Blood Bowl - Make Your Own Pitch
I'm sure that you could probably figure out from my previous post that I had already begun work on my custom Blood Bowl field by the time that it was published. Those photos are from my garage where the work had begun in earnest.
I wanted to do it on the cheap, but still have it be impressive when it was in public. I purchased some 1.5" styrene from Home Depot and began to work. My squares would be 3cm wide, so after doing some math I lopped off one side of the styrene and got going.
I wrapped the edge in black duct tape to keep the little white bits from flying off and making a mess. Normally I'd finish the edges at the end of the project, but having those little things flying around would drive me (and my lovely wife) crazy. Next I sprayed the surface with some black primer. I was hoping that would make the spray glue work better when I put the pitch down.
I think that it did! I sprayed the back of the grass mat (from Department 56) liberally with the Loctite spray glue. I also masked off the edges with blue painters tape and sprayed the styrene. Then I carefully laid down the grass and smoothed it out. I figured that any bubbles would be eliminated by the eustachian brads that I was going to use to mark the grid. They pushed easily into the styrene and they look fantastic in the green grass.
The marked field was done with Americana Warm White craft paint and a foam brush. The lines were easy to blot in this way!
I cut a stencil for the orc head and I used the foam brush to stipple in the design. So far, so good! Next up: the edges!
(Please be patient with me, historical miniature fans... I'll be back to my usual fare soon)
I wanted to do it on the cheap, but still have it be impressive when it was in public. I purchased some 1.5" styrene from Home Depot and began to work. My squares would be 3cm wide, so after doing some math I lopped off one side of the styrene and got going.
I wrapped the edge in black duct tape to keep the little white bits from flying off and making a mess. Normally I'd finish the edges at the end of the project, but having those little things flying around would drive me (and my lovely wife) crazy. Next I sprayed the surface with some black primer. I was hoping that would make the spray glue work better when I put the pitch down.
I think that it did! I sprayed the back of the grass mat (from Department 56) liberally with the Loctite spray glue. I also masked off the edges with blue painters tape and sprayed the styrene. Then I carefully laid down the grass and smoothed it out. I figured that any bubbles would be eliminated by the eustachian brads that I was going to use to mark the grid. They pushed easily into the styrene and they look fantastic in the green grass.
The marked field was done with Americana Warm White craft paint and a foam brush. The lines were easy to blot in this way!
I cut a stencil for the orc head and I used the foam brush to stipple in the design. So far, so good! Next up: the edges!
(Please be patient with me, historical miniature fans... I'll be back to my usual fare soon)
Looks good in the photographs, and such a good choice of team.
ReplyDeletePhil - Thanks! I am pleasantly surprised so far. This has been my first attempt at any sort of terrain. - Jeff
ReplyDeleteReally wonderful! I didn´t know even this technique - my attempts with such grass mats always failed... Curious to see more in your future posts!
ReplyDeletePeter
Peter - I am sure that I probably didn't use the best method for sticking the mat down. I probably should have applied some acrylic gesso to the surface to make the foam board ready for the mat. But I knew that if there were any bubbles or lifted spots that the brads would hold them down. I have finished the board and I'll have some pictures up soon with some final comments.
ReplyDeleteThank you for reading!
- Jeff