Terrain is everything - 40k future container scatter terrain - Big Build To Done!

You know the deal by now - I set a number of tasks and targets for myself and go about sabotaging it by taking on yet more projects but the muse compels me. Having completed 2 of these containers earlier this year I had found the last three Mentos Cube boxes I'd collected - I so wish I'd bought more. I thought I could do the 'reinforcing' in my lunch break at work. So the plastic got sanded for more of a key when it gets painted, my current ones do chip very easilt but it's soft plastic. I used PVA to stick them on, it;s worked in the past. I wasn't hole punching the circles on the corners/middle I bought some small 2mm adhesive jems to make rivets instead.

Now the original plan was for these two to me MSC shipping containers  [yes, I appreciate the tautology]. Having done OOCL I wanted another global container brand and the yellow would stand out, except I changed my mind at the last minute as I already have the two biohazard containers that are yellow and wanted to try something different. So I chose orange instead and luckily there's a container company for that - Hapag-Lloyd. Now I'd undercoated these with grey primer and black primer, I then painted them with black masonry paint mixed with PVA and some fine sand [too much fine sand actually so they're far grittier than I'd planned]. All of this is to try and make them more durable. I then primed Red Oxide and the first orange paint was a Dark Orange craft acrylic which had really poor coverage. I had to stipple it twice to get coverage I was happy with but even then the colour was not the 'papaya' orange of the Happag-Lloyd container.

 
It would go on, be quite bright and then dry very matt, semi-transparent and much darker than I was after. I picked up another orange craft paint from The Works, it was only a pound and the same make as my lime green I use for toxic stuff. It's amazing because it's very like my Vermilion in that it's relatively thick but still goes on thin and also very glossy. It's hard to tell in the pictures above but the container on the left is pre-glossy orange and again the right one required two coats to get the colour I was after, it's almost a glaze! I took this picture in daylight so you can potentially see the difference.

Anyway, it might be a right palaver to do, four coats of paint to get what I'm after, and that's before washes but I'm finally happy with it. I still have some of the earlier stages to do on the second H-L container and I've changed my mind about the third too. Originally the third container was supposed to be Dark Angel Green but I might go for light grey and make it a Maersk Line container, for yet more giggles. Obligatory B&W art shot.

So I do get a Big Build Big Gamboge Stamp of Approval.

Terrain is everything - 40k future container scatter terrain - To Done!

Following on from the Deathwatch and the sentinels I finished up two future containers. These pieces of scatter terrain have been knocking around for years. Whereas I'd completed six of them and been using them in games these two had stalled because I wasn't convinced about the weathering I'd done and my reluctance to tackle the OOCL logo I was set on branding them with.

But with my AoP board relying on these sorts of items to sell the storage facility theme [and not being in a position to get some Munitorum Containers] I had a crack at finishing them off. Thankfully Typhus Corrosion and my efforts at sponge weathering on my Bastions and Drop Pods meant fixing the weathering was a doddle. Equally the OOCL logo was much easier than I had feared, mainly because it was just an 'L' shape and a series of circles I stamped on with a pencil rubber and then cleaned up afterwards. A couple of stnecilled numbers and some weight details completed the effect I was after.

I've three more of these Mentos Cube boxes left, they haven't even been converted yet but I would love to find time to get these done to add to the set. Yellow MSC containers and an orange one perhaps? Anyway, that's enough self-congratulations, well, except for my Great Big Gamboge Stamp of Approval. However, I've just finished my two Ripper bases which will need To Done! pics but you'll be pleased to know the blog will be back to WiP pictures for the foreseeable future ;)

Terrain is everything - 40k future container scatter terrain - OOCL

For those that have been following the blog since 2010... Holy Throne the blog is going to be 7 in a couple of days, finally getting into 'big-boy pants'! Anyway, you may recall I created a number of 'future containers' back before there were Munitorum Containers.

I made quite a variety of them here, here, and here. In the second and third post I make reference to and show the start of the OOCL containers which I'd added some unrealistic weathering to and had never finished up. As my Armies on Parade board used some of the other containers I thought I could quickly finish these off with added Typhus Corrosion and Ryza Rust.

