Building a Ruined Highway Overpass - Terrain - Diorama

In this video I build a Ruin Highway Overpass to use on my games of 40k, out of all manner of random things and go through the painting process. These techniques can easily be adapted to a diorama build or any tabletop game. Alternatively you could adapt things slightly and use it as a cool way to display your miniatures. If you have any questions, feel free to give me a shout.
Email: [e-mail]
Photos and photographer credits - (in order of appearance):
Under the bridge - Unsplash
Aaron Munoz - Unsplash
Charles Delvio - Unsplash
John Towner - Unsplash
Sofia Dacosta - Unsplash
Li-Lin - Unsplash
Katie Barrett - Unsplash
Kyrylo Kholopkin - Unsplash
Valentin Lacoste - Unsplash
Sheflai Lincoln - Unsplash
Daniela Beleva - Unsplash
Possessed Photography - Unsplash
Karl Groendal - Unsplash
Samuel Ryde - Unsplash
Dimitri Bong - Unspash
Songs and Artists:
Drop - Anno Domini Beats
Peaceful Mind - Astron
Ammil - The Tides
Silent observer - Sarah, The Illtrumentalsit
Kicking it with Aliens - Sarah, The Illtrumentalsit
Growing Space - Astron
Spirit of Fire - Jesse Gallagher
The High Line - Causmic

[@grayeaglej]

In the grim darkness of eternal lockdowns, there is only Crafting And Crafting, Crafting Never Changes. WooWooooWooooo O.o

[@Reverands]

top notch, made me think of the fallout games. Simple but nice.

[@karlbeard3784]

I see and understand where your logic is coming from regarding the 40k and road materials. That got me thinking. In a not to distant future, 2029 to be exact. Those road materials were common place. I see a platoon of T800's, plasma rifles in hand scouring the rubble for what remains of humanity or, have I gone off on a tangent haha!

[@petsdinner]

Those rubbish bags have captured my imagination! They are *chef's kiss*

[@creativecuts7803]

If you can find beauty in my rubbish then that's a win for me haha

[@petsdinner]

@@creativecuts7803 well you know what they say, "one person's rubbish..."

[@creativecuts7803]

Good luck with whatever project it inspires and I would love to see it when its done 👍

[@cuppacoffee1572]

Damn I would love to see a tiny shopping cart build

[@dumoulin11]

Me too!

[@Bluecho4]

I'm imagining a frame made from bent paperclips, and then a "basket" made from stretching wall mesh tape over it to create the grid.

[@mikeday8295]

Lots of inspiration for my small project. You are Zen and the art of Modelling.

[@creativecuts7803]

When I am modelling I am in my happy place and I'm glad that comes across in my videos. Thanks for watching

[@idaeus5949]

I'm getting some serious District 9 vibes from this. I love it!

[@creativecuts7803]

Love that film so I'm sure it influenced me somewhere along the way haha. Thanks

[@homergomer8224]

one word: EFFING AWESOME!

[@creativecuts7803]

👍👍👍

[@bandvcreations5955]

Nice job. Your voice overs are relaxing, while the work you do is certainly entertaining. It reminds me of my childhood when I used to watch Bob Ross on TV. His soothing commentary and amazing skills always drew me in. I'm looking forward to the growth of your channel.

[@emilflognoid1532]

Mix in white glue to your plaster and it sticks to everything. I do it all the time, works great

[@creativecuts7803]

Great ideas and always love hearing everybody else's approaches. We all learn from each other

[@bigbrowntau]

I enjoyed not only your build, but also your design philosophy. Taking notes from your environment, thinking about what is universal, what would change, and exploring how to translate that into miniature. What a brilliant result! Thank you so much for sharing your work, and your thoughts about the process.

[@creativecuts7803]

Thanks Browntau, really appreciate your kind comment. Curious mind haha

[@rubyatter9373]

"theyre tiny bin bags officer i swear!" 😂😂😂

[@creativecuts7803]

🤫😉

[@starnostras]

Those bin bags just blew my mind. Brilliant.

[@creativecuts7803]

Simple but effective. Thanks for watching

[@cerisekappes580]

“Nice little accidents” Brilliant!!!

[@nielsstilson9834]

Channeling Bob Ross in terrain tutorials! I love it!

