Continuing the Foamcore Project- Extra Credit

When you get up the next morning, your building will look like the first picture up there. For some people, that is good enough. I, however, am not one of those people, and I suspect you are not either. So, it's time for some extra homework to get extra kudos!

If you have the time and the paint, then it's time to go to work. First off, I like to coat the building with a black wash made from watered down black acrylic. Any black paint will do, and in fact, the cheaper the better. I got a pot for 50 cents from Wal-Mart. Add a big ol' glob and a dash of water to thin it out, then paint the wash over the entire piece. This watered-down solution should run into all the cracks and bring out the depth of the texture.

Next, using your large brush, drybrush a dark gray over the entire piece. Pay special attention to the edges, because concrete is lighter on the inside when cracked open. Drybrush, for those new to the hobby, is a painting technique where you get paint on your brush, then dab some of it off onto something you don't mind getting paint on, before lightly brushing over the area you wish to paint. This causes only the raised texture to catch the pigment on your brush.

After this coat dries, add some white paint to your grey, and mix it up good. Using the same drybrushing technique, apply this lighter grey over the entire piece again, really emphasizing the edges. You can add a third coat, this one pure white, but I usually think that's a little over the top.

After the second coat, the piece is table-top ready. You can add a clearcoat if you wish, but I find that the glue we used in the mixture is usually sufficient by itself. Later, I will share some of my tips to make the terrain piece worthy of sharing the table with your best painted miniatures!

Foamcore Ruins, Part 3

Finally, the last part. Spreading the stuff on is not really an art, but it does help to have a technique.

First off, make sure you are doing this on a surface that can get a bit of gunk on it and it won't matter. I use a piece of unused foamboard that I also use for painting miniatures on. You don't want this stuff getting on your nice kitchen table (I speak from experience)....

Using your large brush, spread on the first coat evenly. It is perfectly okay to put a thick coat on, because with all the glue in the mixture it will be nice and solid when it dries. Due to the black paint you put in, your mixture should be a dark gray color. This makes it easy to see the spots you missed, and serves as a good base-coat. All the white powder and glue lightened up the black, so if you want a totally black basecoat you will have to paint it when it dries. I will cover painting it in the next part.

When you are applying the coat of stuff, pay special attention to the corners and the edges. The plaster helps define the edges and make them look more like ruined rubble. Adding successive layers can help build up more rubble in the corners.

In order for it to harden properly, you should let it dry for at least 10 hours. Or overnight, whichever you prefer. I tend to make this my last project for the day, because I hate to wait for anything. Make sure it is out of reach of kids and pets. Also, the temperature and humidity has an effect on the drying time. I am basing my drying times on 68 F, really dry conditions. Your results may vary.

Next up, Painting the Foamcore Ruins!

Foamcore Ruins, Part 2

The Next Step:

Now that our basic design is complete and taped together, now its time to mix up a little compound to give the model texture and give it strength. This is not an exact science, and I do not use precise amounts of the ingredients. It helps lend individuality to each piece. If you want pieces to conform with each other, then it is best to make multiple pieces at the same time.

Start with your patching plaster powder (hereafter referred to as 'p3'), and add a little into a mixing container you don't plan on eating out of any time soon. On top of this, I sneak a pinch of potting soil out of my wife's plants. This is to add texture to the wall that the plaster alone does not achieve. The potting soil is optional, however, as it does not much else.

To this dry mixture, I add some black paint, and a huge gob of PVA glue. The glue and the paint are the only liquids added to the dry mixture, and this combination makes for a solid product once dry. If you find the consistency too dry and crumbly, then just add more paint or glue until you get a consistency of a thick paste. Think thin mayonnaise, but without the side-effects that incurs such as vomiting and nausea. If the potting soil makes it more like crunchy peanut-butter, then you are on the right track, just add more glue and paint.

Alternatively, if you find that your mixture is runny like thick milk, add some more plaster and soil to dry it up a bit. You want a creamy paste as your end result, such as pictured above.

In the Third Step, we'll cover the application of this gooey concoction.

Foamcore Ruins, Part 1

Alas, I finally got around to making a tutorial on my foamcore ruins. This is a fairly well-known method, but I have got enough questions about my previous pieces that I thought I would share my 'secrets' with you all.

First off, the supplies you will need:
-PVA Glue (Elmers, or white glue, for those who don't know what PVA is)
-Cheap black paint
-Powdered Patching Plaster (The kind used for repairing drywall and the like)
-A larger paint brush
-Foamcore (It is a kind of posterboard made from a piece of thin styrofoam sandwiched between 2 layers of paper, found in most department stores)
-Masking tape (That off-yellow tape people use to cover up stuff they don't want to get paint on)
-Sharp hobby knife or utility blade to cut the foam core
-A suitable place that you can cut stuff on or get real messy and not get in trouble with the wife (or for some of you, the mom! Hey, I don't judge.)

Step 1: Creating your basic shape.

When I am making ruins, I tend to make a small single corner. That way, if I want larger buildings, all I need to do is line up four corners to look like they were a single building at one point. With this in mind, I set about making the corner. One long wall usually serves as the focal point of my structure. I then match up one smaller wall at the corner. Adding in a small second floor, cut to match the degradation of the building, helps add a third dimension of playability to the ruin. A doorway ensures that it is not an impregnable fortress. A simple base to keep it all together, and we have all the basic elements of a structure.

After you have your basic shapes, put them all together with the masking tape. Make sure every edge is masked, as seen in the pictures. This will help make the piece more durable, so pieces aren't coming off of it.

The next step is preparing the mix....