11 easy ways to make MDF terrain look awesome

Want to make your MDF terrain kits fit in with a grim-dark setting? Find out how in 11 simple steps.
KIT USED: Mad Gaming Terrain Hab Block
Midwinter Minis viewers can get 25% off Hab Block kits (excluding the 10-pack kit and "ruined" kit)
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- valid until 15 July 2019
Huge thanks to Andy at Mad Gaming Terrain for sorting this out for our viewers!
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Here are some useful links for stuff we use. Amazon gives us a few pennies if you buy using these, at no extra cost to you!
The affordable brushes I mostly use: amzn.to/3dJA6Lu
Cheap detail paintbrushes: amzn.to/30t81EL
A great beginner paint set: amzn.to/3h44RNi
My favourite beginner airbrush & compressor set: amzn.to/3eSo8iS
The airbrush I use for finer work: amzn.to/2Uh7rps
The compressor I use for long sessions: amzn.to/30iTL1c
Cool aquarium filters that look like industrial flooring: amzn.to/2XFeniv
Brass couplers that look like scale model barrels: amzn.to/3dFDnvz
Cheap pastels that make great DIY pigment powder: amzn.to/3cJKTnI
The only palette you'll ever need: amzn.to/3eVljOb

[@jakobremmer8927]

"i'm sorry jon, but my hunger exceeds that of even the tyranids"

[@MidwinterMinis]

Yasss, I knew I wouldn't be the only one ;)

[@historyatwar6230]

Ha

[@Vengeance161]

The banner is from the Gunners gang in Fallout 4 I’m so going to savour those nerd points 🤤

[@MidwinterMinis]

BAM, that was quick! Haha

[@rayanderson5797]

Ah! I thought I recognized it! I was thinking it was from Mad Max, though. I was in the wrong post-nuclear wasteland.

[@MrDshaw1988]

Banner should have been green though

[@kuresathedivineruler3665]

I knew I remembered it from somewhere

[@Spacktastic]

No I was to late

[@liverpools]

"I'm sorry Jon" That gave me a laugh.

[@MidwinterMinis]

The lack of lasagne is no laughing matter, Jon.

[@BPR_Jon]

@@MidwinterMinis I cannot escape Garfield can I?

[@IndraSunrise]

British youtube channel. Finds a way to include tea.

[@MidwinterMinis]

Haha, always.

[@jacobhoekman6865]

"Hello I'm the spiffing brit"

[@historyatwar6230]

Of corse

[@blackmagesol4343]

lol the newspaper in french : "Talk about the orgasm like a true scientific theme"

[@dudepersonvids]

I was noticing that too lol

[@MidwinterMinis]

Le seul thème est "orgasme"

[@horuslupercal2385]

They should have left that headline as a banner left dangling off a wall somewhere 😂

[@julien4562]

Bien vu

[@torymiddlebrooks]

"Dad, there are other wipes besides star wipes." "Why eat hamburger when you can have steak?"

[@MidwinterMinis]

I'm glad someone got the reference!

[@molmo9338]

ya thear ar

[@margaretgordon7481]

12. Add more vegetation. Plants growing out of roof and high up areas of masonry, grass around base level, fresh moss growing on those wet water stained areas. Great vid, much appreciated. Keep up the good work! 👍🏻👍🏻

[@MidwinterMinis]

Yeah! The sky's the limit for foliage, but things tend to look a little more barren in those post-apoc sci-fi settings :)

[@margaretgordon7481]

Yeah, you're right. I've my head up my post apocalyptic zombie a** at the minute, but for 40k or whatever you've got it about right 😂

[@julianwarren7770]

Dried out baby wipes (the generic ones with no pattern printed on) makes a good “fabric” for curtains, tents etc... tougher than news paper, cheaper than cutting up a t-shirt!

[@facebaner]

This is the best mdf terrain how to I've ever seen! I've really struggled with making mdf terrain interesting but I think these techniques will change that. Thanks!

[@MidwinterMinis]

Thanks so much! Glad you found it useful :)

[@deltacharlie3746]

Brilliant how-to video, thank you. Just getting back into 40k through Kill Team and the hobby world has moved on massively since the 80s/90s. This is a great tutorial.

