"Cheap Sci-Fi Terrain Idea - Bug Huts" Topic

Ok, after my last storage container building adventure ( TMP link ) I decided to play with the other odds and ends I bought to make some new Sci-Fi terrain for my 15mm forces in anticipation of the pending release of Force on Force by Ambush Alley Games. This time the concept was some alien buildings to go with my 15mm Spug forces from Spriggan Miniatures (available through Rattlehead Games in the US). I am doing a combined force of Spugs, Khurasan Arachnians to be made into Bio Tanks and the new GZG Ixx (not yet assembled). For this force I decided to work on some "Bug Huts" for the smaller Spug forces. Not sure if these are for the adult Spugs (have to crawl in) or for larva baby Spugs, but they still work for the start of a new terrain set.

The basic concept is very easy and uses the following items.
1. Plastic Easter eggs of various sizes that match the figures you are using.
2. Plastic wrap and a flat surface
3. Some appropriate sized metal washers to form a base.
4. Some plastic straws or metal pipe for the entrance tunnel.
5. Silicone caulking and a caulk gun to make the base and hold the hut together.
6. Various spray paints, including a good primer that will stick to the silicone
7. Some sort of textured spray paint or textured paint. I used Krylon Textured Elegance that I bought on clearance a few years back and was keeping for a rainy day.
8. Some Future Floor Wax (Pledge in the new package)
9. Green or brown craft paint.

Assembly and Painting:
1. Take the plastic wrap or similar plastic material (grocery bag, garbage bag etc.) and spread it on the flat surface. I wrapped a piece of MDF in plastic wrap. This allows you to peel off the silicone later.
2. Take a washer and place it on the plastic. Add some caulk to the middle hole of the washer to keep it from moving and them work around the outside edge of the washer to hide it. Make a few circles around and add the piece of straw. Continue to make a little mound of the silicone in the middle of the washer.
3. Place an egg into the silicone mound and twist it a little to get it seated.
4. Do as many eggs as you need and let them dry for 24 hours.
5. Peel all the huts from the plastic and take them to your spray paint area. Prime the huts with a good primer that sticks to the silicone (if you use Silicone II from GE it accepts paint better than most).
6. Now you need to texture the eggs. I use layers of Textured spray paint, making sure it had lots of runs and drips to look more organic. You can also use textured paint and add a pattern with the brush bristles or possibly a sponge to dab on texture. Experiment on a test egg to figure out what works best for you.
7. Let the texture dry and then use various colors of spray paint to do the under color of your huts. Speckled paint in an uneven pattern was my choice for this using green and browns over the cream colored texture paint. Let this fully dry. The green really does not show as much in the pictures as it does in person.
8. Mix craft paint (I used brown) into a cup with some Future floor wax and do a wash over all the eggs. You can use multiple washes and different colors for a more varied effect. Let this dry completely, normally over night.
9. Seal coat the eggs if you wish (I matte coated mine to reduce the shine).
10. Paint the inside of the tubes black or similar dark color (I have not done this yet).
11. Done. Time to play.

Below are some pictures of my creations. A word of advice, warn your spouse before he/she finds these sitting somewhere unexpected. The bug sack / fungus appearance may result in screaming and/or stomping action. My wife does not like these at all, so I figure the same may hold true for others. Hope you enjoyed the tutorial.

Pictures:
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very cool

Very nice. They would also make nice weird alien terrain in non-bug environments.

Very nice. They would also make nice weird alien terrain in non-bug environments.

Very true. Without the little entrance tubes, they would work well for alien flora, possibly some sort of fungus.

Jeff

JRacel,

I LOVE IT!!! I've gotta try that soon.

CC
PS. What figures are those in this picture of yours?
picture

PS. What figures are those in this picture of yours? – Cacique Caribe

Crusaders from Laserburn (Available here – link or 15mm-md.com/index.html ). These were painted by Hrothgar the Smelly. He has done a fair number of commission paint jobs for me to turn my hordes of unpainted 15mm troops into painted fighting forces.

Like em a lot! I'm waiting on my 15mm Spugs to arrive. May have to steal your idea!

:-D

Thanks,

John

They look great! Wonderful idea.

Those would make for a great Arachnid Hive or some MI Objectives for Starship Troopers!

Great Job!

