Building Model Islands For War at Sea - Tutorial
Jun 20, 2017 2:57:08 GMT
gvwalker, au64, and 1 more like this
Post by danaussie on Jun 20, 2017 2:57:08 GMT
Building Model Islands For War At Sea - A Tutorial
------By Danaussie------
Hi guys,
Some of the guys were interested in how I go about making my model islands, so I thought Id put a little tutorial together to give our members a little idea of the process, let it be said that I am no particular expert in building model terrain pieces but its something I enjoy doing and I have been doing it for quite some time, well, since way back in my Warhammer Fantasy days. I really enjoy painting, but I found building terrain to be fairly easy and really fun...and it sure broke up the monotony of painting miniatures. It took a really long time and much experimentation to find a suitable base for War at Sea, the trick was to find something thin enough to simulate land that sloped into the sea in a small scale like 1:1800th yet strong enough not to warp during the building process. I tried all sorts of things and none of them worked, the islands would have a terrible warp in the base and things began to crack and in the end the islands just looked pretty ordinary. Id heard of MDF Plywood in terrain building circles before, wood being wood...well, it would just have to warp...right???... Wrong!!! I did a few things during the builds to ensure minimal warping would occur and it has worked out really well. Ive also over this time found a few cheap and interesting ways of building these islands which Id also like to share with you all.
Ill try to write this tutorial in step by step form so you can easily follow the guide, please keep in mind though guys that you may not wish to use all the techniques and tips found within this tutorial...just take what you want and leave the rest, like I have always said about these things "there is more than one way to skin a cat", so take from this what you want, experiment and find what works best for you, in the end your islands are your islands if you are happy with the results when you are finished that's all that is important, at least this will give our members a good place to start.
Part 1: Things You May Need
Before we start here is a little idea of some things you may need:
1. MDF Plywood, I buy this at my local hardware store in 3mm x 900mm x 600mm sheets.
2. Household Grade Polystyrene or Packaging Foam, I go to my local recycling centre and pick up this stuff for free, the thing to mention about foam is it comes in all types, you will want a fairly hard type for this project I find the softer stuff doesn't work as well.
3. Jigsaw one of the two expensive items I picked up this one for about $80.00 but you can also use a hand held jigsaw that is a lot cheaper, it will just take heaps longer to cut out the shapes using one of those. But if you already have one of these you are all set. Warning: Kids reading this should probably get Dad to cut out the shapes for you...unless your Mum wears jackboots she could probably do it for you.
4. Paint - These paints are all Acrylic Matt or Low Gloss Wall Paint from "Tester Pots" which I get from my local hardware store, they are usually only about $6.00 each but sometimes a local paint or hardware store will have them for free. So keep your eyes open for such bargains when they come up...yay free paint!!! Colours? Go for earthy colours guys, you will want a good earthy green, ocre and red/brown (for earth), sandy colour (not yellow, more bone for beaches), a dark grey and light grey (for rocks).
5. PVA or Wood-crafting Glue as it is sometimes called, try not to go cheap on this stuff, trust me cheap stuff is really no good for this. We have a product called Selleys Interior Aquadhere, which is what I use its just a high grade PVA for wood working.
6. Plaster of Paris, we will need this when it comes time to mix up our "Grey Goop", cant wait to tell you about this guys, but it will add both texture and strength to your Model Islands, this stuff is only about $5.00 a bag and it goes a long long long way.
7. Modelling Flock (fine grade), Sand & Gravel (fine grade), Modelling Flock usually sells for around $4.50 at your local hobby store, its the same stuff they use in model railroading. Honestly we could start a whole thread on the different products you can use here, but if you have some just use that, or later in this tutorial I'm going to teach you how to make your own using fine grade sawdust, cheap easy and really fun to make. Sand and Gravel - I use sand from the beach, but you can usually buy this from a gardening centre or landscaping outlet which sells it really cheap. Don't buy the modelling stuff...they will hose you $6.00 a bag for this stuff.
8. Clump Foliage - You can buy this stuff for about $16.00 a bag its really expensive but if you want to add treed areas of forests etc you will need this. I use it to add scale to the model, pretend you are flying above the battlefield in your Zero, or Corsair or Mitchell Bomber this is the view you have while playing games, forests just look like clumps from that height, not necessary but it makes your models look really cool. For the guys that don't want to get hosed for $16.00 a bag, fear not my brothers for you can also make this stuff yourself.
9. Hotwire Foam Cutter - This is purely optional, you can shape and mould your polystyrene by hand and a knife, but I like the effect the Hotwire gives, your rocks start to look more like rocks and cliffs and less like shaped foam if you use this. probably the most expensive piece of equipment in my workshop though at around $120.00.
10. Matt Varnish - And finally 10, which I haven't added on the pic there soz guys, is a can of Matt Varnish which you can pick up at your local art supplies store, don't buy the modelling stuff (like Tamiya) its way too expensive, I use this on miniatures but not on terrain, just a Matt Picture Varnish is all you need. We use this to fix the model after we are done, it means that the model can be handled a lot without messing with the paint, but it also assists to fix the model giving it extra strength. The matt fixer will also help to fix the flock from the top of the model so it doesn't come off as easily...but more on this later.
