Soul Columns of the Necrolords: A Modular Grimdark Terrain piece

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

As always guys, I'm more than happy to answer any questions as soon as I get a chance, and It'd be great to hear your thoughts on this build and my plans to do a whole tileset! 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. 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 3:2:1 ratio of dirt:brown grout:black grout. when I decided to add the yellow earth pigment, I added 1/2 a shot glass (my measuring ratio) to a 4x as big mix of this stuff, so it became 12:8:4:1/2 ratio of dirt:brown grout:black grout:yellow pigment Or, if you only want to use full measures: 24:16:8:1 ratio of dirt:brown grout:black grout:yellow pigment BUT as I say, your dirt may vary. This can be a little trial and error, and if it's worth it is really up to you. If your dirt is more yellow or orange and needs a bit more blue, you can get blue pigment, but I haven't tested it yet, so I cant speak to whether it would work. But it definitely exists, and I'd be interested to hear about it if you try it! MAGNET SAFETY: Don’t use around small children or animals, if ingested these can be dangerous. Never let very strong magnets slam together, especially thin ones. They can and will smash under a lot of force, and then become very sharp, highly magnetic shrapnel. Not good. Easy to avoid though, just take care. WHITE SPIRIT SAFETY White spirit is mainly classed as an irritant for short-term exposure to skin or inhalation. The real problem is exposure over many years to an average enclosed-space concentration for breathing - it can lead to chronic negative central nervous system effects. Long-term skin contact can result in severe skin irritation. Odourless mineral spirits are white spirits that have been further refined to “remove the more toxic aromatic compounds, and are recommended for applications such as oil painting, where humans have close contact with the solvent” The key words there are 'long term', but safety is safety. Wear a mask, use gloves, use glasses. FLUORESCENT TIPS Fluorescent paints are something I've just started playing with, so I may have more tips in the future, but here's a few to get started. They work just fine through an airbrush when thinned 1:1, but they dry quite thick like this, a bit like airbrush primer. Be aware of this and keep the air flowing so it doesn’t get a chance to dry on the needle, and wipe the needle regularly when using. I often took the cap off to make this easier, because I like to live dangerously. When painting with a brush, they leave brush strokes like bad paint if unthinned, and thinned with water it can still be less than even. I found a 1:1 mix of glaze medium made it lie smoother and generally a LOT easier to use. It’s still not as good as airbrushing, but it does work. Thin coats, apply carefully :) PRINTING TIPS I've mentioned this before for printed accessories and such, but if it's going to be visible (ie: not a template), make sure you set the print quality to best, and select the right kind of paper you're using in the printer settings (plain, photo etc). If you are using photo paper not made by the printer manufacturer, sometimes they include an 'other photo paper' option - this can get you better results as the 'HP photo paper' or whatever option is designed for their paper, not all paper… quality aside, double check that any scaling or resizing options are unticked too - this can change the size of things just slightly enough that you might not notice until it's too late! I'm thinking of including these printer tips with a more visual walkthrough in a future video, let me know in the comments if that would be useful.

[@p-thor]

I really like this community and how everybody shoots out things from eachother.

[@Jauphrey]

Too true, bud. The cooperation and support between everyone is so cool, doubly so since the shout-outs really benefit us learning from so many different talents. :)

[@p-thor]

@@Jauphrey exactly. I think it was how I found this channel.

[@MrMatthewPR]

As someone with a half-painted ghost of his desk, I'm infuriated at how easy it would be with an airbrush... Great builds as ever though :)

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Yeah, the airbrush is one of the best things I've bought 😅 totally recommended getting one, it's so worth it!

[@zachchenoweth6622]

Check your local craft/art store frequently and you might be able to pick one up on clearance.

[@Jauphrey]

You have some next level calm in your voice my dude. I swear I can feel my blood pressure going down. Also the video is great too, thanks for the great tips!

[@drakewarrior1013]

Yeah, it is perfect to brew something like a soft, warm tea, put on headphones and just watch this in the late evening. I'm trying to not miss videos, because they each are amazing in what they show. My favourite so far is the kobold cave one. It just looks so vertical and intertwined and cool!

[@harkejuice]

> "Less work" > Posts terrain that includes spirit hosts. Love your vids! Just 'ate building spirit hosts.

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Haha, I can see your point with that! You could use any other ghosts though ;)

[@Karlmakesstuff]

Awesome tutorial. The glowing skull strips look fantastic!

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Thanks Karl! I'm glad they turned out well, it was touch and go for a while 😅

[@MarkLewis...]

You're very good at this. Crafting and teaching.

