6 August 2019

Tutorial: Billboards

I had a friend over for a game of This Is Not A Test - and he commented on the lack of color on my boards. Pretty much all my post apocalypse terrain are nuances of brown and grey. A few spot colors would be good to add.

And since I've been wanting to make some billboards for some time, this seemed like the perfect time. Billboards will add a lot of detail to my concrete apartment blocks easy.

This is a pretty easy build.

Materials
  • Printed paper billboards. 
  • Plastic sprue
  • Cardboard
  • PVA and superglue
Step 1
Find some nice billboards and print them out. I found two Fallout ones with cool detail weathering on the file. And then I photocopied to nice photos from the TNT rulebook that I wanted on the board.

Brush some pva glue on a piece of cardboard and glue the prints on. Make sure it's completely dry before you cut these out.



Step 2 - Sprue
Find your box of plastic sprue (that all hobbyists should have). Find some fitting fairly well on the back on your billboard prints. No need to glue a frame, I found some fitting sprue easy. Just cut off all the small spiky bits.

I want some platforms on mine as well. So i found some narrow sprue pieces (possibly held shields back in the day). 

Glue the frames to a base and add some sand.


Step 3: Base coat

Using some cheap spray paints. I painted the frame grey and while it was wet, gave it a few sprays of brown as well.  Spray the back of the billboard prints as well.


Step 4: Assemble

Glue the billboards on the frames. Add some platform with ice cream sticks or coffee stirrers. I haven't painted mine, because the varnish will color it enough.

I've just given the pieces a layer of Army Painter quick shade. Frame and wood. Gave the edges of the billboard some as well, adding a weathered look.


All done!
And here's the finished billboards. A super quick build that adds a lot to the board. Good color, some LOS blocking, a few higher positions for firing models.






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