11. Sandpaper - Also not mentioned above will be some sandpaper, this will be use for sanding the MDF after cutting the bases, you can use any kind but I recommend an abrasive type and also a finer glass paper to finish.
12. Clamps - Not pictured but an essential tool/s for making miniature islands, clamps, you will need these to hold your job into place for cutting but also required for clamping to reduce warping during the build.
Part 2: Making Bases
We will now start to make our bases for the islands, a few things to keep in mind before we start cutting are measurements, get an understanding of the sectors on your board or table-top before you start:
A 3 Sector Miniature Island
My table-top uses 3 inch sectors on a 6 x 4 Ft Table-top roughly the size of a Table-tennis table, before I start drawing shapes for the islands I take the sectors they will cover into consideration, it is the first question I ask when making island sets for clients, how many islands and how big they want them. If you take a look at the above picture you will note that this 3 Sector Island fits snuggly into the 3 sectors it occupies leaving no confusion as to which sectors can be occupied by ships during game play. A good set will have what I call a "Feature Island", it will be the largest island in the set its base will often cover around 6 x 3 inch sectors, there will be 2 x 2-3, 3 inch sector "Medium" Islands and 3 x 1, 3 inch sector "Small" Islands in the set, this will make a decent set with many options or arrangements for multiple battle maps. You can even shape the islands to make "Historical Battles" like Savo Island or Iwo Jima for example if you want, or how about cutting an edge piece to make "Land Air Bases" (my latest project)...the beauty of imagination, the sky is the limit.
MDF Sheet, Clamps & Sandpaper
We are now ready to design and cut our bases for our Island Set, in the above picture you will see I have all my things ready to go, my MDF sheet, my Sandpaper and of course my Clamps and Jigsaw (not pictured). We will begin by cutting the MDF into smaller pieces so that we can design and cut out our island shapes a little easier, then we will draw out our Island design on each piece of MDF. When designing your Island shapes just keep in mind the cutting process will require the Islands to have rounded and have flowing curves, in other words don't make your design too complicated with multiple jagged shapes and detail (trust me it makes the cutting and bevelling very difficult). Just keep it simple, Teardrop Shapes are really good, as well as Boomerang Shapes like the Island above or simply a large Rounded Island with a few Curves or a Lagoon works really well. Keep it simple, your Jigsaw will thank you...lol. Also keep in mind that the smaller the island shape the harder it will be to cut, unless of course you have a proper Jigsaw machine if you do, more power to you.
Designing Island Shapes Preparation For Cutting
In the above picture you will see I have now cut my smaller pieces of MDF, and have drawn out the few simple designs for cutting...so lets cut these suckers out!!!
Cut Island Shapes
We have now cut out a few really cool shapes for our Island Set and we are now ready to do the bevelling and sanding, the shapes are great as is, but we want some smooth edges and we want to bevel those edges for a nice slope into the water, gives it a nice professional finish. Bevelling was suggested to me by one of my customers before that I was only making them clean cut and sanded (which is fine by the way), but I think it gives the island base a nice slope into the water and adds to the realism and helps to define the beach area of the island more. So thanks to Jeff for that suggestion. Always learning and making things better. So lets get the sandpaper out and start sanding those shapes.
Sanding Island Bases
For the initial sanding take some really rough sandpaper like you see here and sand at a 45 degree angle right around the island shape, keep doing this until you have your desired bevel and a nice smooth edge.
Bevelled Edge of Island Base
You will see in the above picture that we now have a nice smooth edge and a decent slope on the island shape, this area will be out beach area around the island. After you have done this finish off by sanding with a fine glass paper to give the island a really smooth surface on the edges, this will give the island a professional looking finish that looks less like wood and more like a model island.
Here is our finished product in above two pics awaiting the next step, but before we move on to step 3, a quick word on warping, you will notice that one of the island shapes has already started to develop a warp on one of the shapes...you guessed it the thin long island, these shapes I have noticed to be the ones that regularly warp. If you notice a warp starting to develop just clamp the base overnight or use a heavy weight of some sort like bricks or even heavy books and sit them on the Island shape the warp should be at least heavily reduced by the next day. If the shapes continue to warp don't lose heart my brothers there are tricks to assist during the build and I promise by the end you will have Islands that are at least 98% flat if not completely flush with your tabletop.
