Scratch building terrain supplies

[cardyfreak]

I like to scour the Internet for things to add to terrain for features and what not so thought I'd start a thread with some links to some useful items that might help add colour to your terrain. Feel free to post things you find that might be of use to anyone.

http://bit.ly/Uhy8kB
This collection of cogs is cheap and would look great as pipe valves or to break up bare walls.

http://bit.ly/RFXElU
Is your scenery not powered by enough skulls? Stop being a wimp and add more. Too few skulls makes the zombie emperor cry.

http://bit.ly/18twusr
These flickering tea lights can add light to your terrain. They're compact too so no need to worry about hiding wires.

http://bit.ly/19rN8qB
This can be used to cast some plaster statues at the entrance to a factory or something.

https://slatersplastikard.com/plastikard/embossed.php
About three quarters of the way down there's single and double plate tread. 1:50 is the correct scale for what we need.

http://bit.ly/UEk8n3
This stuff is magnetic tape. I use it edge my terrain and put some on the bottom of walkways. Remember though, you need a roll of type A and a roll of type B. Opposites attract and all that.

http://bit.ly/V6qkZ7
Though this seems really expensive, it works out cheaper than buying white sheets. Plus with black you don't need to spray things to undercoat them. Foamcore is essential for building things. White or black, it's your friend. To keep the edges really neat always use a new blade to cut it. That way it won't look like you've cut it with your teeth. If your teeth are neat then no problem. But if you look like you could chew an apple through a tennis racket, then use a proper hobby knife. Your dentist will thank you.

http://bit.ly/19rNVHZ
This makes awesome corrugated iron. You can also use it to make shipping containers by following this guide.

http://bit.ly/W2ouTP
Plasticard! Or styrene, it's all the same. This is good for all sorts of stuff, get some. Get some now!

http://bit.ly/19rOf9E
This mesh can be used as fencing or for walkways. You decide.

http://m.homebase.co.uk/mt/www.homebase ... Cookie=yes
This stuff can be painted up to look like concrete. I'm pretty sure I've seen this very stuff on some of the old GW scenery. It's good like, and if you make a mould of it you have all you'll ever need!

http://bit.ly/13MCGWj
These computer fans make great entrances to ducts of for great big banks of air compressors and what not. And they're cheap! If you keep your eyes peeled you can get some great bulk deals on these. I got ten for 8 or 9 quid.

Ill put more stuff up if anyone finds this useful. But as I said, stick your own secrets up if you want. Hopefully it will inspire someone or provide that thing you've been looking for but didn't know what it was called.

 

[eayragt]

Station Road Baseboards (as per you ebay link, but I think they also have a site) also do imperfect plasticard. Bought some once - they had scratches on. No big deal when being used for modelling the Underhive!

Nice list

 

[Alobar]

Excellent skills cardy, as usual. I've nothing to add other than a high five...

 

[djmothra]

This should get a sticky! Great work (not that i can use any of it *sigh* the postal service here is truly awful - unless I use DHL/FedEx etc, which is just too expensive)

A good source of cogs that i have found is in those mechanical correction pen things - as a school teacher. my students are always breaking these cheap bits of plastic - which has 2 very nice cogs inside! YOINK!

 

[nooker]

Yeah, I was thinking just that.

 

[jimjimjimmyjim]

Alot of these only ship to the uk

 

[cardyfreak]

Alot of these only ship to the uk

That's because I live in the uk. The point is to highlight useful items for building with, you can find your own local supplier if you see something good. And people can put their own finds up also.

 

[jimjimjimmyjim]

Apologies I didn't realise that was your intention. I felt it a slap in the face at all these awesome items I can't have! So as a result I was curious as to why the topic had been pinned.

 

[AndyT81]

Great idea for a thread!
Disposable razors, cork tiles (concrete), drinks straws, flyscreen, Pringles tubes, CDs (bases) wine corks, plastic rulers (barricade bases).... I've got a (not comprehensive) list on my budget terrain plog on Warseer, feel free to copy it to this thread

Oh yeah, and guttering!


Andy T's Necromunda Plog

 

[chitching]

I love the guttering terrain you do! Each update is just sick!

 

[Alobar]

Hey AndyT, help me out please buddy

The rulers you mentioned. Can you expand on what you use them for, or do you have any ideas on what else you could do with them? I have a free supply of a LOT of rulers that I don't know what to do with. Pencils too... And pencil sharpeners...

