I Don't Like Blob Trees… Can We Make Them Realistic?

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

So what do you guys think of this method? Got any questions? Let me know in the comments below and I'll aim to get back to you as soon as I can :) STEEL TIN CAN TIPS AND SAFETY: Tin is safe enough to use if you're reasonably careful, I cut most of mine from tin can lids with scissors. Made sure you're wearing thick gloves when cutting and handling, I use some woodworking gloves. If you want to make doubly sure the tin isn't sharp, use a metal nail file along the edges to round it off. Alternatively, if you're using them as storage bases, cover the edges in hot glue, or even hot glue over the edges on top of some cardboard, sealing them to it and giving a nice transport tray! This it what I'll be doing for my custom storage box shelving… Quick tip: double layer the lids with some superglue for more magnetism if needed - this helps with larger trees that need more grip, if the magnet is strong enough like the ones I suggest… MOD PODGE SEALANT: This stuff is really easy to mix, I use the following formula: 1 part mod podge 3 or more parts water - you can make this as thick or thin as you like, and just use more layers to make it harder. Thinner layers are less likely to dry visibly - this time around I went with 5 parts water. A drop of dish soap (fairy liquid type stuff) or flow improver - this helps it…well…flow :) GROUT-DIRT MIX: This is a nice mix I find gives a great dirt effect, you just need: Brown and black unsanded tile grout Dirt cooked in the oven and filtered through a sieve - you want to grind this up with the handle of something, just break it down until its quite fine. The ratio you want here is going to depend on the colour of your local grout, I just mixed in a bit of black at a time until the colour darkened down to match the original dirt. I ended up with about a 4:2:1 ratio of dirt:brown grout:black grout BBQ SKEWER ALTERNATIVE: If you're dead set against using magnets, you can do a similar thing using BBQ skewers, which are a lot more durable than cocktail sticks. Basically the idea here is to have a solid chunk of skewer, just under 1/2" poking out of the bottom of the tree, and the trunk, with hold drilled at the top of the trunk, and melted into the top of the foam with a glue gun. Then use durable, hard putty like milliput or green stuff (you could MAYBE get away with clay, but it does chip more easily I find) to line the edges of the hole, cover a bit of skewer in water or vasaline (petroleum jelly) so it won't stick, and push it in, so the putty is almost exactly the width of the skewer. Skewers are all the same roughly, so this should work across slots etc. The downsides? It does leave you with a hole in your tiles, but a small one. If you use brown stuff or brown milliput this will be less obvious in colour. It also is a bit less stable than the magnets, because the hole HAS to be wider than the skewer to let it in, foam isn't tough enough on its own to hold the tree upright without breaking. Even with this technique you might need a significant amount of putty round the edges of tile holes to keep it secure. But it IS an option if you want it without magnets for some reason :)

[@cmitch3087]

Once again this is special. You do great work Matt.

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Thank you man. It means a lot.

[@cmitch3087]

@@RPArchiveOfficial keep doing your thing and I will stay subbed and "patroned", "patreoned"???

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

I will, and I really appreciate it :)

[@orlondow5664]

I‘m excited to see where you will be one or two years from now, when you have amassed enough terrain to basically build a whole train landscape, just for DnD. At least thats what I‘m working towards, so keep it up!

[@arnvonsalzburg5033]

I hope your players put half the effort in their characters and roleplay that you put in your amazing miniatures :-)

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Haha! I appreciate the sentiment 😅 Their RP is a lot of fun, they get really invested in their characters :)

[@PinkLionArt]

This is such a cool system! Especially the lower half of the trunks working separately as either cut trees or to show there are trees without obscuring the view!

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Thanks Samantha! 😄

[@MiniatureHobbyist]

They are great looking trees, I just love all your builds as they really are versatile and modular =)

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Thank you man :)

[@Uncle_Mel]

A thin layer of latex protects from trouble later, that's what my dad said when I was younger as well!

[@larsstrohmeier2320]

it's just ridiculus how much i've grown to love your content - basically every vid that comes up makes me light up with the urge to build stuff! Thank you so much for these wonderfu builds! I cant wait to try my hands at different types of trees just for the sake of it =D

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

That's awesome to hear man, thank you :) I'll have videos in future for other tree types too, so keep an eye out ;)

[@larsstrohmeier2320]

@@RPArchiveOfficial so great to hear, maybe i'll try my hands at the basic trees first then and wait to see what you come up with - not saying that i'd want to take the easy route and let others do the creative heavy lifting, but your work is really inspiring and i want to find out what to implement in my own stuff =D Untill then, best wishes and i'm excited for the things to come =D Cheers!

