Monday, February 7, 2011

TABLETOP GAMING - "Making a MAMMOTH CAVE" Pt.5

As promised, my little Cave Dwellers...STALACTITES and STALAGMITES!

This week has been crazy busy, and I really pushed it to get these guys finished up tonight. I'm gonna go light on explanations, since the basic building processes have been shown previously.

So here goes...I started with the core shapes made from styrofoam glued to some board. I had a few scrap pieces of board which determined the random shapes. I used a wooden dowel as an armature.

Next came a lot of smaller dowels sharpened on the belt sander, and bunches of toothpicks stuck everywhere. I quite frankly bit off more than I intended...as usual...and made a lot of work for myself.

Next I used the trusty hot-glue gun to cover the stalactites and stalagmites. I then painted a base coat of brown, mixed with wood glue.

Then came the mulch-paper mache...and a little detailing with a tool once it had dried a bit.

Here are all the little pieces covered with mache, ready for the final paint job. The ol' card table is full!!

And here are the completed terrain pieces!
I'm nearly done with this project...next up...modular Cave Tunnels!
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14 comments:

  1. John LambsheadFebruary 7, 2011 at 3:01 AM

    I watch this series with awe,
    J

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  2. BaronVonJFebruary 7, 2011 at 10:58 AM

    That is fricking insane.

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  3. WarrenFebruary 7, 2011 at 11:07 AM

    Thanks, guys! And yes, BVJ...frequently throughout this series, I've thought I had some screws loose. It has usually taken way more time than I expected, to build "my vision". It all made sense on paper.

    But, hey...that's the way I roll!

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  4. skywatcherFebruary 7, 2011 at 11:14 AM

    This cave project is turning from cool to amazing! Great sculpting work and fresh ideas! I look forward to more

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  5. TimFebruary 8, 2011 at 7:54 AM

    The hot glue manufacturer loves you!

    Great stuff!! Can't wait to see it all set up in some crazy battle scene!

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  6. AnonymousFebruary 8, 2011 at 10:06 PM

    Wow!!!
    Debra

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  7. ZeroTwentythreeFebruary 8, 2011 at 11:50 PM

    I've only recently started following your blog. Your cave terrain is amazing!

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  8. Warren LudwigFebruary 9, 2011 at 9:02 AM

    Welcome "023"! And thanks everyone for the nice comments!

    Just letting you know that this week is already full, and I haven't yet started making the final installment to the Cave Series. Hopefully I can get goin' on it tonight, but it might be into next week before I can post. Just sayin'...in case you didn't have a life and were just staring at the computer waiting for it!! Go outside and play! :)

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  9. AnonymousFebruary 10, 2011 at 2:49 PM

    looks really cool dad!- J

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  10. deadorcsFebruary 11, 2011 at 7:46 AM

    This is probably some of the best cavern terrain I've seen in a long time. Gives me some powerful ideas for my own terrain. Thanks for posting your efforts!

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  11. KarenMarch 28, 2011 at 10:49 PM

    OMGoodness Warren!~

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  12. AnonymousApril 28, 2014 at 6:10 AM

    How could you cast something like this out of resin or plastic? Would you need a plaster mold to cast it instead of silicon?

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  13. WarrenApril 28, 2014 at 10:02 AM

    anonymous...I have no idea how you would try to cast this...I don't ever try that...each is it's own unique piece. Sorry. The casting process would be tricky for some of these things, since they were not simplified for that purpose...lots of undercuts. Things would have to be created with casting planned for from the start.

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  14. imredaveJuly 19, 2016 at 8:30 AM

    Good inspiration. If I were attempting to cast I would cast them in half the long way. But I am much more likely to just make a couple from scratch, now that you have shown the way. Thanks for that

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