Building Very Basic Warhammer 40k Terrain Tutorial

[paulymath]

Last week I went out and bought some supplies to make a very basic Warhammer 40k terrain / gaming table.

I decided to build the table using 3 pieces of 4'x2' MDF boards, but to start with I just ended up experimenting with just one of the 4'x2' pieces of MDF.

The basic steps I followed were:

1. Mix 1 part P.V.A. glue with 1.5 parts warm water in a container. (Approx 125ml each)
2. Spread watered down glue onto MDF wood in roughly 1 square foot squares, using an old paintbrush.
3. Pour sand over top of the glue which I picked at Michael's.
4. Make sure all areas are evenly covered with sand.
5. Repeat steps 2,3 and 4 until the whole board is covered with sand.
6. Give board 24 hours to dry.
7. Mix 1 part P.V.A. glue, with 1 part Acrylic Black Paint, with 1 part warm water.
8. Brush on this black glue/paint/water mixture over the sand which should now be semi-stuck to the board. This second coat of paint/glue will help to "seal" things and to paint any wood surfaces shining through any areas not fully covered by sand.
9. Wait 24 hours for the board to dry.
10. Dry brush with gray, brown or both to give the board a "dirty" war-torn look.

These are the steps I followed and the board turned out pretty good. I'll make a video of the process soon when I make the second 4'x2' board piece.

[WonderBart]

Good info, Can't wait to start my own Terrain Battle Zone

[Mitoki]

Very Nice Info. It might be useful to some other people who would like to do this. Very Good Post.

[naciketas]

Why do you expect all areas to be equally covered with sand? If the sand is not spread uniformly how would the board be?

[WarClaw]

How long does it take to create a good terrain? (apart from the 24 hours "waiting for it to dry") And also , how long does it take to create a 'fully equipped' Warhammer 40k army? A friend of mine loves this strategy game but he bought the stuff.. he just paints the soldiers, he doesn't actually make the terrain.

[paulymath]

The actual time it takes to do the work is not long. Maybe 3-4 hours of work. However, because of the drying time between gluing, painting, etc. it can take several days. You don't want to rush and make and make a mess because you didn't wait too long.

I'll soon be making a step by step tutorial of this in video format.