Ancient Ruins Tutorial: Finishing Touches

Almost done now! In fact they are ready to go on the table now but I usually like to do just a couple more things to finish my terrain off.

For old ruins like these I like to add grasses to make them look like they are partially reclaimed by nature. I generally use two types of grasses, static grass and deer hair. Static grass is easy to use and looks like shorter grass and weeds when applied. I use the deer hair for longer grasses and tufts of weeds.

While the static grass can be easy to find, Games Workshop sells a couple of varieties, deer hair can be a little trickier. I have a large supply of various colors of dyed and bleached deer hair patches from tying flies for fishing. For terrain I generally use a straw colored and a dark brown dyed piece. An easy place to find them is in the fly fishing section of a larger sporting goods shop. The same thing is available in a prepackaged format for train layouts although it is generally more expensive. A small patch will last you a long time as long as you take care cutting it.

My general method is to put a dab of glue where I want a taller patch of grass to go. Then I cut a small tuft of deer hair to the length I want. I just put the cut end into the glue and it is usually enough to keep it in place. I continue to put deer hair on until I'm satisfied.

Then while the glue holding the deer hair is still wet I mix a little watered down glue and apply that with a brush everywhere I want the static grass. This includes up against the base of the deer hair tufts. Next I sprinkle on the static grass fairly heavily and then tip it off onto some paper. A few taps on the bottom helps to dislodge any stray pieces. Put aside and let dry. The dislodged static grass can be gathered up to use next time.

Once dried I spray it with a quick coat of matte sealer and they're done!

I hope these tutorials helped with making your own projects.