Having previously just dabbled in terrain building for Warhammer 40,000, I decided it was time to start getting serious when I received a Tau collection in a dire state.
The obvious route was to build wrecks (the fate of nearly all secondhand, banged up vehicles) but I also wanted an excuse to explore some techniques and materials I'd never touched before. Mainly using filler.
The obvious go-to with wrecks (and most 40K terrain) is pairing them with devastated urban ruins. As much as I'm a fan of that, I also felt that this had the potential to be something a little different.
I wanted a way to make my lack of a Tau army work in my favor, so I'd theme the terrain around a long abandoned battlefield. I also considered how Tau might have the most organic, non-Tyranid aesthetic in the game. Their restrained, futuristic designs are a departure from 40K's usual penchant for harsh, rough angles, or at the very least indulgent levels of detail and bizarre silhouettes.
Meanwhile if you paint Tau the right color, that crashed Devilfish might look more like a hill. Considering that contrast I decided to go for...
Yes, I know, using Ghibli influences for the "Manga influenced" faction. Well, at least I didn't just go right to Gundam. Beyond references, I thought the imagery of Tau war machines half buried in verdant fields was too cool to pass up. While I didn't want too direct a reference, I did want to capture Castle in the Sky's atmosphere of advanced weaponry abandoned until it gained an almost peaceful quality. It would certainly be different from most 40K battlefields I play on. As an added benefit, it would be compatible with some of the Warhammer Fantasy scenery I have in the works (mainly the trees and hills).
With the general look and feel of this project down, it was time to plan. I picked up some spackle, one of the more popular materials in more elaborate terrain building. I went for a foam board base to keep it light weight, since I find wood based terrain a little unwieldy.
Not having to worry about making it to withstand regular, hobby shop level usage gives me a lot of freedom with this project.
I marked out a basic plan, sketching out terrain features to use as a rough guide. Unlike the back door, both of this battered Devilfish's engines were still on sprue. I only used one, both to give it a more "hilly" silhouette and damaged look. It also contributed to the creative process, as I decided I would be depicting the skimmer crash landing, struggling to stay afloat after jettisoning a damaged engine
So I guess it did circle back to Gundam in the end...
To help sell that image, I could have just cut off and gouged out the right engine block mount but I decided to go for something more in line with the story I had in my head. This exposed port, where the engine plugs in, was made from various bits of plasticard. Not as perfectly even as it could be but it was good practice and I'm quite proud of it. This was a detail I would keep coming back to, starting with just a featureless tube, until I thought of a good detail to add, and then another, and then another, and then...
With the Devilfish cleaned up and modified, I superglued it to the base and began phase 2. To give the Devilfish a sunken look, both from it's initial crash and decades of being left in the dirt, I planned to use spackle. To create the rough outline of the hills and save on spackle, I put down bits of cut up sprue to put on and around the wreck.
I went for an uneven look to make it more visually interesting than just putting it down flat. I also reasoned that the remaining engine block the more intact landing gear offered some assistance before the Devilfish crashed.
Once the sprue "skeleton" was done, I applied the spackling. I did this outdoors and on a lot of newspaper, as you can see. To apply it and spread it around initially, I used a popsicle stick. This was a little rough, and I'll probably look into a plastic spoon or knife going forward. Then I used a wet old brush to blend it into the terrain and base. Once it dried a bit more, I applied light stippling with the same brush to add some earthy inconsistency.
For the back of the wreck, I created the rut left by the crash. Maybe that's a bit cartoony to have it still visible but I wanted to communicate that it was not a happy landing and explain the Devilfish's peculiar angle.
I went back and beveled the base and then blended in more spackle. Not only will that seal the foam core for priming but it makes it look more natural. I might go back to do the front a bit more, though I think the back looks appropriate.
Overall, I'm happy with how my first spackle project turned out. Very few cracks and the sprues added bulk without poking through too much. I maybe could have done better with the stippling but almost all of the spackled portions are going to be covered in flock anyway.
Joining the Devilfish is a downed Crisis suit. I didn't get as many photos, since sit was essentially the same process as the Devilfish .I'm more happy with the edges of this base, though I'm more proud of the Devilfish overall. At first I contemplated having him standing upright like the Laputa robot but I his feet proved stuck to the original base. I also realized that the front would be open when the pilot presumably exited.
Instead, he met a far grimmer fate.
I intend to have these two painted and finished by the end of next week, as I research more reference images and acquire the necessary materials. I might also add another small terrain piece or two from the leftover bits. I have some kind of terraforming node/communication device/doomsday weapon in mind. Whatever the case, I'm excited to see how this salvage project will turn out.
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