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Thanks Mark :)

[@printandplaygamer7134]

You definitely deserve 100K subscribers, man. Your crafts are top notch, your tutorials are clear and concise, and your presentation is very professional. Keep up the good work!

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Thank you so much man, it means a lot!

[@kalenproductions6807]

glad i'm not the only one who uses warhammer models for dnd

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Yep :) though I'm moving away from it now, the scale is slightly off compared to other d&d models, they're often too bulky...

[@matthewprince6157]

I always get so inspired by your work. Just makes me want to build more terrain.

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

That is always amazing to hear :)

[@jazzCFB]

I don't know for what reason, but everytime you end a video with "I'll be in the Archive", it just sounds so awesome-ly mysterious... 😅👌 Once again, great job! Absolutely nailed the glowy effect on those skulls and ram!

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Haha! Thanks, glad it comes across well 😅 And thank you man, it was touch and go for a bit but I'm happy with the result :)

[@zachchenoweth6622]

This one was pretty rad! A tower might be a great idea for the mages guild or steampunk tinker for my current campaign.

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Sounds awesome man :)

[@themakeshop1499]

Awesome idea. Love how bright the glow appears on these. Thanks for the instructions.

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

It's actually insane when you put it next to normal paint. It's really good stuff.

[@mathiusgamgee]

You do not disappointed! This is epic.

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Thanks Mathius! Took a while to get this one done but I think the experimentation time was worth it :)

[@BPCustomCreations]

That cement and stippling technique for styrene is genius! Ill be using that for my gaslands mods in the future!

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

It's awesome right? So happy I found it!

[@BPCustomCreations]

@@RPArchiveOfficial texture isn't hard, I've found, but pitting is pretty unique and hard to replicate. Luckily we can use the chemical properties of styrene to our advantage!

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Definitely :)

[@LostWhits]

Would using acetone give a similar finish?

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Possible, I haven't tested. Let me know if it does!

[@turnipslop3822]

Awesome stuff, I'd definitely love see more stuff on how to make more evil themed modular terrain as I noticed the stone blocks can otherwise blend together and look somewhat repetitive without these kinds of accents. Great work man :]

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Thanks Turnip :) honestly it's good to hear people are up for that, makes me feel more confident in doing a full video on it 😅

[@turnipslop3822]

@@RPArchiveOfficial just another idea that could be good for a video is showing how you would modify your existing standard 3*3 mountain/castle blocks for an icey tundra, desert, obsidian/evil crypt, jewel/gold encrusted mines, Red Martian landscapes etc. as just a paint demo with some bonus effects. I feel like these evil accents would pop a lot more on a black or darker grey backdrop. Idk if that would actually be as simple as I'm imagining but would really help to show that part of your system off. I'm also imagining like a snow roof and icicles you could hang as related accessories (or maybe save that for follow up videos!) Just an idea anyway mate 😁

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Honestly you're right about the darker grey background - if you check out the dungeon scenes you can see the upgraded walls and stairblocks are moving more towards neutral grey than tan. This is deliberate, I'm basically changing my core stone colour scheme to something more neutral like various greys, rather than tan which I'm finding gives off a 'good guy' vibe! It's all an experiment, I may repaint the whole lot yet but I feel its better to make the pieces neutral and then make specific good/evil tiles for extremes :)

[@alrethianscraftsbattles]

This is great man...it kind of reminds me of some Dark Eldar terrain. Definitly going to attempt to build a few of these. Thanks for this 👍

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Definitely!

[@Mrmathiol]

congratulations, your work is brilliant.

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Thanks Matheus!

[@MeTalkPrettyOneDay]

Blows my mind every time. So jealous of your players.

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Thanks man!

[@ArdWulf]

Great stuff...as usual. Cheers!

[@ScatteredTerrain]

I really enjoy the dark elegance! Beautifully done!

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Thanks man! Exactly what I was shooting for :)

[@drakewarrior1013]

Brilliant as always!

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Thanks Drake! 😁

[@Seven-sk9hc]

i would love to see a dnd game with all the thing u do

[@robertevans3173]

Good job as always. Thank you for the content and extra effort

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Thanks Robert :) and thank you for commenting! It really helps.

[@andytate5670]

I like the Vallejo Fluorescents I recently built a Frankenstein Lab with all the electrical equipment and I used almost this method to paint all the electric and plasma bolts like the machined in the old movies they worked really well. I haven't got an airbrush but I still got a great effect

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

That sounds like an awesome use of those colours :)

[@rich8021]

Plane of fire can still have rusted metal because it's not water that causes rust, it's oxygen. So if you can breath there, there will be rusted metal unless it is protected. cast metal will very much likely be rusted. :D

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

THANK YOU! Made me feel so much better about that stylistic choice 😅

[@Nate-dj9nt]

This looks really cool mat, nice job.

