Packing peanuts - ancient hill fort

Mapper · **Posted:** Fri Sep 29, 2017 9:55 pm

Don't know what the official name is, or what other people call them, but I refer to them as packing peanuts.

I took the long ones, squared them off some and glued to them to cardstock. Used craft white paint, drybrushed with some grey and green, used some ground cover material I had on hand.

This was just an idea I wanted to try out, if I was to do it again, I think I would spray paint the styrofoam to seal it and not have it compress so much. I compressed by hand by squeezing them to shape them and then when I added the paint they compressed some more. Not as big of blocks as I was aiming for but just have to think of them as being older and worn down more. Also would put it on mdf to prevent warping of the base. Just an idea I had when they came in my last package, and all in all, not too bad for free material.

slinky · **Posted:** Fri Sep 29, 2017 10:31 pm

Very nice result, well done!

GreatKhanArtist · **Posted:** Sat Sep 30, 2017 2:20 pm

A great way to recycle. Certainly an interesting result.

Mapper · **Posted:** Sat Sep 30, 2017 7:02 pm

It would take a lot of worn walls to recycle all the packing material I have. :-)

It was just a diversion project, I didn't know if spray painting the material would melt it so I used the craft paint instead, shouldn't have pressed so hard with the brush on some of the pieces.

I might try this again as scattered blocks but I have a lot of Hirst Arts blocks that I can use instead.

Nevinsrip · **Posted:** Tue Oct 03, 2017 7:14 am

Map, Michael's carries a "build it" castle that is made from blocks of foam, just like those long peanuts. The blocks are already cut, so you don't have to shape them.

http://www.michaels.com/10229794.html

It's usually in the school projects isle.
Use the 50% off coupon this week and save.

Mapper · **Posted:** Sun Mar 01, 2020 11:31 pm

Didn't feel like painting today so thought I would try this again. Took some packing peanuts, glued them together and stacked them into a wall.

Knew that when they were wet they would be sticky so quickly painted a cd with some craft paint, glued it on and dribbled some water onto the wall. When wet, pressed down some and reshaped some of the "blocks".

Took some lichen from the yard; glued to the wall, painted with grey craft paint, added some Athonian Camoshade wash, dry brushed with grey again. Couldn't stand the brown paint so opened up some tea bags for ground cover. FYI - Earl Grey is the dark brown "dirt".

Just a day's diversion, just wanted to try out the techniques again. Will probably break apart to use the cd again vs adding more shrubs, etc.

Grumpy Gnome · **Joined:** Sat Feb 15, 2020 1:17 pm **Posts:** 81

That came out great. I can see I have been a bit heavy handed with the lichen, you managed to get a much more natural appearance by using very little. And the packing peanuts worked much better than I would have expected.

Kuribo · **Posted:** Mon Mar 02, 2020 11:24 pm

I agree with Grumpy Gnome. These look really great and are a creative way to use a common and cheaply obtained item! Nice to see you find yet another way to use a CD base too :-D

Mapper · **Posted:** Wed Mar 11, 2020 9:31 pm

Finally decided to use my "knowledge" of packing peanuts to good use. I've been wanting to do a Stand Your Ground terrain feature for awhile, but have unable to find a suitable base for the hill. Thought about using the standard insulation foam board and carving it but didn't want to make the mess and while good for gaming purposes I wanted something more natural looking. I remembered I had bought a rock mold at at train show several years ago and had filled it with plaster with the idea of making a dwarven entrance but had never gotten any farther with it. Pulled it out of a box, cut off the top of the rock and started having fun.

Carved steps into it, added the wall of packing peanuts, squished it, cut some out, added the well and started putting on the ground clutter. Hadn't done green in awhile so went that color. Thought I had left enough room around the well so I could put a figure anywhere around it but after squishing of the wall and adding the ground clutter it is a bit tighter than I wanted - might have to go back and do some carving on the wall.

With the warning from the sentry, the beacon will be lit.

Still a bit small for a larger unit to stand your ground.

GreatKhanArtist · **Posted:** Fri Mar 13, 2020 2:48 pm

That's actually really neat for what it's made of.

Kuribo · **Posted:** Sat Mar 14, 2020 11:40 pm

This is an inspired use of packing peanuts! I think it also looks like a fun piece of terrain to play on. As usual, the pictures with the troops on them look excellent and bring the scene to life. Its always a pleasure to see what you're up to, Mapper!

Packing peanuts - ancient hill fort

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