Friday 26 October 2018

Making Terrain on a Budget: Rubble


Here is another terrain piece finished up. Rubble is a pretty popular terrain type but its often hard to represent on the table while being playable. With my removable visual elements I think I have a good balance of looking good but also not limiting where models can be placed. 


I added some bits to the base template that don't stick up too high which would make it harder to place models on them.


Some notable bits of rubble include Darius's crane which I replaced with an alternative and a Stormblade Captains shield which was my first attempt using the greenstuff moulds. It didn't come out so well the details got messed up a little and the whole thing slipped at the back making it unusable for use on a model.


My favourite of the removable pieces for this terrain is this wrecked Centurion heavy Warjack. I don't like the old metal Warjacks very much, especially when compared to the newer plastic/resin kits.
I had used some of the parts from this model in conversions already so it was already in my bits box partly unassembled. I drilled into the torso and the head to add a wire connecting the two making it look like the head was hanging off but still had some of its connective piping.


I built up the ground around the wreck with polyfiller covered in sand. Pushing in a couple of plastic pipes adds to the wrecks look.




I painted it up in the same colour scheme as my Centurions but dirtied it up.


This lumber pile is made using match sticks from large kitchen matches. It was quick and easy to make and paint.



This dry stone wall was originally from the Warcaster Stryker3's base. I didn't like how it looked and thought that it made the whole model a lot less stable so I built my own custom base for him. I used greenstuff to add stone details to the empty areas where the horses hooves would have attached.



What do you think of my rubble terrain? Do you often use it in your games?
If you don't but would like to you could always use a Colossals cardboard wreck marker that the mk2 colossals used until you make something. That is what I did until this was finished.

If you like my content and would like to support me please consider giving my Patreon a look. 



Saturday 20 October 2018

Blog update


I have some news for you, the readers of my blog.

My blog was recently accepted as an affiliate with The Outpost!

And...
I have also set up a Patreon account. (More about that later)

The Outpost, if you aren't familiar with it, is a gaming store and club in Sheffield.
I believe strongly in transparency so I wanted to let you know a little about it.

I have been blogging now for over five and a half years and have, multiple times, considered sponsorship or affiliating my blog with companies. I never went any further down those paths, as I felt I needed to fully endorse the product or service I worked with. I don't want to mislead any of you or advertise something I can't back 100%.

So, having agreed to affiliate myself with The Outpost, here are some of the reasons I endorse them to you guys and girls:

  • Because I actually use their services, it is my 'go to' gaming and hobby web store. 
  • I have found their customer service to be top level (for reference I have ordered from all of the main UK gaming web stores over the years that I have been in the hobby, and seen both excellent and poor customer service across that time from other companies. The Outpost is consistently great.)
  • Their dispatch time is incredible, getting that important model sent out to me in time for me to paint it up ready for an upcoming tournament, for example.
  • They also have been very accommodating to requests, for example when I ordered all the new Trencher releases last year their release dates where split between part way through Oct and the end of Nov. I was keen to get painting and using the models asap, so I emailed their customer services and asked if they could split the order in half and post them at their different release dates. Not only did they do that for me, but I didn't pay any postage at all! (The Outpost don't charge for postage on orders over £80)
  • They offer great discounts, including the discount they offer to members of the UK Warmachine and Hordes Facebook group (which they sponsor) - it's the highest discount discount available in the UK.

So here is how it works...

On a basic level I endorse and advertise The Outpost and its web store, and in return I get a small commission based on any sales made using a link from my blog.

So if you place and order with them via one of the links on my Blog, Youtube or Facebook I get rewarded.

If you want to check out The Outpost via my affiliate link you can do that here

It's a great  way, if you want to support my content but don't want to sign up to my Patreon, to support me without it costing you anything other than the purchasing of products you were already going to get!

On that note, as I mentioned at the beginning of this post, I have also created a Patreon account. I have had readers ask for a way to contribute and this seems like a good way to enable that while also offering something in return. Patrons can vote on article choices, add options to polls or have input on lists and themes I work on, as well as other rewards dependant on the size of contribution.



I will not be paygating any of my articles of course - this is not just a money making venture for me, and I believe that it wouldn't be fair to charge for access to what I am creating. Patrons may get early access to some things, but I appreciate not everybody can afford to give money in support and I wouldn't want to demand it.

If you head over to my Patreon page here. You can see further details and ask any questions you may have about the whole thing there.

I hope you can understand why I'm taking the step to make something from a hobby I have been paying for and working on for such a long time, and of course - I will be exceptionally grateful for any contributions you make for the blog you're reading and enjoying. If you can't manage to help me financially, don't forget to go through my links to The Outpost site if you're already heading that way anyway - and of course, comments, likes and shares go a long way to helping me develop this blog as always.