Let it Snow

 Let it Snow!

I've wanted to do a "snow game" for a while now.  There's just something evocative about the idea of a Norse like warband making their way across the frozen North, on a quest of great importance, fighting monsters and the elements along the way.  

So while I had the time, I decided to make myself a Snow Mat using the caulk and canvas method I used to make my desert mat, and like the snow mat I had made my brother some years ago.

I used the same basic method for this that I used before (seen here), just using white caulk this time.  I also chose to add white paint to the sand/water/caulk mixture.  In the end, I don't actually think that was worth it so I wouldn't do it again.

My daughter helped me make this mat! She loved it, I knew she would.  What kid wouldn't like sticking your hand in a bowl of goo, then smearing it all over a table?  I like it, she likes it, it was a really fun time!  And she did really good.  I didn't need to re-cover any of her spots except some towards the center, which makes sense since she couldn't reach them very well.

After the mat was dry, I did go an extra step I didn't do on my previous mat.  I went back and applied caulk in patches, straight from the tube, and smoothed it out with a cardboard chip.  This had the effect of filling in between the sand grains, and making a smoother surface.  In the patchy way it was done, it gives the mat a more varied appearance of areas with different snow covers.

I then did a heavy drybrush with a "Ultra-White" I had from Home Depot, and that was it, it was done!

In truth I did do one more thing, I sprinkled baking soda on the mat while the caulk was still wet.  It turns out, it doesn't stick.  At all.  Every grain I put on came right off when I shook the mat.  So, don't do that unless you're planning to seal the mat with spray or glue ( I don't do that).

Prior to caulking the mat, I built these four rocky crag things, and painted all the stone.  I used the same caulk mix to cover them that I used on the mat, so they would match.  That sounds good, and it does, but it's also pretty unnecessary.  Gluing sand on, then painting it white, looks virtually identical and is a lot easier to control than the thick caulk mix.  I didn't take any in progress shots of those. They're standard hills, hardboard bases with pink foam, rock faces from a mold, and wood filler.

I did discover that I can sprinkle on the Baking Soda, and it will stay put if you treat it like flock (so paint some glue on first), and the spray sealer will hold it in place just fine.

The trees are the normal ones you can buy near Christmas. I got them years and years ago, on super clearance, from Home Depot of all places.  They're finally going to be used!

   

If I have snow terrain, I need snow based buildings too.  So I started with this one, a simple house. The roof is done with the "towel method" for making thatched roofs. Then the cross beams were added to really give it that nordic look. 

Once I had that down, I built a second house and a Longhouse.  

Tip: While poking around for something else, I came across a set of bamboo placemats I bought for...something.  So I used those for the horizontal walls, which really, really, sped up the construction time, but still looks nice.  

For the Longhouse I wanted to use "logs" for the supports instead of the normal "planks" I used on the houses.  Normally when I do wood like this I rub the wood parts (popsicle sticks, balsa, etc) with a wire brush.  That gives the things a really nice wood like grain texture, but that didn't work on the dowels.  Either the wood is too hard or the brush just couldn't find purchase, but it didn't work.

After a while I hit on the solution or dragging a hacksaw blade sideways across the dowel.  That worked wonderfully to create the texture.  

Here's a shot of the "towel method" while I'm applying it to the Longhouse roof.  You simply take strips of towel or washcloth and glue them to the roof in slight overlapping rows, then one across the top.

Once you're done paint the towel, with downward strokes, with a 50/50 glue water mix.  I like to use wood glue for this. I think it's stronger (for no real reason, I just do), and it's yellow. So you can see where you did or didn't paint it on, because it's yellow.  It will take about a day to dry, but when it does, it's rock hard.  I had to use a saw to trim the edges 80 grit sandpaper to smooth them out.

And here's a shot of the three buildings together.  They look pretty good in my opinion.  At the top of the page is the picture of the warband I painted for them, and a nice closeup view of the longhouse front.

I think I need a couple of more rock crag things, but then I think I'm good for a while with this terrain.

Update: Not quite done I guess.

I painted a backdrop for use with this terrain. It's 48" x 14".

Frankly, I know it's not good. However, I think it's pretty good for a person that hasn't ever painted on a canvas before.  

And it actually works really well as the backdrop it's supposed to be, where it's normally out of focus anyway.

These two shots show off the use of the backdrop really well.  I think it looks it really good.