How to Build a Bridge - Beginner's Terrain Tutorial

[@MrVuvuzaala]

Hi Harry. Here's a tip to stop corrugated cardboard from warping: stick one piece of cardboard, with the corrugations running up/down, on top of another piece with the corrugations running left/right; this will stop the cardboard warping as the corrugations running in opposing directions will add strength. Then seal everything with matte Mod Podge mixed with cheap black artist acrylic paint 😉

[@dancoles2235]

Looks great. Nice work. Now that we are all suffering under manufactured inflation, it is ideal to learn how to stay creative without buying materials. Since you asked for other tips, one thing you could do instead of the cardboard is cut a HDPE (plastic resin, such as used for milk jugs) to the same dimensions and heat it to shape. Then, it can be bonded with other things using plastic welding techniques as a bonus. There are also numerous tutorials for making your own flocks and grasses for cheap. I found a doll by the dumpster, ripped its head off, and intend to use the hair for static grass after dying with acrylic paint solution.

[@EntmootVideos]

Some great tips! Though personally I’d be wary of heating plastic - can go badly wrong if you’re not careful! Good idea with the doll head, though I find static grass is pretty cheap and lasts a long time, for me the main costs are things like XPS foam, but if you’re smart builders dump a lot of good stuff that’s useful for our purposes but not for them

[@stevekirkby6570]

nicely produced... great explanation :)

[@rickspotten8497]

Hi Harry. Just found your page and I'm liking what I'm seeing. I'm just getting started painting minis and making terrain for MESBG here in the States. One of the things I'm going to be using for brown flocking is dry tea leaves. My wife had about 300 old teabags that she was going to throw out because they were somewhere close to five or six years old. I spent a few hours cutting open the bags and pouring them into a large shaker spice bottle. The plan is to mix it with PVA and Mod Podge to form a bit of mud texture. I figure that could be used as the ground cover for a bridge like this one.

[@EntmootVideos]

That’s a great idea, I’m intrigued as to how well it works!

[@tabletopramblings5896]

That’s fantastic! I used to build in cardboard a lot in the Battle Games magazine days but they always warped - never thought of covering them in ‘stones’ to keep the structure. This has opened up a whole new world of cardboard joy! Although for some subliminal reason I’m having trouble trusting you ... ;)

[@EntmootVideos]

Prize for the first one to notice it! But yes, obviously it could all warp in a couple years' time but only time will tell!

[@ryankoops1455]

“He said he’s an expert! Hey hey”... but seriously that looks amazing

[@Mafaldamou]

A very great technique! I followed your procedure of the foam insulation to the painting parts. (I think I'll use the same paint for my road bridge). The Insulation foam cut out pieces were a great idea, and it really saved me from buying sheets of printed stone. Thank you very much.

[@EntmootVideos]

The one thing i'd say is to use less cardboard than I do- it has warped a bit over the years in storage. Also the polystyrene brricks are great on the wall of the bridge. but the flag stones on the top are easily damaged! Hope that helps!

[@Mafaldamou]

@@EntmootVideos I didn't use any cardboard, but some sort of very thick paper card. During the process of painting, the keystones kept wanting to fly high. As in thay didn't want to stay long, and I kept having to re-glue them. I think the problem was, was because of their small size.

[@alejandrofuentes4897]

That bridge is great Harry. Regards from Spain

[@blackcatgraphics1483]

Multiple coats of Mod Podge matte acrylic sealer spray might give a little extra strength to those weak points you mentioned. Don't use gloss though, or you'll lose the sense of scale and it'll look like a toy. Also, just use coats of pva glue and water over the road and then sprinkle in sand and dirt to make it more natural looking than paint. Great video!

[@EntmootVideos]

Thanks man, great idea!!

[@zupugi]

Gryphonne Sepia, now *that's* a blast from the past! Good timing for the video, too. I was thinking of some scenarios that rely on having a bridge.

[@EntmootVideos]

Haha! It's Seraphim now, but i always found it a pretty useless wash to be honest :p Glad to hear it's useful!

[@TimHendrikx]

Man this looks great! Thanks for the video, step by step I will copy your creativity

[@EntmootVideos]

Thanks friend!

