Swamp Board Larger Terrain Pieces

The Gateway and Sentinel

I finished up the next two pieces of terrain for the swamp board. These two pieces are the largest built for the board to date but by no means the largest I am building. Earlier pieces of terrain I created fell under the category of either simple ruins or area terrain but these next pieces (and future ones) will have a specific look and feel for the board so I decided to name them accordingly. So let's take a look at the steps I used in creating these ruins.
Back when I created the simple ruins I showed you how I created small blocks out of air-hardening clay. I used the same process to create more blocks for the next two pieces except on a larger scale. Using nearly an entire block of clay I was able to cut, shape and sand over 400 pieces of clay blocks.

Just a portion of the blocks I made.

First, I sorted the blocks so that I had piles of similar shape and size. Then I started working on the "Sentinel" or a block tower. I basically glued 6 blocks together in successive layers until I created a tower.

Then I took my exacto knife and cut into the blocks to create a weathered and aged look.

Next I cut a shaped piece of hard board and glued down a layer of cork. Then I glued on a piece of pink foam that I had carved to look like a layer of flagstones. I put the tower on top of the foam and then started to add various shapes and sizes of blocks to create an extension off of the tower so that it looked like other structures, at one time, were a part of a larger complex. Once those pieces dried I added pieces of slate and sand.

Next up I started to paint the pieces.

**** Note, I did take initial images of the "Gateway" but those images seemed to have disappeared into cyberspace. ****

After I had painted the stone blocks and sand I wanted to try adding in realistic looking vines. A few years ago I tested a method of using baling twine soaked in wood glue and then draped it over my structures but that proved to be both messy and time consuming to get the vines to lay correctly and look natural. This time I went to Michael's Arts and Craft store and bought twine for making beaded necklaces and bracelets. For only $1.99 I got more twine than I can possible use plus it has a waxy coating so that as I braided the pieces they held their shape. I used superglue to attach the twine to the blocks and it stuck without any issues.

Next it was time to add the plastic plants and flock to finish up the pieces.

Here are some close ups and some pics with a model for scale reference.