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Alternate materials for models


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just an odd question, has anyone used other materials than those provided by companies for models, with this i mean wood like twigs from trees and such and or real rocks. All picked up from outside, not the ones you might find in the shop

 

I was wondering how best to glue stuff on that material, and if it stays connected or if it will fall apart. Or if you can even pin the mentioned rocks with what kind of drill tool?

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I've used real rocks and stones for scenery. The small to medium roadside gravel stuff. Anything from around 1cm up to 5-6cm. I use 5mm MDF for scenery bases and hot glue the stones to it. Finish off the base as you see fit. The funny thing is I then sprayed them black and painted them up to look like rocks. The bonus is that you can literally pick them up for free from any road border, you don't need that many.
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Yes, but I sterilise them first so they don't go mouldy.

 

Most stuff I pick up is cleaned with a toothbrush and warm water, and then given a ten minute soak in hot water with a generous squirt of bleach in it. Finally, set the stuff to dry somewhere warm and then add it to your base.

 

If you want to use twigs or such, they may need to dry somewhere warm for a couple of weeks first - green twigs can take a while!

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Anything! Anything that can look the part at scale is fair game in my books. From old toys, packing materials, containers, old consumer items, rocks, wood/twigs, bark, to all manner of natural materials; depending on your location, there's usually many very alien and interesting natural objects and structures that are just astounding and quite common, if you take the time to find them. I personally have been saving odds-and-ends for years in preparation for when I can start work on my table. Don't let it get out-of-hand, but you may only have one opportunity to grab something in some cases, so do it and save it for later. smile.png

As suggested, sometimes washing and/or sterilizing your find is a good idea; an alternative to bleach, I use TSP (trisodium phosphate) which you can get from any good hardware store. And as mentioned, make sure anything found is completely dry before working with it; let it dry weeks, or even months if you can. With natural objects, usually as long as they are no longer exposed to moisture any decay and/or breakdown will stop, but some things may be delicate or just prone to crumbling, flaking, and otherwise wearing down once dry. In such a case I suggest 'plasticizing' the item.

Put simply, you want to carefully slather the object in something that can soak into the fibers and/or porous surface and dry into a stabilizing layer. You'll wan to coat it enough to let it really soak in, but not so much as to make a mess and ruin the surface. Once it's soaked in and dry, this will both fuse and lock the material so it's stronger and more durable, it will also do a good job of making the surface nice and plastic-like, ready for paint. Acrylic paint itself can be used in this way, and there's many tutorials that will suggest watering down PVA glue for something like this. They will both work well enough, but if you're really serious I've found Acrylic Adhesive (such as Perfect Paper Adhesive) to be particularly good at the job; while it's an adhesive it's not sticky, it drys harder, with a matte finish, and shrinks tighter then PVA glue. I swear by Acrylic Adhesive for basing my models, and I've done several card models that have been plasticized with PPA and and painted to look like plastic, so all I can say is it's excellent for the job.

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Another question, how do the bases react to hotglue? This is for the stones btw, and i seen some cheap €9.50 hot glue pistol from Bison, but it would do me any good if it destroys the bases i try to glue the stones on.

 

-Gw/PP basic plastic round ones

-Fancy resin ones

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You are better off using some two-part epoxy glue, or even thick superglue. Afterwards, a little putty (Milliput is good for this) or some sand and glue can be used to further secure the stones and blend them into your base.

 

Hot glue is fine (won't damage the bases), but isn't very strong. It's also rubbery when dry, and other glue and materials don't stick particularly well to it. Although it has its uses in terrain building, I wouldn't recommend it for basing.

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Tangential to the main point, but real stones help to weigh the bases down a little bit. Depending on the mini, it could make a difference. Just food for thought, not the most important aspect of basing, though. ;)

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