Let's Make - Pallets, Bags & Boxes (Modern Urban Series)

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In this Let's Make we scatter up the streets of your modern urban tabletop games with a bit of rubbish. We go through easy techniques to make pallets, bags (bin bags, refuse sacks, garbage bags) and cardboard boxes.
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[@squibblet1]

"Pushing 'em down on the desk and then at the same time I'm getting my finger and I'm putting it right in the hole and pushing it right in deep, right to the bottom till I hit it" - Mel Bose 2017. Forever putting your techniques into practice!

[@martinthewarrior5016]

hahaha! ''give it a little blow, everyone enjoys that'' lol

[@mlaytontaylor]

"Bare, where I've forced those flaps in" ... legend ...

[@martinthewarrior5016]

hahaha

[@TheTerrainTutor]

;-D

[@bevsartsandcrafts715]

Lol😂😂😂😂

[@vanguard_thegamingdad]

😍😍😍. This is great. My ork battlewagons need some cargo decoration. Cool and simple

[@ugolapierre5605]

I can't believe I never think about making trash bags like that, so simple and look great! Thank for the video !

[@AbarothsWorld]

Hi Mel, To make tying the thread easier, first wrap thin garden wire or a bread-bag wire around the bag. You then have both hands free to tie the thread, and can then simply remove the wire before gluing. Great ideas and simple-to-follow instructions, as always !

[@TheTerrainTutor]

Now that's clever! ;-)

[@adamwelch4336]

It's refreshing to find a video that's not just D&D sets I need more stuff for gamma world and shadowrun!

[@SierraSierraFoxtrot]

You have to use the bin bag technique to​ make a few body bags for the zombie apocalypse. Just laid out in the street in an orderly fashion... that would have an incredible effect.

[@chrisyoder8985]

would also look awesome in zombicide

[@IntergalacticApeMan]

I like that idea! Might steal it. ;)

[@TheTerrainTutor]

Easy to do but use latex glue for the edges ;-)

[@SierraSierraFoxtrot]

Merkur Schröder please send me a photo when you do. I don't model myself. I just watch videos...

[@whereismymind9429]

a really great replacement for the square balsa stick are from poundland , 50 square 10" bamboo skewers for a quid, they have then in at the moment I just got some

[@yourdogsnews]

[card board boxes]......"just remember to scale 'em down"........ Jesus Mel I almost spat out my morning coffee on that one, just had an image of people putting full sized boxes on their gaming tables......

[@skree272]

Go big or go home

[@DrMurdercock]

Mel TTT you're the Bob Ross of terrain. This is the highest compliment I could give you. Thanks, as always.

[@jakethompson2043]

I absolutely love this, going to use this type of thing as scatter for my starfinder campaign, for industrial run down towns

[@poopsled]

Whenever I'm doing squiggly "writing" I find thinning the paint just a smidge helps make it look a little more convincing. Also I love your videos. This video alone has made my streets much more trashy :)

[@TheTerrainTutor]

I really should start thinning my paints lol

[@marifloyd1543]

Where trashy is a good thing!!!!!!! Lol

[@newtpondskipper]

Looking great! Love the cardboard!

[@one-step-further]

As usual, you always present us with great tips. I have used the bin bag method for ever. But nice to see others make it just as easy. Thanks again, for a terrific channel.

[@TheTerrainTutor]

Cheers bud

[@mlaytontaylor]

Great video Mel, love the box what a lovely little bit of scatter

[@ScatteredTerrain]

Your bin bags are an inspiration! So clever, yet so simple! Love it.

[@FasterTheDragster]

Really cool demo here, love the pallets and boxes! and of coarse the bin bags too

[@TheTerrainTutor]

Cheers

[@jeremym1088]

This is a Walking Dead All Out War specific Video... Awesome as usual Mel !

[@TheTerrainTutor]

Use it for whatever game you want to use it for mate

[@meanderingshade]

I don't know how I missed this video back when it was first uploaded. Awesome job Mel, this is a great tutorial. Will come in handy when I go about making some scatter for my urban terrain.

[@JupiKitten]

Mel this is perfect! Exactly the sort of thing I've been looking everywhere for! Thank you!

[@TheTerrainTutor]

No worries mate ;-)

[@Buster01Actual]

Happy D-Day! As usual another brilliant tutorial that addresses a current need of mine.

