Let's Make - Camo Netting (Battlefield Basics Series)

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In this Let's Make, we start to windup our battlefield basics scenery series by looking at an easy technique to make camo netting for you bunkers and vehicles.
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[@billimusprime7764]

Discovered your channel over the weekend, was watching your videos sitting at my kitchen table while trying out some of your techniques. Must say you've really brought an old hobby of mine back to life. Appreciate what you do and share mate. Crack on!

[@TheTerrainTutor]

Welcome back to the hobby buddy :-D

[@davedirtoaks]

I use a plastic zip-loc baggie when adding paint to things that need to absorb the paint... (like this netting.. or clump foliage for example) You can leave the top a touch unzipped and squish/stir the items around in the paint much easier and mess-free.

[@Katzbalger001]

Cheesecloth, with a more diluted green paint, layered with a highly diluted brown paint painted on (not soaked in), gives you a better result, in my opinion. More flexible, slightly less regular, and a bit more "fady."

[@andrewclennell7651]

You can use onion skins boil it with the netting to make browns and it does not become stiff so looks more natural. Nettles also good for other colours Keep up the great work Regards Andrew C

[@AzraelThanatos]

One other option is to go with some of the cheaper canvas options from the craft stores fabric section. It's a far larger quantity of it, and is great for larger amounts of work with it. Take a bucket and mix up a good thing of paint, pva, and water until it flows well. Dunk the canvas in and keep moving it through the mix. Spread it out over newspaper and let it dry out, then use some cheap spray paints to mottle it up with what ever color scheme you want to use. For the forest/european colors, browns and blacks along with some lighter greens would help. It gets you a whole lot of it when you can cut chunks off for use as needed, and it would let you also make some of the canopy "tents" and for putting over vehicles easily enough.

[@michaelmanning5379]

Do you mean open weave canvas such as for rug hooking or needle point? I've seen it in plastic but not cotton canvas. I was thinking of using the plastic canvas for lattice in windows.

[@michaels728]

Another thing you can use rather than wasting good bandages especially when you might need one at the right time. You can also use cheese cloth to make your netting and it works great and for a small sheet of it will go a long ways. Its what I used to use when I made all types of netting from camo nets, to cargo nets on trains or even net traps for other dioramas. Plus cheese cloth is fairly cheap like a buck or $2 and you get several feet of it and then all you need to do is cut it to size you need. And before you soak it in your paint and glue mix you can use a hobby knife to make small cuts into the netting to give it the old worn and torn look or battle damage effect of shrapnel or something. Then once you have soaked it in the watered down glue as you said work fast when placing it and if some of the material separates from where you distressed with your hobby knife to show wear and tear if some of it flaps over just leave it so it really shows that it has folded over on itself exposing anything underneath. Works great when I used to do it.

[@bushranger900]

Michael S . Thanks mate great tip!

[@michaels728]

your welcome anything to help other crafters

[@michaels728]

Also if you soak the cloth netting a lil longer in the thinned out glue you can mold and shape the material better.

[@shotou]

Camo netting, years ago I used medical gauze and tea to make some brown netting for my artillery for Flames, I should get back and do more.

[@michaelmanning5379]

Great idea. It inspires a thought: can you add loose tea leaves to the netting to be scrim strips?

[@shotou]

You could.

[@bigbrowntau]

Great tutorial about putting netting together. I've used Gauze and paint to do camo netting before. One trick to deploying camo netting is that it's used to break up the shape of battlefield objects, so a great modelling trick is to make some poles, and hang the netting off those, rather than applying it directly to your bunker. It'll drape over the bunker/artillery piece/HQ area, and avoid the PVA reactivating the paint problem too.

[@TheTerrainTutor]

Tip tips buddy!

[@bigbrowntau]

You're welcome. I've been putting some of your other tutorials to great use recently, and my games have improved their looks amazingly, all thanks to you. Cheers!

[@AdrianKramarzyk]

I would love to see mixed techniques with some plants imitation like grass.

[@TheTerrainTutor]

In due course buddy ;-)

[@Gool349]

Everytime I google anything terrain related, even if its something that I expect not to find much about, your channel pops up! Its simply amazing how many detailed tutorials you have made and are still making! You truly are the terrain tutor, thanks for all your efforts! :)

[@TheTerrainTutor]

It's how I roll buddy ;-)

[@adddad9779]

Mel I have watched many of your videos.... You sir are a genius and a peer albeit different forces.... When we raised camo back in the day we raised it above the structure using poles. I can't speak for your service or experience, but if I did this I believe I would try to replicate raised netting. Seriously sir, thanks for all of your videos!