[@Dro250]

I have been binge watching your terrain videos all morning, as an American you have taught me new favorite word "Lolly Sticks".

[@Miniac]

Very fun video!

[@MidwinterMinis]

Thanks matey!

[@historyatwar6230]

I like it

[@ryanhager7985]

Ok soooooo glad Penny was back. We all missed you !

[@MidwinterMinis]

She was always there in the background, snarking, jeering, I just didn't give her a microphone ;)

[@Chernobog1455]

God work on the terrain, is the "I'm sorry jon" a reference to the weird Garfield sub-reddit?

[@MidwinterMinis]

It 100% is, yes. Referencing on point, my friend!

[@Chernobog1455]

@@MidwinterMinis Thanks, i loved the video and I'm surprised i never thought of the poster one, good idea.

[@aarnojamsa3395]

Bullets don't work Jon

[@Tempest-cb2bh]

Those boards are on the outside. It's not for keeping something out, its for keeping something in... Great build! looks awesome.

[@MidwinterMinis]

MIND: BLOWN

[@benrafferty3084]

That’s some kick ass terrain, it’d look great on the table too

[@MidwinterMinis]

Thanks Ben! Glad you like it. Got to use it in its first game yesterday too, looked great! :)

[@phillipmele8533]

Y’all are artists, and kickass ones to boot. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

[@DarkMatterWorkshop]

Great vid ! A tip for the posters : Print with a laser printer so you can use washes on the papers and the prints won’t run out.

[@MidwinterMinis]

Yeah! I only have an inkjet though, living it 00's style ;)

[@DarkMatterWorkshop]

Midwinter Minis So do i, printshop 😉

[@adamduncombe594]

what a great video. Subscribed! well edited, easy to follow and well articulated.

[@MidwinterMinis]

Oh, thank you! That's very kind of you to say :)

[@gawby]

I have avoided MDF kits in the past. This build has changed my mind in a big way. Great video.

[@gavinm894]

Tea!! I use tea as a basing material. Of course, I use the tea first to make a cuppa. Then at the end of the day I break open several used tea bags, dry out the content in the oven then mix it with some sand and varying sizes and shapes of aquarium gravel. Great video!

[@bugnazbinnyking1198]

👍Appropriate tea use is appropriate 🎩

[@jakeelwood4344]

Nice video I picked up my first MDF building found yours pretty informative and easy to watch looks great too. Thanks for sharing

[@MidwinterMinis]

Thanks Jake! Good luck painting up your building :)

[@sterlinga.5410]

I may not be insanely British, but I sure as hell do have a TON of tea in my house at all times!

[@VigilantErik]

Very nice! I added pastels and textured paste to my shopping list. ;) I'll also be buying some of the Hab Block buildings! Thanks for the tips!

[@MidwinterMinis]

Awesome, hope you enjoy them! :)

[@mobileandhostile7895]

Nicely put together and a good watch with helpful hints...putting them into distinct stages works well 👍

[@MidwinterMinis]

Thank you very much, glad you enjoyed the tutorial :)

[@ManlyPHall-ce8dc]

you guys did phenomenally well. loved it.

[@horuslupercal2385]

Another great video with some great tips..... Absolutely ❤️❤️❤️ your commentary over it 🙂

[@thewholecity]

Thank you guys your video appeared top of my search and was EXACTLY what I was looking for so THANK YOU THANK YOU AND THANK YOU.

[@dzianisshaplyka8878]

Thanks for your awesome videos! They gave me motivation to paint my Blackstone Fortress's mini. :)

[@MidwinterMinis]

Nice! Glad I could help you out with the set :)

[@temirbek2004]

the inscription on the building "ЖЕРТВОВАТЬ" reads like ZHERTVOVAT and means SACRIFICE, hello from post soviet counries.

[@JoshmanJoyce]

This is one of the best things you have made to date! Awesome!