[@soul_vicex]

I really think this bridge looks awesome, really great build for super cheap, best thing is you can actually take the techniques used to build it to make other buildings in the same way. The only critisim i can give is I think the paints and modelling flock you use really let you down, they're very cartoonish looking despite your best efforts to weather and flock in the right places. I would suggest using a big brush, to actually go ahead with the dry brush stage with a grey/black mix, then gradually increase the grey in drybrush stages and then hit it with a white/grey highlight drybrush. Also don't sleep on shade paints, or more importantly for bigger builds FW Acrylic ink mix with water, getting all the details after a big drybrushing session will really do all the weathering for you in the easiest way, browns on certain bricks and dark greens for algae areas by the water or ground for mold/moss. With the bridge being next to water try using darker shades of flock as plants will be their greenest by water and shaded areas. Same drybrushing rule would apply to the bridge floor, maybe using thin card make some flat stone for the road. Also adding leaf scatter next to the brickwork adds to the environment. Hopefully this helps, love the videos! Keep them coming!

[@EntmootVideos]

That is some fantastic advice - just the sort of stuff I wanted. I totally agree that it looks a tad bright. But hopefully I can incorporate those ideas next time!

[@foehammer1172]

That looks really cool. Top work!

[@EntmootVideos]

Thanks man! It came out really well!

[@brianlazouche2015]

that is a really nice build.. good work, .... end result looks like a really expensive model..... but as you say it's not.. 10 out of 10..

[@EntmootVideos]

I can confidently say all these months later it’s probably not as durable as desired!

[@thomasdenney6891]

Lovely work Harry! Looking awesome!

[@philipgriffiths3106]

Just had this pop up in my feed. Really enjoyed the build, my daughter loves to build with card so I've just let her watch this. Can I suggest you check out a scenic modeller called Dartside Scenics (not anything to do with myself) if you want further ideas on the scenic side. He mainly is more railway modelling but in my opinion, he is a master of scenic work & describes his methods really well. Thank you for such a great video & will subscribe 😊

[@EntmootVideos]

Glad you enjoyed it! I warn you my content is about as varied as is possible but there’s certainly some other terrain building stuff you may get a kick out of on here!

[@3rdForfar]

Hey Harry, this is my first time watching you after becoming a Patreon :D Fantastic content as always, can’t wait for more (and obviously Entmoot stuff!)

[@ThatNathan]

Go on a deep dive, I did. There are some excellent historic battle reports

[@EntmootVideos]

Thanks man!! Glad you enjoyed it - more Entmoot always in the pipeline, but glad you’re enjoying the other side of my industry! And thanks for the Patron support 🙌🏻

[@3rdForfar]

@@EntmootVideos it’s not a problem at all :) I’ve been wanting to support my favourite content creators on Patreon for ages but never been able to, but now I’ve got a little bit more money and you were the first one I jumped in on! :D

[@EntmootVideos]

I feel honoured, thank you!

[@coolturitas]

thank you so much, cardboard is a great idea, to start with my little girl just building a 1/12 diorama for all her dinosaurs, cartoon figurines will need places to run and hide...!!

[@EntmootVideos]

Lovely idea! Just be wary that moisture can bend the cardboard over time, so store in a dry place

[@metalfreaque]

Solid stuff, i like it!

[@EntmootVideos]

If I’m honest, it’s actually a little fragile but I’m glad you enjoyed it!

[@metalfreaque]

@@EntmootVideos haha its too small for your Mumak anyway so no problem for the rest :D

[@ThatNathan]

I may just give that a go. I wonder how easy it would be to add some passing points on a longer bridge?

[@EntmootVideos]

Using my method, quite tricky, cus I did flat edges - but I did toy with the idea of making it in multiple parts which would allow for width variance?

[@ThatNathan]

@@EntmootVideos ooh, sections could be another project to dive in to. Would allow for ruined parts too

[@georgeharrold2986]

Really like this. How long did it take to build? :)

[@EntmootVideos]

Good question. The initial shape took makybe 45mins. Then a few hours cutting and glueing bricks, then painting and flocking time probs a few more hours plus time for each stage to dry. You could do it in three evenings I reckon ! Thanks for watching!

[@frizdragon]

Is there a good way to grid it?

[@EntmootVideos]

Not sure what you mean - feel free to expand and I'll try and answer!

[@ritchiekolvers997]

The end product hardly makes you suspect that it has a cardboard base.

[@EntmootVideos]

Thanks! To be honest it is mostly polystyrene, but it would be next to impossible without those stable beginnings! Thanks for watching!

[@ritchiekolvers997]

​@@EntmootVideos It was certainly a clever move! Thorougly enjoyed your video. :)

[@robot7759]

Don't trust this corrugated cardboard man 😊

[@EntmootVideos]

Yeah, I wouldn’t either 😂

[@ImArchangelMichael]

Bro. You need to get outside more

[@EntmootVideos]

you're the one watching videos about people building cardboard bridges...