Your guttering is cool btw

 

[AndyT81]

They work well as bases for barricades= best pic i've got im afraid but i used a cheap 15cm ruler for the base of the barricade in the pic. Drilled holes and used cocktail sticks as fence posts before adding anyhting with rivets from my bits box!

 

[Alobar]

Cheers. Looks pretty neat and functional to me. Good skills

 

[FluffyBunny]

'rapstrap' cable ties make good ladders, pricey but see them lying around when people post fliers

rubber non-slip shower mats often make good flooring - as do car footwell mats
textured wall-paper and wrapping paper works for this too - ask for a free sample, you wont need much for a bit of flooring - http://www.diy.com/nav/decor/wallpaper- ... g-12818594

ice cube trays and soap molds make random stuff - use plaster, its dirt cheap - search for the "titanic" and "chocolate bar" sets - would work well for chimneys and walls/floors

sheets of sticky labels - instant textured floor - grab them from work - http://www.onlinelabels.com/adhesive-labels.htm

light cover walls mesh - http://www.diy.com/nav/build/building-m ... Id=9282937

heavy cover wall http://www.diy.com/nav/fix/hardware/iro ... Id=9293472

Flyswatters make a good wire mesh - http://www.amazon.co.uk/free-INSECT-SWA ... ly+swatter

Laminate floor spacers make good walls and flooring, loads of types - http://www.brooklyntrading.co.uk/p-4053 ... tAodMX8A6w

Spiral cake candles are good pillars

 

[AndyT81]

Good work bunny! I've been looking for floor spacers for a while!
I would recommend checking tool station and screw fix before buying from bnq because they're often a lot cheaper.


Andy T's Necromunda Plog

 

[Blood Donor]

Any plumbing bits. Angle pieces as is look like vents, paint them and they look like slightly more realistic vents. I don't know what a B&Q is but I imagine everyone on here has they're personal fave hardware store. They've got them there. Plastic electrical outlet boxes can make simple buildings when trimmed up and put open end down.

Cardboard tubing when it is thicker than toilet paper/ paper towel is super handy. I work in a kitchen so I steal a lot of plastic wrap and tinfoil tubes. And the plastic end pieces they rotate on are handy as well. The little plastic pieces that come under the lid of a deodorant stick are usually pretty cool and have a heat sink kinda look. Beer cans are great because there's so many sizes, and it's usually not much of a task to empty them of their contents. LEGO pieces also allows you to bully the neighbours kid and steal their toys so that is fun in itself not to mention free.

As Cardy mentioned foamcore is pretty building block to terrain. I use 6mm balsa for basing everything. I found Terrafoam at the local hardware store that is 3" thick insulating foam to be layed down before concrete is placed to keep it from cracking in the winter. The beauty of the thickness is that it is the same as standard GW CoD terrain heights, so it can be stacked in uniform height to buildings making the placement of adjoining gangplanks a cinch. Also, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FySJBjd3vWU, seems like a pretty nifty affordable foamcutter for aforementioned Terrafoam.

 

[cardyfreak]

Also thanks to Brutticus for putting me onto this thread by ironhands. It's got some great how-to's to make awesome terrain using household objects like vcr's and clothes pegs. He uses cities of death parts to add detail but you could quite easily replace those with anything really. But tbh his stuff looks so good I'd go with the CoD stuff cos it looks better.

Door sealing strip/foam can be used as a barrier when pouring plaster to make roadways or water effect products for river pieces. You would use it to stop draughts coming through your door. It's adhesive on one side, and you can usually pick it up from a pound shop for the princely sum of- you guessed it- a pound. I think woodland scenics do a product for making roads and walkways which is essentially this stuff but more expensive.

 

[FluffyBunny]

Plastic cogs/gears - get 50 off ebay for £3 - link to example wholesale - http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Free-shi ... 15725.html

stripey straws - quick bit of yellow wash/ink and you got pipes with the standard black and yellow warning paint on them. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Monochrome-Magi ... king+black

 

[cardyfreak]

Those cogs look excellent. Also, if paint/ink won't adhere to straws (or plastic in general), give it a coat of watered down pva first. The paint will adhere to that much better.

 

[Bruticus]

I always got a lot of use out of Scalextric barriers, Lego ladders (I know it is blasphemous to cut up Lego but you can sometimes buy them cheaply) and children's toys (especially parking garages and the like) on eBay.

For a source of scratchbuilding stuff, I love www.antenocitisworkshop.com