Clamping Island Shape to Reduce Warping
Part 3: Foam Work - Making Mountains & Hills
The first thing to do is take a selection of polystyrene foam or packaging foam, you can either use your fingers or a knife to cut out the various shapes to form the mountains or hills, just keep in mind your scale as you go, you don't want Mount Everest you just want to form hills and mountains with cliffs etc. Keep taking pieces of foam to form the shapes you desire, making sure you keep at least one side completely flat, this side will be glued to the base. Foam is likely to have right angles, so keep removing foam to create more rounded shapes and be sure to slope your shape so that the mountain or hill comes to a gradual peak, some hills do slope to a flat, but this is not common, more often than not a hill or mountain will come to a peak. You can even browse google for pictures of islands, hills and mountains before you start this step to get a really good idea of the sort of shapes you want to make. Foam is like working with clay in so many ways there is literally no end to the kinds of shapes you can make with it. Another interesting tip for you guys would be to search for some youtube tutorials on how to build mountains and hills with foam, check out some of the techniques used by some of the Model Railroading guys...I've found them really useful.
Polystyrene Foam Pieces
Also guys keep in mind while plotting your hills and mountains, that rarely do mountains and hills drop straight into the sea, you will want some cliffs for effect, but you will also want to leave some flat ground on the surface of the islands, you will want to plot out, or keep in mind that you will want to slope the hills in at least some sections to meet the flat ground. You will get the idea as you go along, just remember your perspective is from a "birds eye (or Plane) view" as you go.
Creating Hills and Mountains Using Polystyrene Foam
Some pieces of foam will not be big enough to make the size mountain you will want for your main feature Island/s, you can multi-level the foam to create what ever height you want, take a look at the pictures below to see a 3 stage process to creating a mountain of a larger size to the other hills and mountains on the other islands in the set.
1st Level of a 3 Level Mountain
2nd Level Added
Final Level Added
Final Feature Island Plotted
So we have completely plotted out what we want our islands to look like, now its time to stick the hills and mountains to the base. Before you start you will want to get your clamps and glue ready, but first a word on glue guys, Do Not use any acetone based glue for this job, like super glue or Tarzans Grip or anything with an acetone base, the acetone will eat straight through the foam, use only an acrylic or water based glue for this job, like PVA craft or woodworking glue.
Clamps & PVA Glue Ready
Applying Glue to the Underside (flat side) of the Mountain Shape
Use a generous amount of glue but not too much, spread the glue around the entirety of the mountain shape, use the nozzle to do this, once you have your glue on, press it down onto the island base, once all the pieces are all stuck down, clamp the island down to a flat surface and allow to dry, for best results leave the island clamped down over-night to allow for the PVA to completely set while the base is clamped to your workbench. This process should be done individually to each island in turn, glue then clamp, this is important to aid against warping the base. Remember anything with moisture, glue, paint etc will seep into the base and make the wood fibre expand, then as it dries it will contract, thus warping the base. This is especially important during the gluing phase as the adhesive pulls the foam to the base as it dries, if the base is not kept flat during this phase the island base will warp as the wood slowly develops a curve.
If the base is clamped flat to a flat surface during every stage of the drying process your bases should remain flat. That is my secret weapon against warped bases.
Cleaning-up Excess Glue
Clean up any excess once you have fixed the shape to the base by using an old paintbrush, this is done continuously during the drying process, as I push the shape down and remove the excess. Clamp them all down and wait for the glue to dry.
Clamping to Avoid Warping
Time Elapsed After 4 Hours
The Mountains and Hills are now completely stuck to the base, note I have also used bricks to assist in weighting the unclamped sides of the island base. I will now wait overnight to make sure all the glue has dried before moving to the next step, where I will further shape and model the mountains and hills using a "Hotwire" foam cutter, this will be the final step before we mix up and apply our "Grey Goop" to add some texture and strength to the Island Model. Yep...we're gonna get messy guys.
Hotwire Foam Cutter - For moulding & shaping hills and mountains
Above you will see the tool I use for shaping and moulding mountains and hills, its a really cool tool to use and costs about $70.00 (you can find cheaper ones), of course this is optional, as most shapes and detail you can add to your hills and mountains by hand or by using a simple household knife (steak knives work best), remember you can also use sandpaper to make the foam smoother if you desire. I use this tool to add sloping to meet the base but also to add crevices, jagged edges, indentations and other detail that you might find on your regular type cliff face etc, this tool makes cutting foam really easy, literally like a hot knife through butter. Thought I might add that to the tute for those that would be interested in going that way.
Above you can see the detail I have added using the hot wire, it is also a good idea to use this tool in a well ventilated room and you should also use a fume resistant mask while using this tool as the fumes that come off the polystyrene are toxic. We have now finished all the foam-work that will be necessary to form the basic shape or framework of the island model. Now comes the fun stuff!!! Cant wait to show you guys this stuff.
Part 4: Adding Texture & Body to Island - "Grey Goop"
Guys we are now most of the way through the building process, and I am now up to day 5 of the build, I know it takes a long time but in the end you will have some really great model islands that will last and add a realistic feel to you naval battles so bear with me. We have cut out our Island Bases, we have sanded them to a bevel we have added our mountains and hills and we still have flat bases or 99% flat bases by this stage (viva le clamps...lol). We are now going to add some texture and body to our entire islands by adding some "Grey Goop"'..."what the hell is Grey Goop when its at home Dan?", well Ill tell you since you asked...lol.