[@billd.iniowa2263]

Dot Dot Dot Dash Hey, lets watch The Longest Day today. ;-)

[@Cynder44]

Never before have I've seen trashbags so cute...

[@75blain]

Love your tutorials Mel. Another way i use to score the card stock is with a simple ball pen. I actually kept one that was out of ink to do this. Looking forward to you next vid Mel :)

[@TheTerrainTutor]

Nice tip mate

[@Zoydian]

Thank you very, VERY much for this informative video! Pallets, bags and boxes is something i wanted to do for a long time. And now, thanks to you, i know how!!!

[@TheTerrainTutor]

Crack on matey!

[@robertthompson1993]

This is an awsome tutorial Mel. Going to share with the guys at my club and set a building challenge. Thanks for making it.

[@TheTerrainTutor]

Nice one mate

[@michaelmarines4415]

Great vid! Thanks Mel!

[@philRminiatures]

Clever, creative...and stunning job!

[@geekfreak69]

Incredible knowledge thank you for sharing your knowledge

[@timhyland6834]

This was great. Used it as a basis for some fimo ones recently.

[@redflag1964]

Watched a few videos you've done now, really interesting and informative, thanks and keep up the good work.

[@TheTerrainTutor]

thanks!

[@Bluecho4]

The trash bags can also be filled with a lot of tiny items, which can help them not roll (the materials settle themselves) and which gives interesting shapes to the bags. Good materials might include cheap plastic beads (like from a dollar store/pound shop), or some fuller's earth (the stuff that comes really cheaply in bags of unscented cat litter). Either of these make for decent crafting material on their own, so that's another use for them.

[@adrianbk698]

Excellent video series! I have been watching these for a while, but really should take the extra step and let you know how good these are. I've been bitten by the 'terrain bug' recently, and your videos are now my first stop. Please do keep up the good work. Aside from being really practical, you've a brilliant presentation style and approach to the hobby. Legend!

[@TheTerrainTutor]

Awesome mate, welcome to the terrainiacs! :-D

[@carebear8762]

Pallets in my neck of the woods have the three inner pieces full length (2*4 on end usually) with the slats (3/4"x 4" or so) across. 42" x 42" dimensioned or so. You could just cut the balsa at 2" and through the slats across, much less cutting.

[@bambiwilson8374]

YES! I have been waiting for this video. I can't believe the price of some of the minitures to create a nice background. Thank you so much.

[@TheTerrainTutor]

No worries bud

[@joseywilds3133]

Excellent job! I’m try this out on my next build, but I’m use air dry clay to get the wrinkles, leave the bag open till it dries then tie it up with some wire

[@cumbria99]

Fantastic video, thanks for sharing your knowledge.

[@TheTerrainTutor]

I'm here to help bud

[@realFurby]

Man, you're frakin genius.

[@joehaywardii6726]

Very amazing tutorial. I thank you.

[@PaladinMthe13th]

Good stuff, nice tutorial.

[@soonersteve3733]

Mel, Today after watching you video for 6 months I subscribed to you channel because I wanted you to know that you inspired me to try dioramas! Thank you! I'm having fun and learning more every day. I wish I knew how to send you a pic of my most ambitious project. Anyway keep it up and I look forward to more of your videos!

[@TheTerrainTutor]

Awesome mate, welcome aboard!

[@wowkalfas1977]

flat out ...a bloody good vid....thanks Mel

[@TheTerrainTutor]

Hope it helps mate

[@jamesfirth-haydon7381]

Another stonking Video mate. Excellent ideas and so simple when you think about it. Good ideas for Spectre Operations which I started collecting at

[@TheTerrainTutor]

Cheers mate

[@SWIFTO_SCYTHE]

Perfect for Marvel Crisis Protocol thank you !

[@Enazel]

Yes a video on different wood painting techniques would be great.

[@IntergalacticApeMan]

You can thin your Model Color Smoke or Hull Read to make great wood stains. If not that I'm using a base color, either a brown or for rotten wood dark green. Then I glaze several layers wet in wet with the grain. Brownish for regular and black/bone for rotten. The trick is basically that you don't drybrush, because that makes it always look wrong up close. You want very soft transitions for display. Sometimes it helps to create a dusty filter with a bit of pigment powder or pastel chalks.

