Saturday 26 September 2020

Terrain 13 ancient trees restored!

Here we have the rusty trees from Terrain post 8 , restored to being pretty much functional.
They were made in the late 1980s/ early 1990s  ( which, I'm reliably informed  by Stew, was a long time ago)on hardboard bases that haven't warped too much, I made them for 40k but they're still usable for historical .
The slate came from the gardenof the  house I was living in as if you dig in almost any garden in London you will find broken slate from previous buildings or that has just fallen off roofs, together with bricks and bits of rusty metal, but no wargaming use for those!
The trees were made out of pipe cleaners( in those days lots of people smoked pipes and cigarettes ) twisted together and what I found (as detailed on the previous post) was that when they got damp the tiny wires rusted and I ended up with Mirkwood as the trees collapsed,so that they got replaced by plastic trees on recycled CDs and round MDF bases.  However inspired by Dave Stone of Wargamessculptur blog  in his terrain challenge I decided to refurbish them , so bound up with copper wire, they have become trees again! They once again got a coat of olive green/grey masonry paint,I haven't disguised the wires as I'm calling them vines! I've also brought the basing closer into my current finish and am happy enough with them.











Here they are with a 28mm monk for scale, they do have a bit more character than the plastic ones, but I will happily mix them all on the table together.  I haven't been painting much recently, I'm just prepping figures so that I can prime them before it becomes too cold,it'll probably be some Pictish cavalry of one kind or another up next.
All the best Iain 

36 comments:

  1. Excellent work Iain, brilliant that you were able to save the trees and give them a new lease of life, as they really look the part, and would look great on any board

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Dave! Glad you like them and thanks for the impetus to get them done!
      Best Iain

      Delete
  2. Cracking job lain, lovely terrain!

    ReplyDelete
  3. A lovely job Iain...
    I refurbished some tree stands a couple of years ago ... it very satisfying.

    All the best. Alt

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Aly! Yes, nice to get some further use out of them!
      Best Iain

      Delete
  4. Lovely, a very naturalised look.

    ReplyDelete
  5. They look very serviceable and nice to keep using something rather than bin them 👍

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Matt! Good to keep them out of the bin!
      Best Iain

      Delete
  6. Good work on the trees Iain - and I can suggest a use for old house bricks, as I have smashed one up with a hammer to create basing material - I did it with a dark grey concrete paving slab too, to create small rocks!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Keith! Okay, so slate check,bricks check,it's just the rusty metal we have to find a use for!
      Best Iain

      Delete
  7. They have come up beautifully Iain. Personally I don't think the 80's were that long ago, although looking at footage of the Falklands now does seem like a different era.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Lawrence! I know it was really, it just it doesn't seem like it?
      Best Iain

      Delete
  8. Nice tree bases, the slate works well!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Cyrus! Yes, large pieces but alright in the end!
      Best Iain

      Delete
  9. Well, these are some decent, proper old school trees. What's not to love about them? I think they look really nice, so the refurbidshing turned out good!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Suber! Alls well that ends well!
      Best Iain

      Delete
  10. Very nicely done, Iain. You certainly have a green thumb!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Dean! Lots of green stuff recently!
      Best Iain

      Delete
  11. Those would work really well for skirmish gaming. Might struggle with element bases, but individuals would tuck in there nicely. Good work on the renovation ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Markus! Well they were for 40k, so I guess skirmish, I think I would have to define areas of woodland with them,I won't fit my Napoleonic French dragoons through them,right enough!
      Best Iain

      Delete
  12. I like these very much. I honestly don’t know which parts are pipe cleaners from looking at it. The terrain bases are very pretty.
    I can assure everyone that the 80s and 90s were indeed a long time ago. The only things that I have kept from the 90s is a Nirvana CD and my high school letterman jacket. 😀

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Stew! I guess I still have my wedding certificate from the 90s,lots of GW figures and a Nirvana vinyl record (very old school!)
      Best Iain

      Delete
  13. Great looking trees Iain and bases. I have some old terrain from the 90's. Perhaps it's time to dust them off and see to repairs?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks a lot! Why not, a pretty good return for not much effort!
      Best Iain

      Delete
  14. a restless forest as it must have been in the ancient world. nice job lain

    ReplyDelete
  15. I'm all in favour of refurbishing old models and you've done a great job on these. I refurbished my 'bug=brush' trees after 30 years of use and they look almost as good as new.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Joe! Yes your refurbishing in a big way!
      Best Iain

      Delete