Not to mention the OOCL logo, which I love. It was relatively easy to do. I sliced the end off an eraser tipped pencil so I had a circular stamp. Stamped three circles, added an L and then went back and added the void in each letter and a simplified cherry blossom. It;s not perfect but it doesn;t have to be.

Naturally some big numbers, and the Tare Weight index.

I've then added some gunmetal scuffs and scratches with a sponge, perhaps I should have looked at the previous containers as I was far more restrained with the metallics on the older ones and they looked better for it. Still, it's another two pieces of terrain to hide behind.

I love this logo.

I'm quite fond of this version with passive/aggressive strapline too ;)

Incidentally it's sad that the Mentos cubes are no longer in production, so it's not possible to recreate these, even with my FREE reinforcing STC template. I keep meaning to make a foamboard cube template to use as a base instead, or to redesign the the template to fit standard bevelled wooden cubes I've seen available on ebay. I'll try and get something sorted before the end of the year...

Support you local blogger - www.germy.co.uk

How do I get to blogging for so long without ever coming across this website. Germy has been creating free terrain tmeplates for years and I was completely oblivious. His awesome buildings for 40k are all FREE to download, which I obviously love and the sheer amount of them makes my own efforts pale into comparrison. With so many building I'm even questioning if I need to do anymore, although they mostly seem to be sci-fi/frontier, original Rogue Trader stylee, not the Grim Dark Gothic, so there's still a reason. What's more is they all seem to be pre-textured and look to be simple to construct, truly 'Print & Play'

http://www.germy.co.uk/paper25mm.html

There are even  6mm buildings for Adeptus Titanics/Epic Armageddon

Additionally there are some great tutorials: http://www.germy.co.uk/wargaming.html, not least this simple tutorial to make fences: http://www.germy.co.uk/meshfence.html

Apologies if some of these picture links don't work, they look a bit dodgy here, but that should be reason enough to check out Germy's website, it's pure gold and all for free, check it out NOW!

Carry cases, my secret shame

With more than a few weeks under my belt now at my local friendly neighbourhood gaming club there is one aspect I'm still struggling with and one that even at this early stage is open to a little good natured banter from the guys. I've obviously put in a lot of work on my son's 'nids. Something that's not been lost on folk if the many admiring comments and praise are anything to go by.

What is problematic is that 'nids die, quickly and in droves and sometimes I think it's rude to spend time putting them back in the box when I should be paying attention to my opponents move etc. Anyway this is my largest gaming carry case. Originally from Trago Mills [if I recall correctly] this drill case was pretty cheap.

With some foam in place it's quite spacious and handy...

OMG [and you know I don't use that lightly] WTF [even less so]. If I were to say this was tidy you'd still be appalled, me too. I have some other small boxes that can take around 20-30 termagants at a time which are handy but it's all the Stealers and those sodding Gargoyles that just go all over the shop that really screw my 'filing' system up.

So I thought I'd look at some alternative solutions on ebay and came up with these ideas instead of a bespoke gaming storage system that may cost the earth and deliver pretty much the same result. I was quite surprised these two bargains I found.

£1.99 Delivered from Germany, with FREE Postage!
RECYCLED PLASTIC MULTIPLE SHIPPING BOX 420x305x110 mm NEW

5 Boxes for £4.29 with FREE Postage and built in handles!

5 x Women Plastic Stackable Shoe Storage Boxes Clear Transparent 30cm*18cm*10cm

And to pad it out just one of the many eggbox sales on offer

10 Sheets, £4.39 with postage

Egg Box Foam 8" x 6" Profile Foam x 10

However, when I was tidying out the loft so we could have some more insulation fitted I stumbled across an old 'portfolio' I had to keep all my magazine and software products I worked on over the years. I'm never going to use this for that purpose again so really I may as well find a way to repurpose this for my current gaming needs. Now I was sure these were quite expensive nowadays, I can't recall them being OTT back when I got it from Argos but a quick search on ebay reveals they're actually cheaper than I thought - £22.89 [with FREE Delivery]. Seems like a decent alternative if you're in the market and the other budget ideas above don't float your boat.

