Texturing terrain with rolling pins

Preorder my terrain book here -
Looking at the past, present and future of texturing terrain with scenic rolling pins.
Commercial Pins from - www.greenstuffworld.com
Big thanks to Markus K for the 3D printed pin!
Update - Bark Pin now available from Shapeways - www.shapeways.com/product/HQ75...
Like it? Love it? Support it! - / theterraintutor
Do you build terrain? First time builder? Pro? Checkout the Terrainiacs Facebook terrain builders support group - / theterraintutorsterrai...

[@allanstott6999]

I'm only recently getting into making bases for my models and Greenstuffworld has blown me away with what they offer. I have the leaf punch, brick mould with Das clay, and am about to order the brick texture roller. Great tools with great results. Thanks for the tutorial buddy.

[@BoulderCreekRailroad]

fantastic, I wish they made rolling pins in a slightly smaller scale! Like HO scale ;) I was sceptical about the foil but once I saw it painted and drybrushed I was blown away... very effective.

[@TheTerrainTutor]

+Luke Towan Checkout cake decorating rolling pins mate. You gotta love old school techniques :-)

[@figrollin]

I appreciate this comment is 4 years old, but as Mel kinda touches on at the end, you can 3D print a roller of your ideal size. Especially with resin printing. Perhaps this idea has already occurred to you but I think it'd be easy enough to find a patterned model you like and print it at the right scale :)

[@BoulderCreekRailroad]

@@figrollin lol... I just 3D printed a roller last night 😃 Back then I didn't have a 3D printer, it's amazing how 3D printers have opened up a whole new world for model builders! I just resized the roller to be the scale I wanted 😉

[@figrollin]

@@BoulderCreekRailroad Ha, what are the chances! Absolutely. Mel was absolutely right calling it "the future". Maybe he just didn't quite realise that "the future" was as soon as now!

[@dannylaguer515]

So simple and yet very effective...!!!, especially the foil after you painted and drybrushed....Wow !!! Cheers Mate!!! Danny

[@TheTerrainTutor]

+Danny Laguer I likes simple!

[@lesliestevenson5261]

Brilliant stuff mate. I hope you’re doing well. I have these. They’re great. I’m building some walls/hedges this weekend using your book. For anyone reading this, get Mel’s book. A future (and current) classic. Brilliant. Crack on yeah!

[@40khobbyblog48]

You are brilliant. It just needed to be said. The rolling brush is going to become an essential tool in my terrain making.

[@TheTerrainTutor]

+40k hobby blog cheers buddy

[@Banshun]

I have bought from Greenstuff World. I have the cobblestone rolling pin. They also do some nice grasses and tufts. Always good service and they shipped all the way to Japan from Spain no problem.

[@TheTerrainTutor]

+Banshun I've only just come across them but there's a few nice items they do

[@jamesfirth-haydon7381]

Love the cobble stone rolling pin. Would look good for my Normandy board I'm working on. The one with the Telegraph poles! Dude, your a legend and an inspiration.

[@TheTerrainTutor]

+James Firth-Haydon It'd go well with those telegraph poles mate and cheers!

[@BritishLegion666]

Love it ....your my new terrain channel.

[@joshjohnston7388]

Man... the diy with the foil is genius and very alterable. I'm going to use it for stoneworks for sure.

[@Markko122L]

the wood texture rolling pin if painted concrete colour mimics airport aprons perfectly.

[@DoctorCrankysLabRATory]

Great results and it looks quite the fun. Thank you.

[@TheTerrainTutor]

+Doctor Cranky's Lab-RAT-ory They're work well for your diorama stuff bud

[@jjab99]

Nice one Mel. I like the look of them rolling pins, they seem very effective indeed.

[@TheTerrainTutor]

+jjab99 Handy to have if you've got a lot of texturing todo mate

[@dirkgaffron5456]

Shifting Lands also sells comercial rolling pins

[@tuatarafromnz5303]

Yes. Yes I did watch it roll :). Good video, thank you.

