Scenery - Materials

Warhammer - Materials For Scenery Making
Version 1.0
It's difficult to say exactly which materials you'll need for scenery making, as a lot depends on what you're making, your own personal preferences, and what you actually have to hand. The following list is not definitive by any means, but it does describe some of the materials our modellers find most useful.
Most projects on this website tell you what tools and materials you'll need, so you can check you've got everything before you start.
Most of these items can be purchased from Games Workshop and other dedicated hobby stores.
BALSA WOOD
Balsa wood is traditionally a popular modelling material because it is light, easily cut and can be glued with any kind of modelling glue. The bundles of offcuts which are sold in many model shops are good value and contain assorted shapes and sizes.  Balsa wood is useful for making buildings, especially timber buildings, bridges and fences.
CARDBOARD
Thin cardboard is readily available in all kinds of packaging, such as cereal packets. You can also buy cardboard sheets of various thicknesses from art shops and stationers. Thin card can be cut with scissors, and is easy to glue and paint. Uses: Thin card is quite strong enough to make small model buildings. It can also be cut into all kinds of shapes and strips which can be stuck on model buildings to make planks, doors,
tiles, hatches and so on.
Thick cardboard - the sort that brown cardboard boxes are made from - is the best kind to use for modelling, especially making bases. It is composed from layers of corrugated cardboard, and can be easily cut with scissors or a modelling knife. You can get cardboard boxes from supermarkets, and discarded packing boxes for electrical goods such as televisions, videos, fridges etc. Panels of thick cardboard can be used as bases for models, terrain sections such as rivers, or built up in layers to create hills. Cardboard can also be used to make big, thick-walled
buildings such as towers and fortress walls.
CARDBOARD TUBES
Cardboard tubes can be scavenged from packaging, the most readily available being toilet rolls and kitchen rolls. Biscuits, crisps and other foods often come in thicker tubes. Card tubes provide the basic shape for a wide range of futuristic and fantasy buildings. Sections of tube can become the circular walls of primitive huts. A tube cut lengthways becomes a long canopy suitable for a bunker, hangar or tunnel. Narrow tubes can be used as huge pipes linking buildings together.
COCKTAIL STICKS
These can be bought in supermarkets in packs of about fifty. Because the ends are pointed like miniature stakes cocktail sticks can easily be stuck into cardboard, cork tiles or polystyrene. Cocktail sticks can be used for fences, stakes, logs and various details on models.
CORK TILES
Cork tiles can be found in hardware stores and DIY supermarkets. The thickest ones are about 1cm thick and the thin ones are about 4mm thick. The tiles are about 30cm square, and can be smooth or coarse surfaced. The advantage of using cork tiles is that they are easy to cut with a modelling knife or even with scissors in the case of the thinner tiles. The cut edges are very neat, so the tile can be cut into various shapes very accurately.Cork tiles can be glued with any kind of glue and holes can be pricked into them for trees. The tiles can be glued together in layers to make hills that will be stronger and better than cardboard or polystyrene. Thick tiles can be used for the walls of big buildings such as fortresses and the battlements, gates and windows can be cut through the thickness of the tile. Thick tiles are also good for bases for models and hills or woods.
EXPANDED POLYSTYRENE
Chunks of expanded polystyrene are commonly used to package large electrical appliances such as televisions and fridges. Large, flat sheets of expanded polystyrene can be bought from hardware stores and do-it-yourself superstores. Polystyrene is lightweight and fairly easy to cut with a modelling knife. Blue foam: This sort of expanded foam is normally used for building insulation, but it is also extremely useful for modelling work as it has a very dense structure which doesn't tear or flake like white expanded foam. Blue foam is slightly more expensive than the normal white foam but is a lot more durable and easier to work with. It can also be quite difficult to get hold of from your local hardware stores as it is quite a specialist material so it may take a few phone calls to locate a supplier. Expanded polystyrene is mainly used for building hills and making terrain boards.
FILLER (ready mixed)
Ready mixed filler is used for filling cracks in walls, ceilings, steps etc. It can be bought in hardware shops and DIY supermarkets in tubs. Ready mixed stuff is better and more convenient than mixing your own from plaster powder and far less messy. Usually the quality of the ready-mix is finer and better for modelling. You can also buy filler in squeezy tubes. Filler is easily applied with a spatula or strip of cardboard and can be smoothed over rough surfaces or built up layers of cardboard, cork or polystyrene to create hillsides. It can also be built up into river banks or crater edges. It dries within a few hours if left in a dry place and can be painted or textured with flock or sand and PVA glue.
FLOCK
Also known as scatter, flock is fine coloured sawdust used to cover terrain and bases with a natural texture representing grass or earth. It is sold in various colours, usually shades of green, brown or yellow, of which green is the most useful. You can buy flock from Games Workshop stores and most model shops, especially model railway shops.
FOAM CARD
Foamboard is made from a thin sheet of foam sandwiched between two layers of thin card. It can be bought from stationary suppliers and art shops, although a lot of large high street stores use it for shop displays so if you hunt around you may be able to pick some up for free. Foamboard is an excellent material for making buildings, as it is easy to work with and is also quite durable.
