Category: Fantasy Adventure RPG Material

Blog Update, Over The Hill edition

Happy Birfday to me, I just turned 40. I celebrated by taking a week off of work doing not a lot of anything. I had all these ideas to get all this stuff done, nope. I didn’t paint a single miniature or make any terrain. Thankfully, I did play! Our regular session of Pathfinder was last Sunday.

JST3P.com now has video!

I was playing around with my YouTube account, trying to figure out how to make tutorials. I get a LOT of requests for step by step tutorials on both making the terrain pieces and painting minis. Anyway, I decided to just make a bunch of vids from stills until I can get a tripod situation figured out and start doing proper how-to posts and vids for you guys!



Finally, with my long vacation over, I got back on the ball last night and finished the last of the EPS foam I have plans for, the 2nd Dungeon Room terrain piece.

Dungeon Room number 2. Click to Enlarge.
Dungeon Room number 2. Click to Enlarge.

On the previous Dungeon Room, I had sculpted an arched open entryway on each of the two walls pictured left and right above. On this piece I let the left wall remain with no door, and on the right wall I fashioned a sort of “concealed door” that swings a wall section into the room to reveal a doorway.

Painted and dry brushed. Click to Enlarge,
Painted and dry brushed. Click to Enlarge.




In shadow, the "secret door" is almost hard to see. Click to Enlarge.
In shadow, the “secret door” is almost hard to see. Click to Enlarge.
The hinge is a toothpick I painted a steel color. Click to Enlarge.
The hinge is a toothpick I painted a steel color. Click to Enlarge.
"Secret Door" in the Dungeon Room terrain piece. Click to Enlarge.
“Secret Door” in the Dungeon Room terrain piece. Click to Enlarge.
A portion of the damaged dungeon floor tiles. Click to Enlarge.
A portion of the damaged dungeon floor tiles. Click to Enlarge.

I can tell I rushed through the end of this piece, I am not very happy with the dry brushing here. This is the last of the EPS white “styrofoam”  foam I had plans for. From here, I am moving on to R-10 “Pink Panther” 2″ XPS foam. I am planning on doing some more natural terrain sculpts with that, and I want to do a tower piece as well.

2" XPS pink foam for game terrain sculpting. Click to Enlarge.
2″ XPS pink foam for game terrain sculpting. Click to Enlarge.

So that’s pretty much it for tonight’s short update on the terrain making front. I am currently focused on that, I also have another product review planned very shortly for Post World Games’ Jim Pinto, I have a SLEW of miniatures backed up that need painting, I continue working on my own mega-dungeon as a part of my own home-brew campaign world, and still have a full-time day job besides!

Enjoy some more pictures of the 2nd Arena Style  Dungeon Room terrain pieces, now with secret door!

Just after being coated with gesso. Click to Enlarge.
Just after being coated with gesso. Click to Enlarge.
Brick details with gesso layer. Click to Enlarge.
Brick details with gesso layer. Click to Enlarge.

With only gesso painted on, you can really see the beads of foam that characterize EPS foam, AKA “styrofoam”.

The door was cut out, sculpted and painted separately. Click to Enlarge.
The door was cut out, sculpted and painted separately. Click to Enlarge.
Brush in the shot. Click to Enlarge.
Brush in the shot. Click to Enlarge.
The secret dungeon room door. Click to Enlarge.
The secret dungeon room door. Click to Enlarge.
The secret dungeon room door. Click to Enlarge.
The secret dungeon room door. Click to Enlarge.
The secret dungeon room door. Click to Enlarge.
The secret dungeon room door. Click to Enlarge.
The secret dungeon room door. Click to Enlarge.
The secret dungeon room door. Click to Enlarge.
The secret dungeon room door. Click to Enlarge.
The secret dungeon room door. Click to Enlarge.
The secret dungeon room door. Click to Enlarge.
The secret dungeon room door. Click to Enlarge.
The secret dungeon room door. Click to Enlarge.
The secret dungeon room door. Click to Enlarge.

The toothpick hinge works ok. Simply slides through the door, fits into a receiving hole in the top of the door threshold and slides into a slot on the bottom.