[@creativecuts7803]

Haha I grew up on an unfettered diet of Bob Ross, Neil Buchanon's Art attack and blue Peter. I'm sure it has all filtered into my thinking. Thanks for watching 👍

[@notreallydavid]

Great! Rusty reinforcing bars sticking out of the broken surfaces would look superb (I think).

[@creativecuts7803]

Yeah, I did try to have some wire poking through but I defo could have made more of it. Thanks for taking the time and appreciate the feedback!

[@tomtruesdale6901]

Very nice job on those over passes.

[@creativecuts7803]

Cheers bud! It was all a bit of an experiment as is the case with most of my builds but I'm really happy with how it turned out. More videos on the way 👍

[@TLuijpen]

This looks absolutely AMAZING!! Creating chaos out of new materials fascinates me.......great eye for detail!! THX for sharing

[@pinkwolf6407]

I have a similar approach to my builds. Crafting for the 41ST millenium is fine but there was a starting point to the war. Ruined buildings & terrain in those early years of the Imperium is where I like to work on. This is really nice work, I’ve started my own version of a wrecked Flyover because of your video, the beginning bits are currently under a pile of stacked books whilst the glue dries!

[@creativecuts7803]

Great to hear you got back into the hobby. Best of luck with your builds. I'm here if you get stuck haha

[@Ragehaven]

Excellent video, has given me lots of ideas for the fallout scenery I'm building 👍🏻

[@hjaz3362]

You are the best actor and KZbin channel

[@dr.angelikamariakoch6099]

Another brilliant video. Thanks so much.

[@bryanblalack4340]

Awesome. Those are great back drops of post apocalypse movies.

[@creativecuts7803]

Glad you enjoyed and it sparked your imagination

[@digitaltigergaming]

A good example (unless I am mistaken): in Necromunda lore there are massive superhighways/freeways made of wide concrete sections of roadways to go between Hive Cities that might be further away (as the maglevs were only viable between a few Spires/Hive Cities as far as I know). So this would work well for a Raider run in Necromunda as well.

[@creativecuts7803]

Nice idea! I play more 40k but used to play some necromunda when it first came out. I think I had some house esher if I remember correctly.

[@voronOsphere]

I love Modern Ruins..... Thanks!

[@zombiedad]

Bloody excellent

[@operaghost21]

Looks amazing!

[@creativecuts7803]

Cheers dude

[@darthbobminiatures]

Fantastic work! The build is great but I really think it's your use of color that makes the piece something really special.

[@lucasmarchezim881]

Please keep these coming! Amazing!

[@creativecuts7803]

Thanks man. Really appreciate the support. New video on the way.

[@emmamarx9284]

This is incredible

[@creativecuts7803]

Very kind of you to say. Tha ks for watching 👍👍👍👍

[@segosaurus973]

Wow, I love your cracked concrete technique, I've never seen anybody else use the foam like that before, or even thought to do it. You got yourself a subscriber

[@creativecuts7803]

Thanks! Just using what I have to hand and shopping for materials is very limited at the moment. But make me think more creatively with what I have.

[@segosaurus973]

@@creativecuts7803 Well your creativity has definitely inspired my future works :)

[@beardedgoblingaming392]

Great build

[@sabrekai8706]

That turned out great. About the only thing I could suggest (and you can do this afterwards) is to add a whole lot more rebar to the busted concrete. There is literally tons of it in a poured concrete structure. Get some flower wrapping wire and cut off small bits, half an inch or so. Start sticking them in in more or less orderly rows, bending them in various directions. Do it til you are satisfied with the look or go crazy, which ever comes first. The plastic cable brackets look really good, and it occured that the nail holes would be perfect for anchoring street lamps in.

[@creativecuts7803]

I completely agree. Lots more rebar needed. Something I will add in the future.

[@Weapon_X_Wolverine]

Well done!

[@billbrown4026]

Tremendous work. Very well done!