[@snapperxv]

Thanks for that Mel - I never thought of using them on foamboard, that will the Simba castle walls deepened with a damn sight less work than I was anticipating.

[@TheTerrainTutor]

+snapperxv Glad it helped bud

[@atomstrom]

The technique would save me so many hours of work that I usually put in, but I'm just not convinced to test them. My biggest issue probably is that despite the tiny one none is structured to the edge. I'd like to have that for terrain building so I can go in everywhere and put a nice structure on. At the moment, I'm even going backwards and instead of wood structuring my beloved PVC hardfoam with a carving knife and a wire brush I stocked sheets of balsa that I handselected for my needs. If you and Gerard Boom weren't out there, I probably wouldn't even consider using carved sheets of styrofoam for my stonework and still be building stone by stone. Now Gerard uses some nice stencils to have a basic shape for his arches, doors or windows that he uses to carve his individual stones into. This technique leads to some fast and neat results that could be structured with the tin foil roll. Until now I just made a crude ball out of it. I should probably draw me a transfer for a wooden pin and then dremel it to have it as seemless as possible if needed.

[@TheTerrainTutor]

+atomstrom Now that's dedication mate!

[@marcinstangel9277]

with regards to DAS clay - I found another KZbinr, giving out a super useful hack ! To stop if from cracking when drying - you need to mix in a small amount of pva glue when you are working the clay out, before you apply to a surface. I tried that, and used one of these pins (bricks texture), and it worked like a charm - zero cracks.

[@TheTerrainTutor]

Yep, issue is it increases the chances of warping mate

[@georgetaylor5482]

The small plastic roller would be great for texturing tree bark and the foil idea very cheap hand easy to make, thanks Mel.

[@TheTerrainTutor]

+George Taylor no worries matey

[@HobbitTabletopLiga]

Really cool video

[@AlfonsoTheTraitor]

Thats amazing mate!

[@TheTerrainTutor]

+AlfonsoTheTraitor Simple things are always the best bud

[@AresGOW2000]

He lives!!! :) Great video.

[@TheTerrainTutor]

+Erinn Hamilton I do! cheers bud

[@mooncabbagere]

Good to see you back at it! The cobblestone textures on the pro rollers came out great. My missus is into fondant cakes, and the cake shops sell texture rollers for them. Mostly vines and derpy brick textures, but who knows what you might find.

[@TheTerrainTutor]

+Mooncabbage Really? we've got a specialist cake shop just down the road, time for a trip me thinks!

[@SheepWaveMeByeBye]

+TheTerrainTutor tjeck out ebay for cheap chinese fondant rollers.

[@TheBlackFrog79]

The pavement one is very good, I like it! But the rolling pins need a handle (like a rolling brush) in my opinion...

[@AFV85]

You get a few of these iv been looking at them on ebay some of the drystome dyeing effect ones are nice

[@billd.iniowa2263]

Nice and quick. From some experience I would caution everyone that gets one to find a cardboard tube or something to store it in. If you let something like that lay in a tool drawer for very long its gonna get nicked and marred. Then every rotation will repeat that mark and the illusion is spoiled.

[@TheTerrainTutor]

+Bill D. in Iowa Nice tip buddy!

[@garfusa2]

Or an empty pringles tub :)

[@johncleave]

The green stuff world ones come in plastic tubes for storage.

[@JCinLapel]

another place to look for rolling pins like that is in cake decorations textured rolling pins are used in prepping fondest

[@YesterdaysVillage]

Great tutorial! Thanks so much.