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Thanks Nathan :)

[@jonbauml225]

The world of fantasy RPG needs your system. Please ask your patreon if mass production should be considered. What you've done, the whole system, is better than everything out there. Much love

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

It's not something I'm looking at in the short term, I'm aiming to build the channel and make it more stable before I tried anything like that - running the channel to grow is hard enough right now 😅 Longer term, we'll see :)

[@kriegsschmiedezwerg7254]

I use the hot glue method with my minis during painting as well... i remove it by "reheating" the hot glue with a hair dryer though^^

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Oo, that's a good detach method!

[@andrearovati]

goooood as always...

[@Malisteen]

Great stuff. One of these days I really need to get a hotwire cutter to try some of these builds. There's really not much purchasable terrain out there that wirks for ossiarchs, but something like these towers might.

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Definitely, kinda suits the bone pile GW do :)

[@funwithmadness]

Nice job. Makes me want to produce more terrain, but I have too many other projects already in flight. I liked the trick for stippling the styrene. I'll have to try that at some point. I wouldn't be surprised if at some point you start making molds of some of your pieces that need to be repeated a lot. It's a deep rabbit hole. ;)

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Haha! Oh I've got plans for repeated pieces, believe me...

[@herpenderper]

Awesome! Where is that vampire miniature from that can be seen in the last 3 seconds?

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Loot studios, 3d printed :)

[@Lumpyrox1412]

When I clicked play I was expecting a pillar that housed some kind of mirror trick hologram to make a ghastly spectral enemy podium type deal. This video wasn’t that but that’d be neat if possible!

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

That does sound awesome!

[@jherazob]

Quite possible with some form of the Pepper's Ghost effect, but not easy at all, you'd probably have to embed the whole thing inside the tower, and it would only look great from a single angle. What he did with a mini and fluos is pretty much the best thing, specially for something used in play.

[@mikemartin3671]

Hello Matt! The thumbnail looked to me like you had used LED lights, exceptional paint job! The build as always is awesome. I think more than any other content creator you make me want to get a Proxon...I'm "skint" as you folks might say but who knows some day soon. Do your links include Canada aswell? Anyway getting caught up in your archive, great content! Take care.

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Thanks a lot Mike! And thank you for pointing that out - I might Change the thumbnail to make clear there's no LEDS, it seems to put some people off 😅 As for the proxxon - have you tried second hand? It's the kind of thing that lasts forever, and replacement wire is cheap if needed (but it also lasts forever) My links currently don't include Canada, mainly because setting up the links is a TON of work! It's definitely in my plans though, just when I find the time :)

[@mikemartin3671]

@@RPArchiveOfficial I appreciate the advise about the proxxon Matt and fair enough about the link just thought I'd ask. Regarding the thumbnail, I meant that as a compliment! The glow effect was that convincing! Take care.

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

No problem man, and you too! As for the thumbnail, I changed it to mention the 'no led' thing and now it's getting more views, so thanks for pointing it out! 😁

[@ChannelVargar]

Thank you for the airbrush tips!

[@aidan1R]

One cool thing you could add at some point is perhaps skeletons in cages or by themselves, hung on the sides. The Erehwon skeletons are pretty cheap and good for this; I made crucified skeletons with them!

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Oh definitely, that'd be an awesome side accessory!

[@isaacwittenberg611]

I'm continually impressed by the production value of your videos. Do you have a list of the equipment you use? Lights, cameras, etc?

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Thank you for noticing 😄 I currently don't have it listed, but I might add it to my equipment list when I get a chance :)

[@largefren843]

7:00 it kind of does make sense though, heat increase the rate of oxidization, that's why steel scales over so quickly when it comes out of the forge

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Good point!

[@wollieallen1255]

The guys with the flmaimg swords at 16:28 i assume are Warhammer? But what army are they from? Awesome build btw :)

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

They're efreet, 3d printed, from the 'inferno island' month of epic miniatures patreon :)

[@wollieallen1255]

Thank you :) love your work

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

No problem man :)

[@ianr94]

Hi, very creative as always. what would you seal the fluorescent green with please, sealing stuff is where i really mess up colours & textures. thanks

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Honestly, the fluorescents are pretty tough as is, I feel like they're designed to not be sealed. That said, I sealed the ones on the runic add ons with satin varnish, just to dull the gloss down a bit, and it did no harm :)

[@ianr94]

@@RPArchiveOfficial many thanks

[@Nat1videos]

This is class!