Grey Goop is an idea I got from the internet from guys that work on Warhammer Fantasy Terrain, the idea of it is to add a solid and realistic texture to their projects, usually on buildings or any masonry, but I also noticed that it helped to give texture and body to ground and rock, so with that in mind I started using it on my model islands, whereas before I would just model and sculpt the polystyrene foam and then paint and flock it. This gave a much more professional finish and made the model solid which should give the model some longevity as long as it is stored well and looked after.
The ingredients are not an exact science even from internet sources, I have found I have needed to do a lot of experimentation and I almost always either need to add more water, more Plaster and more Glue as I go. The first lot I ever made set within 15 minutes to a rock solid brick...lol. I will also share that I have also found a few different recipes for this stuff, some use more expense stuff in the mixture like Silicone but that does not make these islands cost effective so I don't use that, but the core ingredients are the same and what I use makes it are fairly cheap to make. You will need to work fast, you will need to stir the mix regularly and add water if you need to, to stop the mix from setting before you can get the job done.
You Will Need:
Old Ice Cream Container
Old Paint Brushes (for application)
Old Spatula or Stirring Stick (for stirring)
Plaster of Paris - About 1 & 1/2 Cups
1 Cup Sand
1 Cup Fine Gravel
1 Cup Water (have more ready)
250ml PVA Glue (lots) That's a 500ml Bottle, I used over half in this mix.
1/2 Cup of Dark Grey Matt Wall Paint
Add Plaster of Paris
Add Sand & Gravel
Add Water and mix through
Add PVA & Paint and mix through, mix for about 5 minutes
This is the optimal consistency you should have, this picture taken after 5 minutes of stirring.
You will note that the majority of the moisture is actually made up of PVA glue, this mix will continue to set quickly at a rapid rate as the plaster and glue start to set, just remember to stir regularly during application and if you notice the consistency getting too thick add some water to the mix not too much just a little each time you stir. The process should only take you between 30-40 minutes as you use your old paint brush to paint and dab over the entire model. This is why we also use wall paint to see what we have painted against the white Polystyrene. You will see that I have not only painted the goop over the hills but have used it to fill gaps between the base and the hills and mountains and have also use it to create texture on the flat areas of the base.
Just after application of Grey Goop
Please note the models have been clamped down the whole time during the application of the Grey Goop, to help prevent warping, I have also used an old Hair Dryer to fast track the drying process ( a handy tip). If you do not clamp the bases Will warp. This phase is arguably the most dangerous phase in terms of creating potential warping in the base, this is because the Grey Goop has a lot of moisture in it, but it is also because as the Plaster/Glue mixture sets it will contract pulling at the base, if the base is clamped during drying it will set hard and even fix any slight warping that the base may already have.
Island During Drying (time elapsed 4 hours)
*As another optional tip, I also have sprayed these models as I have been drying them with Matt Fixer, to assist the hardening process.
*Leave the islands clamped down overnight for best results.
Finished Product the next day
Well guys we now have something that looks less like Polystyrene on a base and something that looks more like a Model Island, please note that the bases are fairly flat and we have actually removed most of the small warp that was in the boomerang shaped island, our islands are now ready for painting.
Part 5: Painting
So we are up to the fun part of the build, there is really no right or wrong way to paint your model islands, but it basically goes like this in my workshop:
All land areas are to be base-coated in red/brown, to be dry-brushed in a lighter brown or ochre to be either left as earth or to be flocked in grass.
All cliffs and rocky areas to be base-coated in dark grey or black to be dry-brushed to make rock.
All beach areas are left as bear MDF to be painted last of all after the flocking is done.
As a tip it is now you will want to decide what parts will be flocked as grass and what you will want to plot as cliff areas as you are painting your red-brown base coat, just leave the cliff areas as "grey goop" for now and then we will base-coat the rocks and cliffs with black, this will give us the shade we require when the time come to dry-brush the rocks later. Also the urge will be to paint the whole thing as rock because its easier and rock looks so cool when it is dry-brushed, try to avoid this, and remember what scale we are dealing with.
Very rarely will you come across islands that are just rock or that's cliffs just drop off into the sea, the Galapagos Islands perhaps, since its all volcanic rock with very little vegetation, but most other islands have some vegetation some cliff areas and vegetation that slopes up to the peaks of the mountains or hills. I try to think about this while I'm building the islands and using the hotwire and also while pasting the foam down, keeping in mind that there is almost always a flat before a mountain or hill starts. I still think I add too much cliff at this scale to be perfectly honest, it is actually the cliffs and vegetation that give us the perspective of the scale, but too much and it starts to look unrealistic. Just a few things I've thought about while building these islands. If you get stuck, try looking at some pictures of islands, especially from aerial view to get a bit of an idea before you start.
In the above pictures you will see that I have clamped but only for the first lot of paint after that there should be no further need to clamp the islands, I have base-coated in red/brown and the cliffs have been painted in dark-grey almost black, we will now dry-brush the brown in a lighter brown, and the cliffs in a mid-tone grey and then lastly a light grey hi-light.