[@TheTerrainTutor]

+YesterdaysVillage No worries matey

[@newfenrisrailroad621]

Nice video Mel. Going over your tutorials. I’ve got rollers from greenstuff world. Love them

[@JVHorvath1]

another thing you could do with the cardboard tube is take tacky glue and paint the tacky glue on a sheet. then roll the tube through the glue; be sure to keep the sheet detached from the tube itself. then set to dry. once dried, the tube will have solid peeks like you would find on the aluminum foil or the commercial pins, but you 1) wont have to pay for more than the glue and tube (wooden dowel if that's better for you) and 2) will last longer than the foil, cause the foil will eventually go flat or peel off.

[@TheTerrainTutor]

+Janos Horvath I can see that working, tbh there's loads of different ways, the important thing is that people are aware of the principle mate

[@DaytonaRoadster]

well...they already sold me a pair. great vid mel. sold me on these

[@TheTerrainTutor]

+Brass 'n Barrels Firearms Channel Nice mate

[@GriswoldCain]

They sell those rolling pins in several different sizes. Like tiny, small, regular, etc.. Just curious if the 28mm ones for instance are the recommended size to use if you're doing terrain and bases in the 28mm realm or if you noticed the smaller or larger ones work better for different applications. Thanks for the videos and everything. Peace!

[@tryazeve9420]

Great video - yea.

[@IDICBeer]

Great share mate

[@TheTerrainTutor]

+IDICBeer Cheers buddy

[@bageldrone]

Love it! i'll be using this to make some roads :)

[@TheTerrainTutor]

+Michael Ormiston that's what I was thinking

[@adamkrausemail]

Ya making 1/32 scale roads handmade... is just sad, the worst thing is i got so sick of it i never finished the road. NOW I WILL BUILD ROADS ON MY ROADS!!!!!!!! MHAHAHAHHA NOW I HAVE THE ROLING PINS!!!

[@MiniGamePainter]

Nice stuff. Checking out their website

[@TheTerrainTutor]

+MiniGamePainter Coolio bud

[@WarWolf002]

I wonder how it would turn out if you stained your balsa to the final color you want first, waited for it to dry and then textured it.

[@ta24u]

Slick stuff buddy

[@TheTerrainTutor]

+ta24u Cheers buddy!

[@johntailby74]

Nice video,

[@terrainaholic]

I missed this and found it out from black magic craft and picked up 2 pins these are AMAZING!!!!!!!

[@TheTerrainTutor]

They're good bit of kit bud

[@ryan8850]

Hey Mel, is there any chance of you doing a video to show off the leaf punch? I'd be interested in seeing how the leaves it makes come out. Thanks for your great videos!

[@TheTerrainTutor]

+Ryan Jeffares kzbin.info/www/bejne/jqmvaJeppL-kaas not mine but answers your question mate

[@ryan8850]

Cheers for the link!

[@TotemoGaijin]

I wonder...take a dowel rod, and glue aquarium gravel to the whole thing.

[@mikepalmer2219]

I really want a 3D printer now lol. That was amazing.

[@MrTinyUK]

Hand warmers, too....I like. ;-)

[@terrain4print]

Thank you for this video and kind words Mel. If people are interested I would gladly develop the bark roller more. I have tried it on greenstuff and milliput (superfine) to great results. With milliput you probably have to clean it to avoid clogging the tiny details. One thing I have thought of is making a model with several pins together. When you get them, you can cut them apart. The material cost is tiny. It's handling them that is costly. Three for the price of one, more interesting?

[@TheTerrainTutor]

+Markus Kruse Thanks for sending it over buddy :-)

[@looselycollected7505]

Considering this video is from 4 years ago, and I just found it to watch, have you seen and or tried any of the new 3D printed texture rollers. I bought two different sets about half a year ago from people on Etsy. They are similar to the Green Stuff world rollers. But not as big a rolling surface. Also they are printed hollow. So far they seem decent. But I wondered if you had used them and if so what was your opinion of them?

[@ScouseJack]

You know paint rollers? Where the roller is held on either side by pins and you hold a handle? They should use that idea. The roller can be narrower and have the design right to the edge. It would be easier to manipulate.

