Texturing terrain bases with filler (spackle)

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In this back to basics video, we look at how to texture your wargaming terrain bases with DIY filler (spackle) and talk about some of the benefits of using filler for texturing.
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[@somethingfromnothing8428]

Ive just made a complete model of helms deep using filler and ready mixed plaster to coat the stone walls and roads. I carved the brick work into it while it was still slightly wet and it worked really well

[@baronvonslapnuts]

This gave me the solution I needed to texture the buildings on my Tatooine project. Thanks Mel!

[@huwtindall7096]

This is an outstanding tip. Gonna use it for a 1/48 tank diorama this week and see how I go!

[@benwooding1311]

I think this has to be one of the most useful tips of all. Thanks Mel, I was wondering which of many methods I would use for my current project. This seems like the perfect solution to many of the pieces.

[@Starrapter]

I love these back to basic videos. I have never done terrain before so I feel a lot more comfortable diving into it now. Thanks!

[@TheTerrainTutor]

I here to help mate

[@Spydah666]

At 2:04 did someone forget to add the photo in editing? Just thought I'd ask cos I'm nosey that way :)

[@TheTerrainTutor]

Spydah666 yeah, errm, oops ;-)

[@Spydah666]

I wise man once said..... It's not a Mel video without something going wrong....:)

[@christianoliver25]

One for the favorites! Thats how I typically save videos I know I will watch again later when I go to give it a go.

[@TheTerrainTutor]

Christian Oliver I do that too! :-)

[@Terranscapes]

Nice alternative texture method. I love lightweight spackle and I can see this technique also being very useful for doing wall texture, with a very light stippling. Great.

[@TheTerrainTutor]

***** You've gotta love filler mate ;-)

[@TribalwarsLedgend]

Mel since i been indoors for past year with no workshop and no way to cut up my hard boards and MDF iv been baseing everything with cardboard and let me tell you no matter what iv had warp issues Hot glue PVA and weights doing both sides painting first it just didnt matter as soon as i flocked it with rocks it warped... LOL i tried this over past 4 days i just did 7 underhive bases with filler let it dry than did my PVA rock/gravel basing not one warped NOT ONE!!! You sir have saved the underhive primus in my house hold!! GREAT TIP!!!

[@TheTerrainTutor]

TribalwarsLedgend Awesome mate, that's excellent news!

[@RedeyeX23]

Well I'm converted. Great videos coming out of your channel, your getting to good at this :)

[@dannypockets]

Great video! Thank you!

[@mitchgibson3605]

Love it, mate! Great work!

[@TheTerrainTutor]

HobbyGuy Mitch Cheers matey :-)

[@TheKgsoloman]

brilliant. simply brilliant.

[@TheTerrainTutor]

cheers mate

[@karandras77]

Thanks man!! You helped me a lot with this tuto!!

[@TheTerrainTutor]

Matias Oteiza glad it helped mate

[@davidsurtees4439]

That would be amazing for the edges of an irradiated pond with a few dead grass and bristles with a big drum spilling radioactive waste.

[@Plyr365]

Hey Mel, love the channel. Your videos are great and very easy to follow. My buddy and I have been making scenery and structures for our table games and I've found your videos very helpful for a lot of little tricks and techniques. I dunno if you'll see this comment as its an old video but I was just wondering when your putting a structure on a base would you recommend putting it on before the filler or after for best results? Any advice you have would be greatly appreciated.

[@ishyab011]

HI Mel. Great job as always. :)

[@TheTerrainTutor]

ishyab011 Cheers buddy :-)

[@davidmartin1793]

Nice one Mel. If you mix a little water into some filler you could brush it on with an old worn brush, save your fingers Mel. You could stipple with a piece of sponge too :)

[@TheTerrainTutor]

David Martin Funny enough, that's the next video matey ;-)

[@davidmartin1793]

I'm psychic or psychotic, one of the two :)

[@IDICBeer]

Good share mate

[@TheTerrainTutor]

***** Cheers buddy

[@thomashughes5371]

I'm looking to do a large area for a game board with same effect do you think textured wall paper like you get on ceilings would give a good enough result? Also toy car tyres or lego wheels over that before it dried would look cool. 😎

[@unkhter]

nice tutorial, great tip :)

[@TheTerrainTutor]

unkhter Thanks buddy :-)

[@DavidJones-kn7qj]

Thanks for the tips, find them useful for displaying completed models. Would you consider a compilation (consisting of images) of completed projects. Thanks.

