Ashton's City Hill/Platform

Hi Guys, Here's my latest terrain piece:

I made this piece out of a small section of Pink (insulation) Foam. The texture is perfect of carving (with a razor blade) or painting. Pink Foam is my new favorite... to bad it doesn't come in packages around other things...







I also tried to conquer the "standing on the steps" problem that many miniature games (like Mordheim) face


And to continue on my rant about basing terrain: since I haven't based any of my buildings, they also can be placed on top of this platform, and look perfectly normal. =]


(EDIT: Boo yea, Now I have three good pieces of terrain, and 3 good models =])

I'm always trying to get more ideas/techniques, so feel free to C&C =]

Enjoy,
Ashton Sanders
(P.S. More info and larger pics on my Mordheim Blog)

Ashton wrote:

I made this piece out of a small section of Pink (insulation) Foam. The texture is perfect of carving (with a razor blade) or painting. Pink Foam is my new favorite... to bad it doesn't come in packages around other things...

Great looking terrain piece - we have been talking about making something similar for our board.

But where did you get Pink Foam? I can't find it anywhere!!!

WELL DONE, Ashton!!! That is a very nice piece of work, AND an excellent choice of colors. Take a bow, my friend!
Pink Foam is also my building material of choice. Home Depot is finally of some use. If you can't get your foam fix locallly try www.hotwirefoamfactory.com/home.php . The foam is under Accessories, AND they are THE place to go for foam working tools.

Thanks guys,

WarbossKurgan wrote:

But where did you get Pink Foam? I can't find it anywhere!!!

Haha, It's the story of 99% of the terrain makers in the world... I checked every hardware/construction store within 50 miles of my house... then I was at a neighbor's house, just hanging out, and I found a pile of pink foam... probably half a pallet of 4x8 sheets... go figure...

He said he got it from "woodies" a contractor-type hardware store 10 minutes down the road (which I checked)... WTF mate

All I can say is check around at stores that contractors would go to get supplies to build a house and ask for "pink insulation foam"
I hope that helps.

On a side note: I did see a pile of "blue insulation foam" that looked to be 2 inches thick, and looks to have a piece of paper glued to each side (like foamcore)... has anyone used that before? will it work like pink foam does?

This looks great, Ashton! Nice idea and great job on the execution.

Ashton wrote:

He said he got it from "woodies" a contractor-type hardware store 10 minutes down the road (which I checked)... WTF mate

LOL. This won't be much of a help to me since that's the name of a club in my town.

awesome ashton

Thanks guys,

cianty wrote:

Ashton wrote:

... "woodies"...

... that's the name of a club in my town.

Hahah a club named Woodies? haha that's a new one

Off topic again: they don't sell pink foam, but some sort of craft foam: http://www.craftfoam.co.uk/prices.htm anyone used this kind of foam before?

WarbossKurgan wrote:

Ashton wrote:

I made this piece out of a small section of Pink (insulation) Foam. The texture is perfect of carving (with a razor blade) or painting. Pink Foam is my new favorite... to bad it doesn't come in packages around other things...

Great looking terrain piece - we have been talking about making something similar for our board.

But where did you get Pink Foam? I can't find it anywhere!!!

B&Q sell it in huge packs. (its in the insulation section in the timber yard)

£30 for approx 6' x 4' x 2"

Awesome work as always mate ! But it looks a bit 40k IMHO.

Lord Archaon wrote:

But it looks a bit 40k IMHO.

Haha, yea it does, doesn't it. Sweet, talk about a multi-function terrain piece =]

On the blue foam: Insulation foam is color coded white is the least dense, ergo the most fragile; pick is denser than the white & more durable: blue is the densest of the three & very sturdy. If you can get your hands on some GRAB IT UP.

There are denser foam types but are not used for insulation, & are very difficult to work with.

You should be able to get the pink stuff at any lumberyard, or home improvement store like Home Depot.

DeafNala wrote:

If you can get your hands on some GRAB IT UP.

OMGoodness... That's ridiculous. I wish you said that 4 months ago. That same place (woodies) had 3 4x8 panels of blue foam that they were throwing away... and asked me if I wanted them.... DOH

That is really annoying/sad.... Next time.... next time...

I'm sorry you missed out on the blue foam, buddy; I can just imagine what really cool pieces you would have turned it into, & which I could have drooled over. Now that is the sad part....the cool pieces thatis, not the drooling.

Seriously, you've got to check out the Foam Factory if you can't get the pink stuff locally. They sell bundles of foam of various densities [the different densities are actually for differing levels of insulating properties]; they have the best foam working tools; they sell foam putty in bulk at a substantial discount; AND they have a Gallery with some excellent/inspiring terrain pieces including a terrific model of Helms deep [I posted their web site address above].

By the way, the new Orcs & Skaven look great. The improvement is astounding. You haven't struck up a deal with the Chaotic Powers, have you?

looks great, I love the paintjob

nice painting ashton great work

Thanks guys. Glad you like it:

@DeafNala: hahaha I hope to be as witty and hilarious as you one day. I'm glad to have you in the forum. haha

Nice terrain piece, I am thinking about not basing my buildings as well and making foundations for them to sit on just like that. From what I hear not all home improvement stores carry the pink/blue foam for some reason. The home depot around here doesn't even carry wallpaper!! I went to lows and they have textured wallpaper though, for making a table.

@Ashton: AW, GEE! I'm honored to be in such good company. One of my guiding principle was "never to join a club that would have me as a member."
I wish I was as talented as you at your age.

@Pathfinder Dubstyles: here on Long Island the Pink Foam is readily available, but the blue is rarer than an honest man in Washington [D.C. that is]. I guess availablity is a matter of building activity in the area & climate.

DeafNala wrote:

rarer than an honest man in Washington

Hahaha, Amen

Freakin outstanding. I wish i lived in MT.

Da Bank wrote:

Freakin outstanding. I wish i lived in MT.

Me too

Top idea and really well made, doe's look a little 40K to me too though.

Ashton:

Quote :

http://www.craftfoam.co.uk/prices.htm anyone used this kind of foam before?

I believe their's is the same blue foam that Antenocitie's Work Shop (www.barrule.com) sells (though I may be wrong, any one?). I've used it and it's really good for construction but not so good for carving fine detail, such as ruff stone walls, in to. Maybe I'm just doing it wrong! It seems a little too dense and the surface can sort of tear. It does cut and sand very well though, and comes in some very thin thicknesses.
Hope this is of some use.

Huh. I could drive 5 minutes to Fleet Farm and have access to all sorts of insulation foam. I guess that's one good thing about living somewhere where it's cold all the time. The blue foam, or dow foam as it's called around these parts, is fun to work with. It comes in everything from 1/4" to 2" thick, though you have to be careful you don't get the stuff with the reflective material on one side...though it's a pretty hard mistake to make.

Dow foam is great for scenery, I prerfer it over pink foam. It gives a bit more resistance and the range of thicknesses available (if it's common in your area) is fantastic. Really fun stuff to shape with a hot wire cutter, not to mention that you can crank out enough simple hills/cliffs/rocks to cover a 4' x 8' gaming table in a few hours. When I was making scenery I always had some dow foam and foam core handy, plus some plasticard. Fantastic stuff to use.

Ashton wrote:

Off topic again: they don't sell pink foam, but some sort of craft foam: http://www.craftfoam.co.uk/prices.htm anyone used this kind of foam before?

Iif it still matters i'm using their foam to make my terrain boards.

Its pretty durable and easy to work with. Sands well and nice finishs so far for me. Also they delivered quickly and without any hassle which is a plus in my books