I've tried to dodge my responsibilities for a while now but I have to admit defeat. I hate doing D.I.Y. (because I'm rubbish at it) but I'm going to have to bite the bullet. We have just bought my youngest daughter a new bed and this means reorganizing and redecorating her room. Fortunately it just needs to be painted and shouldn't take more than a day or two. So this weekend I'll be wielding a paintbrush of a different caliber to my normal weapon of choice.I've also spent a couple of days sorting through various store cupboards in the house gathering together decorating equipment in advance of the job itself. This has revealed several interesting a long forgotten items that will eventually find a use on the games table.
One item - a tin of expanding foam insulation - looks promising, but I can't see an obvious use for it yet. The can contains 500ml of the foam which expands to three times its size when it comes into contact with the air. The foam sets in about 20 minutes and is fully cured after 2-4 hours when it can be cut, painted and even plastered. This might make a good material for making cheap hills from but I'm not sure yet. Any ideas folks?
Explosion markers?
ReplyDeleteExpolsion markers like Anibal says, see you Sunday.
ReplyDeleteThis stuff is so hard to clean off of anything after its dried. You could probably make hills out of it, but you'd need some kind of mould, or it will just keep spreading and flatten.
ReplyDeleteIt´s fun stuff...get a balloon and spray it inside that...watch what happens :-D
ReplyDeleteI wouldn´t use it for hills..it seems to go all brittle in sunlight
Cheers
paul
Oooo explosion markers... Thats a good idea. I've got smoke and fames markers I've made but this stuff might make nice looking smokescreen markers. Hmmmm....
ReplyDeleteElf Brains/Mind Flayer food?
ReplyDeleteMaybe hedges Lee?
ReplyDeleteYou could try making molds from wet sand, either for hills or even buildings by pushing items into the sand to make sharp edges. It makes it easier to get the foam out and it also textures it too.
ReplyDeleteIt is difficult to judge the right amount and it does need some trial and error.
That photo looks like something that was 'deposited' on my front lawn! :-)
ReplyDeleteThat foam stuff is nasty. Just don't get it anywhere you don't want it. I'd stay away from it unless using it for what it was meant for.
BTW I drive my wife nuts in the DIY stores, always looking for new products I can use for modeling.
Richard Windrow (Terrain Modelling - Osprey Masterclass) uses this stuff as base for some terrain. After the stuff has cured, he brings it in rough shape and covers it with plaster bandages. Maybe you can grab hold of the book, its great!
ReplyDeleteHope this helps!
//mojo
Toxic sludge pits.
ReplyDeleteTree tops - works best for making a whole forest in a single go.
I mainly used expanding foam as a filler on vinyl and vacuum formed kits. It set up quickly, was light weight and kept the delicate body skin from deforming. We used a 2 part system where you mixed the material and it would activate it. One brand was called Mountains in minutes. So yes terrain is a good choice. With the 2 part material we figured out a way to delay the expansion. We refrigerated the liquid and mixed it cold. that way you bought extra time so you could pour it deep into a hollow shape. We used a hair dryer to kick it into action.
ReplyDeleteI certainly see interesting cavern and rock formations in the examples of squirts above. Probably have to try it out to get a feel for any other uses. Maybe more fantasy game settings than war tables.
ReplyDeleteLee,
ReplyDeleteDust markers for North Africa FOW. Utilse behind Allied and Axis AFV, B vehs, and LRDG.
Regards
Russ
New Zealand.