[@TheTerrainTutor]

David Jones no worries mate, not thought of doing that before but I can put it on the list ;-)

[@WGRevival]

The two big things I've taken from that is that it doesn't warp - which is invaluable - and "why am I using Milliput instead of this for bases?". Well the last one will change with the next set of bases I do. Thanks Mel!

[@TheTerrainTutor]

WGRevival No worries buddy, should help save you some pennies :-)

[@WGRevival]

The sort of tip that's always welcome.

[@LoneSock89]

He’s a good dog!

[@sharkytampy]

can you put sand in the polyfilla instead of stippling it with your finger if you want a gritty base and then leaving it to dry and then paint it

[@NinjaTactiks]

Just bought some filler to try this technique since it seems so simple and effective. However, do you have any suggestions for cleaning and disposal? I'm a little paranoid to dump this stuff down the sink.

[@TheTerrainTutor]

Do it in a old tub and pour it in your outside bin

[@terrainiacterrain1272]

I like this video.

[@TheTerrainTutor]

Terrainiac Terrain Glad you found it helpful matey :-)

[@amaurythewarrior]

What kind of filler is that, for people in other countries?

[@moorecowbell138]

Will you be making a video showing how to integrate this with larger rocks and perhaps patches of sand and such?

[@TheTerrainTutor]

Mike Taghon I can do if you want me to mate

[@moorecowbell138]

TheTerrainTutor That would be awesome! I appreciate it!

[@wileywiggins9049]

Great video! I have also heard of people mixing paint into the filler before they apply it. Is that something you have tried? I was just wondering, as it could save time on the initial painting.

[@TheTerrainTutor]

Wiley Wiggins I have and I've found that it doesn't stipple as well to be honest. It you're just putting down a smooth covering, then it's great but it doesn't really work with this technique mate

[@wileywiggins9049]

TheTerrainTutor Thanks Mel! I am looking to start a lot of terrain and basing soon so I want to make sure I have it all right in my head before I start.

[@DerMartexus]

Very nice video. :) I don't know, if you said it, but is the base out of wood? Does it also work with cardboard?

[@johnrees5796]

+1 this comment Mel. What did you use for the base?

[@TheTerrainTutor]

John Rees 6mm MDF mate :-)

[@TheTerrainTutor]

***** The base is 6mm MDF mate, it does work with cardboard but that's a more complicated subject best saved for a tutorial matey

[@DerMartexus]

Yeah okay. Thanks for the info. :)

[@MrGingGangGooly]

Have you made a video on actually creating the raw MDF bases? I am interested to know how you thin down the edge of the MDF without getting the house covered in MDF particles..... Cheers good vid btw

[@TheTerrainTutor]

MrGingGangGooly Either use a belt sander or bevel the bases with a sharp blade (stanley / xacto) and then a quick sand mate

[@briancoons2828]

Hey Mel! Do you sell and ship any of the items you make? Just curious, because I have made a few sci fi dioramas that have spackling covered with sand for part of the terrain. I'd like to try to sell them, but I'm worried about shipping them, as I'd be afraid the spackling would break loose from the surface. The USPS is not known for it's gentleness during shipment! Anywho...any tips would be greatly appreciated!

[@TheTerrainTutor]

As long as it's sealed and packed properly, it'll be fine mate

[@briancoons2828]

Ok thanks for the response Mel!

[@2WARDEN2]

Hey, USA fan here! I'm about to pick up some spackle here but I realized our terriain bases are different material: I just cut some out of foam board. Is spackle agreeable with foam board terrain bases? If not, what's yours in the video made of? It seems much sturdier! Thanks for making these videos, they're very helpful!