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Thanks man! Hopefully the start of a larger system :)

[@Nat1videos]

@@RPArchiveOfficial Very cool, I'll be keeping an eye out for that

[@millenniumf1138]

If you want to make a cast iron look and don't want to spend a lot of money on model glue, you can mix lacquer thinner and acetone approximately 50/50 and it will create a melty fluid that will soften the surface of polystyrene. Test on some spare plasticard and if you need it to be more "hot" then add more acetone to the mix till you get a liquid that behaves the way you want. You can get away with spending less than $20 for a HUGE amount of "plastic melter fluid" that will turn a lot of plastic into cast iron, plus it also functions as plastic welder and foam melter for those times you want to add a melted texture to foam for stuff like acid-burned tiles (like Jeremy's video on BMC).

[@LittleHillsTabletop]

Oh! My! Goodness! #pompomshake

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Thanks as always my good platypus! 😁

[@LittleHillsTabletop]

#sits and #begs hahaha

[@Robert-bm2jr]

Love the videos. One question, what is the scale of your minis? Just curious. I have a 3D printer, and the scale is generally 32mm. I'm planning to build my terrain to that scale.

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

It varies massively, even with 3d printing. Wizkids are 30mm, games workshop are 28mm heroic, LOTR are 28mm non heroic, 3d printing are usually 30 or 32mm, but sometimes are 28mm or 28mm heroic... So it varies a lot 😅 I make my stuff based around wizkids, based on a figure I think is average male height (the noble) and go from there :)

[@richarddreadskull8427]

Loving this so much, I'm still bad at electrics. I'm trying to print off the skull (Ender 3 pro/ Cura 4.11) but can't get it to print like you did; what slicer did you use and how did you get it to have the supports?

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

I used chitubox and added tons of light supports anywhere there was empty space between it and the build plate, if you watch the video you can see my supports/roughly how many I used :) I also used some inside the skull itself giving support between the eye sockets. Don't worry if it doesn't work at first, one piece barely uses any resin :)

[@Dannos3d]

Love your vids. Only thing ill say is be super careful airbrushing oil paints, to be honest i would avoid it at all costs. The dangerous stuff isnt just the thinner but the actual oil paint. As some colours have some seriously bad stuff in them. What you can use is if you thin the oils they will run naturally with capillary action or you can use some gloss sealant then use the oil wash over that. I have really enjoyed watching your crafting vids.

[@sw33n3yto00]

😳 You painted the individual teeth!? 😳

[@kcgotfre]

How secure are the magnets? Have you had any pop out when trying to separate pieces that were put together? What if we don't have milliput - do you think the hot glue is enough to hold them in place or do they need to be covered by something?

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Pretty secure, as a general rule I smear a very thin layer of hot glue over the magnet which helps seal it in better :) At the end of the day though, they're real easy to reglue if needed!

[@galan8115]

Sorry to bother you RP Archive, wich fluorescent green paint did you use :D?

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Vallejo model colour :) though honestly, I'm fairly sure they're all identical 😂

[@jherazob]

@@RPArchiveOfficial for our purposes yes, pretty much any fluos will do well and bright, but somebody did a comparison as they wanted the brightest in the market for a project, and for almost every color the Green Stuff World fluos were the brightest, sometimes much more so, and they seem to be one of the few with fluorescent purple, which would have helped in this build for the Drow clip. Strangely, the one color no one seems to have is fluorescent white! Even the GSW only have a yellowish glow in the dark instead. Here's the review if you're curious: kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y5mTk5KFjNp_eM0

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Thanks for the info man! Yeah I picked up their fluor white hoping to mix some fluorescent Ice blue or lilac and yeah... No its basically naff for mixing 😕 I'm curious if their purple is any good/actually brighter than the mixed stuff though...

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

It's interesting actually, the gsw ones in general seem less vivid in the light but more under direct UV, which is actually less useful for what I was going for (play on a normal tabletop, no uv assistance) The fluor fx green/turquoise was interesting though, its hard to tell how vivid it is with no direct comparison, but I might pick it up to check...

[@TheLordcyrus]

Bruh. Sweet!

[@oldmanofthemountains3388]

It would be super simple to make different blades to emulate "good" factions like Dwarves or even Gnomes. (I can't see elves making these unless they were arcane watch towers or something...)

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

True, you'd just need to make every blade and corner magnetic :) I'd advise using bigger magnets for stability there though...