[@barriball28]

brilliant work again. I use matches with my pallets

[@TheTerrainTutor]

Oh nice idea bud

[@mertsgarage3045]

Wonderful Job 👏👏👏 Thank you very much Big Master 😊🤙🤙

[@luctoulouse]

thanks for the ideas, now I have to do it for 1/87 scale. Thx a lot mate.

[@TheTerrainTutor]

Good luck

[@alexanna29]

the letters on the blue pallets should be CP.... it stands for Chep Pallet. Blue Chep pallets are used for food products and are used here in the states as well as elsewhere. I was a forklift driver for 15 yrs and used a lot of these pallets. they're worth about $40 per pallet. just thought you might want to know. Great video!!!

[@TheTerrainTutor]

Thanks buddy

[@bevsartsandcrafts715]

Ah I love this xx

[@zigwoo999]

Wow how brilliant is this and you too sir 👍👍 thankyou for all your videos.it has helped me loads building 2 diramas,shame i cant share the photos on here 😖 keep up the amazing vids and tips just so awesome thankyou 🙂👍❤

[@billd.iniowa2263]

When you go to lay out them wood parts, use double sided tape on the table to hold them still. That way they wont float around on you when you touch them. Oh, BTW, always fold over one end of that stuff. That makes it much easier to remove from the table when you're done. Thanx for another great video Mel.

[@dougsundseth6904]

Poster tack also works very well when setting out pieces for gluing. I find that double-sided tape is too much of a pain to remove.

[@TheTerrainTutor]

That's far to smart of an idea for me mate ;-)

[@MelleHaanen]

You could also use a Japanese woodworking saw to make those pallets.

[@TheTerrainTutor]

Never heard of them

[@MelleHaanen]

TheTerrainTutor they're a very thin saw which can cut through thin wood (and thick) with a few passes.

[@dtmjax5612]

That box looks like one of my recent model kit purchases I received from overseas. 😮😆

[@warderbrad]

I liked your trash bag idea. I used it and found that if you put a daub of superglue on top of the rock before you close up the bag it holds a bit nicer and makes tying off easier.

[@blaineishere3851]

For the boxes, you could take a piece of clear tape, cut it to size, and tape the bottoms. Might add a bit of realism. Everything looks great, as usual.

[@TheTerrainTutor]

You'll have problems with painting with tape on it mate, might be better to paint brown strips if you get my meaning

[@pauls3585]

Awesome vid!

[@DiceyGuy]

good stuff! I might try this

[@andrewjackson3761]

3 strips of wood underneath and all bluepallets are owned by a company called chep and gave a white c on the corners but very well done and love the channel

[@TheTerrainTutor]

cheers bud

[@billd.iniowa2263]

Ma always called that thread "embroidery floss".

[@OmochaNerd]

wow! Great video sir! Many thanks!

[@TheTerrainTutor]

No worries matey

[@kriticalhitz5229]

excellent vid. much appreciated. cheers fella

[@TheTerrainTutor]

no worries mate

[@armyrobotjedi7982]

Thank you

[@seorwulf1049]

Great Vid - very helpful. The only thing I would mention is that for those interested in having correct scaling, I thnk 2x2 inch pallets are way overscale for 28mm. If you just like things to look good - no problem, If you like things to be in scale then check those measurements. A real-life standard Blue Chep Pallet, for example, is usually 1.2 by 1 meters in size which is roughly half the size made here. I will certainly be giving these techniques a try though :-)

[@IDICBeer]

Some very nice results there :D

[@ifeyecouldpaint]

If you don't mind me saying so that's some out-of-the-box thinking I've got to do an apocalyptic diorama scene, so the black bags and pallets will come in handy as I've never thought about them before thank you

[@habiit7178]

Thanks Boss.

[@dougsundseth6904]

Nice pallets. It's interesting that the version you built is not the one that I see most often. It turns out that there are about 10 common patterns, some of which are easier to model than others. I would say that 3m x 3m (in scale) pallets might be a bit large for general use. 8-) (But I suspect that most players would never notice the size.) Nice box for an appliance box or the like. If you want smaller boxes, small wooden blocks (or dice) of the right size wrapped in paper can work pretty well and are quite easy to make. If you want to leave them open, you can use slightly heavier paper (butcher's paper, for instance, has a decent texture and base color) and use the wood blocks to hold the shape only until you're done.