[@TheTerrainTutor]

Smart idea mate

[@Monkeyshaman]

The wood texture would make a great concrete.

[@kermiche07]

merci

[@nicolasflagey5190]

Did you try those on partly dry filler? I'm wondering if the pins would stick or not ...

[@erikkennedy8725]

Hey, I just came across your channel- great stuff! Was wondering if you've ever worked with Sculpey? Seems like it would be very easy to texture with rollers, to lay down a cobblestone road or something. I use it for modeling bases and miniatures- it's cheaper than green stuff. Only problem is it needs baked to cure, so you need to plan so it's finished and baked before applying plastics or other things that can melt.

[@TheTerrainTutor]

+Erik Kennedy I haven't, lots of people have suggested it, I just haven't got round to using it

[@alexandervladimirovich6542]

What a genius

[@Sarevokmaif]

What object or Cylinder did you put the Paper Clip on the end of the Clip? I am Spanish, but I did not understand you well, I do not understand spoken English well. Could you tell me here written what material is that of the Clip to make the Tree texture? ______ Que objeto o Cilindro le pusiste al Clip de papel en la punta del Clip? Soy Español , pero no te entiendi bien, no pillo bien el inglés hablado. Podrías decirme por aquí escrito que material es ese del Clip para hacer la textura de Árbol??

[@AzraelThanatos]

One other way to do the larger ones is to acquire one of the cheap dollar store rolling pins with spacer rings. Use hot glue to build your pattern up over the surface, then use to heavy sealer over the entire thing...

[@TheTerrainTutor]

+AzraelThanatos That'd working nicely matey

[@readhistory2023]

Looks like it would work for balsa foam. I'll have to get a couple.

[@TheTerrainTutor]

It should do mate

[@Jnicho04]

How the hell do you stop the greenstuff from not sticking to your roller and gunking it up? Mine sticks every time!

[@MartinandTylerinthecave]

I have one of those cobble rolling pins. Why is the best place to get some on that blue foam stuff from? Great channel by the way

[@TheTerrainTutor]

+philo387 Panel Systems or Hindleys mate

[@iHunterKiller]

It works really well on the blue foam! How about foamboard, i think thats the name.. the foam with the plastic/card either side of it that you peel off to carve in detail =D

[@TheTerrainTutor]

works well mate

[@davidmartin1793]

nice idea using the rollers for terrain instead of just bases Mel. But what are they like for pastry?

[@TheTerrainTutor]

+David Martin I will endeavour to find out!

[@davidmartin1793]

TheTerrainTutor save me a slice of pie!

[@bibbly1234]

I really like the texture from the green stuff world rolling pins on the foam, but looking at it, the wood looks like it belongs more on a dirt path, maybe it was just the picture, but it looked pretty good. Also, the tinfoil method really looks like it belongs on Blue Peter :P

[@TheTerrainTutor]

+Bibbly I'd agree on the wood/blue foam mate, do I get a badge? :-D

[@bibbly1234]

TheTerrainTutor You do indeed mate! But, keeping with the handmade vibe, it will be made out of tinfoil and painted with blue nail varnish :P

[@TheTerrainTutor]

***** Love it!

[@AFV85]

Maybe be tedious abit but das clay really thin wrapped around a old tube foil and carve the mono blocks or dry stone effect or brick iv actually got a massive old bit card from a roll foil I'll wrap in in cling so don't get wet n go soggy I'll do it tonight see if its do able and post a video if works out or let you know it workd out

[@TheJankmaster]

on the commercial rolling pins on the high-density foam, is there a way to further harden the foam once you have applied yhe texture?

[@TheTerrainTutor]

+TheJankmaster It's pretty toufg when compressed anyway mate but a bit of pva in the basecoat or a coating of professional foamcoat would toughen it further

[@josephdodd5770]

I think it would work better with heavy duty foil

[@za91848]

oooh I want

[@TheTerrainTutor]

+Ben Davis I know, very shiny :-)

[@MrRavoss]

Did you finish the D-Day board? I feel like I missed a vid!

