Trash Terrain: Papier Mache Bunkers & Buildings

Ever diligent, the doorstaff at The Bunker nightclub frisk the clientele to ensure that they're carrying enough weapons and ammo before granting them entry...

In my never-ending quest to make terrain for next to nothing, I stumbled across a post from back in 2015 on the rather nice blog of a chap called Roebeast that was a step-by-step guide to using plastic packaging of various kinds as moulds for papier mache buildings.

The look of the thing felt right for Far Corfe and the process didn't seem too daunting, so I decided that I'd have a go and try to make a bunker using the same method. I ordered myself some Art Mache, which is basically powdered paper with glue already added, and set to following Roebeast's instructions.

Igloo - in the sense that "I glued it together"...

For the most part, Roebeast's instructions were pretty much on the mark, but I found that putting the thing in the freezer overnight meant that when it came out and began to thaw, the moisture this created meant the papier mache was likely to begin to break apart.

I may have been doing something wrong, but I'd recommend leaving the papier mache to dry at room temperature until it's solid as a rock, the extended period of time this takes being ultimately preferable to losing your work in a pile of sludge (and there was no way I could bring myself to put it in the oven either).

Once it was finally dried out, I stuck the papier mache shape to a piece of epvc, covered the base with home-made terrain paint (budgie sand/grit, filler and emulsion paint) and then added details using various items of household rubbish, sprues and bits of toys that are always to be found lying about and yet oddly seem to go missing only to miraculously turn up in my bits box.

Primed and proper.

I undercoated the entire thing in black, rather than grey as I normally would for a piece of terrain for the sake of the paint scheme I'd be using to get the concrete effect that I wanted for the bunker itself, which should become apparent over the course of the next few shots.

The bunker's blue, and there's nothing we can do...apart from adding the next coat of paint, that is.

The next layer I added was a wet-brushed coat of dark blue, which might seem mental when you're aiming for a grey concrete, but I have used this method before and can report that it does actually work and help to create realistic effects as the subsequent layers are added over the top.

Generic Grey Shade #1

A heavy dry-brushing with a dark grey emulsion begins to give the impression of concrete, leaving the pits and cracks in the papier mache to emulate irregular and degrading portions of the same material.

Generic Grey Shade #2

The same treatment with a lighter shade of grey adds the gradation needed to the concrete and now the final look of the bunker is coming together.

Fixtures and fittings...

I wanted the things that look like lamps on either side of the doorway to have the appearance of one of those harsh industrial lights, almost similar to those you see in food preparation areas for the purpose of zapping flies, so I painted them with Hawk Turquoise and then dry-brushed the rest of the metallic components with Lead Belcher and then weathered them with a mix of brown and black acrylic paint on a small sponge.

Ground is down.

All that was then left to do was dry-brush the base with a medium and light grey emulsion and then wash the entire thing heavily with a watered-down mixture of brown and black acrylic paint.

I was very pleased with the way this one turned out and I'd recommend that you check out Roebeast's original post using the link above. I'm planning on making some more of these, as I envision a portion of Far Corfe that's nicknamed "Bunkertown" as the place is made up of derelict bunkers that have been requisitioned as homes and places of business.

So what do you think?

As always, let me know what you think, either on social media or in the comments below.