Terrain: Fuel Station (2/2)

I decided to try something different with the basing of this project. My usual basing process involves gluing gravel/sand to the base, followed by a layer of Woodland Scenics Earth Undercoat which tends to do the shading on its own. Then static grass.

This time, I went with suggestions on a different style. I am thinking I did not do it quite right, as it did not come out how I was thinking. As a trial basing for 'desert' terrain, it was a fail in my opinion, but looks ok. Tried some new static grass types to get a feel for how they might look, also with mixed results. But, thats why I do them on terrain first, to see how they look.

Now, pictures:

This is the piece following gluing on the sand, and with the base half painted with the new basing.  It was a mix of Folk Art Coffee Bean paint (the cheap $1 paints - this was the only brown I could find at the time), PVA Glue, and water.

Here I have finished painting the base using the mix, followed by what it looks like after the drybrushing.  I used Vallejo Bone White across the entire thing.  You will also notice the difference in the fence.  Took a drybrush of rust to that as well.  It is worth noting that I think I overdid it in a few places, and when I make another fence like this I might try airbrushing the rust on instead because of that.  Not to say that if I was easier with the brushing it wouldnt of produced good results, but I might as well use the thing since I have it, right?

One thing I did notice while painting on the mix was that some places the sand came up.  I considered re-gluing it down, but decided to just cover it up with static grass.  The paint/pva mix should keep that from happening again, but I think I should of watered it down more.

Close up of the fence.  Nothing much of note there, just be careful not to do it too hard, it came unattached from the poles in a few places.  I also gave them a brushing.

Here is the final layout before gluing the tanks down.  Odd patches of Gale Force 9 Static Grass here and there.  Most are "Winter/Dead" grass, but I wanted to see how "Arid" grass would look so I added a few patches.  I put the trail through the middle using some Citadel Devlan Mud.  I love that stuff for just this purpose, it doesnt hurt the shading of what its going on, but makes a clear 'path' that you can see.

My thought for this project is a fuel or liquid storage facility that has been abandoned.  Once fence that looks like someone drove through it (and probably out the front, knocking down the gate that should be there), and another hole that looks man-made (they cut it close to the pole and rolled it up).  After that, it was just left there to rust.  The fence and containers are in poor condition, and other than people walking through it as a shortcut, it is of little interest to anyone.  Possibly due to the liquids stored there, or a spill in the past, grass only grows in odd patches, mostly dead (or weeds).  You could possibly use the old tanks for cover, but its not much of a defensive position.

The end result I am mostly content with.  It was a learning experience at the very least, and let me get some use from odds and ends in my terrain box.  Hopefully writing this will be of some use to someone else.  Now, the finished project.

Terrain: Fuel Station (1.5/2)

I have been held up with figuring out how to base the ground on this one, but I did get the fuel tanks done and rusted a bit. I also noticed a lack of finished pictures of the fence. This should do for both.

The rust effects were added using Reaper Rust Brown for the spotty rust patches, and a watered down Acryl Model Master Rust for the 'leak'.

The spotty rusting I did based on this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NnPkPG7iafQ

I picked the storage tanks up from a local (Colorado Springs) Model Train store. They are Cornerstone HO Scale Modular Storage Tanks: http://www.hobbylinc.com/htm/wrr/wrr3197.htm

Terrain: Fuel Station (1/2)

Finding a package of storage tanks in my box of terrain, I got inspired to make a piece of terrain with them.  That got me to thinking when I had seen tanks like that before.  I remember working at Transit and having small fenced areas where the city would keep things in big metal tanks.  Simple enough, right?

To start I took a hunk of 3mm MDF I had as a scrap (it was originally going to be a base for a building, until I decided not to base them like that).  I measured 2mm in from the edge and drew the outside line.  Then I took the length and divided it up so that there would be posts at equal spaces.  4mm I think?  It will vary based on the piece, just make it so that they are evenly spaced.  I also laid down the basic idea of what I wanted to do, with the two open spaces in the front center for the 'entrance' and the two places there would be holes in the fence (right middle, and top left).