Terrain is everything - Now that's a 'finecast'!

Thanks to pete the pagan-gerbil from A Year of Frugal Gaming commenting recently about where I get my modelling materials I had time to think about plasticard. It's not really a material I use much of but I was thinking about how I would get my hands on some if the need arose.

Well there's always the quick and dirty options that don't act like plasticard but do have some of the properties and most of all are cheap. CD Jewel Cases are one option but you have to be careful because they can shatter and be deadly, so aren't ideal for cutting up. An alternative are old DVD cases. You can get just short of an A5 sheet of slightly textured plastic that can be cut, bent and carved for next to nothing.

But I think the cheapest most varied option is food trays. Chicken and meat trays are vac-formed with marvellous patterns on to help drain juices away. Of course one downside is durability and sometimes the thinnness of the material doesn't seem solid enough. There is a solution though which offers more answers than the questions...

When I produced my first building I mixed up a large batch of undercoat, my classic recipe:

• black interior house paint [because I have a large pot of it]
• black Early Learning Centre poster paint [for bulk and to offset the satin finish of the house paint with it's powderiness]
• Polyfilla, er filler [to make it have a bit of texture and bulk]
• PVA glue [bulk and make it more adhesive to the building]
• I used the chicken tray below to mix it all up in. This is the solution to making your plastic tray more sturdy. You could substitute all of the above for some plaster and when it sets the material will be strong enough to handle all knocks and scrapes.
  
  
  
  
  
  Alternatively the use of PVA and acrylic paints meant that the excess paint I didn't use ended up casting pretty well. It's a bit lumpy on the back but nothing a quick sand couldn't improve and maybe one day I'll find a use for this, maybe as some treads for steps. So you can use the plastic tray as is, make it rigid with plaster or cast from the inside with a PVA solution. Regardless you have some nifty new textures to apply to building or use wholesale as floors etc.
  
  

My son ACTUALLY gaming!

So wonders never cease. My son actually played a game of 40k with his cousin and up until the frantic melee below I'd kept out of it. Somewhere along the lines his 11 Genestealers and Broodlord outflanked onto the side. They charged the Terminator squad and at this point had taken out his Terminator Armoured Chaplain [2 wounds? I thought those guys had 3]

Here's a wider angle shot with a sneak peak at some of my Honoured Imperium terrain and my future containers.

Moments afterwards the Genestealer mauled two of the Terminators [33 dice delivered two deaths!] however the squad failed their morale check and were slaughtered as they ran away.

Later on the Trygon had 6 penetrating and one glancing hit on the Predator in the centre so it was destroyed also. The marines had little chance. Can't say he's learned about good sportsmanship but he's never beaten his cousin yet and perhaps it'll excite him a little more about it. Later the wife asked him again on his thoughts and he said I'm 'still sticking my nose in too much and make decisions on colours etc.' although I'm not sure what he's referring to as we haven't done any painting for at least a month! Didn't even want to be involved in the game but they kept asking my advice. Anyhoo...!

40k future container scatter terrain - UPDATE, AGAIN!

As promised in my last update on 40k future container scatter terrain here's an update on the 7 further containers I produced. Before I begin though lets remind ourselves of the wonderful Mentos Cubes donor skeleton.

And here's the first tutorial that showed how to make them.

First up is my liquid container encased in wire mesh.
Firstly I removed the lid and used a poster tube cap to create a new lid. I got some circular 'granny grating' to go on the top. Two corners had brass picture hooks for lifting, the other two corners had some crafting gems, octagonal shaped, they look like ornate rivets/bolts. Then I got some 'granny grating' and judiciously removed chunks of it to get a mesh size suitable to fit the cube.