[@creativecuts7803]

Thanks really appreciate the kind words

[@oldbaldfatman2766]

April 25, 2022---Oh boy....talk about leading me down this rabbit hole. This was something I would of never thought of. Have the Phoenix vaccuform highway overpass and haven't seen it for sale for a few years at least. Plan WAS to cut out the parts, glue 'em together, then make some BIG, 2 part silicone molds so I could pour plaster of paris into. Garbage bag trick was also a new one3 on me. On YT, there's a video where a guy uses black, water based paint on a piece of glass and when dried, will pull them up to make like garbage bags. Got back into modeling, but going for 1/35 scale zombie/apocalypse dioramas, with me copying thousands of photos/ paintings. One of them shows an elephant walking across an abandoned overpass, with some greenery now growing up thru the cracks. This got me to checking how the homeless live under bridges and I even found a photo where someone's built a shack of wood and other stuff, which is supported by the space between the I beams of the overpass. Good place to hide from zombies, especially if you use a rope ladder. Thanks again for the video.

[@creativecuts7803]

My pleasure and sounds like you got a big project on your hands. I wish you the very best with it and if you get stuck at any point, I'm always happy to answer questions and help in any way I can. Would love to see it when it's done. 👍

[@mraide]

love that technique to make cracks

[@creativecuts7803]

Thank you sir! It was a bit of an experiment to be honest but it came out really well. The process can definitely be fine tuned a little and could easily be adapted to any number of situations.

[@jhall1980]

Incredible build!

[@creativecuts7803]

Cheers. Really appreciate it 👍

[@justmythought7658]

Very nice and realistic.

[@jhall1980]

Love it!

[@creativecuts7803]

👍👍👍

[@scalejunkie1326]

So cool!

[@creativecuts7803]

👍👍👍

[@mat-you7445]

Excellent résultat 👍👍👍

[@zerxe7689]

Beautifully done! the cracks and graffiti nailed the feeling of urban ruins :D

[@creativecuts7803]

Thanks. Glad you liked it

[@EskimoCreamKing]

Awesome build. The music became blade runner very quick at 14:40, fit the piece nicely

[@bkbills9213]

Amazing! I love this!❤️

[@creativecuts7803]

Glad you liked it!!! 👍🤘

[@alx7673]

Good job !!!

[@ericverpeten8503]

AMAZING

[@creativecuts7803]

👍

[@mattbecker4514]

Very nice build. There were some really cool ideas in here.

[@creativecuts7803]

Thanks! Glad you found it useful

[@pva]

Great work! Super glad to have found your channel! Your 'filler' method that you used for the road also works a treat for walls/bunkers that you want to apply weapons damage such as bullet holes. This is what I did in my bunker build video. You attention to detail and eye for colour is inspiring, and I am looking forward to your next project with great interest.

[@creativecuts7803]

Thanks. Thats very kind of you to say.

[@estebanuno1]

Love your channel.

[@creativecuts7803]

Cheers dude! Welcome

[@one-step-further]

Nice job again. Used this method on a diorama I did several years ago.

[@creativecuts7803]

👍👍👍

[@hjaz3362]

This is so cool

[@deathula1]

Big help for a project I'm working on! Great find of a channel keep it up!

[@creativecuts7803]

Glad to be of some inspiration. Good luck with your build. 👍

[@user-gg6zg1fn2p]

Soo relaxing voice… and great work too😊

[@creativecuts7803]

Cheers dude. I just try to make videos that I would like to watch

[@albertodiez-andinogonzalez3534]

I had been looking for ideas for a similar project. Thanks a lot!

[@creativecuts7803]

Glad I could be some sense of inspiration. Good luck and happy building!

[@tinaprice4948]

They look amazing :D great job!

[@creativecuts7803]

Cheers. Glad you liked the video

[@1945atombomb]

I have made plaster in a pan and then broken it up to make ruined concrete, and I have gouged foam to look like broken concrete, but I never thought about combining the two like this. Amazing idea here. You might get better adhesion to the foam if it is roughed up a bit first before spreading the filler on it.

[@creativecuts7803]

Good shout about the rougher surface. It was a bit of an experiment really but work out alright. Thanks for the tip and more videos on the way soon 👍

[@kiwinesss]

That was a great and informative watch, thank you. Subscribed!

[@creativecuts7803]

Thank you for taking the te my man. Appreciate the feedback and got more on the way like this! 👍👍👍

[@TheBaconGhost]

Very good build. Bit of advice though, the areas with exposed metal like the barrel and the rebar sticking out of the bridge should be painted with a look of rust. It would add a lot to the scene with minimal effort. Keep up the good work!

