Terrain Tutorial - DIY Pylons and Orbital Debris
Paintpot Pylon Terrain Tutorial
The final product!Welcome to my tutorial on making this DIY piece of Scifi Terrain! Materials list below but feel free to branch out with whatever resources you have at home.
- Empty Citadel Paint Pots – I used one standard size and one contrast size
- 2mm Chipboard -I had this in bulk for a project but cereal box will do
- Spare Scifi Bits for Decor
- A base of your preferred size
I made these pieces to support a game I am working on, they serve as large survey markers in a far-future landgrab. In the game the solar system is seeded with such probes by the central government, so I wanted a look that captured a simple mass producible design.
Removing the neck of one paint pot will allow the two pieces to stack more securely. After a bit of cleanup I hot glued the two pieces together and added a strip of cardboard to mask the seam.
I then traced a simple profile onto some chipboard. These pieces will serve as the aerodynamic heat shields of the unit so I went with a simple triangular shape to accentuate the height of the unit.
I cutout the profiles and formed them around the paint pot tower. Secure the profiles to the base of the paint pots with hot glue. This should allow the profiles to flare off a bit from the unit to create some volume. I layered on some additional card to breakup the panel surface.
I wanted a simple paint scheme to continue the theme of mass-produced government equipment. The steps below were done through an airbrush to save some time but would work equally well with a large brush.
- Matte Black Primer (full coverage)
- Vallejo Model Color Silver (75% coverage sprayed from above)
- Colored Inks near the bottom to suggest the unit discolored as it entered the planet’s atmosphere.
Basing was done in flock and mosses to match my existing game mat from Deep Cut Studio.
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