Thread under construction, feel free to post, just putting it together so I can see it as I go. More to come...
------By Danaussie------
Hi guys,
Some of the guys were interested in how I go about making my model islands, so I thought Id put a little tutorial together to give our members a little idea of the process, let it be said that I am no particular expert in building model terrain pieces but its something I enjoy doing and I have been doing it for quite some time, well, since way back in my Warhammer Fantasy days. I really enjoy painting, but I found building terrain to be fairly easy and really fun...and it sure broke up the monotony of painting miniatures. It took a really long time and much experimentation to find a suitable base for War at Sea, the trick was to find something thin enough to simulate land that sloped into the sea in a small scale like 1:1800th yet strong enough not to warp during the building process. I tried all sorts of things and none of them worked, the islands would have a terrible warp in the base and things began to crack and in the end the islands just looked pretty ordinary. Id heard of MDF Plywood in terrain building circles before, wood being wood...well, it would just have to warp...right???... Wrong!!! I did a few things during the builds to ensure minimal warping would occur and it has worked out really well. Ive also over this time found a few cheap and interesting ways of building these islands which Id also like to share with you all.
Ill try to write this tutorial in step by step form so you can easily follow the guide, please keep in mind though guys that you may not wish to use all the techniques and tips found within this tutorial...just take what you want and leave the rest, like I have always said about these things "there is more than one way to skin a cat", so take from this what you want, experiment and find what works best for you, in the end your islands are your islands if you are happy with the results when you are finished that's all that is important, at least this will give our members a good place to start.
Part 1: Things You May Need
Before we start here is a little idea of some things you may need:
1. MDF Plywood, I buy this at my local hardware store in 3mm x 900mm x 600mm sheets.
2. Household Grade Polystyrene or Packaging Foam, I go to my local recycling centre and pick up this stuff for free, the thing to mention about foam is it comes in all types, you will want a fairly hard type for this project I find the softer stuff doesn't work as well.
3. Jigsaw one of the two expensive items I picked up this one for about $80.00 but you can also use a hand held jigsaw that is a lot cheaper, it will just take heaps longer to cut out the shapes using one of those. But if you already have one of these you are all set. Warning: Kids reading this should probably get Dad to cut out the shapes for you...unless your Mum wears jackboots she could probably do it for you.
4. Paint - These paints are all Acrylic Matt or Low Gloss Wall Paint from "Tester Pots" which I get from my local hardware store, they are usually only about $6.00 each but sometimes a local paint or hardware store will have them for free. So keep your eyes open for such bargains when they come up...yay free paint!!! Colours? Go for earthy colours guys, you will want a good earthy green, ocre and red/brown (for earth), sandy colour (not yellow, more bone for beaches), a dark grey and light grey (for rocks).
5. PVA or Wood-crafting Glue as it is sometimes called, try not to go cheap on this stuff, trust me cheap stuff is really no good for this. We have a product called Selleys Interior Aquadhere, which is what I use its just a high grade PVA for wood working.
6. Plaster of Paris, we will need this when it comes time to mix up our "Grey Goop", cant wait to tell you about this guys, but it will add both texture and strength to your Model Islands, this stuff is only about $5.00 a bag and it goes a long long long way.
7. Modelling Flock (fine grade), Sand & Gravel (fine grade), Modelling Flock usually sells for around $4.50 at your local hobby store, its the same stuff they use in model railroading. Honestly we could start a whole thread on the different products you can use here, but if you have some just use that, or later in this tutorial I'm going to teach you how to make your own using fine grade sawdust, cheap easy and really fun to make. Sand and Gravel - I use sand from the beach, but you can usually buy this from a gardening centre or landscaping outlet which sells it really cheap. Don't buy the modelling stuff...they will hose you $6.00 a bag for this stuff.
8. Clump Foliage - You can buy this stuff for about $16.00 a bag its really expensive but if you want to add treed areas of forests etc you will need this. I use it to add scale to the model, pretend you are flying above the battlefield in your Zero, or Corsair or Mitchell Bomber this is the view you have while playing games, forests just look like clumps from that height, not necessary but it makes your models look really cool. For the guys that don't want to get hosed for $16.00 a bag, fear not my brothers for you can also make this stuff yourself.
9. Hotwire Foam Cutter - This is purely optional, you can shape and mould your polystyrene by hand and a knife, but I like the effect the Hotwire gives, your rocks start to look more like rocks and cliffs and less like shaped foam if you use this. probably the most expensive piece of equipment in my workshop though at around $120.00.
10. Matt Varnish - And finally 10, which I haven't added on the pic there soz guys, is a can of Matt Varnish which you can pick up at your local art supplies store, don't buy the modelling stuff (like Tamiya) its way too expensive, I use this on miniatures but not on terrain, just a Matt Picture Varnish is all you need. We use this to fix the model after we are done, it means that the model can be handled a lot without messing with the paint, but it also assists to fix the model giving it extra strength. The matt fixer will also help to fix the flock from the top of the model so it doesn't come off as easily...but more on this later.