As you can see some of the grid that was cut out leaves behind stubs but I like this, it makes it look more like rebar, it's more texture at least. I also added some corrugated cardboard on the base so it looks like it's on an integral pallet. The mesh had to have some bits of wire tied round it to ensure the mesh box stayed together but plenty of PVA 'welding' is holding it together. There are also corner supports on the base. Still got to finish the painting, silver on the mesh and rust effects. Not overly keen on my semi transparent plastic with stagnant green liquid inside but there's not much I can do.

Below is the Dark Angel Container, reinforced at opposite corners with some more octagonal shaped crafting gems for rivets. First level of rust applied, orange still to add and metallic scrapes. Also DA chapter markings.

Here's the Biohazard containers. The two with caps on are obviously the right way up. I removed the lid and used a poster tube cap to create a new lid. I used a template to cut out the Biohazard symbol for one lid and used the blank for the other. Two corners had brass picture hooks for lifting, the other two corners had some crafting gems. The third container is the usual upside down reinforced version with 'granny grating' on the top. Not 100% convinced on the yellow, but as it's not finished yet hopefully the orange rust still to add,  metallic scrapes and markings should tone them down a little bit.

Lastly a group shot with the two OOCL containers. Again the rust is a bit overpowering and it's not quite as beige as I'd hoped but we'll reserve judgement until they're complete. Still not sure if keeping them to fewer colours would have worked better, time will tell.

There's still a little something missing in the paint-jobs, they certainly don't have the realism of my turquoise containers, but I have to recall my fundamental law of painting - 'reserve judgement until complete'. So many times I've been unhappy about a model's progress only to be overjoyed at the final results. The original containers themselves went through this process and came out alright, their siblings deserve the same chance.

.pdf templates for the reinforcements if anyone wants to give it a go.

40k future container scatter terrain - UPDATE

You may recall while back I made some 40k future container scatter terrain out of Mentos Cube boxes. I promised I'd do an update on the painting so here we go.

As you can see a bit of judicious brown and orange, some silver here and there and these little beauties really come into their own. I'd agonised for ages over these, the washes really took a while to work but using a really big brush to do the dry brushing helped. When I say really big I mean the sort you use when decorating, cutting in on the walls etc.

But I didn't stop there. I wanted to put some markings on the containers so I made some little masks and you can just make out the NUMA markings I added below [I'm a big Clive Cussler fan and the colour was perfect]. Close up they look even more grimy!

Since then I've added another seven containers [what can I say I like gum] I've got some Bioazard waste ones, some OOCL [they'll still be doing containerisation in the 41st millenium] one of the mesh wrapped liquid containers and a reinforced Dark Angels container, which makes a nice objective marker, who knows what or whom is locked up inside, I'll never tell... I'll get some pics up eventually when I grime them up. I really enjoyed playing around with the different colours because I feel most container ports are all different but part of me thinks I should have stuck to the turquoise and pale blue of the first three, hmm

40k future container scatter terrain

Here's a little tutorial on some 40k future containers that I made. Get a Mentos Cube Chewing Gum box [currently available in most Home Bargain/Quality Save in the UK for 59p]

Remove all labelling and take the lid off without breaking the sea;
After emptying the contents, preferably into your mouth, slice off all the protruding parts on the lid.

Add cereal box card reinforcements and undercoat. I've .pdf templates for the reinforcements if anyone wants to give it a go. All you need do is print them out, pritt stick or spray mount them to your card and then cut out with a craft knife or scalpel [watch your fingers].



Turn them upside down and add granny grating to the top, brass picture hooks can work as crane pick-up points, but you won't be able to stack them directly on top of each other if you do.

Stack 'em high. Probably big enough to hide a Tervigon!

Currently trying to paint them with some nice rust effects, will update when they're done. Note that some have extra reinforcements in the corner for variety. The .pdf template has these extra pieces, they're the centre reinforcements cut diagonally along the dotted line, good for half your container being ultra-strong.
Also if you take the lids completely off most poster tube end caps make ideal liquid-tank lids. Perhaps some of that square mesh often used as railings wrapped round and you could create something like these.

I'll get round to the half height .pdf at some point and updates of the finished painting as and when it's done. Hope you get some use out of this.