[@Nickknows00]

You should really consider creating a gaming product to sell as a way to support the channel

[@jonbauml225]

I agree

[@kearstinnorton2343]

Me and my family have used all these videos to start making our own system to start playing and these videos are making that process almost as fun as playing with them!

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Aww! Well that's awesome :) tell your family I say hi and good luck with the terrain! 😁

[@joshhaeberlin1604]

I think your channel is the best as far as modular terrain goes and it looks great. I would choose your terrain over Dwarven Forge any day

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Thanks josh! Honestly I love crafting over plastic, you can do so much more with texture like the wood and earth etc...

[@maroonlion2150]

And it’s cheaper

[@newfenrisrailroad621]

Well mate you’ve done it again with this video and giving me ideas for trees on my train layout and gaming board as I’m going to be building a new one and videoing my progress.

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Awesome! Actually this WOULD be really cool for a railway layout, making it easier to temporarily remove as you add features or upgrade it - nice idea!

[@canyonhiggins5237]

Love the Black Adder reference lmao

[@jeffbostic6660]

I can not wait to make my own. Great tutorial as always. Very soothing voice and relaxing to watch. Thanks

[@Strkr3]

You Sir are the 'Magneto' of terrain building! Awesome and original approach, as far as I know! Thank you for getting my imagination running once again!

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Haha! Thank you man, glad you like it 😁

[@VinovaLCrafts]

Good job friend... I like your tree build... Very look real... I want to try make it for my diorama.. thanks for sharing...

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Awesome! Glad you enjoyed it!

[@kosachilles2504]

Nice man!

[@Dracule0117]

Thanks for another great video! Modular trees as the solution to having both beautiful foliage and easily playable terrain is brilliant. It kind of blows my mind that your subscriber count hasn't skyrocketed yet. Keep it up, though- that day is certainly coming. You put out some of the absolute best and most creative D&D crafting content around.

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Thank you man, people like you actually letting me know your belief in the channel's future means a lot :)

[@Dracule0117]

@@RPArchiveOfficial Absolutely, man! I just signed on to support you on Patreon as well, and applied to the Facebook group. It didn't give me an opportunity to note my Patreon username, though, so I figured I'd comment it here. Taylor Kothe = DrakeKoeth

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Nice one man! I really appreciate the support!

[@markus_glevera]

This is very usefull for my new terrain project for Warhammer 40k))) Thank you

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Happy to help :)

[@AlessandroDP]

Mixing that grey and brown for the trunk seemed to have worked well for these generic deciduous trees 👍 Nice work with the foliage :)

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Thanks! I like how the colour turned out :)

[@GreathammerGames]

I really like your format. Everything was easy to follow and I appreciate that you enunciate well, as I’m hearing impaired.

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Honestly glad I could help with that :)

[@eetennak966]

What i really Love about your Work and Videos is your effort in Creating Something Special. IT Takes a Lot of time. I am currently copying a Lot of your Tutorials and waiting for the Magnets to arrive. Your Videos gave me "Something" trough an Episode of "messy n depressy". Thanks Form the bottom of my Heart :) And i am still hoping for some shots for the patreons 🙈🙈😬 Take Care, do Not overwork and have good week

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Thank you so much Christian, that means a lot! And I'm so glad I could help you through that time :) I'm aiming not to overwork, but we'll see how that goes! 😁

[@thomasmanley9118]

Looks awesome as always dude! Just gotta figure out how to stick it into a mini's hand to use as a comically large brocolli club!

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Haha! 😅

[@markblokpoel]

For spray paint, check out graffiti sprays. Many colours are available and the paint is extremely durable. Montana is a brand I use.

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Not a bad shout, I've used them before. I'll aim to test it and talk about it in the next video.

[@jacobhope6164]

How you manage to consistently top yourself simply escapes me. Bravo!

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Thanks Jacob, I do my best 😅

[@theDMsCraft]

Next level crafting...look great.

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Thanks Scotty! 😁

[@the_real_shoes]

This tutorial is one of the best I think I've ever seen. Easiest sub of my life

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Thank you! Much appreciated 😁

[@herryoung]

Great stuff!

[@nickadactyl]

I wish I had players so I had an excuse to make everything on your channel. Every video seems like a really fun project, and super practical for running a session.

