Footbridge to privy...tabletop gaming terrain...

[catdancer]

 

This is the footbridge that crosses a gully as you head to the privy in the (privy standoff board) of my farmers market & renaissance fair gaming board. The figure is just for size & scale visual comparison.

 

The bridge is completely scratch built; using real tree branches as the base logs with wooden planks...one side is heavy with ivy growth and the other with moss...the rope guard rail (for what it would be worth) adds a rustic backwoods touch & feel.

[Hex]

I think its great. What did you make the actual planks from? They look like they could be popcicle sticks but the texture suggests otherwise.

[catdancer]

I think its great. What did you make the actual planks from? They look like they could be popcicle sticks but the texture suggests otherwise.

The planks were cut to scale from Glenn Craft (scale lumber) and then each was grooved with an X-acto blade for the rough texture.

[Darsc Zacal]

I bet you could do a very impressive "rickety old bridge about to fall apart and in drop into the deep chasm" type of scenery piece.

[catdancer]

I bet you could do a very impressive "rickety old bridge about to fall apart and in drop into the deep chasm" type of scenery piece.

It's funny (peculiar) that you mention that scene...a couple of years ago, I built exactly that item for a friend (for his railroad layout)...in HO scale/gauge. Some of his friends saw it and I got (2) commission jobs out of it...one for a hobby shop (as a display)...the other for a client who wanted it built in 1/35th scale.

[Doug Sundseth]

A trick I learned from Heisler for adding grain to scale lumber:

 

Align a saw perpendicular to the lumber and scrape it in the direction you want the grain to go. The finer the teeth on the saw, the finer the grain. It's quite a lot quicker than carving grooves with a single blade.

[catdancer]

A trick I learned from Heisler for adding grain to scale lumber:

 

Align a saw perpendicular to the lumber and scrape it in the direction you want the grain to go. The finer the teeth on the saw, the finer the grain. It's quite a lot quicker than carving grooves with a single blade.

You are absolutely correct; it is a lot quicker...I have used that process myself...but if you use the X-acto blade...you can cross cut grains, make some deeper, gouge out sections were you want, cut edge wear into the lumber, etc...all in the same process. From this little tell-tale comment, I can see that you have some experience in the little tricks of fine modeling.

[Baugi]

Align a saw perpendicular to the lumber and scrape it in the direction you want the grain to go. The finer the teeth on the saw, the finer the grain. It's quite a lot quicker than carving grooves with a single blade.

 

Doesn't have to be wood, either! I did exactly this with thin strips of plastic (plasticard would work, I used the lid of a margarine tub), and a razor saw for the "pub floorboards" for the tiefling rogue (Eccardian Drovenge) in my D&D group.

[Bruunwald]

Yeah! Love a good bridge. Bridges always welcome!

[Suden]

You put an impressive amount of effort into making these terrain pieces, and it really shows. Good choice of mini to illustrate scale, he has a nice dynamic pose. Though one shudders to think of why he would need a dagger for a trip to the privy.

[catdancer]

You put an impressive amount of effort into making these terrain pieces, and it really shows. Good choice of mini to illustrate scale, he has a nice dynamic pose. Though one shudders to think of why he would need a dagger for a trip to the privy.

I thank you very much for your very kind comments. I try to build my pieces with an artistic eye as opposed to a modeler eye; and in my minds eye...I try to place myself into the piece I am working on so I can get a feel for it and the surroundings. I know that what I just said may make me sound like I am not all here...but that is the way I work & wrap myself into the given piece. I hope that this makes sense.

[lexomatic]

I quite appreciate the bridge here. I was planning on building one from match-sticks. I was planning on tying them together with wire, then adding a twine guard-rail. No time-frame though, which is why I'm posting... for future reference.

[spencerjohn]

I am glad to see you are finally "bridging the gap" in your terrain collection!

 

muhuhahahhaha!

 

Very nicely done!

[Pingo]

 

You put an impressive amount of effort into making these terrain pieces, and it really shows. Good choice of mini to illustrate scale, he has a nice dynamic pose. Though one shudders to think of why he would need a dagger for a trip to the privy.

 

I thank you very much for your very kind comments. I try to build my pieces with an artistic eye as opposed to a modeler eye; and in my minds eye...I try to place myself into the piece I am working on so I can get a feel for it and the surroundings. I know that what I just said may make me sound like I am not all here...but that is the way I work & wrap myself into the given piece. I hope that this makes sense.

That's how artmaking works.

 

I don't even blink when people tell me how their work is talking to them, so don't worry about mentally placing yourself within a work.

[Darkmeer]

 

 

You put an impressive amount of effort into making these terrain pieces, and it really shows. Good choice of mini to illustrate scale, he has a nice dynamic pose. Though one shudders to think of why he would need a dagger for a trip to the privy.

I thank you very much for your very kind comments. I try to build my pieces with an artistic eye as opposed to a modeler eye; and in my minds eye...I try to place myself into the piece I am working on so I can get a feel for it and the surroundings. I know that what I just said may make me sound like I am not all here...but that is the way I work & wrap myself into the given piece. I hope that this makes sense.

That's how artmaking works.

 

I don't even blink when people tell me how their work is talking to them, so don't worry about mentally placing yourself within a work.

 

 

What Pingo said. When I am painting (or anything artistic I do alone), the rest of the world does not exist.  It's just me, my paint, and whatever I'm working on.  I usually have the BBC world service on but I judge how far I get into a piece by how much I hear of the service or whatever radio (celtic pipes, classical, baroque, Green Day, etc) I am listening to.  If I get too far into something, I can spend four to six hours when all I intended was 45 minutes to an hour of work.  And yes, that's with an alarm clock going off the entire time (I tried).

 

Also, Paul, this is a great footbridge and between your and Doug's comments for texture in scale lumber I have learned something very useful today.  Thank you both!

Edited January 1, 2015 by Darkmeer