[@MidwinterMinis]

Thanks so much, Josh! It was a pretty fun project too :)

[@JBrown_Trivium]

Fantastic vid. About to build a load of MDF terrain and will certainly use this vid to help make them POP more on the TT.

[@TheMrFishnDucks]

Awesome tutorial. Looking forward to the next video. Keep up the good work.

[@JohnLee-te4xj]

Never realised you are colchester based until this! 4tk is hands down the best FLGS I've ever known of. All of our guys on the channel use them. Also what MAD gaming produce is top stuff!

[@MidwinterMinis]

Yeah, I always have a really great time there, even if I'm just briefly swinging by to feed my plastic crack habit, haha

[@JohnLee-te4xj]

@@MidwinterMinis played in the doubles tournament last week and film with bfs wargaming on here too sometimes. We all love it there

[@666MABE]

Sure would love if you painted up some more mdf necromunda terrain. Like the silos and walkways!

[@Keltik0ne]

That doggo is requiring a hug. Or treat, your choice.

[@MidwinterMinis]

Haha, totally. She's a total hug-fiend.

[@torymiddlebrooks]

Photos or gtfo

[@timmanning5206]

Or? OR?!

[@Tom_Quixote]

Purge the abomination

[@kimstyles5078]

So Good! Love your work guys, don't stop. I might have to use like all of those techniques, like tomorrow!

[@MidwinterMinis]

Thanks Kim, good luck! :)

[@BaijoGosum]

Vary kool. I haven’t jumped down the rabbit hole of collecting Terrain but MDF looks like a good place to start

[@MidwinterMinis]

It's very cost effective, and nice to mix it in with DIY stuff and fancy plastic kits :)

[@PatGilliland]

Tea - I have a couple of litres of used, dried and dyed leaves to be used for flocking my game mat. Lovely stuff.

[@MidwinterMinis]

A connoisseur of impeccable taste!

[@taylord6043]

This is so amazing thank you guys! Loved this one!

[@Studogg98]

Thank you for this. Running out of things to do on Lockdown.

[@JoeXTheXJuggalo1]

What made this video and build even more awesome is the the soundtrack.

[@MidwinterMinis]

Thanks Joe, the music will be available soon if you want to listen to it 24/7, hah

[@JoeXTheXJuggalo1]

@@MidwinterMinis that would be awesome. Seems like a apocalyptic type of music. Like something you would hear in a zombie movie and the terrain building goes with it so well.

[@philRminiatures]

Your attention to details is amazing, wonderful job and great technique, looks superb and so real...😍😍

[@MidwinterMinis]

Thanks you very much! When you split up the processes like this, it makes it quite easy though :)

[@philRminiatures]

@@MidwinterMinis I'll make a try!

[@Blottingpaper]

That MDF terrain is awesome, thanks for the link and code.

[@MidwinterMinis]

You're welcome, glad you enjoyed the video :)

[@hyaground]

Oh wow that was a luurvely video - it’s always better when the two of you are bouncing off each other 💕 and now a dog too?! Hilarious 😂 Been holding back on mdf buildings as the first one I bought had an awful finish after painting 😡 but now with this discount I’m keen to try again 👍👍 Keep it up guys I always look forward to each new upload

[@MidwinterMinis]

Thanks Christian! Really glad you enjoyed the video. I think the primer really helps the finish of the final thing, as it stops it sucking up so much of the paint you add later :)

[@MiniatureMisfit]

Another awesome thing, I wholeheartedly approve of the use of tea for maximum British-Ness! I'm not a wargamer but many props to you both! *high five from Shropshire*

[@MidwinterMinis]

Nice! New channel too, eh? I've subscribed! Looking forward to seeing what else you create :)

[@MiniatureMisfit]

@@MidwinterMinis Aww thank you, much appreciated :D

[@padraighegarty7114]

Excellent work. Keep it up. Here's hoping for an Inquisitor line restart so I might get to use these someday

[@MidwinterMinis]

Yeah! I love the vibe of Inquisitor, but was out of the hobby at just the wrong time to get into it.

[@benn1181]

Wow! You really elevated the piece!

[@1crlski]

Another great video!!! So many ideas, keep up the great work!!

