3d-printable terrain for all your samurai wargaming needs
With so many new models sitting on my paint desk, it's actually the most recently printed one that reaches the finish line first!
The new Temple Bell model turned out to be the simplest of the 3 models to paint, and here's a quick how-to-paint guide to show you what I did ...
£ Spray undercoats are the way to get this project started FAST! I undercoated the base and bell in black, the roof section in slate grey, and the roof underside and frame in light brown.
£ I gave the base section a quick brush with neutral grey on the stonework, and sable brown for the sand/dirt areas. The bell was given a thick coat of copper metallic paint.
£ Next comes the messy stage - washes! Every single piece was given a thick coat of home-made black wash (a mix of acrylic ink, a few drops of matt medium, and some water). That darkens everything down and gives instant shading.
£ The next morning it was time to start drybrushing up the model. The base section was drybrushed using a thick (5cm-wide!) brush in neutral grey, and then more lightly in lighter greys. The dirt surfaces were drybrushed in sable brown again, and then a lightgrey/lightbrown mix.
£ The wooden frame was drybrushed in mid and light brown, and then a little drybrush of light grey was done over the bottom ends of each corner post, where the sun would slowly bleach the wood over time.
It was time to move on to smaller details, so I basecoated the rope in Driftwood (as shown above), and then gave it a black wash.
£ It was a little hard to keep rotating the model around in my hands, but I highlighted back up to Driftwood again, leaving the black wash in the crevices.
At this stage the frame and base are mostly finished, so I glued them together.
£ Time for some verdigris copper! This photo of the giant bell at Chion temple was my goal for the temple bell, and it actually isn't that difficult to replicate.
£ Firstly, the copper basecoat was dulled down with a black wash, and allowed to dry thoroughly. Then I mixed a verdigris wash from a few drops of mint green paint (GW's Gauss Blaster) and a few drops of water, until it was the consistency of watery milk. This was brushed all over the bell, and left to dry.
An hour or two later, I gave it a second verdigris wash, and left it to dry again - this time upside down, so that the wash pooled in the opposite direction.
£ When it was dry, this was my finished bell. I glued it to the frame (I recommend doing this upside down), and then sliding in the three side beams and gluing those too.
Notice that I also decided to paint the frame studs (at the top) and post bottoms (at the back of the photo) in copper too, just to tie the colour scheme together. I think old copper goes a long way to telling a great story about how long these buildings have been around.
£ The last touches were to add some extra age effects with coloured washes. The base section stones were dabbed with brown and red washes, and then a green wash was added to the bottom edge and various nooks and crannies, to show where mould might grow over time.
With that, my temple bell was finished! Time for some finished photos, and a quick video - watch this space!
Another week, another samurai terrain piece to show off! This week we've been test printing the upcoming Samurai Temple Bell, and here's a quick and easy assembly guide for you to take a look at!
£ The base prints in one easy piece, but it does require a print bed size of 155mm x 123mm - otherwise you will need to print the cut-up version and glue together.
£ The main frame prints in one piece, upside down. It does not require print supports. I recommend slotting the frame into the base BEFORE you add the 3 low beams to the legs, as it will help you to nudge the posts into place on their slots.
The bell simply glues onto the middle of the frame, but I will be painting it separately first. The rope and striking beam prints in two parts, and you might find it helpful to use some print supports there - although it should be possible to print without. The ropes simply slot into place on the frame, and you're ready for the roof.
£ The roof has 5 tiny built-in supports (shown in green in the image above), which should be removed with cutters during assembly.
Print the two halves and glue together, and then finish the model off with two ornamental dragonfish pieces. You're finished!
£ This is the completed temple bell! The roof is pretty glamorous compared to some other models, but temples tend to have those - and this small building is low enough for the ornamentation to be visible to people walking past.
£ I'm particularly pleased how well the kanji text on the front post came out, and the clear shapes of those thick ropes. With some luck, it should also print at 15mm scale without trouble, too!
That's the last of the 3 samurai designs for the moment - now I have to get busy with the painting, and get these ready for download! Watch this space...
The third of this month's new samurai terrain pieces is ready to test-print, so we should have some nice assembled photos to show you in a few days.
In the meantime, let's take a look at the design for the upcoming Temple Bell ...