Be sure to bevel the edges somehow.  I used my Dremel tool with a grinding wheel, though an actual sander would be much better.  Its a big difference between the two, as you can see.

I used another scrap to try techniques out on before I used them on the actual piece.  Very helpful, I would suggest getting a scrap and doing it to get them down.  This way, I found out that just hammering the nails in for the posts was not going to work so well, as well as how to get the right angle to bevel the edge, how to attach the fence, etc.

Using the dremel, I drilled holes at the points marked on the layout.  Top down, so if it splintered it would be on the bottom and I could clean it up.

I then took a pack of nails that were about the right height for a 15mm figure, and ground the ends down.  Again, fairly simple.  I would advise the standard safety gear when working with grinding metal and wood.  No blood this time, but a nail did get away from me briefly.

I like for my things to be as precise as I can make them, so I took a larger drill bit and went in to drill out a notch for the head of the nail to rest in.  Just takes a steady hand, though I imagine there is an actual tool that would do it in no time.  Really wish I hadnt given away my drill press.  You just need to make sure the post will stand up straight in it.

I put all the nail posts in and used some Woodland Scenics white glue (I believe this is what they call PVA glue in the UK?  Regular US Elmers White glue doesnt work well at all) to keep them in place.  I used a hunk of granite to keep the base down so they would glue in the right position.  If you need one, most counter-top places that work with granite will hand out samples, and they work great for a variety of shop uses.

While the glue was drying on the posts, I started working on the 'fence'.  I went down to ACE hardware and in the screen door repair section they have rolls of different types of mesh.  I settled on an aluminum mesh for about $1.50 a foot?  For my future projects I will look for the diagonal wire mesh that I am told they sell at car repair shops, because some important lessons were learned with the aluminum mesh.  First, you have to be very careful how you cut the stuff so it doesnt twist and deform.  A sharp pair of scissors is a must.  Then, I had to bend the 'top' and 'ends' of the mesh over so it had a finished look (the bottom I left raw).  Again, I measured it up against a post, then a figure, and got the right pattern.  In my case, there are 15 'boxes' as well as the rough top and bottom.

Important note - When I purchased the mesh, I picked up some 22g wire to attach it to the nails.  This stuff was way too thick and difficult to work with.  I found that the strands of aluminum mesh, when pulled out, work great.  So, if you cant find any wire small enough, consider picking up a foot of the screen mesh to get all the wire you will need (once you pull it apart).  Cutting the mesh up makes a horrible mess, so keep that in mind.

Once the posts were dry I got an idea of how long I needed to make the fence lengths.  I needed three sections of it, and I measured over so I could 'distress' the fence in some parts to look damaged.  Before I started working on those, I used some CA+ (Zap-a-Gap is what I like) with some zip-kicker (the stuff that makes it harden and thicken quicker) on the bottoms of the nails, then a layer of white glue to fill in the gap.  While that dried I cut and fixed up my fence parts.

I brushed a strip of white glue on the post, then laid the mesh against it.  I put the corner bend in first using a spare nail, so I wouldnt have to fiddle with it while glue was involved.  Taking heavy objects I had nearby, and sticks to insure proper fit, I pushed everything together and let it dry.  Note - Push objects next to the post but not on it.  The stick on the granite block got some glue on it, and I had to reapply and position it differently when I took the stick off.

After the glue sets, I took a piece of the mesh wire and attached it physically to the post.  Just a pair of tweezers was enough to twist it, then a cut and fold.  That way, if the glue later fails, I can just reapply without having to do the whole process again.  Looks good too.  You could do two ties, top and bottom, but I felt that was overkill.

Next, I distressed the end of the fence.  I wanted this section to look like someone drove a vehicle through it, so I bent the posts (something I would suggest doing before you glue them down, I had to be very careful not to break the hole they were put in) and tore up the fence.  I just cut it at odd angles, then using those tweezers I bent it all up.  Then I repeated the steps for the rest of the fence.

How I modified the other holes, and the rest of the project will be in my next post, once I get pictures of it.