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<td>From the time Dave Capon first saw Owen Branham's crash site
in White Dwarf he wanted to build one. He was rather
disappointed to find that step by step instructions were not
featured in the Terrain Book later released, even though the
terrain items were pictured in it.</td>
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So he decided to make his own, using Owen's as a guide for reference.
This is how he did it.
# A suitably shaped container for the body/hull. Nappy wash
containers are usually about the right size and shape.
# 3 or more screw on toothpaste tube caps (or glue or anything
else that comes in a tube)
# PVA Glue
# Polystyrene foam
# A strong base board (I use thin plywood)
# rocks, sand, flock and other terrain "finishes"
# Tools: hacksaw, "hot-wire" foam cutter, paint,
paintbrushes
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<td>Cut the container with a hacksaw at about a 30-45 degree angle
from the base to the side. This will be where the base is
attached. Glue the container lid onto the container.</td>
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<td>Stick the hull to the base. This is a little tricky as the
sides of the container are thin, and don't offer too much
surface area for gluing. I used a wall filler to stick mine to
the base, as I prefer lightweight terrain. I do not
recommend this, the filler shrunk and warped the base board.
Instead I would use plaster, or add cardboard tags to the inside
of the container and use lots of PVA glue.</td>
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To get an idea where to place the plaster/glue, put a small amount
on the edge of the container, and position it on the baseboard. When
you remove it will leave a small amount marking out the shape of the
container. Use generous amounts of PVA/plaster to ensure your
container will adhere to the base. Clean up any excess that has flowed
to the outside of the container, but make sure that you leave a good
amount climbing up the sides to ensure a good hold. Later we can add
details to "hide" unsightly bits as required. Leave to fully
dry.
At this stage we want to add any details to the escape pod itself.
The only detail I added was the access door, and some venturi like
nozzles. The door is made from card. Make a tray like that found in
matchboxes with the sides that will create the depth you want. Glue
this to the hull parallel with the side. When it is dry cut some
reasonably thick card to fit onto the box and cover the gaps created
by the cylindrical surface. Measure the diameter of the cylinder - you
don't have to be accurate, as close as you can see with a ruler should
be fine. Then use a compass to mark out the arc, and sides on your
card. You will need two of these and it is probably easiest to use the
first one as a template for the second. The top and bottom should be
simple rectangles as they run parallel to the container sides. The
door I used is a cardboard door from the Space Crusade game, but you
make one out of card, or the sliding cover off a 3 1/2" floppy.
For the venturi nozzles I simply used toothpaste caps arranged in a
triangle pattern glued to the container lid. Other details you might
like to add could be metal panels made from thin card, rivets, or
loose wiring hanging out, let your imagination run wild.
From here, its add the ground details that suit your terrain theme.
My stuff is all woodlands and rocky outcrops, and so I have detailed
it to look like it has plummeted to earth and smashed into a rocky
patch. To achieve this I cut a rectangular block of polystyrene foam
with a "hot-wire" foam cutter, and then trimmed of the
corners until it no longer resembled a rectangle. These are then
stacked against the crash hull, leaving platforms large enough for at
least a 25mm base, and within normal squad coherency (2").
Something you might like to try is leaving a gap or overhang that
allows the base of a miniature to "hook" into, 3-5mm should
suffice.
Add some small rocks along the edges of the hull where it joins the
base. The best way of fixing rocks is to coat them in a mix of 50% PVA,
50% water. This gives the rocks a good coating that will adhere well
without leaving thick goo between the rocks. Use this to your best
advantage to cover holes and places where excess plaster has created a
bad spot. Make sure you put some different sizes around the edge, and
make some spots where there are large gatherings of rubble to give a
"natural" look rather than a fairy ring of stones. Add a
bush or two along the base, as you think looks good. I only added one,
unfortunately it's on the other side and not shown in the photo above.
The base and rocks are then finished with sand and the whole lot is
painted and highlighted. I use sand for all my terrain, as it is
cheaper than flock (ie free), and matches the bases of my miniatures.
The down side of this is the sandpaper finish.