[@TheTerrainTutor]

We used to do the same with the scrim on wagons mate but the let's makes are really basic tutorials, so I keep them as simple as possible

[@zebourique]

I'm always impressed on how clean your cutting mat stay. Even with the Mel treatment.

[@TheTerrainTutor]

Must say, so am I mate

[@mikecavell8283]

As an ex-squadie and model maker most buildings were painted and the use of nets would be frowned on, too expensive and a waste of time and effort, if anything was used it would be something that could be left in situ and permanently break up the shape, bushes, straw bales, all sorts of things just draping a net over something permanent like a bunker doesn’t do much to make it look different. Cam nets were used on vehicles to break-up the shape. The net would be put over the vehicle and pegged down like a tent and then using poles(tree branches anything that looks natural) to push the net into an odd ' shape and hence hide the truck or gun, whatever you could find that was light enough to carry in or on the vehicle. Things have changed since I was in the Royal Artillery but the principle is the same, break-up the shape of whatever you are camouflaging to hide it from the enemy! Hope this helps, keep up the good work.

[@billd.iniowa2263]

You might look for the word "cotton" bandages. It should take paint the best.

[@gunner678]

its good to add bits of coloured tissue as well to give the scrim effect on the net. nice tip, i had forgotten that 8ne!

[@sam061971]

Hey Mel, done something similar and stuck a few herb leaves on it to make it even more camouflaged.

[@sentinelmoonfang]

I feel like using those tiny leaves for ground cover/trees over the camo net might add a better texture to it.

[@PaladinDragoon]

for smaller scale stuff you can use burlap as well

[@pauln2661]

Have you considered a removable top? Using magnets and some thin metal to hold the roof on?

[@michaelmanning5379]

Alternatively, add matchstick strips on the underside of the roof so that they fall just inside the three supporting walls. They will prevent the roof from slipping in any of those directions.

[@IDICBeer]

Fantastic result, looks great

[@notwocdivad]

Have you ever considered using a larger base and bringing the "cammo netting" from the roof and draped down loosly to the ground on either side? this would eliminate any sticky up bits around the roof edge. lovely little jobs though. wish I had seen these when i was younger and had more time!! Dave.

[@TheTerrainTutor]

Certainly doable mate

[@jirhonarmstrong4107]

I've been subscribed to your channel for a long time now, and I must say I love your videos. They are great to watch and help a great deal.

[@thelittlestmig3394]

There are medical gauzes which have no elasticity at all. They're cheapest and take paint beautifully.

[@Kinnamon100]

I watch your live show and saw you record a part for this one. it seemed to seemed to me that you didn't script, ya just went for, and it came out beautifully. No editing needed. Is it because you've been doing this for so long and is it like second nature? I'm just amazed at how easy you make it look.

[@TheTerrainTutor]

I never script my vids mate, I just switch the camera on and show you what I'm doing, hence all the cockups and not know what things are called etc :-D

[@nickkohlmann]

:D

[@jasip1000]

You should have put some sticks under that camo net to raise it and break the square signature of the bunker.

[@PhuVet]

Burlap is much cheaper and easier to use. We used to use it on our Covert Surveillance Suits (Ghillie) So I had a bunch left from a class I taught on Maintaining your suit.

[@RemTV]

oh my gosh, this is just what i was looking for! awesome video

[@Stargate404]

Can you please show us how to do flags with fine cheesecloth? I'd love to see how it works and compare it to paper and other materials before I go out and buy a ton haha

[@jacksonholmes9955]

I actually used cheesecloth for an entrenchment of mine that I learned from HamilcarBarkas channel. This looks almost exactly the same tho.

[@johnkelley9877]

Very well done and a lot of good ideas. Thanks for sharing this.

[@wordsofjed]

Hey Mel, love your videos! I'm a videographer by trade, and I really like your camera work; very clearly shows us what we need to see, avoids a lot of the problems a lot of people from outside the video industry face when they create video content. That said, you may want to consider investing just a little in a lavalier mic and dedicated audio recorder like the Zoom H1 (for example). It'll give you much clearer sound, especially in the intro and outro shots, which are of course very important as they're the first and last impressions people get when they see your videos. Just got a can of the expandable foam, hoping to get a chance to give that a shot this weekend!

[@TheTerrainTutor]

Thanks mate, I'll check them out

[@jjab99]

Mel, Great video as always and very useful indeed. I was just thinking would it be a good idea to do a quick coat of matt varnish to seal in the model / building / bunker and that way if there is a little leakage of colour, you should be able to clean it up easier? Joe

[@TheTerrainTutor]

You could but that's a bit professional for me lol

[@K3ns0]

A huge help for my future projects..thank you so much!!!