[@TheTerrainTutor]

Who knew pallets could be so different ;-)

[@florestista9339]

Awesome

[@cultofstarmie]

another good thing you could do for the boxes is glue a small washer/bolt to the bottom. it will give it alot of weight so they dont get blown away by random things

[@TheTerrainTutor]

I likes that!

[@cultofstarmie]

I Was noticed! lol good to see a novice can give advice to a master :)

[@samuelvasquez8170]

Yes on painting wood

[@TheTerrainTutor]

Noted!

[@pullipittiti]

great job

[@TheTerrainTutor]

thanks

[@hubzki]

Hi, i just made a cardboard box in about 30 minutes! And i recommend you use the box from a lego set. its corrugated slightly and gives a great finish! Shame we can't post photos in here.

[@littlejimmy5020]

ohhh the innuendo Mel's painting wood..

[@hugoshobbies1688]

Cheap & Easy & excellent explained as always. A Tutorial on Street Barricades and/or some sort of Ruin-Scatter like big piles of bricks would be much appreciated. I have some ideas myself, but yours are most likely easier and cheaper ;)

[@TheTerrainTutor]

I'll see what I can do!

[@CathodeRayKobold]

He came and made pallets! He came and made flags! He came and made packages, boxes and bags! He built and he built, till his fingers sore. Then he thought of something he hadn't before. "Maybe fun", said the gamer, "doesn't come from a store". "Maybe gaming, perhaps, means a little bit more."

[@TheTerrainTutor]

That's beautiful

[@armyrobotjedi7982]

Great 👍🏻 job

[@redshirtman1907]

Another great video Mel. May I give an idea? The pallet looks a little clean and new. Try rounding off some of the corners and applying a heavy cream dry brush randomly along the edges. Pay extra attention to the corners.

[@TheTerrainTutor]

Yep, that'd look nice mate

[@hubzki]

Score on the back, less chance of splitting. but scoring on front does leave a nice rough edge for detail. :)

[@dioramagerry2581]

Excellent travail je m'abonne 👍

[@HiveMind3006]

Fantastic stuff Mel! I think the small scatter items really bring a board to life. With me being quite unimaginative I'd have never thought of making my own nor would I have had the idea of bags n boxes n stuff . I have bought loads of plastic and resin drums and crates but with the addition of some pallets to put the crates on and just litter the place up with bags n boxes I think it is going to look great. I wonder if humanity in the far far future still use black bin bags? Of course they do coz in the dark future of the 41st millennium there is only trash!! Nice one Mel and thanks again for another great video :)

[@TheTerrainTutor]

Plenty more to come mate

[@ruaridhmackenzie3215]

you can also get the 5mm wood from rockets from fireworks (I kept about 20 from last non fire night)

[@TheTerrainTutor]

Oh yes!

[@ChampionofTerra]

That was a great tutorial. I was wanting to do something of that sort ^^D

[@TheTerrainTutor]

Glad it helps mate

[@Vic-Norman-1974]

Very cool video. I have a Hotwheels DieCast Racing Channel. This will help a truckload with the garage and track finish and runoff area... Those little extras can REALLY make a massive difference to the atmosphere. Thanks for this little video.... I am Off to make somebin bags. 👍👍👍

[@jjab99]

I think that a video on painting wood would be a great idea Mel. Many thanks for sharing this video with us today, it was very interesting and useful too. Have fun mate, Joe

[@TheTerrainTutor]

No worries buddy

[@markstevens3798]

Joe's Model Kits p

[@kayb9979]

Cardboard boxes would be indispensable in a "Sweeney" type of game: it gives the cars something to knock over.

[@TheTerrainTutor]

Don't forget A-Team!