11. Sandpaper - Also not mentioned above will be some sandpaper, this will be use for sanding the MDF after cutting the bases, you can use any kind but I recommend an abrasive type and also a finer glass paper to finish.
12. Clamps - Not pictured but an essential tool/s for making miniature islands, clamps, you will need these to hold your job into place for cutting but also required for clamping to reduce warping during the build.
Part 2: Making Bases
We will now start to make our bases for the islands, a few things to keep in mind before we start cutting are measurements, get an understanding of the sectors on your board or table-top before you start:
A 3 Sector Miniature Island
My table-top uses 3 inch sectors on a 6 x 4 Ft Table-top roughly the size of a Table-tennis table, before I start drawing shapes for the islands I take the sectors they will cover into consideration, it is the first question I ask when making island sets for clients, how many islands and how big they want them. If you take a look at the above picture you will note that this 3 Sector Island fits snuggly into the 3 sectors it occupies leaving no confusion as to which sectors can be occupied by ships during game play. A good set will have what I call a "Feature Island", it will be the largest island in the set its base will often cover around 6 x 3 inch sectors, there will be 2 x 2-3, 3 inch sector "Medium" Islands and 3 x 1, 3 inch sector "Small" Islands in the set, this will make a decent set with many options or arrangements for multiple battle maps. You can even shape the islands to make "Historical Battles" like Savo Island or Iwo Jima for example if you want, or how about cutting an edge piece to make "Land Air Bases" (my latest project)...the beauty of imagination, the sky is the limit.
MDF Sheet, Clamps & Sandpaper
We are now ready to design and cut our bases for our Island Set, in the above picture you will see I have all my things ready to go, my MDF sheet, my Sandpaper and of course my Clamps and Jigsaw (not pictured). We will begin by cutting the MDF into smaller pieces so that we can design and cut out our island shapes a little easier, then we will draw out our Island design on each piece of MDF. When designing your Island shapes just keep in mind the cutting process will require the Islands to have rounded and have flowing curves, in other words don't make your design too complicated with multiple jagged shapes and detail (trust me it makes the cutting and bevelling very difficult). Just keep it simple, Teardrop Shapes are really good, as well as Boomerang Shapes like the Island above or simply a large Rounded Island with a few Curves or a Lagoon works really well. Keep it simple, your Jigsaw will thank you...lol. Also keep in mind that the smaller the island shape the harder it will be to cut, unless of course you have a proper Jigsaw machine if you do, more power to you.
Designing Island Shapes Preparation For Cutting
In the above picture you will see I have now cut my smaller pieces of MDF, and have drawn out the few simple designs for cutting...so lets cut these suckers out!!!
Cut Island Shapes
We have now cut out a few really cool shapes for our Island Set and we are now ready to do the bevelling and sanding, the shapes are great as is, but we want some smooth edges and we want to bevel those edges for a nice slope into the water, gives it a nice professional finish. Bevelling was suggested to me by one of my customers before that I was only making them clean cut and sanded (which is fine by the way), but I think it gives the island base a nice slope into the water and adds to the realism and helps to define the beach area of the island more. So thanks to Jeff for that suggestion. Always learning and making things better. So lets get the sandpaper out and start sanding those shapes.
Sanding Island Bases
For the initial sanding take some really rough sandpaper like you see here and sand at a 45 degree angle right around the island shape, keep doing this until you have your desired bevel and a nice smooth edge.
Bevelled Edge of Island Base
You will see in the above picture that we now have a nice smooth edge and a decent slope on the island shape, this area will be out beach area around the island. After you have done this finish off by sanding with a fine glass paper to give the island a really smooth surface on the edges, this will give the island a professional looking finish that looks less like wood and more like a model island.
Here is our finished product in above two pics awaiting the next step, but before we move on to step 3, a quick word on warping, you will notice that one of the island shapes has already started to develop a warp on one of the shapes...you guessed it the thin long island, these shapes I have noticed to be the ones that regularly warp. If you notice a warp starting to develop just clamp the base overnight or use a heavy weight of some sort like bricks or even heavy books and sit them on the Island shape the warp should be at least heavily reduced by the next day. If the shapes continue to warp don't lose heart my brothers there are tricks to assist during the build and I promise by the end you will have Islands that are at least 98% flat if not completely flush with your tabletop.
Clamping Island Shape to Reduce Warping
Part 3: Foam Work - Making Mountains & Hills
The first thing to do is take a selection of polystyrene foam or packaging foam, you can either use your fingers or a knife to cut out the various shapes to form the mountains or hills, just keep in mind your scale as you go, you don't want Mount Everest you just want to form hills and mountains with cliffs etc. Keep taking pieces of foam to form the shapes you desire, making sure you keep at least one side completely flat, this side will be glued to the base. Foam is likely to have right angles, so keep removing foam to create more rounded shapes and be sure to slope your shape so that the mountain or hill comes to a gradual peak, some hills do slope to a flat, but this is not common, more often than not a hill or mountain will come to a peak. You can even browse google for pictures of islands, hills and mountains before you start this step to get a really good idea of the sort of shapes you want to make. Foam is like working with clay in so many ways there is literally no end to the kinds of shapes you can make with it. Another interesting tip for you guys would be to search for some youtube tutorials on how to build mountains and hills with foam, check out some of the techniques used by some of the Model Railroading guys...I've found them really useful.