[@MidwinterMinis]

Thanks Chris! :)

[@steveblackwell5494]

I just wanted to say I enjoyed that very much I just found your channel I did subscribe and hit the Bell icon I can't wait to watch more and go back to your older videos thank you and I look forward to watching.

[@MidwinterMinis]

Nice! Thanks very much Steve, hope you enjoy our future videos :)

[@UNDAMedia]

ive watched this video fifteen times lbmo. really helped with techniques for my scale buildings

[@truemind1018]

these guy were soo nice to allow us to their MDF modular houses for this video so go tell them thanks step 1: DESTROY IT step 2: COVER IT IN TRASH

[@abainbridge89]

really cool, will be using some of these easy ways for my kill team terrain :)

[@MidwinterMinis]

Excellent! Good luck painting it up :)

[@stygiantoaster1054]

I take umbrage with the notion that I wouldn’t have a variety of tea available, not being from England and what not. ;) I am inspired to actually start painting my terrain now! Thank you for the video!

[@MidwinterMinis]

Don't worry about it, I'm not actually from England either, haha.

[@rmcgavock1]

Beautiful work! Thanks for the video and keep up the good work!

[@MidwinterMinis]

Thanks Randal :)

[@joescustoms8321]

Superb video, Lots of tips for beginners & veterens

[@MidwinterMinis]

Happy you found it useful :)

[@codelicious6590]

Love the ambient music.

[@MidwinterMinis]

Thanks mate! :)

[@SwedishWookie]

I so wish I had watched this video before I started, but I'm totally gonna apply a lot of it going forward. And see if I can't do some "post"-editing of what I've started on. Also, that was one adorable ending to a terrain video xD

[@GENERALWA5TE]

Great video, detail is awesome.

[@MidwinterMinis]

Thanks very much!

[@WarGamerGirl]

These are a lot of good ideas. Very helpful =)

[@MidwinterMinis]

Oh hello there you hobby hero. Glad you liked our video!

[@HobbitTabletopLiga]

Nice - have done all of these techniques in the past except the weathering powder... need to get into that as well... What I really also like on terrain is using glaces on certain areas to slightly change the colour and get some varity - similar to the effect that you are doing with the sponge technique but area focused and not "spot" focused The second thing that Ilike to do was using salt and hairspray to create chipping / rust effects. To sum it up_ Fantastic video, will tune into your channel more often, guys :)

[@MidwinterMinis]

Thanks so much! Yeah, it's really nice the subtle changes you can make with light weathering!

[@paulofreire7520]

Nice job, guys! Great video. 👍🏻

[@MidwinterMinis]

Thanks Paulo!

[@kingsnogaryen6292]

Those mesh windows look amazing.

[@ilyantresong]

Another great video by you two agian, keep it up

[@MidwinterMinis]

Thank you Mark!

[@idodaisuke4285]

Hi, great vid. If i mauy suggest listing the video linked in the description, i would avoid me painful research and make it easier to watch it after watching this one.

[@MidwinterMinis]

It should appear in the suggested videos, but I'll look into it :)

[@willmfrank]

Kudos for freecycling the canister lid palette.

[@ubiquitouspov1060]

Nice work as always. Cheers guys.

[@MidwinterMinis]

Glad you enjoyed it matey!

[@Jameslnk]

so happy i found this vid wanted to paint my mdf for a ork building this is perfect thanks

[@Tom_-]

Actually looks amazing. Well done!

[@briantrend1812]

Atleast they keeping these bloody peasants busy not like us lazy rats in covid shut down

[@gomezzara_art]

Marvelous job!

[@MidwinterMinis]

Thank you very much :)

[@nelsonfalsetegarcia397]

amazing video guys!

[@fiftyonenorth]

Lovely work.

[@garybuettner7920]

Very cool. I should’ve been taking notes!

[@Sammo212]

This is amazing! Subbing to your channel. Hoping to get into doing a lot of this stuff when I move and actually have some space.