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Thanks Nick! My goal is to create a full set of practical terrain, rather than random cool scatter terrain for certain encounters...though I throw some of that in too 😅

[@nickadactyl]

@@RPArchiveOfficial I can tell! You're doing an amazing job at it! I love how modular everything is and how it all fits together in a homogeneous system.

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Thanks man! There's some more varied biomes coming soon too, so keep an eye out for that :)

[@patrickmasse7159]

Your modular trunk system is excellent

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Thanks Patrick :)

[@mhtabletopstudios]

Very cool men! 👍

[@casserCOM]

Good stuff man, you're an actual innovative genius

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Thanks man!

[@Strkr3]

Hear, hear! Huzzah!

[@gritsmcgee9137]

Wow... just wow. I don't know if I should give up crafting, (insert Wayne's World "We're not worthy" reference here) or double down and challenge the master! Hats off to you, my friend! I've been learning from different crafting channels for the better part of 2 years and apparently the algorithm has finally deemed me worthy of the level up! Glad to have stumbled across your work, and thanks for the motivation to take mine to the next level!

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Well thanks man! 😁 Let me know if you have any questions 😄

[@phookaziz3]

Would love to see an episode that was about your creative process, and design principles.

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

That's literally what I talk about on the patreon livestream every month, if you're interested :)

[@jonnil1997]

These are amazing, i will definately be following this guide whenever I get to making proper trees.

[@Domsky_3097]

Gosh these videos are so inspiring for crafting stuff for D&D!!!

[@KittyStrange]

I really would buy all the pieces for your system is so amazing!

[@jonbauml225]

Me too!

[@Jkauppa]

square/hexagon jigsaw stackable mesh dynamic playground block set

[@vell0cet517]

Great system. I do hope to one day see your tree platform system with rope bridges and Wood Elves.

[@orlondow5664]

Lovely, can‘t wait to build a few of these bad boys.

[@matias6093]

Amazing as always

[@sooutofhere]

Wow! Such a well made video. Hiw could I have missed your channel for so long ☺️

[@powersave2]

+1 to engagement metrics

[@phookaziz3]

Amazing stuff!!! I have never been satisfied with gaming trees that look like kids paper mache - but tough as old boots, or diorama trees that look amazing but are candy glass when transporting or gaming. Will definitely be using these. Quick Question. Do the trunk holes in the grass, function/play well with your other roadside accessories?

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Thanks! That depends on how you make them, you can use embedded magnets instead of the blue tac holes shown previously, in which case a magnet in the bottom of road signs would hold it up. Things like the tall gibbet would be another matter though, really that would need a wider bit of balsa added around the bottom (maybe horizontal 1/4" strips) to hide a 6mm magnet to give it more hold :)

[@gustav204]

One word: Gorgeous

[@gregcollins3228]

Fantastic video! You do excellent work. Where did you get the Za-Lord's Guard T-shirt?!

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Thanks man! My Fiance had it custom made for my birthday a few years back 😁

[@gregcollins3228]

@@RPArchiveOfficial Very nice! The Dresden Files is an amazing series that I feel doesn't get enough love. Glad to see others enjoy it too!

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Definitely! It's got some incredible moments in it :)

[@RaiderAvian]

I made a couple of big trees for my players in a jungle. They are just big fat trunks made from rolled up cardboard and that foam air dry clay. I used beer caps to hold mini in the bigger trees to represent them climbing while the thinner tree don't have this perching spot, suggesting that they are harder to climb. I'd like to try this method in the future though as it is MUCH better than my standing logs.

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Glad I could give you some ideas!

[@RaiderAvian]

yay! Liked just because the video was released,. thanks guy!

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Thank you for watching Bianca!

[@jessquinn6106]

Matt, I am so loving your channel. And this one, though old, is exceptionally brilliant. Like you I hate blobby like trees. Just what I needed to find. I do have one question however. And please forgive me as I have not been looking at all your tutorial yet. So my question is; in watching this I see you plopping down your trees to your terrain pretty much anywhere. So do you have a metal sheet underneath your grass base, for the magnets to take to?? Or do you have many small magnets jumbled about the base??

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Magnets under the foam :)

[@turnipslop3822]

Amazing video man! Extremely useful content presented well.

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Thank you man! Always appreciate it when the effort gets noticed...

[@ImaginationHobbies]

These look so good!

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Thanks! 😄

[@Eman-qv4kv]

Where did you get those rat models at 8:12 ish?

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Otherworld miniatures (I think 🤔)

[@knubson]

Another great idea - I will try to implement your suggestion as soon as possible! Thank you

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Thanks knubson :) glad I could help!