[@charlieudarbe7915]

este video me ha ayudado mucho.un gran trabajo pero ayudaria mucho que una ves hecho pusieras alguna miniatura para comparar el tamaño pd: losiento si mi ingles es malo

[@leeb8657]

Recently discovered your channel and find it thoroughly enjoyable, inspiring and creative. Even though I don't use these methods for gaming, I do apply a lot of techniques on a larger scale for our Halloween decorations and home haunts. However, having watched a few of your vids now, I am considering some smaller scale village scenes, as they look great fun, and can do it all year long. Thank you for your time and efforts to share some great information and techniques. Also, on a complete separate note whenever I hear you talk, all I picture is Neil Buchanan from Art Attack same tone, accent and artistic enthusiasm ..... maybe its just me ? Keep up the good work

[@TheTerrainTutor]

Gotta love a bit of Neil B!

[@danosullivan2313]

Cool

[@xxTONIGHTYOUxx]

great video bud!! I've just started playing Mantics the walking dead all out war and all these videos have been very handy! I think it would of been good to put this scatter next to a few models and maybe a building to show of scale and how they would sit and blend into the surrounding area. just a thought! keep the videos coming. Thanks

[@TheTerrainTutor]

A few more to come mate ;-)

[@xxTONIGHTYOUxx]

looking forward to them!

[@carlovittorioboni2711]

Mel, can you do a tutorial on creating 1:56 stowage for bolt action? would be really appreciated, keep up the good work!

[@TheTerrainTutor]

Ah, that's tank stuff, no really my thing mate :-)

[@mikecollis1821]

Some one may have mentioned this already but pallets aren't actually square, they measure 120cm X 100cm so dropping it down from six slats on top to five might give better representation.

[@maxahaider]

There are a bunch of different kinds of pallets, including square pallets.

[@crepselect6192]

Yeah

[@Hobbyrepubliken]

Love the little voting watchacallit

[@TheTerrainTutor]

Always gotta have some whatchamacallit ;-)

[@chrishales8299]

could use toffee apple sticks for the pallets aswell. there 5mm by 3mm. not the easiest to saw that small tho

[@dinosaurandnapkin]

this guy is like art attack but pocket-sized.

[@Myhayv]

I'd dig a wood painting vid.

[@IntergalacticApeMan]

Excellent video, mate. That's exactly what I'm looking for. I've been building pallets before, but even watching this might make me think my technique over a bit. I've been trying to cut the wood spot on and that takes ages. I should cut it when the piece is glued like you did. I tried to make garbage bags out of miliput and they do look different. Not essentially bad, but using the real McCoy seems worth a try. I will have to see if that is only a tabletop thing or can be applied to the diorama I'm currently working on (1/35 T-Rex in post-apocalyptic city ruins). I guess it depends on how much weathering is going to blend the bags in an otherwise artificial looking environment, because everything else is painted. Cardboard boxes are imperative, so that's definitely something I can use. I might try cutting brown packing tape to size and see if that goes well in scale. If you can, please keep em coming, I need the full variety of mayhem and I'm not really willing to invest much in the expensive scale model supplies available. It's supposed to be a low budget project trying to make the cheapest available model look good and so I've already put a lot of work into resculpting parts of the kit to begin with. Any help is much appreciated. Cheers, mate!

[@TheTerrainTutor]

Awesome mate, there's a few more urban vids to come ;-)

[@IntergalacticApeMan]

That's what I wanted to hear. Looking foreward!

[@chrisyoder8985]

great tutorial mel as usual do you plan on making any steampunk terrain been looking for some to use in warmachine

[@TheTerrainTutor]

Just add cogs and pipes, and lots of brass mate

[@trainjam6596]

The Wizard at work.Do you dream at night ? Bet you do!

[@TheTerrainTutor]

only of terrain ;-)

[@100mmtubeofjustice7]

one thing, the pallet looks good but a lot of pallets in the U.S. Do have those overhangs, and most of the time are unpainted unless they have been repaired or belong to certain companies.

[@tora32486]

As someone who's used several pallets in my time, the edge "clean up" is a needless step, I've never had a pallet where all the slats were the same. Just a time Saving thought

[@TheTerrainTutor]

I'm just picky lol

[@tora32486]

TheTerrainTutor another neat idea would be "metal" munitions pallets for a battlefield scene with Ammo crates, could even be an objective if done right

[@barrythornton9947]

"edge "clean up" is a needless step" was gonna say that... pallets are not `nice` wood cut precisely

[@crossmirage]

Maybe dental floss would look better on the bags than embroidery string? Feels like string stands out a bit too much.

[@TheTerrainTutor]

Go for it mate