Polystyrene Foam Pieces
Also guys keep in mind while plotting your hills and mountains, that rarely do mountains and hills drop straight into the sea, you will want some cliffs for effect, but you will also want to leave some flat ground on the surface of the islands, you will want to plot out, or keep in mind that you will want to slope the hills in at least some sections to meet the flat ground. You will get the idea as you go along, just remember your perspective is from a "birds eye (or Plane) view" as you go.
Creating Hills and Mountains Using Polystyrene Foam
Some pieces of foam will not be big enough to make the size mountain you will want for your main feature Island/s, you can multi-level the foam to create what ever height you want, take a look at the pictures below to see a 3 stage process to creating a mountain of a larger size to the other hills and mountains on the other islands in the set.
1st Level of a 3 Level Mountain
2nd Level Added
Final Level Added
Final Feature Island Plotted
So we have completely plotted out what we want our islands to look like, now its time to stick the hills and mountains to the base. Before you start you will want to get your clamps and glue ready, but first a word on glue guys, Do Not use any acetone based glue for this job, like super glue or Tarzans Grip or anything with an acetone base, the acetone will eat straight through the foam, use only an acrylic or water based glue for this job, like PVA craft or woodworking glue.
Clamps & PVA Glue Ready
Applying Glue to the Underside (flat side) of the Mountain Shape
Use a generous amount of glue but not too much, spread the glue around the entirety of the mountain shape, use the nozzle to do this, once you have your glue on, press it down onto the island base, once all the pieces are all stuck down, clamp the island down to a flat surface and allow to dry, for best results leave the island clamped down over-night to allow for the PVA to completely set while the base is clamped to your workbench. This process should be done individually to each island in turn, glue then clamp, this is important to aid against warping the base. Remember anything with moisture, glue, paint etc will seep into the base and make the wood fibre expand, then as it dries it will contract, thus warping the base. This is especially important during the gluing phase as the adhesive pulls the foam to the base as it dries, if the base is not kept flat during this phase the island base will warp as the wood slowly develops a curve.
If the base is clamped flat to a flat surface during every stage of the drying process your bases should remain flat. That is my secret weapon against warped bases.
Cleaning-up Excess Glue
Clean up any excess once you have fixed the shape to the base by using an old paintbrush, this is done continuously during the drying process, as I push the shape down and remove the excess. Clamp them all down and wait for the glue to dry.
Clamping to Avoid Warping
Time Elapsed After 4 Hours
The Mountains and Hills are now completely stuck to the base, note I have also used bricks to assist in weighting the unclamped sides of the island base. I will now wait overnight to make sure all the glue has dried before moving to the next step, where I will further shape and model the mountains and hills using a "Hotwire" foam cutter, this will be the final step before we mix up and apply our "Grey Goop" to add some texture and strength to the Island Model. Yep...we're gonna get messy guys.
Hotwire Foam Cutter - For moulding & shaping hills and mountains
Above you will see the tool I use for shaping and moulding mountains and hills, its a really cool tool to use and costs about $70.00 (you can find cheaper ones), of course this is optional, as most shapes and detail you can add to your hills and mountains by hand or by using a simple household knife (steak knives work best), remember you can also use sandpaper to make the foam smoother if you desire. I use this tool to add sloping to meet the base but also to add crevices, jagged edges, indentations and other detail that you might find on your regular type cliff face etc, this tool makes cutting foam really easy, literally like a hot knife through butter. Thought I might add that to the tute for those that would be interested in going that way.
Above you can see the detail I have added using the hot wire, it is also a good idea to use this tool in a well ventilated room and you should also use a fume resistant mask while using this tool as the fumes that come off the polystyrene are toxic. We have now finished all the foam-work that will be necessary to form the basic shape or framework of the island model. Now comes the fun stuff!!! Cant wait to show you guys this stuff.
Part 4: Adding Texture & Body to Island - "Grey Goop"
Guys we are now most of the way through the building process, and I am now up to day 5 of the build, I know it takes a long time but in the end you will have some really great model islands that will last and add a realistic feel to you naval battles so bear with me. We have cut out our Island Bases, we have sanded them to a bevel we have added our mountains and hills and we still have flat bases or 99% flat bases by this stage (viva le clamps...lol). We are now going to add some texture and body to our entire islands by adding some "Grey Goop"'..."what the hell is Grey Goop when its at home Dan?", well Ill tell you since you asked...lol.