[@TheTerrainTutor]

Cpovered foamboard bases in the let's make playlist bud

[@2WARDEN2]

Found it, thanks tons!

[@ThomasB-zw3sg]

Haha LOL at the photo

[@bruceross4303]

How would you go about putting trees on a base like this?

[@TheTerrainTutor]

hot glue mate

[@LibraryOfCat]

What's the technical name of that stuff? I'd like to look for some, but doubt it will be called filler/spackle in Polish.

[@TheTerrainTutor]

it's the stuuf you fill cracks in walls with mate

[@LibraryOfCat]

Thought so. Thanks!

[@brad9336]

Would PVA work once dried to add sand etc?

[@TheTerrainTutor]

Should be mate

[@matthewb4142]

You forgot the photo ;). But still another great video, thanks!

[@TheTerrainTutor]

Maitiu B yep, my bad matey lol

[@RBloom0566]

Can you use filler to make more substantial structures (hills) instead of polystyrene, or would it take too many layers or not dry properly when applied in bulk?

[@TheTerrainTutor]

+RBloom0566 Personally, I wouldn't mate, stick with polystyrene mate

[@CTCenter]

Got any good water tips or tutorials Mel?

[@TheTerrainTutor]

CT Center Have you checked out my water features playlist mate.

[@CTCenter]

Thanks I'll check it out!

[@soledude]

👍👍👍

[@chrishinson1915]

I was thinking what would happen if you mixed filler with water and paint and just used it as a color spackle/mud?

[@TheTerrainTutor]

Chris Hinson You can mix it up but I'm still playing with that at the moment, as soon as I've got something to share, I will matey

[@chrishinson1915]

TheTerrainTutor I tried it with 3 different consistencies. The first was 50/50 water and filler...it made a really soupy mix that took quite a wile to dry and it seemed to actually separate the fine sand in the filler from the glue-ing agent. The result was a paint that acted like a very fine sandy wash. Then I added black paint and it didn't seem to affect the result much, just filled in the cracks as a normal wash would. The best result I had was to use 4 to 1 filler and water. This produced a pudding or near thick paint consistency that allowed me to use a thick brush to spread it very quickly over a large area. I could then easily stipple it with the same brush, dab any other type of texture into it...it including a previous 3x3 dungeon tile that I had...and it tried quite well, kept the form of the stippling and dungeon tile. I was really happy with what it did... Turns out this is a method that dry wall workers use for creating textures on ceilings and walls. You could make a dungeon tile or terrain "stamp" from polystyrene. Then slop on a filler layer and stamp a texture into the entire surface in a matter of minutes. Just some random thoughts! Love the videos, btw...keep it up!

[@TheTerrainTutor]

Chris Hinson I regularly dilute filler but more on the fly (you'll see what I mean in my next video mate) but it's paint and pva I'm playing with at the moment. I'll have to have a play with that stamp idea ;-)

[@richardcrawley9614]

TheTerrainTutor I buy cheap artists' acrylics Burnt Umber and squeeze in a couple of inches into the pot of filler then mix. It doesn't get you to a colour you'd want to use unpainted but it does mean you don't get brilliant white showing through if your terrain piece gets chipped.

[@chrishinson1915]

After doing probably half a dozen variations of consistencies on this I've learned that there apparently is a bell curve for "coverage". What I mean is...the more thin the wash gets, the less it actually covers the material, but the easier it fills in the "cracks". I don't know if there is a magic number...but it seems that one really light coat, followed by one 50/50 mix seems to do the trick.

[@TheBlackFrog79]

I mix filler with PVA glue.

[@straggler64]

Real quick photo, I couldn't even see it.

[@TheTerrainTutor]

The Opposition Yeah, my bad lol

[@BurningSky93]

Forgot to edit in the photo again, Mel

[@TheTerrainTutor]

didn't think I needed to with the better quality on the vid mate ;-)