GHQ Models Forums

I'm currently working on some desert terrain using the Terrain Maker system. I'd like to make some sand dune hexes, but i'm stumped as to how to go about it. I've considered using water putty textured to look like dunes, then covered in craft sand. Does anyone here have any experience doing something like this? Does anyone have any better ideas on how to go about it?

Thanks

I have done a set of the terrain maker desert hexes. My method is a bit different and more time consuming than the GHQ method. In order to represent the more typical gravel/small rock desert of North Africa and Arizona for that matter I actually use the Woodland Scenics earth color flock on my hexes.
My method is this.
1. Paint the hex the basic tan color and let dry. This helps to seal the hex so that the next coat of paint will not get absorbed into the styrofoam.
2. Apply second coat and sprinkle earth foam. This will make the hex rather a dark earth color. Let dry.
3. Apply addiditional washes of the basic tan color to lighten it up. Allow time for the wash to dry. It can get a bit messy if not too careful. I can't give you a precise formula as to what proportion of water to housepaint but it should flow easily without being too watery. It is important to not brush the first coat or two hard at all or else you will pull the foam off the hex.
4. You can leave some areas with less wash than others on the hex. This will give a less uniform and desireable effect. It is similar to the GHQ method in that it will provide some areas that appear darker than others. Another possibility is to get textured paint at the paint store and do it that way but the hexes will be more uniform in color but it may be faster.

As to sand dunes, I have considered doing some but have never actually done any yet.
My thought would be to use Durham water putty unless doing really large dunes in which case you could cut some 1/4 inch hexes into strips, cut some angles on them and glue them to the hex in a general dune pattern and then maybe use some water putty to fill in the seams.
As to painting and texturing dunes; the sand in very fine in 1 to 1 scale so I wouldn't use sand or foam to texture them with as this will give it a more gravelly look. At most I might consider some fine grained textured paint but nothing more.

I hope this helps.

Pete - Binpicker, Out!

PICTURES!!!

(please! )

Troy

Hi Ritter and Cama

Great to hear from you guys and I do admire your work. I don't have any new pictures available right now. I admit that my photography skills leave much to be desired and I don't have a great digital camera. If you or anyone else is interested in checking out some samples of what my desert terrain looks like, I would suggest going to Thunder's website and looking under Pete's game in August 06. Thunder took a whole slew of pictures of some of my micro armor in various terrain settings and the last 3 pages of the 16 show some of my completed desert hexes along with vehicles and an 88 on bases that were done using the same technique. The pictures of the vehicles are great but there aren't any shots that show the whole hex from above. To access these pictures go to www.microarmor.com. It does give some idea of the effect that my texturing method acheives.
I will see if I can get someone to take some more pictures of my whole layout. A couple of years ago, 8ball took some pictures of our Micro Armor the Game scenario Debut of the Honey and these were posted on the forum but I think they are no longer available. I know I had a question from Paul B as to how I did my hexes at that time.
I may try to do some dune hexes in the near future using one of the proposed methods I have described unless a better method presents itself to me before then. This may require some thought and experimentation.
Have a great day!

Pete - Binpicker, Out!

Thanks Cama! For the desert scrub I use the Woodland scenics earth toned medium flock. i find that this flock has sort of a brown-green look to it and I like the effect better than some of the other green flock colors which I think would look too green. Have a great day!

Pete

I echo Cama - great stuff. I really like the textured look of the groundwork and the color looks perfect. I love the vehicles too especially the Panzer II! Your Dunkelbraun looks just right for aged and bleached N. African vehicles.

I have to agree, your flocked desert hexes look better than the bare hex latex paint method i'm using. Wish I wasn't so far into my terrain project...

As a public service for those following this discussion, who like me might wind up wandering about on Thunder's site for some considerable time* before they find the desert terrain in question, I offer this picture as a starter:


(Yes, dear forum members, it is possible to post pictures even if you, yourself, don't own a good digital camera. I've been posting Thunder's and CG Erickson's pictures on this forum for years! There, I confess it! )

MmmMMmm GOOD! That Panzer looks good enough to shoot!