[@creativecuts7803]

Thanks. Appreciate the feedback. Will definitely keep your comments in mind for the future. 👍

[@deoepicz]

well.. not gay.. but I like the warm tone of your voice. Sounds very balanced! ;)

[@racspartan1]

A Job Well Done 👍

[@creativecuts7803]

Cheers pal. Much appreciated

[@JohnGunter_Johnprime]

Great ideas for making a concrete raised highway. I want to make some for use in a Fallout based game, so you have given me lots of inspiration to do that! Thanks!

[@creativecuts7803]

Go for it! I loved playing the fallout series. 3 and new Vegas got some serious hours haha. Good luck and glad I could help in some way

[@johnliller3032]

Modiphius Entertainment has a game officially licensed by Bethesda called Fallout: Wasteland Warfare. I've got some of the minis and can say that their resin cast minis are superb. They even have vault interior, Sanctuary house, Red Rocket and vehicle terrain piece stl files available to download for 3d printing on My Mini Factory website. It seems that all of the files that they have are taken directly from in game assets.

[@MVeminor7]

The imagination you display is greater than the 'display' of your imagination.

[@creativecuts7803]

Your way with words is fantastic

[@MVeminor7]

Thanks, keep up the great work

[@Chimer24-qs5wo]

1 'Like' just doesn't seem enough for this build. Inspirational )O(

[@creativecuts7803]

Hahaha that's very kind of you to say

[@therealMrGrey365]

Very well done 😮 I'm doing something similar for my war gaming terrain

[@creativecuts7803]

Amazing would love to see what you come up with

[@GazeboMimic]

this is such a wonderfully inspiring build, i look forward to building my own one day soon. :)

[@creativecuts7803]

Thanks and wish you the best of luck with your build. 👍

[@Quisite]

Who could’ve thought to use speckle like that!❤️

[@creativecuts7803]

Since getting into the hobby more seriously it has pretty much changed the way I see things. Pretty much everything is seen through the lens of how it could work, repurchased for a miniature scale haha. Thanks for watching

[@meatKog]

Duracrete roads replaced the old world constructs and continued to serve as guides for surface traffic. They remain to this day, buried and damaged, but still the most prominent the old world structures.

[@ValtanoftheLight]

Really beautiful build mate, nicely done!

[@creativecuts7803]

Thank you for your kind words 🙏

[@Stuart36]

Great project mate, really nicely done

[@creativecuts7803]

Thanks dude. Appreciate the kind words

[@TheImmersiveWorldCrafter]

This is a lovely build with some nice techniques. I was very pleased to see that you, like me in my latest vid, revived the miniature refuse bag to add to our terrain. Lovely work, man. I am looking forward to seeing more from you.

[@creativecuts7803]

Cheers dude. That's very kind of you to say.

[@diannefarrell7715]

Amazing, love your work. I'm researching this art form to see how I can introduce it to my clases at a local high school in the western suburbs of Melbourne... you have given me some valuable information. Thanks heaps from down under...

[@creativecuts7803]

Thank you so much and it is wonderful to have a global audience. I have quite a few videos that would be ideal for beginners/kids. I wish you the best of luck and hope the kids love it! Also if you ever have any questions I am always happy to help where possible. Thanks for watching 👍

[@anthonywaggett9317]

Another great build, you use many of the same materials and methods that I do. For a good stone texture try using the filler paste in a pot - just add a layer of water into the top of the pot and it allows you to paint/stipple it and gives you a good solid finish.

[@creativecuts7803]

Thanks man really appreciate your feedback. And great tip, I'll keep that one in my back pocket haha. As for materials and stuff, I just build with what I have to hand and generally glue my fingers together 👍

[@keithpymer5557]

nice one pal

[@davidfoley9225]

Mate... your work is truly amazing. Very inspirational!!! And as many have said in the comments, your voice is damn relaxing Keep up the great work 👍

[@creativecuts7803]

very kind of you to say. its comment like this that keep the motivation strong.