£ This is the real-life shōrō bell at Goshoji Temple, which has a very similar roof shape to our model. As you can see, the ornamentation on the roof is stunning!
£ And here is the completed render of the new design. The roof is a modified version of the big castle's top level, and features those awesome mid-roof curved sections.
£ The frame and base are based on the sumo ring's design, with some alterations. The left front post also features some engraved kanji characters, taken from an actual Buddhist temple bell. Funnily enough, my son Euan (16, and goes to a Buddhist school) was the only one able to identify which branch (sect?) of the religion it belonged to!
£ The design of the large central bell is based on this real-life one, from Chion-in. This one features some great authentic details, such as the studs, piping and striking plate.
Our striking beam, however, required some thicker ropes than the real-life version, to be able to print properly. The striking beam and ropes are printed in two easy parts, and it should even be possible to print without supports! Fingers crossed....
£ Here's the side view of the structure - as you can see, the ornamentation and detail on this model are highly realistic, and this will make a great addition to my growing temple complex board.
It's been a few months since we had a new store to welcome to the family, but we have a new print partner to announce this week - BADGER 3D CREATIONS, from Yorkshire in the UK. They are now selling print versions of our sci-fi Taui and Necrontyr modelson their store!
While the Sumo Ring is being painted, we have a second design to show off today - the new Dice Tower Pagoda!
Printing this awesome dice tower takes a little time (there are some big roof pieces), assembly is very easy, and the whole thing can be printed without supports! So here we go with a printing and assembly guide for you.....
£ The base section is where we start, and this consists of 4 pieces. The small stone base makes up the bottom piece, and then the wooden post frame (printed upside-down) simply slots on top, then the wooden surround slots on top of that, and then the steps slide in from the side.
I'm planning to paint my stone section separate from the wooden pieces, so I won't be gluing them together just yet.
£ This cute little bamboo fence is in fact the dice tray for catching dice as they roll out from the tower. It doesn't need to be glued on, as there are small slots to fit the bottom of the steps.
If you print the normal version it includes some built-in supports (marked in green in the image above), and you should carefully remove these with clippers. My advice would be to grip with the clippers, then rotate around the piece from side to side. Take your time. This should neatly grind away at the support and then you can snap off the last strands.
A second version of this fence enclosure is also included, without any built-in supports. If you think your printer can manage the longer bridges, then why not try it and save yourself some time in clean-up.
£ With the base and tray completed, we can move onto the pagoda itself. The first level is printed upside down, and does not require supports. Simply slot into place on the base.
£ The roof for the first level is printed in two halves, or 4 quarters for smaller printers. The image above shows some built-in supports (shown in green), which should be removed with clippers.
£ The second level is similar to the first, and is also printed upside down.
£ The second level roof is almost identical to the previous level, and also includes some print supports (shown in green) which should be snapped or cut off during assembly.
£ Yes, you guessed it! The third level is another easy upside-down print!
£ The third and final roof level is comprised of two identical halves, which will form the dice bucket, and then a third smaller piece which forms the top.
Obviously, you don't want to glue the top piece into the dice bucket - it's designed to be easily removable during gameplay.
£ We're almost there now! The top spire has a base piece and top piece, and then 9 identical rings which print upside down. They glue together as shown in the photo.
Lastly, you'll need to print 12 of the bells which attach to each corner of each roof section. I'm going to paint mine separately, and glue on later.
Let's take a look at the finished dice tower...
£ It's not quite as imposing as the bigger 5-level Temple Pagoda, but would still make a fantastic centrepiece to any board! From base to spire tip, it's an impressive 430mm (17") tall, and is completely functional as terrain, too!
£ You can quickly pop the top off during gameplay, to roll dice down the centre! They'll roll neatly out of the door into the bamboo fence area.
£ If your tabletop is hard wood or some other surface that makes dice bounce and slide more than normal, you also have the option of printing an extra bamboo stick or two (included in the set), which can be glued across the fence's entrance. You'll often find this done in Japanese gardens and temples as a simple way of telling people to stay out, so it's quite an authentic touch.
£ Finally, you can use this model without the base section, both as a dice tower or just a terrain piece with a smaller table footprint.
This dice tower will be hitting the paint desk this week (special paint job planned for this!), and should be released later this month.
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