[@Holyganker]

Good job, mate.

[@pauln2661]

Fantastic. I learned some good stuff here!

[@patrick.bastiaensen]

Mel. I was thinking, can you flock the camo net...

[@lordvaderdarthsith]

could be possible to add folliage to it to making it a tank camo? Awesome work mate, keep up the good work.

[@bradatkin629]

that would look awesome

[@Coppertop777]

What are your thoughts about clear coating the bunker before putting on the camo netting? Would you use aerosol spray or paint on clear coating?

[@TheTerrainTutor]

Either mate, I usually just use watered down pva

[@francisharry2196]

thank you

[@thestoicsteve]

Hi Mel. Love your channel! Just assembled the bunker using you instructions. V helpful. But, where do you source your expanded PVC that you use for the base ? I am in the UK too and searched for it online but cant see it,

[@jackpenn2956]

thestoicsteve try searching for Foamex. That's the industry name.

[@klaasbakker4304]

What happens if you leave out the pva? Looks like te pva makes it nice and stiff, but somewhat too stiff.

[@TheTerrainTutor]

actually it's the paint that makes it stiff mate ;-)

[@Spydah666]

Im just getting into Flames of War, 15mm ww2 game. Have you any plans of terrain in this scale or any tips, tricks or advice for scaling down as I'd love to start making terrain for it

[@patricklefevre1342]

Thanks for another great vid Mel, another $ well spend ;-)I've got an idea combining the foamboard bunker build, the spray foam hill technice and this one

[@TheTerrainTutor]

I like that idea matey ;-)

[@patricklefevre1342]

Thanks, I'm going to make a pillbox first just to get the bunker building in my fingers before I hare off to bigger adventures ;-)

[@konigjager4245]

Hey Mel do you think you will do any more pacific themed terrain. I'm getting into the Bolt Action Pacific theatre so i would appreciate some more pacific content. Good video man. Crack on!

[@TheTerrainTutor]

It's on the plan mate, I need to do some for my BA board

[@konigjager4245]

Sounds great Mel! Keep up the good work!

[@janettepech6803]

PVA? Some kind of glue or varnish?

[@redgreen09]

LOOKS GOOD TO NEZ

[@nils2684]

this is preeettty cool m8

[@GamersOnGames]

great tutorial as always!

[@GamersOnGames]

Gonna use this as a basis for cammo-netting my Heavy Gear recon minis when I finally get to them.

[@MurderHoboRPG]

i use netting from limes and tangerines

[@michaelmanning5379]

I just saved a mesh bag from garlic with just this in mind. Mel mentioned to avoid plastic because it won't soak up the paint. How do you colour your netting?

[@jacksonholmes9955]

Michael Manning cheesecloth works phenomenaly and it is very easy to color.

[@michaelmanning5379]

Great suggestion!

[@michaels728]

Some produce nets that hold oranges, limes, etc are made of plastic and it wont soak up the watered glue to shape and sculpt to your desire. Use only cloth style netting like an old pair of fishnet stockings, cheesecloth, the garlic bag or gauze bandage netting.

[@easyg4008]

How would you make stained glass windows?? Sorry it's nothing to do with this video

[@DaytonaRoadster]

his next series is medieval stuff, im sure it will be in there

[@easyg4008]

Hope so. I'm stuck on how to make it

[@TheTerrainTutor]

Plastic acetate sheet, colour inkjet/laser printer, set your paper type to glossy in the settings bud

[@michaelstarr2747]

Six years later and still referencing these videos haha

[@TheTerrainTutor]

good, that was their purpose

[@francisharry2196]

Sorry, what is PVA?

[@trippifae4231]

Do you do space landscapes ?

[@TheTerrainTutor]

I will do

[@trippifae4231]

I am so excited. Thank you. Love your work.

[@samwessels8216]

say where could i buy some quality h2o?

[@ArtCraft-kc6rc]

nice video but do not make the net taking the shape of the bill box .

[@mrmorton14]

It really bugs me that you have a superscript 2 instead of a subscript on your water bottle :) Sorry

[@TheTerrainTutor]

what;s that?

[@kdh0622]

Hello, I am a 24 year old Korean guy who is very interested in your video clip. Could you make a World War II building? Please excuse my poor English using the English translation. ;)

[@TheTerrainTutor]

On the list

[@drevil4454]

I'm going to do this with my actual house. The tax man won't find me

[@stovallholmes3060]

I use cheesecloth

[@danielwalker2613]

Yeah, how is that dry-brushing yeah, you used wet paint yeah, but the idea is good yeah. ... I think yeah, you should have done yeah, a practice run first yeah, before looking like a total fool yeah.