Grey Goop is an idea I got from the internet from guys that work on Warhammer Fantasy Terrain, the idea of it is to add a solid and realistic texture to their projects, usually on buildings or any masonry, but I also noticed that it helped to give texture and body to ground and rock, so with that in mind I started using it on my model islands, whereas before I would just model and sculpt the polystyrene foam and then paint and flock it. This gave a much more professional finish and made the model solid which should give the model some longevity as long as it is stored well and looked after.
The ingredients are not an exact science even from internet sources, I have found I have needed to do a lot of experimentation and I almost always either need to add more water, more Plaster and more Glue as I go. The first lot I ever made set within 15 minutes to a rock solid brick...lol. I will also share that I have also found a few different recipes for this stuff, some use more expense stuff in the mixture like Silicone but that does not make these islands cost effective so I don't use that, but the core ingredients are the same and what I use makes it are fairly cheap to make. You will need to work fast, you will need to stir the mix regularly and add water if you need to, to stop the mix from setting before you can get the job done.
You Will Need:
Old Ice Cream Container
Old Paint Brushes (for application)
Old Spatula or Stirring Stick (for stirring)
Plaster of Paris - About 1 & 1/2 Cups
1 Cup Sand
1 Cup Fine Gravel
1 Cup Water (have more ready)
250ml PVA Glue (lots) That's a 500ml Bottle, I used over half in this mix.
1/2 Cup of Dark Grey Matt Wall Paint
Add Plaster of Paris
Add Sand & Gravel
Add Water and mix through
Add PVA & Paint and mix through, mix for about 5 minutes
This is the optimal consistency you should have, this picture taken after 5 minutes of stirring.
You will note that the majority of the moisture is actually made up of PVA glue, this mix will continue to set quickly at a rapid rate as the plaster and glue start to set, just remember to stir regularly during application and if you notice the consistency getting too thick add some water to the mix not too much just a little each time you stir. The process should only take you between 30-40 minutes as you use your old paint brush to paint and dab over the entire model. This is why we also use wall paint to see what we have painted against the white Polystyrene. You will see that I have not only painted the goop over the hills but have used it to fill gaps between the base and the hills and mountains and have also use it to create texture on the flat areas of the base.
Just after application of Grey Goop
Please note the models have been clamped down the whole time during the application of the Grey Goop, to help prevent warping, I have also used an old Hair Dryer to fast track the drying process ( a handy tip). If you do not clamp the bases Will warp. This phase is arguably the most dangerous phase in terms of creating potential warping in the base, this is because the Grey Goop has a lot of moisture in it, but it is also because as the Plaster/Glue mixture sets it will contract pulling at the base, if the base is clamped during drying it will set hard and even fix any slight warping that the base may already have.
Island During Drying (time elapsed 4 hours)
*As another optional tip, I also have sprayed these models as I have been drying them with Matt Fixer, to assist the hardening process.
*Leave the islands clamped down overnight for best results.
Finished Product the next day
Well guys we now have something that looks less like Polystyrene on a base and something that looks more like a Model Island, please note that the bases are fairly flat and we have actually removed most of the small warp that was in the boomerang shaped island, our islands are now ready for painting.
Part 5: Painting
So we are up to the fun part of the build, there is really no right or wrong way to paint your model islands, but it basically goes like this in my workshop:
All land areas are to be base-coated in red/brown, to be dry-brushed in a lighter brown or ochre to be either left as earth or to be flocked in grass.
All cliffs and rocky areas to be base-coated in dark grey or black to be dry-brushed to make rock.
All beach areas are left as bear MDF to be painted last of all after the flocking is done.
As a tip it is now you will want to decide what parts will be flocked as grass and what you will want to plot as cliff areas as you are painting your red-brown base coat, just leave the cliff areas as "grey goop" for now and then we will base-coat the rocks and cliffs with black, this will give us the shade we require when the time come to dry-brush the rocks later. Also the urge will be to paint the whole thing as rock because its easier and rock looks so cool when it is dry-brushed, try to avoid this, and remember what scale we are dealing with.
Very rarely will you come across islands that are just rock or that's cliffs just drop off into the sea, the Galapagos Islands perhaps, since its all volcanic rock with very little vegetation, but most other islands have some vegetation some cliff areas and vegetation that slopes up to the peaks of the mountains or hills. I try to think about this while I'm building the islands and using the hotwire and also while pasting the foam down, keeping in mind that there is almost always a flat before a mountain or hill starts. I still think I add too much cliff at this scale to be perfectly honest, it is actually the cliffs and vegetation that give us the perspective of the scale, but too much and it starts to look unrealistic. Just a few things I've thought about while building these islands. If you get stuck, try looking at some pictures of islands, especially from aerial view to get a bit of an idea before you start.
In the above pictures you will see that I have clamped but only for the first lot of paint after that there should be no further need to clamp the islands, I have base-coated in red/brown and the cliffs have been painted in dark-grey almost black, we will now dry-brush the brown in a lighter brown, and the cliffs in a mid-tone grey and then lastly a light grey hi-light.
Thread under construction, feel free to post, just putting it together so I can see it as I go. More to come...