When I started reading the description I envisioned "half eggs" sticking up and was not very.. impressed. Then I saw the pics. :)

Wow those are cool!

And I'm thinking that with some various sizes of eggs, they will be wonderful for a bug city in 6mm.

Thank you JRacel!

Very cool and suitably oogy looking.

very nice Jeff!!!

And Jason's crusaders are great!!!

(I traded him for their big brothers (28mm)) ;P

That would be a marketable terrain peice I'd imagine.

Those are impressive. Be even more so if the holes were bigger or the bugs smaller.

gross…in the best way…quite squishy looking

@ Bedlam,

The ones in the back are bigger, just dies not show up here. I have bigger eggs and plan to do more, along with different shapes. These were more a test run than anything.

Thanks for the positive comments guys. You all like these far more than my wife. The sad thing is that the pictures really don't do them justice since the various colors are washed out.

I figure these may also work with Cloudcaptains 10mm stuff.

Jeff

Wow! Those look great!

Way cool! I hope you will write up an article for TerraGenesis, or other terrain-making sites. I would hate to see your idea be a brief flash in the pan, so to speak. Well done! Cheers!

I was doing something similar for my Spugs (though in 28mm, at the moment, the 15's have to wait for homes), but I was using half of an Easter egg, sometimes alone (for big ones) and sometimes in clusters for little ones, and covering them with hot glue. They were based on old CDs and painted with whatever I have handy. Seems to work pretty well, and looks vaguely organic.

Tim

What did you eat before going to bed that night to dream up these?

Answering such questions would likely get me in trouble with my wife! :)

Actually, I had been plating with the spray paint and happened to think about this idea while wondering through Hobby Lobby in a mental "zone" trying to come up with some terrain ideas. It sort of hit me and I ran with it. Turned out pretty well overall.

Jeff

Whatisitgood4atwork 03 Feb 2009 8:46 p.m. PST:
"They would also make nice weird alien terrain in non-bug environments"

Yep, I thought so too. In any case, a very nice idea and a good write up. Two feelers up! (bugs don't have thumbs, see…)

Very very very nice! Such a cool idea!

JRacel,

Seen these?

TMP link

CC

This is just too cool:

picture

CC

Jeff,

I might just steal your idea!

TMP link

By the way, are you planning on making any sort of wall/fence around the "bug huts"?

If so, what are you planning to use?

Thanks.

Dan

Clearly,not just another bug hut – Seriously could not resist that, and certainly are some nice non-human inspired housing for a change.

LOL

CC

Great stuff! Looks cool. Perfect for Bug Hunts

Excellent idea JRacel !

Got two dozen plastic eggs dirt cheap. Now for some free time ;)

I may be stupid to ask, but are those human drones?

I think the human figures are there to give some idea of scale . . . or they simply wandered into the wrong neighborhood:

link

CC

The humans are for scale only. I plan to do more (and larger) bug domes as well as other buildings, but my limited time has prevented much work. I will make sure to post anything I get done CC. Not sure if I like the idea of mud termite mounds or something more like a tent catapeller's bag . . . . lots of ideas and never enough time.

Jeff

Jeff,

What do you think of this?

link
link

I made this green a while back (almost a year ago, I think).

It was way too small for 28mm, but I think it looks ok now that I put them next to 15mm Spugs.

Not exactly a perfect hexagon like those that bees and wasps do, but it does have 6 sides!

What do you think?

Dan
TMP link

I think those are great.

"buggy" enough for bugs (bugs with some intellegince) but also easily used for humanoid aliens, painted in a clay/sand/adobe mode for desert and Mars terrain, and in a mud/earth mode for jungle planets.

I think you're on to something, CC.

I love the buildings CC. Those are perfect for Alien houses regardless of whether they be Spugs or something else. I would love to see something like those done in Resin.

Very Very nice work!

Jeff

Now, you need to do commercial buildings in that style, so we can lay out a village.

(these will be on the market, right?)

Wow, those are really nice!

Crab people…crab people…

TCG

twincitiesgamer.blogspot.com

I wonder how many people out there in TMP land have tried this?

Yes I know…necro-refresh…but the technique deserves to be reviewed again IMO :)

Indeed!

Dan

Quite like those myself!

Larger plastic eggs are also available link

As well as large paper mache eggs from the craft store link link for a $1 USD or so.