GREEN STUFF
This fine-textured modelling putty is used by the Citadel design team to sculpt miniatures. It is available from Games Workshop stores and is useful for a variety of jobs from filling in small gaps on multi-part models to scratch-building and converting. The putty comes as a flat ribbon, one half yellow, the other blue. To use, simply cut an equal length of both colours and mould together until to get a uniform green colour.
Tip: Where the two halves of the ribbon meet the putty may have begun to set, so it is a good idea to remove this part before mixing to avoid any lumps.
LICHEN
This is a natural material similar to moss which is useful for adding simple foliage or clumps of bushes to terrain and troop bases. Lichen is widely available from model and railway shops and can be found in a variety of colours from the common green to such diverse colours as yellow and red, which are ideal for alien landscapes.
MODELLING CLAY
This kind of clay dries hard when it is left exposed to the air at room temperature. There are several different kinds (such as DAS) which can be bought in art, toy and model shops. Clay as used for making pottery is no use for making terrain since it will never dry properly and crumbles. Modelling clay dries hard if left in a dry place for a day or so. Try to avoid letting it dry too quickly or it may crack. When completely dry the clay can be carved, filed or smoothed down with sandpaper.
Modelling clay can be shaped, smoothed and scored with your fingers, modelling tools or even the end of a paintbrush to get many interesting shapes, surfaces and effects. You can use it to shape boulders, crude ruined walls, carved stone monoliths, tree trunks, stone walls, banks of rivers, slopes or crags on hillsides, thatched roofs, craters, ruts on roads and many other things.
PLASTICARD
Plasticard is a specialised modelling material mainly used for vehicle conversions or scratch building projects. The material itself is simply a thin sheet of plastic which can be found in good modelling shops and is available in a variety of thicknesses and surface textures (such as cobblestones). Plasticard does tend to be quite expensive so unless you absolutely positively have to have it, we would suggest using card instead as this is far cheaper and easier to get hold of.
PLASTICINE
Plasticine can be bought from toy shops and art shops. Uses: Plasticine can be used to build up hill slopes, river banks and craters and can be given a hard surface by painting it with PVA or covering it with a PVA and sand mixture. Unlike modelling clay it will always remain soft under the surface.
PLASTIC SPRUE
Plastic sprue is the rods and frame of plastic which comes with a box of plastic models. When you break off the models and parts off the plastic kit, the sprue is what’s left behind. Don’t throw this away - put the pieces in your bits box! Short lengths of plastic sprue can look like timber posts, iron girders or metal pipes, or can be used to add detail to buildings and ruins.
SAND
Sand is readily available from pet shops, garden centres, etc, or you may prefer to buy special modelling sand which is all clean and ready to use (and doesn't require two strong men to lift the pack!). Sand is used in combination with PVA glue to texture bases and flat surfaces.
SCOURING PAD
Scouring pads are readily available from general stores and supermarkets. Being made of coarse, compacted nylon threads, they are ideal for making hedges and trees. Conveniently, they are usually green in colour.
STATIC GRASS
Static (short for electrostatic) grass is used for adding "grassy" detail to scenery and bases. Stick it on the same way you would flock. Static grass comes in a mix of greeny colours, and is available from the same sort of shops that sell flock.
STICKY TAPE
The best kind of tape for modelling work is masking tape, available from hardware shops and stationers. Uses: Sticky tape is useful for holding things together while they glue, but can be used instead of glue to construct cardboard buildings.
STONES, PEBBLES & GRAVEL
Pebbles and small stones can be bought in bags from pet shops where they are sold for aquariums, or just found in the garden or at the side of the road. The best stones are rough, irregular ones that look most like rocks rather than smooth round ones. Stones and pebbles can be stuck randomly on scenery to look like rocks and boulders.
STRAWS
Drinking straws can be bought in packs very cheaply from supermarkets and kitchen shops. Bendy straws are especially useful. Straws can be stuck in rows on the outside of buildings to represent logs or as pipes on futuristic buildings.
STRING
Thick string or rope can be bought in hardware stores and stationers. The best sort of string is about 1 centimetre thick, with creamy-white hairs. Thick string can be cut into short sections and unravelled to create tufts of grass. Bristles from old cleaning brushes also make good reeds and patches of tall grass.
TEXTURED MASONRY PAINT
Containers of this can be bought from hardware and DIY stores. Applied to the surface of scenery models, it creates a tough, waterproof surface.
TREES
Trees can be made from scratch but this can be quite time-consuming. By far the quickest and best solution is to buy ready-made model trees such as those sold in Games Workshop stores. They have a wire trunk which can be stuck into a cardboard, polystyrene or cork base, so a hill made up of layers of these can be covered in trees to be given an impressive wooded slope. Ready-made trees come in all different sizes, shapes and shades of green, from tiny round bushes to tall pine trees. Uses: Use individually for gaming, or in conjunction with other scenery.
TWIGS
Twigs can be picked up virtually anywhere. the best twigs are the most twisted and gnarled ones that look like miniature tree trunks.  Twigs can be used as trunks for model trees, dead trees, fallen trees, piles of logs or even rough and primitive timber beams for huts, fences and bridges.
WIRE
Wire is useful for adding details to models and scenery. It can be bought in hardware stores and gardening shops. A pack of fuse wire is a good start, as these are wrapped with several thicknesses of wire. Wire must be cut with a pair of wire cutters, or pliers that can cut wire. Do not use scissors or you will ruin them.