I've been working on a small project for Zona for a little while and using some techniques I now take for granted, and thought I'd jot them down.
They're not ground breaking, just things I find useful when modelling and constructing things. More specifically they're material choices for doing certain tasks or getting certain results...
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Glue and Plaster
I like 'wall fixing plaster' (not sure the technical name). It's a good filler for bigger gaps, and it works to texture styrofoam so it doesn't look like styrofoam, amongst other things.
My tip for this is to mix in pva (wood) glue. maybe 1/4 glue to plaster mix. It will be a little wetter than normal plaster, kind of like peanut butter consistency.
The main advantage is that it dries to a harder level (than plaster or glue individually), and makes for a less chalky finish than just plaster too which is a handy by-product.
It's still somewhat porous, so if you want it 'smoother' then I sometimes drop some superglue on it once it's dried.
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Glue and Sand
The second tip is similar. Glue and sand.
I normally use this as a basing technique for larger/terrain bases, not for individual models (though i've seen that done too). I normally squirt on the glue and spread it with a brush or paddle pop stick or similar.
This provides a nice textual surface for the base.
It can also be used to provide support for structural elements in your terrain piece. For example if you have a vertical post attached to a flat surface you can glue around the post, drop the sand and this may provide greater stability to the post. Or use to fill around the bottom of walls connected to a flat surface etc.
No reason you couldn't use just glue, but using sand provides visual interest (if you don't mind a grottier effect) and I find that the sand provides an even harder material than glue alone. Glue can be a bit flexible, but the sand stiffens the material into a more rock-like structure.
Can be used around the bases of trees if you mount them on mdf pieces to add a flow to the transition between base and trunk.
Can be used to add some (deliberate) grunge/interest to flat mdf sheet pieces like roads or hardstand concrete rather than just relying on paint. Large, flat surfaces are usually pretty boring and although effects can be achieved with paint alone (including texture paints, for which this is a homebrew alternative) actual texture is an option.
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Craft Wire Barbed Wire
Not my idea, it's a stolen and probably common one. Barbed Wire/Razor Wire is quite easy.
Get some craft wire - we have a 2 dollar shop that sells craft stuff, specifically for making homemade jewellery, necklaces or bangles or whatnot. This is thin and relatively malleable (not stiff, like spring wire).
Take a few meters of the wire and double it over. Put one end in a power drill, and start twisting the wire until it's well entwined, not too much, and enough that it's good at scale.
This provides an impression of barbed wire, and doesn't have sticky outy bits/spikes. From memory I have seen people insert bits between the two strands before/during winding, but it's unnecessary in my opinion.
You can wrap it around i.e. a pencil to get the jail razor wire look, or string strands across beams or whatever.
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Bonus Tip - Bottle Brush Trees
It's totally legit to buy cheap stuff and repurpose it. These are xmas decorations I picked up at Aldi during the season.
I don't have a 'snow' themed board at all so all the white crud on the tips of the foliage was annoying. I used a wire brush to brush it off. Made a mess. Took a while. But got it off, enough.
Here's the trees mostly done. I gave some of them another preen and for extra-chunky stubborn bits I squished them off between my fingers and the stuff crumbles off. The brush gets the majority of the work done quickly though.
After this they get a quick brush through with green paint(s) of your choice. Perhaps a green wash for variation and to get i.e. some of the top wire or any remaining white bits coloured.
After this the white bases get a treatment of glue and sand before base painting.
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And that's it. Nothing earth shattering, but useful and cheap. I've used them many times.
Until next time...
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