[@TheTerrainTutor]

+Brett Thompson Nope, actually working on it today, next update will be saturday mate

[@888Nefertari888]

Why does it not function well with my fimo? I wanted to make antique looking ancient egyptian bracelets, but my fimo almost each time stucks in the small textured surface of the texture roll (I use the Green Stuff World Egyptian texture roll) - and has to be pulled out with a needle in long-hour-work! Do you have some hints for me? I also tried it with water sprayed on to the fimo. sometimes helps, sometimes not. randomly. I don't know what to do...

[@kregorovillupo3625]

I use rolling pins custom made with a 3d printer. When i've the problem of sticking, i use talc on the surface to texture.

[@magikninjafreak8501]

hey Mel. great vid. i have tried these rollers on the foam alone and it starts off great but as soon as i start painting it, i lose the texture, almost as if the moisture in the paint zaps the foam back lol. ive tried pressing harder etc but still same issue. any tips?

[@TheTerrainTutor]

What sort of foam you using?

[@magikninjafreak8501]

TheTerrainTutor im using kingspan

[@58Kym]

You could try a watered down coat of mod podge first. Some foams react badly to some paints.

[@todd636]

If you were doing a large area. How well do the different rows match up?

[@TheTerrainTutor]

Pretty well to be honest but its not a perfect solution for large areas

[@Toxxxic_]

what can i use to strength the foam after using the pins to imprint the pattern? if i use filler i think the pattern will be lost.

[@TheTerrainTutor]

Spray it with watered down pva mate

[@King_Merit]

Mod Podge. Add one ounce black paint to an 8 oz bottle for a great basecoat.

[@9thSapper]

what scale approximately would these rollers represent? Would they work for 1/35 scale?

[@TheTerrainTutor]

Depends on the roller mate

[@martinparker502]

Can I ask where you get the blue foam board from please?

[@TheTerrainTutor]

Panel Systems Ltd

[@MrTwospecs]

Hey mate.. how do the commercial rollers go on standard EPS (The one with bubbles)?

[@TheTerrainTutor]

rubbish mate, don't work at all but you can skim it will filler/spackle and then roll into that

[@MrTwospecs]

@@TheTerrainTutor ahh.. good idea, its just that i have an endless supply due to my job and would like to bring it into more of my builds.. i have a slow income of high density aswell.. which due to your videos i have been using alot, but trying to use this standard eps is a struggle.. any ideas on other stuff i can use it on?

[@georgetaylor5482]

Mel can I be a patron if I live in Canada, I'm new to this, and my apologies, I've watched near every vid you have done and I should try and help the cause, its a win, win, and by the way, I would buy a T-shirt it is a great Idea.

[@TheTerrainTutor]

+George Taylor sure mate, it's an international thing ;-)

[@gmangaz2007]

might have a diff approach, try on cereal cardboard and glue to foam. as for tree well 3d tool brilliant , now too make tree metal moulds from sculp and YAY more trees ps please give lots of details on the trees.

[@TheTerrainTutor]

+gmangaz2007 I like that idea! :-D

[@andybuckland6790]

oh wow I could do with a set of those rollin pins

[@TheTerrainTutor]

+Andy Buckland they're nice bits of kit

[@andybuckland6790]

+TheTerrainTutor you know this video is gonna cost me money lol that stone work one is gonna save me w load of time

[@andre45mr]

Anyone know if this is gonna work with sculptamold to print some paterns?

[@TheTerrainTutor]

Soz, no idea mate

[@michaeljohnson4719]

Will the glass rolling pins work for HO (1:87) scale? Or are the designs a little to big for that scale to look realistic?

[@TheTerrainTutor]

Bit too bit for that mate

[@Adol666]

Wish they had 1/12 scale

[@kkwaters]

I'm surprised that you don't use a flat board to apply even pressure while rolling

[@TheTerrainTutor]

What's a flat board mate?