And, if this picture is enough to motivate readers to see more, the particular photo album in question is on Thunder's website at this particular location: http://www.microarmor.com./gallery/main ... itemId=718

The desert terrain starts on about page 12 or 13 of that album.


*Note: Not that I mean to suggest wandering about on Thunder's site is somehow a bad idea. Far from it. Many (MANY) very good pictures of micro armor, terrain, and wargames are found there. Many. But if you are trying to stay with this thread, rather than trying to wander off on a long-term project of micro-art appreciation, well, here you have it.



(Added on edit)
I know this thread is about the desert terrain and all, but I feel compelled to say a bit more about that Pz IVf1 in the picture. Pete -- that's really well done! I like EVERYTHING about it. I like the base shade and the weathering. I like the color of the tracks, and the way the road wheels are painted (not just on the outside, but across their depth from the top sides), I like the hull MG, I like the muzzle of the 75mm gun, I like the way the decal is set and weathered onto the armor. Just everything about it. A true piece of micro-armor art.

Not that this level of achievement is unusual for your tanks. Just that this one is here, now, to be admired. It is VERY NICE. So nice, in fact, that ... I hereby pronounce you a MASTER of MICRO ARMOR!

Thanks very much Mk1 for the compliment. Thanks Ritter. Thanks Cama.

Troy, like you I use Humbrol paints for my work. For my German N. Africa vehicles I used #63 which used to be called Afrika Korps Desert Yellow or something like that years ago. I used quite a bit of whilte mixed in to get the bleached and scale effect I was looking for. The model is also "dusted" with my own mix of paint thinned out considerably with thinner and sprayed from my airbrush at a fair distance over the whole model and then given heavier coats along the suspension and the rear of the tank.
One needs to be a little careful so as to not make the whole tank look like a giant dust ball and lose all the painted details. Have a great day!

Pete

...Wish I wasn't so far into my terrain project...

Ahhh--- you can always go back an upgrade what you done. Seeing the outstanding work posted here has inspired and encouraged me to keep working. Right now, I'm in the process of adding bushes to the ditches beside all my roads as well as to the banks of my streams and rivers.

Will post some pictures after finishing ---- some day.
Bill
http://www.freewebs.com/gupiao/

The Terrain Maker lends itself to upgrading or even changing if necessary. I might suggest if you aren't sure about any new techniques for terrain, to use one hex as a test bed to try it out. If you happy overall with the result then you can create more. If not, you have maybe sacrificed one hex only. I have found that Terrain Maker is pretty forgiving when it comes to redoing things. My original desert hexes were painted in a color called "Mystic Sand" which was redder and darker than what I have now. I was somewhat dissatisfied with that look for North Africa although it did look like some areas in the high desert of Northern Arizona. I sanded to original hex with medium sandpaper and then went through my process with a color from Sherwin Williams called "Ligonier Tan". It is virtually impossible to tell the hexes that were re-done from the ones that I added later from scratch. Just some further thoughts here>

Pete - Binpicker, Out!

thanks for the advice. I tried a new approach with gobs of white glue and modeling sand. I think the results are a lot better than bare foam with latex paint. I'm going to try variations on this theme to see what I can come up with. Please forgive the poor photography!

Hi Cletusthebold

Thanks for sending a photo of one of your hexes. I looked at your photo and I would like to make some constructive comments. Overall, your hex looks okay but in the photo at least the sand looks a bit too yellow to me. I can say that there is sand close to that color somewhere in the world but generally I would stick to shades more tan in color with a yellow tint perhaps. In this case the yellow looks rather intense but that may be the photo. I live in Arizona and have been to Saudi Arabia so have seen some different deserts up close. There are many variations in color - some more gray, yellowish, reddish or plain old dirt tan.
Another thing you might consider if you want to use the sand method is to paint the hex and use the paint to adhere the sand by sprinkling the sand on while the paint is still wet. This may give it a less uniform look which is actually desireable. Have a great day and thanks for sharing your work on the forum.

Pete - Binpicker, Out!