[@danielplumb4253]

Was literally thinking about doing a overpass with a 3d printed train yesterday and download stl's for a shanty town already LOL

[@creativecuts7803]

Glad to help dude. Hope you found it useful in some way

[@danielplumb4253]

@@creativecuts7803 Dude u knocked it out the park as always. I'm working my way through your vids, while thinking about shanty towns an tiny trash bags

[@rosalindacaseley6996]

Excellent video dude 😎 . A very inovative and original approach. Subscribed!

[@creativecuts7803]

Thank you for your support. More videos on the way soon

[@soledude]

👌👌👌

[@creativecuts7803]

🙏👍✌️

[@F-Rank]

Excellent work! Very inspiring with lots of great ideas. Bookmarked this so I can reference it once I start working on my Necromunda terrain. Also nice to see someone implementing graffiti, who clearly understands the fundamentals of it! Subbed.

[@creativecuts7803]

Cheers! Glad it inspired you and yeah grew up doing lots of graffiti and it kills me inside when I see people attempt it badly. Even bad graffiti is difficult to fake haha

[@F-Rank]

@@creativecuts7803 Yeah, I guess its the same as any other craft. It's hard to replicate realistically/competently without the experience. And maybe even harder still to do it in a way that seems inexperienced, when you know how to do it properly. Wouldn't mind seeing you do a more "proper" colourful piece or throw-up on another build. Anyway, I like seeing the reference you're inspired by and I enjoy your choice of music. Keep up the great work!

[@creativecuts7803]

Yeah exactly. Completely agree and you never know haha maybe I will try to sneak something into a future build.

[@bevsartsandcrafts715]

Are you an art teacher? Some of the things you were saying about art made me think you are 👍🏻

[@creativecuts7803]

Haha no not at all. But I did go to Art school many years ago so some of it probably is still lurking in the corners of my mind. Thanks for watching

[@randallfitzpatrick1666]

Looks great! I liked how you made the cracked concrete road with the foam underneath. If you are down for requests, please make a diorama where a superhero like lands or falls and creates a crater from the force. Keep up the good work!

[@creativecuts7803]

Thanks for getting involved and your feedback. Nice idea for a future build and it has been added to the list of future videos. Cant promise it will be soon as the list grows by the day, but its on the list 👍

[@lonestarr_sixer9554]

seen a technique using chicken wire under the plaster to give a girder effect between the cracks

[@creativecuts7803]

Nice tip. I will have to try it some time. Thanks for watching

[@brotheralaric7177]

there still highways in most of the hive city, they're more like american one but cranked up to 11. also they use concrete , and my source are ravenor and einsenhorn novels, there somme moment when the cities are described. These diorama reminded the movie The book of elie,, the movie is so bleak and have such visual, mostly the crumbling highways . .

[@creativecuts7803]

Cheers Brother! I haven't read much of the books but always great full to those who have. Great source of description!!

[@johnboulton1109]

Excellent!! Another great build! Got me thinking of all the sorts of things you could have added to this, abandoned car, ruined signage, street lighting etc. Looking forward to your next one!

[@creativecuts7803]

Cheers man. Glad you liked it! Had a big box of material arrive today, bog plans for the next project 😀

[@chrispowell2947]

this is interesting as I'd always planned on doing a city terrain set based on brutalist architecture instead of the usual crumbling gothic ruins. not that there's anything wrong with that but I just wanted to do something a bit different. it does make me wonder if the 41st millenium has multi story car parks.

[@creativecuts7803]

I'm with you dude, strange how space marines seem to be completely obsessed with gothic architecture and in particular notre dame. But its your world, if you want multi story carparks who is gonna stop you haha! Thanks for watching 👍

[@arkenhemnall6224]

Gees I really want to make this. I started one years ago but it got thrown out 😭 I'm thinking more walking dead than 40K but it would do both of course. A different genre like zombies or near future would warrant grasses growing in the cracks and at the road edges in a way that the likes of 40K wouldn't normally have. Really great models, I've hit all those buttons, cheers!

[@creativecuts7803]

Thank you. And I cant tell you how many projects I started ended up in the bin. The models come and go but the knowledge always stays. Appreciate all the support 👍

[@DarrenMalin]

just sound you , Subb'ed , well done mate and thank you :)

[@creativecuts7803]

All good brother! Welcome and lots more to come. Thank you 👍👍

[@Eener1000]

the only thing I would change is to give the steel sticking out from the concrete an orange/brown rust look to give more variation in colors. Otherwise really well done!

