Creating an Eldar themed table, Part 2 of 2


This is a Guest Post by Col. Corbain

Last week, we covered Part 1 of this project, this week, we finish it up.

Once the paper mache is dry, or at least touch dry, it's time to gravel the base. I placed mine on top of a few paint tubs on a piece of paper to catch the overspilled gravel. First, give the base a neat coat of PVA (white glue).


Then liberally pour gravel all over the base and leave it to dry for at least 20 minutes.


After 20 minutes, pour off the excess and use your paper to get it back in your tub. You'll be left with a neat base although it'll still have quite a bit of loose gravel on it. Wait until it's completely dry before shaking this off.


Finally, use your watered down PVA to seal the gravel in place and leave it for a day to completely dry out. Make sure that the gravel is completely dry before doing this otherwise you'll wash the gravel off when you add the watered down PVA. I've propped mine on some paint pots on top of a piece of cardboard to catch the excess drips and make sure that it doesn't stick to the cardboard while it's drying.


Once that's completely dry, it's ready for painting. Undercoat the gravel black and the building white. I normally undercoat everything in black, but with the building being a very light bone colour, it made more sense to undercoat it white.


Don't worry if the paper bubbles a bit, that's the moisture in the paint, they'll disappear when the paint dries. Also, don't worry about getting it perfectly covered in white, any dark patches will be covered next. Paint the building in bleach bone, you'll need to do at least two coats to get a smooth finish. Then paint the base with slightly watered down scorched brown.


Once that's dry, give the building a heavy drybrush of skull white and the base a drybrush off bleached bone.


Don't worry if it appears a bit over white or bleak if you get what I mean, the surface will get broken up in the next stages. The first pieces of decoration are the gems, remember this is optional, but personally, I think they really compliment Eldar terrain. Just glue them on with a little PVA, there's no right or wrong way or amount, it's down to how "Eldar" looking you want your scenery to be.


Next up come the vines, simply run thin strands of PVA across the surface of the building starting at the base and branching upwards.


Next dab on some static grass and leave it to dry. I placed mine on top of some newspaper to catch the overspill so it can go back into the tub.


After five minutes, shake off the excess and you'll have something like this. Don't worry about the bare bits, you can just redab them while the PVA is still wet.


Once you've got your vines sorted, cover the base in PVA. Most of the time I leave a rim of gravel between the PVA and the buildings which is more realistic, but with my Eldar terrain, I wanted to blend them into the table so I covered the entire base from edge to right up to the building.


After that, cover it in static grass or flock. I've gone a bit over the top with the example, you don't need to put anywhere near as much as I did on your base, just make sure it gets a good covering. It's fine to lightly shake of the excess as you go, so that you can gather it up if you're running short. Don't worry, the vast majority will be going back into the grass tub anyway.


Once it's dry, shake off the excess onto your newspaper and then use the newspaper to get the static grass back into your tub. Next up, glue pieces of clump material and lichen around the base of the building, especially where your vines start from the ground.


Once that's done, you're done.


There you have it, a nice looking bit of Eldar terrain made from recycled material with simple tools that easy to do for anyone who's new to scenery making. I hope you liked my little tutorial. If you give it a go, drop me a line as I'd love to see what you've done.


Ron, From the WarpIf you've got any questions about something in this post, shoot me a comment and I'll be glad to answer. Make sure to share your hobby tips and thoughts in the comments below!