[@jettitheartyeti6560]

Has anyone ever tried heating the XPS with a blow dryer (not a heat gun) before using the rolling pin? Thinking of trying that.

[@danny7249]

Did you try that? How did it work?

[@jettitheartyeti6560]

@@danny7249 I did, and it didn't seem to make much of a difference.

[@MichaelHenfrey]

The rolling pins look interesting but no idea to what scale they are, probably far too large for oo railway stuff. The little bark roller looks really interesting until I saw shapeways postage costs.. £7.90 to post that.. What are they doing? Hand delivering it from Australia? geez *rant over*

[@TheTerrainTutor]

+Michael Henfrey Not sure on the scales mate, you could always design and print your own ;-)

[@christianoliver25]

How does the rolling pins go over Milliput?

[@christianoliver25]

Nevermind, you answered it a moment later.

[@TheTerrainTutor]

+Christian Oliver ;-)

[@pvtjhon]

Disco Party. Do you like Italo Disco and Free Style?

[@genmasaotome3503]

Use the force.. Luke. Next episode... rolling a blunt :P

[@philipshomevideos9833]

What is the scale of those?

[@TheTerrainTutor]

28mm

[@Jimdrumming]

Where do you get your xps from mel?

[@TheTerrainTutor]

Panel Systems Ltd

[@Jimdrumming]

Cheers Mel

[@rickbarg3980]

We’re can I get those rollers

[@TheTerrainTutor]

Green Stuff World mate

[@adamkrausemail]

what scale is this for? thx

[@TheTerrainTutor]

any mate

[@adamkrausemail]

ok thanks, I want to buy them so bad but there a bit pricy, well I guess i'll have to get off my behind and paint a box of soldiers :)

[@samualwilliamson1187]

What kind of foam?

[@TheTerrainTutor]

XPS

[@JakeDogg-RIP]

11:05 😂😂😂😂🐶

[@kage2701]

Do you reckon you can go 5 seconds with our saying 'Yeah' or 'ok'

[@TheTerrainTutor]

No, there's no treatment for verbal tics

[@matrix626]

Found these on Amazon.. I will try and get a vid up on them.. www.amazon.com/dp/B00ORLD33O/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_S_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=2C8TJAGTM1XE4&coliid=I3DF5QAFU4EFQR

[@TheTerrainTutor]

+Frank B Nice find bud!

[@bf90rono]

So what about that video cause i have had the same idea. Buying texture rolling pins for cake/fondant instead of the greenstuffs products (Look up Oyumaru, way cheaper then bluestuff)

[@fhuber7507]

I'd do the 3D printed,but I want to make a device that I turn a crank and it pulls the foam board through applying texture For this to be practical, I need the texture rollers to be all the same diameter and length, with a common center hole diameter. To deal with the wide variations of the 3D printed rollers would make the device design far more complex and less reliable.

[@TheTerrainTutor]

Smart idea mate

[@redgreen09]

seen some like that fore caks see maser caks with duff and cack wars thats whare find em the covel stone thay mack cacks that migt be say a dragon or dino and need scailss that what ues them fore yes i vew thows shows to see the minis in em coooll stuff what do ;;;;;;]]]]]]

[@TheTerrainTutor]

+redgreen09 I really need to checkout the cake shops mate

[@alasdairgeddes]

Stop saying "yeah"! Thanks for sharing though, it's a great idea.

[@TheTerrainTutor]

Vertal Tic's don't work like that mate

[@iamdbatatnight5600]

If you say yeah one more time .... I swear 🤯🤬

[@macewen1]

Is anyone besides GSW making these? Those guys have some pretty shady business practices and I don't really want to give them my money.

[@AmySmith-re9oh]

try play doh and let it dry out

[@TheTerrainTutor]

+Amy Smith I think it'll be the same are the das tbh