[@creativecuts7803]

Thanks. Really appreciate your comments.

[@idontwanttopickone]

Looks great! What is it with growing up in London and wanting to have a ribbed city board - I'm the same! You should try out This Is Not A Test, you already have the terrain for it. Keep up the great work!

[@eetennak966]

rush b dont stop

[@creativecuts7803]

👍

[@Ostnizdasht206]

subbed

[@creativecuts7803]

Thank you sir!!

[@marksmith9448]

Very nice build..some great original techniques... very wordy narrative.. 🤔🤣... but overall great vid. 😁👍

[@Bluecho4]

Ways to spice up these terrain pieces further: -Tents made of cheese cloth, stiffened with PVA, over a frame of toothpicks. Can be placed singly or as small tent cities. -Lamp posts extending from the tops of the overpass, either whole or damaged. Can be made from cocktail sticks or the like. -Traffic cones, made from thin card stock folded into small cones and glued to card stock squares as a base. -Abandoned food vendor cart. Foam rectangle with a toothpick push handle and wheels made from beads. Topped with a tiny drink umbrella.

[@creativecuts7803]

Haha appreciate the feedback. I had so many ideas similar to yours on how to go further with this theme but equally I have to balance my time due to youtube. Really appreciate your comments and maybe I can incorporate these in future projects

[@bevsartsandcrafts715]

Brilliant tips 👍🏻👍🏻

[@g_williams5785]

You could put destroyed cars or even make it seem like it was abandoned from a war.(That’s what I would do)

[@nanuq83]

It took me over an hour to watch this masterpiece b/c my newly adopted pup Bane, he just turned a year old on the 6th, pushed the phone out of my hands and literally did a front flip into my lap. Have you ever had a 65lb American Pitbull Terrier front flip in your lap? You can't ignore it. It's an MMA Body Slam move. I'm only 115lbs at 5'2" - he crushed me. lol Needless to say he made it difficult. Then when I did get to watch I realized your voice would be amazing for book readings which then led me to you sound like Clive Owen. In the end it all brought me back to the art at hand and I love it! That's all :) My adventure watching your video. haha

[@creativecuts7803]

Yeah haha sounds like a complicated moment. And yes while I dont have a pitbull, I do have a cat, much smaller in size but vividly know the feeling when he launches himself for the top of the headboard onto my 'private' parts at 3am in a desperate attempt to learn to fly.

[@tehjamerz]

haha.

[@jamesdoyle9148]

have 6 kittens Amy thing left out is there's

[@bobt3374]

Ok all done have shared also when is the next one.😎

[@creativecuts7803]

You animal! Bob you are a legend. Usually I try to get a video out every two weeks but occasionally work will delay things slightly but lots more on the way. Maximum respect 👌

[@darthhall6187]

Just found this video. Its really good, both informative and creative. Just wondering how the cracked "concrete" has held up over time being used in games?

[@creativecuts7803]

Yeah it held up better than expected to be honest. I have since given then a couple coats of matt varnish and that has really toughened things up. Plus is a broken wasteland so if a piece chips a bit it just adds to the overall look. The occasional touch up of paint but nothing major. Tha ks for watching 👍

[@darthhall6187]

@@creativecuts7803 Thanks for taking time to reply. That's good to hear, I might give it a go knowing its not gonna degrade so quickly. Cheers.

[@crystalclearchaos5387]

1:01 i mean a highway is the simplest thing it doesn't need much improvement aside from materials so it probably wouldn't be concrete and steel but flashcrete and ship grade titanium or something

[@creativecuts7803]

I know if engineers in the 40k millennium are still using concrete for roads then I would very disappointed. I hope they wouldn't be using plastic rubbish bags either and would have solved the homeless problem but ... as something relatable and looks cool, it is what it is haha

[@crystalclearchaos5387]

@@creativecuts7803 naw there's still a massive homeless problem in 40k and a food problem which is why the dead are ground up and served as food called corpse starch

[@sebastianfreitag83]

Here it is haha

[@creativecuts7803]

👍

[@matteblack5805]

Reads thumbnail: why would anyone want to do a think like that? Watches video: ah, a miniature one

[@creativecuts7803]

This really made me chuckle. Good stuff