Ratchet

Their website mentions they play Malifaux. You can check out the first episode at: www.flagonsanddragons.com

K-Line is the manufacturer. You can still get this for about $17 at www.trainz.com K-Line 6-21381 Suburban Station Kit http://sap049.channeladvisor.com/p-106523-k-line-6-21381-suburban-station-kit.aspx

@Ciaran: Those are some good ideas. Love the idea of ram air induction... always loved hood scoops on hot rods. For my alternate steam train, I think I'm going to assume that coal and wood will not be the heat source for the steam, but perhaps some soulstone contraption is harnessing the power of a fire elemental. I agree that the big problem is going to be the trucks and wheels underneath. You can buy the trucks online, but a pair of O gauge trucks can run $18 or more. Even the drive wheels for the O gauge are expensive. I'm still thinking about how to achieve the look, while not spending a ton of money. Anyway, here's the train station I got for $10. Here it is painted the base colors: Next comes the details, weathering, and the base for it all.

The grate cover for the pipes is a very nice touch. I'm seeing new uses for the Hirst Arts sci-fi stuff. *makes note in terrain book*

@BK: I think I'm going to create v1.1 of the straight section, with added details, finer grade ballast, and the rails built-into the cast. I like the idea of a destroyed section using the plastic rails, but having them as part of the track means less work for everyone. And, the track will always line up, so future trains can roll without issue. Guys at the FLGS suggested adding rail spikes. I've also noticed that the coarse ballast I used is taking a toll on the RTV mold. Every other cast tears a small tiny piece. It's not noticeable once you paint it, but in time, the mold won't have the same details. So... I'll try using fine grade, with some medium sprinkled in for variety. Here's an alternate painting of the current v1.0 track. I was lucky to find some O gauge trains at a sidewalk sale for $10 each. Woohoo! Now I have some models I can use as guides for building my own. The Warmachine players at the FLGS asked that I make some flatbeds wide enough to accommodate warjack bases, which would also be wide enough for some of the larger models in the Malifaux line. Any other suggestions for trains?

Kaine, I agree with BK: Cool rocks, but the dock would benefit from distressing. Might I also add that you could take a hobby knife and cut some nicks into the sides/ends. You could also use a Dremel tool or drill with a small bit and drill some knot holes in the planks. Lastly, I'd probably knock out a plank or two, or maybe punch-out a piece in the middle of a plank. Some distressing and this board section will look great. Have you planned what the other sections will look like? I'm curious to see how they'll work together. -Ratchet

@Ciaran: I'm first going to try the heat thing. The second option is glue one end down, let dry, glue the rest of the contact points, bend to shape, clamp other end, let dry. The first is obviously the easiest route. Some people at the local game store expressed interest in getting some of these after a game. If I can get a system figured out, I might offer them for sale. Ideally it'd be nice to give somebody the cast piece with pre-curved plastic sections. We'll see if the plastic will hold it's shape after heating. And I'll need to create a jig so every bend is always the same. The scratch build engine is definitely on my list too. Probably going to be a good bit of work, but should be worth the end result. Keep me posted on your progress. @Tumling: If you like I'll take more detailed photos of what I do on the next mold I make, which will probably be the curved section. While I don't have a full tutorial, I do have better progress pics of the track on my website. Thanks again everybody!

Thanks everybody. I've been away on business all week, so no progress pics to show. Maybe tomorrow. @Maniple: Thanks. I glued some small decorative plant stones and then filled the gaps with air-drying clay. @Keltheos: Yup. I originally was just going to build a few of Dave's buildings and leave it at that. But as you can see, I got carried away with adding details. @Flikfutch87: The candle thingy is a piece I cut from a narrow diameter PVC tube. I notched it and gave it some cracks. Many chimneys have ceramic tops. I'll paint this a terracotta color. Here's another shot of the dormer windows: Can't post very big pictures in the forums though.

Here's my WIP of the Undertaker's Office. Nice, but I wanted more details, so I started adding to it. And now I've started painting it. I have some close-ups, larger images and explanations of what I'm doing over here.

I painted my first casting. This actually matches our GW Battle Board for our 40K games, but I'm not sure what scheme to use for our Malifaux games. I think I'm going to paint one with gray rocks and brown wood as a test. Next I think I'll work on a curved section and a section with bomb/explosion craters in it. Who knows... maybe I get the courage to attempt a scratch built train! You can see more of the WIP and larger images here.

As always, great work. I enjoy watching the progress. For color schemes, Victorian homes in the US were a wild variety of colors. They were the homes of the rich, and they showed it with expensive paints on the outside and crazy wallpaper inside. I would do a Google Image search for 'Victorian House Color' and see what shows up. I think you'll be surprised. They used pinks, teals, and all sorts of colors you won't see today. I'm interested to see more!

Another quick piece of advice before you start building your board: Draw some plans of it first. Like any building project, it's nice to have some general plans of what you want to go where. At least I do. I'm sure there are people who can just 'wing it', but I always at least have a list of what I want and a sketch of where I want it to go. Enjoy your project and be sure to post some photos as you go along!