[@powersave2]

+1 to engagement metrics

[@DarkFire0421]

Can I use dirt from outside to glue on my terrain? Also what other things should I be Collecting on my walk ?

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Yep, mix with brown grout for strength :) natural looking gravel is great!

[@willjones1696]

What book is that? It looks good!!

[@Piqipeg]

Suggestion for a future video: modular Castle Ravenloft! 🤣

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Haha, well, I may have something modular and evil planned... 😁

[@dirtyclanner2250]

Great stuff. I haven't noticed anyone said anything about audio, so it might be just me (or my headphones). These asymmetric audio tracks are kinda distracting.

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Yeah that's my bad on this video, sorry :( I usually do something extra to the audio to avoid that, but it completely slipped my mind on this video! Sorry about that man, but thanks for telling me - it helped me realise the mistake :/

[@RobertStubbs91]

I'm sure you probably get asked this loads but, where do you get your XPS foam in the UK?

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

There's a link in the equipment list in the description :)

[@AzraelThanatos]

You know, rather than going with the foam for the exterior of the central column, it might have worked better to go with more of the plasticard and textured that while using the foam as a central core.

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

I actually thought that partway through, but it was too late :/ the other downside would be adding more cost to the build, but that's minor...

[@MrFroggy27]

Full set was said a few times Any news on this???? 😊

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Not for a little while yet, this wasn't too popular 😞

[@MrFroggy27]

@@RPArchiveOfficial Drat what about a vision cast? Of what could have been 😃

[@znorman23]

Hi! Just so you aren’t wasting all that expensive Tamiya Extra Thin Cement, the large bottle of Tamiya Airbrush Cleaner is basically the same thing… just much cheaper.

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Excellent! Great tip man! 😁

[@Forinsyther25]

I don't know why, but you look weirdly cool in the gas mask, like a cyberpunk character or something 😂

[@alexandervrm714]

That Drow Woman, where is she from?

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Archvillain games 3d printed :)

[@alexandervrm714]

@@RPArchiveOfficial Fantastic, i might have missed that release.

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

It's called 'the queen's web', has a sick lolth mini ;)

[@alexandervrm714]

I am just checking it out, a really useful set to be fair!

[@toddharris520]

🤯

[@bambori85]

What’s the name of the book in the video?

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

The tank one? I think it's called Tanker, it's an ak interactive magazine (I think 🤔)

[@bambori85]

@@RPArchiveOfficial Yes, thank you.

[@christophermurray9777]

👍👍

[@JohnMiller-zr8pl]

👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@Brettbren]

*The towers could also be used for either the Drukhari (Dark Eldar) or the Necrons (sans blades) from Warhammer 40,000 as well.*

[@nigelpearson9890]

Hi love the modular designs you use but any chance of putting the measurements you use in metric as well as imperial. I appreciate that you are aiming your vids at the American Market (many more people for patrons) but like all of us Brits we grew up metric (which is what all crafting material XPS and balsa etc are sold in the uk). So it would be nice not to see millimetres unobtrusively on screen rather than having to get out a ruler and convert it all. It just feels the UK isn't important to you. Thanks for reading this.

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Hi Nigel, First I would say - I'm British, born and raised in the North East, was taught both metric and imperial side by side at school and ended up using imperial WAY more because I played Warhammer - a British game. I use inches because the game these are primarily designed for (D&D) uses inches for measurement, but ALSO because inches can be halved more easily than metric. What's 1/4 of a centimetre? 1/8th? 1/16th? Exactly. Metric isn't as smart as it likes to think it is, from my perspective! The balsa I buy and link, sold in the uk - uses inches. Not a big deal but thought I'd mention it. In fact, we may have technically gone metric in 1965, but tons of people still use imperial for various things. Which I would call a mix of British stubbornness and American influence, but hey ho. There's a metric conversion calculator linked in the description of every video if it helps - I can't put both measurements every time because it would massively slow down my work flow and make videos take even longer, which I'm sure nobody wants :)

[@86Corvus]

Idea for surface, depress the tower walls shallowly to create a hammering-like pattern but bigger from the perspective of the characters. Then give it a glossy finish and thus make these walls look like obsidian.

[@86Corvus]

I wonder how much you spend time makeing these and then how much do you actually play with these. or is modeling them fun enough. I could enjoy just the modeling but i dont think i could do it without monetizing them on youtube like you do... but then i dont think i have the talent or patience to make videos.

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

I was doing models well before KZbin :)

[@gabrielevanzati1378]

the heads of the skeletons: may I ask what set are they?

[@RPArchiveOfficial]

Citadel skulls box :)