[@thejonathan130]

Here's your like for using Black Adder Goes Forth clips

[@themakeshop1499]

Awesome trees.

[@twafer1226]

Love the Dresden shirt!

[@Blottingpaper]

These are amazing, so simple when you think about it.

[@seamus6387]

I wish I could like this more than once just because of the shirt!

[@figgorine]

This is such a good idea! I'd love to try this out Great video as always mate

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Thanks Viggo!

[@worldhistoryminiatureshous9757]

Nice video with some good tips . Like it .

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Thank you :)

[@norsepunk1075]

Great work yet again keep it up ! Also where did you get that dragon from?

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Wizkids, this one's prepainted but they're releasing unpainted ones too soon :)

[@norsepunk1075]

@@RPArchiveOfficial cool thanks!

[@vienna4516]

My man is held hostage by big magnet

[@SparkyandCo]

I've been looking for a good way to get trees, and this is perfect!

[@dodoit7907]

Hi hi, I have been loving your video's and me and my players have been going crazy with building stuff. Already using your magnetic modular system etc! I was wondering do you have a link for these trees armatures that you use, I have been searching around but just can't find any proper ones. Thanks!!!

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

There's links in the equipment list in the description :)

[@dodoit7907]

@@RPArchiveOfficial must have looked over the tree armatures then, sorry about that I will check it out again! Love you stuff

[@ThemeParkRowan]

I would just like to say that the "Meat or Veg" joke was certainly not a bad one. It was the joke that reminded me to click like on the vid.

[@davezenz]

Brilliant!

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Thanks David! :)

[@chirbychoo]

What’s the reason you have tiny square panels on the whole board?

[@eriksminiworlds]

This is great, thank you for amazing inspiration❤❤❤

[@sandersj32]

Great work. I ran into the same problem with the WS trees being too small. 3D printed longer bases with indent for easy glue connection. Use a plaster/paper mix to hide seam and textured as desired. Paint, glue, paint. Same steps as you finished with. Since you use magnets, would be easy to print bases with magnet hole. Mine are permanent fix to gaming board.

[@Genesis8934]

mildly expensive potentially but maybe not in some degree of bulk. But an idea for the reusable tiles could be to include a thin metal/magnetic plate just below the surface coating if you wanted more free-form placement of trees and accessories

[@funwithmadness]

I use a really cheap airbrush (Harbor Freight for those in the US) and just spray latex onto my trees. It's pretty fast and doesn't create as many globs. Great video, by the way!

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Ooo! That's a brilliant idea! Nice one man!

[@funwithmadness]

@@RPArchiveOfficial If you try it, just make sure you filter the latex first. Any little hard globs will clog the airbrush and cause a lot of swearing... err... frustration. :)

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Yeah I can imagine... Definitely gonna try it though, sounds a lot better!

[@sjmarham]

Could we get a history of the miniatures you use. I want to know more about the red head.

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Like where I got the mini, or the story of the pc/character? Mini is an Atlantic games female dwarf warrior, but I kitbashed her to have different weapons. The character is kinda awesome, she's retired her now and is playing a new one, but Dagnal was a beast. A very protective dwarven mother who's lost her family and adopts everything in sight, including half the rest of the party 😂

[@sjmarham]

@@RPArchiveOfficial Was thinking of the character. She would be a good surrogate mam. My ranger would've been someone he could look down/up to.

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Yeah she adopted pretty much everyone 😄

[@morkhdulldharkskull3987]

Voilà sans doute la meilleure vidéo explicant comment réaliser des arbres pour des terrains de figurines de 25 mm ! Félicitations ! =*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*= This is undoubtedly the best video explaining how to make trees for 25mm miniature fields! Congratulations!

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Thank you! And thanks for the translation, I'm not the one gifted with languages in my family 😅

[@SoldierDC777]

LOOKS GOOD!!!! 👍 👍 👍 👍 👍 👍 👍 👍 👍

[@TristanChaika]

Even though it has a layer of varnish over it, I could see it being likely that it's the baking soda on the tree trunks (as opposed to the varnish or latex) that makes the super glue dry fast when attaching the seafoam.

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Possibly...

[@Khorneate]

I'm a simple man, I see black adder I like... rest of the video was ok, I guess. XD

[@bageldrone]

I would recommend vallejo "IDF israeli Sand" primer. its a nice mid tone between brown and grey. i use it for most of my model bases with a wash and it looks great and you can get it in 200ml bottles 😉

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

I'll take a look!

[@VerbenaComfrey]

ooh, a Blackadder Goes Forth reference! Wibble!

