Bartertown.com

kturock wrote:

CMSheats wrote:I just thought of it, would that spray foam that people use around hoses and stuff work for hills? Like could you spray it and smooth it out?

nope.
Better to buy sheets of 1 inch stryofoam from the home stores.

I just left Home Depot.

a sheet, which is 3/4 inch thich, 4 FOOT by 8 FOOT is $7.78.

2 inch thick, is $14.98.

Wow. You really can't beat that! I will have to get some and do some experimenting.

go to craft stores and get a foam cutter.

it's basiclly a couple of c or d size batteries, held in a tube, and running current thru a piece of wire, thus making the wire hot.

it cuts smooth edges and no mess.

WOW! That's awesome! I had always used a pocket knife and a file. That would make things like 99% easier. Thanks for letting me know about that. I didn't know they made stuff like that!

I forgot about some of mine for 2 weeks and they were fine.

What do you mean? You forgot them in the stuff that eats the paint?

I mean I got busy and they were in the sol'n for 2 weeks before I got a chance to scrub them off.

Still didn't hurt the models (plastic) underneath.

I used to use clean kitty litter and mix it with Elmers white glue, and make it into a gravelly-paste like mixture. I would then clump it up and shape it with my hands onto bases when i used to play 40k and it worked great. After it dried, spray it with black primer and paint it as usual. The best part is when its drying, you can put bitz and things sticking out of the mixture.

Also, dunno if anyone mentioned this but be careful when using foam on bases. Spray paint and glue will eat right through the foam, you need to coat it in latex paint before spraying or gluing it.

Since they're not an advertiser, I'm not going to mention a name, but there's a place online that sells crushed glass to use as snow on scenic bases. It looks absolutely PHENOMENAL, but I would be scared out of my mind handling the stuff. The warning on the site says you need a certain type of certified face mask and heavy duty work gloves to handle the stuff. It's actually crushed down small enough that it would be easy to inhale. Imagine having thousands of small shards of glass in your lungs or eyes! But yes, if you're feeling adventurous go google it.

Lol. That sounds pretty scary. : ) I have never heard of glass used as snow. I have only ever seen it used as crystals. Do you guys know of anything that you could use for crystals without having to buy them? I have not found anything yet that would work.

well you could get some rock candy from the dollar store,seal it and paint over it.

Azbag#1 wrote:I forgot about some of mine for 2 weeks and they were fine.

In hindsight, I thought you were referring to Castrol Break Fluid; but you are talking about the Superclean (or purple power as some call it). The Castrol Superclean will also weaken glue bonds.

Slate is good. Big pieces break into small ones and make a nice smooth service for adhesion. It is sharp, and heavy (which is nice for weighing down plastic models...the heavy, not the sharp. Sharp is just bad; I think). I have found all my slate in friends landscaping, and just asked if I could take a couple of big pieces It's used a lot for some type of roofing too, so you could probably find it from a landscaping company (they sell gravel and sand and...everything, but usually by the ton. Shouldn't be hard to pick up a few pieces).

About buying styrofoam...the pink stuff works good for bigger projects. I wouldn't buy it though. Just drive around your neighborhood and look for someone remodeling. There will be tons of scraps, and people are nice (usually) or just throw it in a barrel.

Cinnamon makes nice wood bits, and smells nice too.

Small pieces of chaos marines makes very fine basing. Especially with a sniper shot through a helmet (just drill a small hole and cut outwards with your exacto a few times). A small plastic (and identifiable) bit on your base will look good no mater what you put on it (gravel, sand, slate, various basing from train sets etc).

Hobby shops have plastic siding for buildings. You can get i-beams and such. since it's plastic, it bonds really well and has a nice look on the models, but usually has more of a fantasy (maybe steam-punk) type feel.

Hobby Lobby has all kinds of sands, pebbles and stones for bases. They even have static grass!

I went to a local DIY that has landscaping stuff and asked if they had any slate cast-offs. They were nice and gave me a little bag with enough slate chips that I could base several armies.