How 2 Cut Foam?

A minor rant: Something I haven't really seen anyone talk about, but has been troublesome for me, is the cutting of foam in terrain building. It's always glossed over and nobody ever seems to have any difficulty slicing foam into whatever shapes they need. But for me, I've had a hell of a time trying to get a clean cut on both foamcore and insulation foam.

A reasonably clean cut.

A completely horrible cut.

Even when I feel the blade sink in smoothly, it often ends up jagged in some way, and it's pretty common that it doesn't sink in smoothly anyway. Foam also seems to dull blades alarmingly fast, and I've even noticed a blade that started off cutting foam quite easily get dull and start to struggle after less than ten minutes of cutting.

I'm obviously doing something wrong, and it's something I'll pick up with experience, but for now it's still really annoying. I'm still trying out different methods, as I'm hoping that there's a good way to do this besides just starting with a brand new blade every time.

Minor Progress Update

Just dropping in a small update about my progress with the forest terrain project, because I know it looks like I've been slacking.

The plastic card sheet I ordered has fallen through. I was assured it would arrive just a few days after I ordered it. It didn't, but it wasn't a big deal since they then told me it would be just a few more days, meaning I could still work on it during the holidays. What they neglected to inform me of was that they would be taking an extended holiday break, and be closed during that whole time. Now, three weeks after the initial promised date, they're open again but there's still nothing.

That's too long for me, and now I'm looking for alternatives. For the forest templates themselves, I'm looking at picking up masonite board at an art store. It's fairly cheap and I see no reason why it wouldn't work, although I'll need to figure out a practical way to cut it.

I was also planning on using the plastic sheet for something else. I picked up cheap grey floor tiles at Dollarama some time ago, with the intention of using them as a basic playing surface. The LGS's tables are covered in green felt, which is generally ok, but not for urban environments. I figure the grey colour is close enough to asphalt or whatever, and it should be pretty durable.

One of the tiles, plus Zoe & Pi-Well

Anyway, the tiles need a larger base to stick to so they aren't so loose, and if I'm not getting plastic sheets, I'll probably go with the original plan I had, which is to stick them on foamcore.

Learning the Basics of Forest Terrain

I realized that the last post about my forest terrain was not very informative. The photo didn't provide any scale and I didn't really talk about the process. Well, I've got a new photo:

PanO Kamau and Auxbot not painted by me.

The original plan was to top off this template with some fuzzy green flock from Penemue, to give it some more character and break it up a little. We've since decided not to do so, meaning the twigs, which I already thought looked kind of awkward, now look extremely bare. I probably won't add twigs in the next template I make, although it was suggested to me to add a large twig to represent a fallen tree trunk.

The reason I didn't have any actual trees on the template to begin with, even though it's supposed to be a forest, is because I've found that trees that are glued to a forest template often get in the way while playing. Perhaps more importantly, terrain left at the LGS often gets worn down pretty hard because a lot of random people will use it, and not everybody cares enough to handle them gently. This means that they'll break off.

My solution is to have separate trees that can be moved if needed, as well as stored separately. These trees are Christmas trees from Dollarama that have had their bases painted brown. Obviously, they look rather out of place but it'll have to do as a cheap solution. Speaking of out of place, after adding the trees on top, I realized that the twigs really do get in the way, so that's another reason to not have them.

As for the process, this is beginner stuff but I feel it's worth mentioning because everybody else just glosses over it. I used Scenics Cement, which is good stuff, but it's very thin.

It's meant to be sprayed, but it's also meant to be brushed on, and this is what nobody talks about. I would actually put on some white glue first, and then brush on the cement while also spreading around the white glue. Because the cement is so thin, the flock/sand/whatever doesn't actually adhere that well to it in one go. Adding in white glue makes it thicker, and of course glue has its own bonding power. I recommend pouring the cement you plan on using into a separate container and brushing from there, because you'll inevitably get some glue in there and possibly also sand or whatever else that didn't adhere properly.

Spraying avoids the messes inherent in brushing, but it also brings some messes of its own. You obviously have less control with a spray bottle, so it wasn't practical for what I was doing. I first put on the sandy path, let that dry, and then added the flock. Spraying for either step would get me cement on places I didn't want it. Spraying can also create a mess simply due to cement dripping.

It is, however, the most logical way to seal your terrain. Despite my problem with the cement's adhering qualities, it's fantastic as a sealer because it keeps the terrain's texture and doesn't create a plastic-like shell. I picked up a small spray bottle at Dollarama in the cosmetics section. It even has a filter at the end of its pipe, which I'm told is key for avoiding clogs with this stuff.

I'm sure I'll learn some more stuff when I work on my next forest terrain template. My plastic sheet better be in by now, because I want to start working on it soon.

Ready Set Go!

I've always loved playing miniature war games, but I've never been much into the hobby aspect. This is most evident in my Infinity collection, where only 5% of my models have any paint on them and I've only ever fully painted up one of them. I've now decided to take the hobby side of wargaming more seriously, and this blog will hopefully serve to motivate me while serving as a record of my progress.

I'll mostly be keeping my posts restricted to my progress with hobby stuff, to keep me on target. This means stuff like painting, terrain, and assembly. I'll also try to take pictures. Currently, my photography is bad but hopefully I'll be able to look back on this and see my photography improve with time.

Also, I have to thank Penemue for causing me to even think about doing a blog. His blog is starting off great, and after seeing the beginning of his Sophotect series, I started thinking about the potential in that sort of thing. So here I am.

To start things off, here's a forest template I've been working on.

 
It's my first ever attempt at something like this, and my first time working with flock (aside from a couple bases). I was approaching this as a learning experience, and it really was. I now have a much better idea of how to use the materials effectively. You might say "how hard could it be, you just spread the glue and slap the flock on", and although that is basically the core of it, when you're starting from zero you make a lot of minor mistakes that dramatically slow down the process.

I know it doesn't look like much, and I'm still not sure if I've sealed it enough to stand up to abuse, but I'm now much more confident about the whole idea. I've ordered a 4'x8' sheet of plastic card from Plastics and Signs, and hope to use part of it as a base for a couple large forest templates. I was expecting it to arrive a week ago, but I'll live.