[@fred_pickle0170]

Odd question, but what is the dragon miniature towards the end of the video? Thought it looked cool.

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Wizkids, they'll release an unpainted version soon too probably :)

[@johnav8rflys]

Wow great

[@dartanionbrallk9805]

An absolutely fantastic video.

[@cabinetsofcuriosity1]

Your eyebrows are epic

[@LiliaArmoury]

is sea foam avalible in aus?

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Definitely, luke towan uses it a lot, though its called something different over there. I recommend checking out his channel (luke towan) and taking a look at some of his tree videos, he uses seafoam in a fair few of them :)

[@melinaz3385]

Thank you for your long work on the videos you have made. Is there a video you have done explaining the use of the magnets and the north or south poles of the magnets and why they are placed on the pieces as they are. I do know why the poles are opposite, as like poles repel but I am looking to share with my grandson. Thank You.

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

I think I talk about it in the first magnetic building system video, basically you pick a side to be north when you first place a magnet, and just be consistent from there :)

[@melinaz3385]

Thank you. I"ll search for it.

[@thoi412]

All hail the Za Lord!

[@ericellis6623]

There's a point in crafting where you have to make a choice between more details or completion. One thing I've learned; when you really think you should probably could do more, you should likely leave it alone. Easy to make more mistakes trying to cover a lack of attentiveness earlier. Sometimes we have to settle for "good enough"

[@isaacderr2799]

The meme quality is 👌👌👌

[@LittleHillsTabletop]

Oh I never thought about trees! Love that the trees have separate stump, trunk, and topper! So much versatility and if the trees are one piece, you can't use the terrain underneath otherwise. I especially love the double trunk idea! Did you use one tree topper as a template to make all of the trunks for the same connection point, or was each tree made individually and unique? #pompomshake

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Thanks man, glad you like the idea! I used one trunk of each size (small and large thickness) as a template for the rest :)

[@khimbar123]

42 seconds in and already commenting. You've even considered free growth patterns and styles. Words actually fail me.

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Haha, I aim to please 😅

[@ronsorage78]

Could try waxed paper for the latexed tree to dry on

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Probably would work better :)

[@KoraRubin]

I was watching a video on herons bonsai's channel before I came here. Interesting how much of the same vibe is going on at both your channels. 😂

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Haha, I'll take that as a compliment, it sounds very zen 😅

[@KoraRubin]

@@RPArchiveOfficial It was meant as a compliment! I very much enjoyed watching and am working on the backlog now. 😉

[@noahvalencia3794]

Amazing!

[@Fissi0nChips]

Resting the drying rubber coated sea foam on a silicone mat might be a better idea. Almost nothing sticks to silicone.

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Good idea!

[@Nora_Muse_]

I miss the tree stumps for a tree that was used as firewood

[@thomasbrock-hastings1140]

Are you still active anywhere? Maybe just on Patreon? Really miss these excellent videos. Hope you’re doing ok if it’s for some other reason.

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Long covid is delaying videos :) I have stretches where I can only work a few hours a day... Added to that I release a patreon bonus video between each main channel video and the gaps look much bigger than they are 😅

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

I'm actually working on a public video and have been for 2 months :)

[@robertotomasini2072]

I guess latex activates the cyanoacrilate via hydroxilic (-OH) groups on the surface. Not sure on that, but CA starts polymerizing when water is present, so it makes sense...

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Ah, that would make sense...

[@PracticalTerrain]

Looks like somebody figured out how to put movie clips in videos... Anyways, great video. So well made and informative!

[@rossperu7871]

Going to get into creating stuff like this soon, wish me luck ;)

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Good luck! 😁

[@dranuwir]

jai augmenté pour la Mars 3. comme tu dis, ça me suffit amplement 😅 même si la saturn ma tenter.

[@SirSnakeville]

Wish I had the space for a hobby room :)

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Oh I get that. I started making terrain on the dining room table though, and so can you :)

[@justonsvoid]

Everyone always asks... Where is The Archive? But never How is The Archive?

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

The archive is tired after 4 days of editing and thumbnails 😅

[@mephistoles2006]

i just want to know, roughly what making a set of these would cost you.

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

About £20 for 3 or so, best estimate? About the same price as buying premade detailed trees, or ok ish plastic trees - but with way more details, features and flexibility :)

[@mephistoles2006]

@@RPArchiveOfficial thats cheaper than what i assumed!

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

At most I would say 25-30 at a push, depending on how reckless you get with materials :)