[@MidwinterMinis]

Thanks Steven! Good luck when you get started :)

[@XShadoWPaws]

I've got a tip to make quick and easy weld lines across metal sections, for those psycho level retailers out there (like if someone quickly welded some metal beams across a door or window). Simply use a match/candle/ lighter to soften a spare piece of sprue and stretch it to a fine strand, glue it in place, then notch it with a hobby knife to simulate the sectioned pattern of a weld line. For best results use a tiny layer of a very thing plastic cement to soften the plastic strand. This is also a great technique to make two sectioned look welded together, like on old WWII tank turrets, etc.

[@shaundaly1134]

Absolutely fantastic.

[@Deagorsarrh]

Nice techniques and tips, thanks man!

[@MidwinterMinis]

You're welcome! :)

[@erice.9514]

Another cheap material I often use for finer sand is Superglue mixed with Bakeing Soda. I use it for Bases and it piles up and gains volume the more you use. Also very simple to use, just put in some glue and straw the soda over it or dip it in. The Super glue goes into a chemical reaction and hardens instantly. (it can get pretty hot!)

[@MidwinterMinis]

I've had a few weird experiences with that technique, with weird white crystals appearing over the paint a couple of years later, so I tend to avoid it now :(

[@erice.9514]

@@MidwinterMinis sounds like the sodium from the powder builded some Kind of Salt from either paint, medium auf or air moisture. Maybe i will cover my bases with varnish before painting. Thank you for sharing your expierience.

[@guylawrance2216]

Good Job you two 👍

[@MidwinterMinis]

Thanks Guy!

[@passthemeeple]

Frickin briliant! Thanks!

[@Imoneofthosewretches]

Really cool stuff!

[@1simo93521]

This is really helpful! Thanks!

[@MidwinterMinis]

You're welcome! Thanks for watching :)

[@leonardof.b9534]

Very nice. Great job 😀

[@TrollButtlord]

Looks awesome!!

[@michimatsch5862]

These tips are also really helpful for Warhammer Fantasy.

[@MidwinterMinis]

Yeah! If you want it dirty, you can use this guide ;)

[@heikoabeyer]

Good inspiration! Thank you!

[@MidwinterMinis]

You're welcome Heiko!

[@geoffreywightman3635]

If you have a Dremel Tool its super easy to cut chunks out of and rough up MDF!

[@GamingRulesVideos]

Incredible. Well done.

[@MidwinterMinis]

Thank you!

[@julien4562]

Ohhhhh, thanks you from France

[@batman9592]

The headline for the paper mache @ 4:13 "talks about Orgasms..." What is in that cup!?!?!

[@ReiNanto]

An other KZbin channel project with Penny. 😂😂😂

[@MidwinterMinis]

Rumbled! Haha

[@DreadWaaaghGaming]

I only just discovered your channel through this video, and from one hobby youtuber to another/others I'd like to say WOW!great video! really, i didn't find it lacking anything, it was spot on!you gained a sub from me! (not that you need it for the numbers like...blimey! you're doing great!)

[@MidwinterMinis]

Thanks so much! That's very kind of you to say :) I just smashed the subscribe button on your channel too, I bloody love Ork conversions!

[@BrandonReinhart]

Holy crap, this is _excellent_ advice.

[@stephenmurray5684]

Fantastic video

[@davekavanagh7599]

As a carpenter who is brand new to warhammer, I feel this video was made just for me 😂😂

[@Eklipze3k]

Came for the tips, subscribed for the doggo

[@MidwinterMinis]

Our plan worked perfectly.

[@marks6928]

That looks amazing. Really helpful video thank you. /subscribed

[@MidwinterMinis]

Thanks Mark! Glad you found it useful :)

[@khadorstrong]

great video! Thank you

[@MidwinterMinis]

You're welcome!

[@TheDrewjameson]

You two have the best accents!

[@MidwinterMinis]

Haha, thanks Drew :)

[@robertevans3173]

Nice work.

[@JuloFreeq]

"when your happy with your 'junk'..."

[@MidwinterMinis]

Is anyone ever TRULY happy with their junk? ;)

[@jason2089]

Just don't get paint on it!

[@soupalex]

@@jason2089 hey, whatever floats your boat