Thanks for the comments! Well, I finally got the mold for the modular train track done. And, I found some time to make a quick initial cast. I'm quite happy with the results. Here's a brief look... You can see more of the WIP here. If you guys have any ideas for paint schemes, I'd like to hear them. Brown rocks, gray wood... gray rocks, brown wood... oil leaks between the rails, etc. Thanks! -Carl

As its been said, great counters! *adds corpse counters to his to-do list*

A friend of mine uses it and I'll say its impressive. He uses the light and medium versions for the bulk of his troops. If you're painting a table army, this will cut down your time and you'll have a very presentable army. If you want to enter something in a contest, then I'd skip this and do all your shading manually. The stuff 'is' expensive, but my friend says it goes a long way. Next time I'm over there I'll get some pics of his Eldar army up-close. Hope that helps!

Here's an out-of-the-box idea: What about using a glass marble? I've seen marbles that look like plasma globes. The trick would be finding one the right size, but I think it would look cool. I hope you make it work!

I really like this. What are the dimensions? Can we see a model next to it for scale? What are your plans for painting the shaft? Black, or trying some kind of fade to black? I don't think my painting skills are up to doing that. *chuckle* If I were going to make one of these (and I think I will because it's a great idea), I might create an isometric shaft view in Photoshop and print that out. Then put that down and build the shaft around it. But even painted black, this is going to be a really great piece on the table. Keep up the good work!

Those minis from Taban are really cool. I think the Mad Muppet miniatures would be good for Dark Heresy, except they're 32mm. Some of the other minis on the site are 28mm - 38mm. Why can't we all get on the same page with scale? =)

I was going to simply use some O gauge train track for our games, but it just didn't feel right. So, I started making my own modular train track terrain from scratch. I have a tutorial on how I'm making it here. Enjoy!

Thanks for the kind comments! The icicle pillars were simply three pillars connected with a small amount of Sculpey. There isn't much texture to them. After drawing out my base size, I rolled a column of Sculpey about 3" long and as wide as I wanted it. Then rolled more heavily at one end to bring it to more of a point. I trimmed off the excess and blunted the remaining point. Repeat this for smaller columns. I then stood it up and pinched it at various intervals, uniformly around the pillar. I think I'll give it another attempt to improve the textures and take photos of it along the way so I can make a better tutorial. Besides, we need more variety of pillars. =) I'm happier with the wall version. I rolled out a slab of Sculpey about the general thickness I wanted, then used a clay tool to cut it into a block. I angled the top cut. After standing it up, I squeezed the top in to make all the sides narrower at the top. The picture doesn't show it, so I'll take some more photos tonight and post. The texture was created with a plastic clay knife tool and a slate drink coaster. First I cut the deep grooves in the pillar, then used the edges of the stone coaster to create the rest of the texture. I alternated the sides/edges I used so I didn't create a pattern in the model. Painting was done in three stages. First, base coat with GW Shadow Gray, then dry-brushed with GW Space Wolf Gray, then highlight the top and points with GW Skull White. Give it a shot! -Carl

I'm not a train expert, but here's what I think... Gauge is the identifier of the width of the track, while scale determines the models size in relation to the real world item. I've seen O gauge stuff marketed as 1:43 - 1:50. The 30mm scale is 1:60. Using this one might say that S scale is closer to our mini's in scale, because S gauge is 1:64. For 25mm gaming, the scale is 1:72. I found that 30mm bases fit perfectly on O gauge track though. I haven't tested it, but 30mm bases might not fit between the rails of the S gauge. Hopefully this sheds some light on the scale/gauge question. S scale might be more realistic in proportions, but I'll probably build all my stuff in O scale. -Carl

Now that's cool. Though I almost feel bad taking a fully functioning model train and bashing it to a terrain piece. Especially since I don't need a working engine. And paying for a working engine in O gauge and then tearing it up makes me want to cry. What about building something from scratch? A train is just a bunch of basic shapes, right? We'd need some cylinders, like PVC pipe and/or soda can for the boiler and chimney, and the connecting rods, frame, cab, etc could be plasticard/balsa/bass wood. The trucks for the cars and drive wheels will be tricky. If I made 'em from scratch, they probably wouldn't turn, but be fixed. The wheels wouldn't necessarily need to be see-through like a real spoked wheel. Take some dowels of appropriate sizes, cut thin. Rim with thin plasticard, spoke with plastic rod. Give each a hub and your done. Sounds like a bit of work, but could be fun! *chuckle* If we get some ideas flowing, maybe I'll do some mock-ups. Has anybody attempted this before? I don't want to reinvent the wheel if I don't have to. -Carl

First, good stuff in these forums. Got me motivated to start my own blog! I created two versions of ice pillars with Sculpey. One is more like icicles, the other more like a wall. The image is quite large, so here's the external link... http://www.timelessadventures.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/Ice-Pillars-Painted.jpg I have some other things Malifaux related on the site as well, like a mysterious effigy and the Undertaker's office. http://www.timelessadventures.com/terrain-and-miniatures/wargame-terrain-the-undertaker/ Enjoy! -Carl