The modular CAVERN TUNNELS are complete...the MAMMOTH CAVE PROJECT is DONE!!I wasn't sure I was ever going to finish this thing. But in spite of feeling under the weather this evening, I wanted to post, so I could get you all updated with the last of this series. It was a bit more involved than I expected...a solid 2 months to finish everything. It was a bit too much fun, so I'm gonna "retire" from making terrain for a season, and catch my breath.
This set of tunnels was intended to be "modular" so that it could be arranged in whatever configuration was desired. There are enough bits to make a couple of separate passageways. I started with two markers taped about "2 characters" apart. I then drew all over a piece of masonite board...making it up as I went along without a sketch.
Then, as with all the other pieces in this series, I cut out pink foam with my band saw to match the shapes I had cut from the board. (The saw cuts the foam like butter!) I then started shaving off edges with a hot-wire sculpting tool. (Thanks for the loan of that, Jaye...couldn't have done this without it.)
Once all the segments were finished, I painted on a layer of wood glue mixed with sand, to give the floor of the tunnels some texture. After that came a coat of glue mixed with brown acrylic. I then went through the crazy assembly line process of glazing and dry brushing everything to match the other pieces in the Cave Series.
When I was all done, I decided that I needed a couple of "proper" entrances to the tunnels...so I quickly made two. I kept the backside relatively flat to line up against the other segments. Below are the finished pieces, with a few close up shots for detail. The BLACK areas are meant to represent deep, deep shafts that drop into nothingness below.
And here's the whole shebang on the floor of my studio...and then piled up on the card table.
Now I've got to figure out how to box it up for traveling...sigh. Thought I was done. Hope you all got some new ideas from following this tutorial. Jaye...have FUN with this stuff!!!
25 comments:
Awesome, just awesome!
Thank you for the masterclass.
I am in awe,
Superb piece of work,
J
Superb. Well worth the effort.
Holeeee.......
Now, for a game truly worthy of your efforts. We'll let you win, of course.
Thanks, guys...glad you like it! It's been fun getting posts from the other side of the ocean, too!
Cool with me, Jaye...I like to win, even if the game is rigged in my favor! (Then again...it's also fun to lose big-time and take everyone else down with me.)
Inspirational - truly inspirational, thank you for sharing.
Tony
http://dampfpanzerwagon.blogspot.com/
Absolutely incredible. I hope you don't mind, but I used one of your photos in a post on my own blog pointing people here. Gorgeous stuff.
What scale are those figures you're using for size comparison? 28mm?
top notch stuff...
Thank you Tony, Joseph, and Giraffe...my pleasure.
Joseph...since I'm not a true gamer, I don't know if the figures are 28mm. They are about an inch tall, if that helps. And that's fine to link other folks to my blog.
Awesome indeed!
I enjoyed following along (and I can see why you want to "retire" for a bit).
(There's roughly 25.4mm to an inch, so figures about an inch high are in the 25-28mm figure range)
Wow! Very nice work.
That is amazingly impressive! :-D
Brilliant. You are an inspiration to us all. Don't take too much time off, I love your work.
Outstanding terrain!! I bet your glad that is done. And I'm sure anyone who gets the chance to play on it will be too!
Wow! Simply gorgeous. And thanks for posting the different steps.
ChrisL again, Warren - leaving my comment on a newer post so you don't go digging ; )
The Super77 tends to melt the foam, which is a problem on life-size props, as you can imagine. Hence my use of the Foamfast, made specifically for pink/blue foam, made by the same company (3M). The Foamfast is orange and has a controllable spray; at least until the glue builds up on it. Unfortunately, it's expensive and ships as a volatile container, IIRC. The 77 can be found anywhere.
Great work!
Hey, everyone...you're making me blush with all your nice comments. A "manly" blush to be sure...but thanks for the great feedback.
And Chris L....thanks for the info about other spray-glue options for the foam. I have also had the melting issues with Super 77, so it's good to try some other materials.
Fantastic!!!
Whoa! This is really a very nice project you've build there. thanks for the share, cheers!
I'm not a gamer, so I don't even know what this is about, but nevertheless, I love it! It makes me think of displays at a museum, or the habitats at a very good zoo. I just found your blog through your mother, and I'm having a fabulous time reading through it.
I'm very inspired by this. I just got back into gaming, taught myself how to paint miniatures (with some help from youtube), now I think you've infected me with the terrain virus! Thank you for documenting this!!
thanks Jason...glad I could help you find something else to steal all your free time away! It's addicting, for sure. Just curious how you came across my blog. The tabletop stuff is buried in pretty deep by now. Thanks for dropping by
A friend had pinned this http://pinterest.com/pin/128704501823685712/ Which is the beauty of pinterest, other people sharing and keeping your content relevant!
Warren, this is a fantastic piece. I'm going to try and copy it as best I can for my terrain project ;)
This is highest quality stuff, and very imaginative.
Steve...thanks so much for the compliments! Be sure to go back through all SIX installments, because I show pretty much every step of the build. Good luck!
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