy farmyard when I was a lad.  Mine are still in Mum & Dad's loft somewhere but I picked up a set of modern ones for a few quid on ebay.  These turned out to be plastic rather than metal but it didn't make any difference to my plans.

Some sheet styrene and some pieces of square section styrene rod were used to box in behind the door opening.

I had some old Antenocities Workshop 15mm scale doors in my bits box and these fitted neatly into the doorway.

After  quick spray undercoat, the roofs were painted dark grey and the front panelling and ramps/doors dark blue.  The entrance ramps were stippled with brown to show where people have been trudging in and out.  A wash of Future floor polish and black ink prpovided shading and I drybrushed with the original colours for highlights, with some lighter grey added as an extra highlight on the roofs.

Doors were painted in bright colours and I used some rather nice waterslide hazard transfers to show what's in each shed.

The sheds have featured in a few games, I thought I'd use the finished photographs of them in action from one of my zombie games.

These were a cheap and easy way of adding a few extra buildings to the games table, and they come in useful in all sorts of different games.