BMK                                                            BMK

                     The Bitmap Kid Presents
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                         Paint ye Dragon
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               Part II -  Landscapes and Buildings
                               ONE

Although painting miniatures and displaying them on a table or desk
can be very fun and absorbing in itself, there is nothing like
seeing your expertly created figures battling on realistic
landscapes you've made yourself. In the first part of this guide,
I'll show you have to make detailed, realistic looking lands that
can cost very little indeed. Soon you'll have a table top looking
like a castle itself!

1 - What you need.
    Modelmaking, all sorts of modelmaking, can be as cheap or
expensive as you can afford. True, you can make a good model with
next to nothing, but for better results and basic ease, it can be
well worth spending a few pounds.

    First, if you're going to put some painted figures (see a
later edition of this guide) onto your 'land' then you'll need to
decide what size/type you're going to buy first.

    Nowadays plastic figures can be just as good and detailed as
the metal ones. Only quite recently has plastic been an option and
so, although cheaper (in most cases) you'll probably find metal
figures more easily. Either metal or plastic figures will suit
your purposes - just have a look at them closely to check their
quality, sometimes you get the odd one that hasn't moulded too
well, or just is too naff to use!

There are three widely used sizes of figures used - the larger
ones are better for more detailed landscapes and buildings, if you
were intending to decorate the INSIDE of buildings for instance,
the smaller ones for larger models, whole castles or towns for
example. The tiny-tiny ones are not really recommended for general
RPGs or show unless you're planning to create a whole city!!
Simply choose the type of model you need or would like.  The best
place to buy model figures must be specialist fantasy shops like
Games Workshop, but you'll probably find mail-order places in
magazines like the great 'White Dwarf' or 'Dragon' available from
newsagents. Once you've decided on your size/type of figure,
you'll need to buy at least one so you can refer the scale of your
building/landscape to it.

The next thing you'll need is your tools and material. Most of the
things you'll need are general and you'll probably have them
around the house, the same is true of materials, but you may need
a trip to some shops for some items....

Knives/scalpels.
Sharp craft knives/scalpels are essential. Standard Stanley knives
are okay, but something more like a scalpel is better. Also,
disposable knifes or knives with a replaceable blade are better
because you'll probably get through them fairly quickly (I know I
seem to!).

Glue.
Lots and lots of PVA (sometimes called 'marvin' or school glue) is
always needed. PVA (or something similar) glue is essential due to
the fact that it dries clear (transparent) and doesn't 'melt'
expanded polystyrene.

Polystyrene.
The most basic material you'll need is expanded polystyrene. Most
of the time I use the ceiling tiles you can get from DIY stores,
but you can also get solid blocks that can make the job a whole
lot easier. Both are not too expensive, but you may need quite a
few tiles for your buildings.

Plaster.
Standard plaster which you can buy from model shops is used for
many jobs. Mainly I use it to create very realistic contours for
the land and also other odd jobs for the model. If you're only
going to be making a building model with no natural land at all,
it is not really needed, but some naturally shaped land is
recommended somewhere on the model (perhaps around the edge of a
building) to make it more realistic.

Filler.
Any ready-mix filler like Polyfilla will do for this one.
Polyfilla is used a LOT I find, the instances are shown later. It
is best to get the mixed filler in a tube, it is easier to fill up
those awkward gaps and generally dispense.

Brushes.
Some good quality, new brushes and also some cheap old ones.

Chip board.
Chip board is what you should build your model on - get an offcut
from somewhere cheap, decide on the size you want it. I recommend,
at first, you only get a small bit. If you find you get on well
with modelmaking then you can start getting table-sized bits!
Other woods like hard board, I find, sag too easily and can get
bashed around too much. Hard board is fine for a small model, but
it isn't recommended in most cases.

Others.
Anything else that comes into your head that you think you may
like to use, basically. What I haven't gone into here is things
like sand, textured paint, flock (coloured sawdust), trees, turf
etc etc... All can be used on the model, but it is up to you to
decide what exactly you need. I do, however say that you need to
get some different grains of sand and model maker's grass (any
sort) from a model shop.

Okay then, next SynTax month I'll show you how to start off your
miniature masterpiece! See ya!

BMK                                                            BMK