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MODELLING·WHITE DWARF 517

Hobby Hangout: Building Rocks

October 2025·pp. 38–43

THE SHORT VERSION

Paul demonstrates how polystyrene can become durable, convincing battlefield rocks, explaining the different handling of packing foam and denser insulation board. Bases, filler, sand, slate and papier-mâché strengthen the structures and blend them into the table; examples range from natural strata to angular alien outcrops, ice shards and floating stones supported on pins.

Eight painting schemes use washes and drybrushing to make those shapes read as different environments. The practical advice covers consistent geology, stable bases, useful ledges, avoiding spray damage to exposed foam and protecting fragile texture, so the results function as terrain as well as looking dramatic.

AT THE PAINTING DESK

Paints in this article

Every named colour below is searchable across the archive.

Grey SeerReikland FleshshadeCorax WhiteXereus PurpleNuln OilGenestealer PurpleDechala LilacAgrax EarthshadeAthonian CamoshadeAdministratum GreyDryad BarkKhorne RedEvil Sunz ScarletSquig OrangeTemple Guard BlueWhite ScarMournfang BrownZandri DustUshabti BoneWraithboneArdcoat

Includes only explicitly named Citadel paints and mediums; unnamed colours and third-party products are not guessed.

EXPLORE RELATED TOPICS

Drybrushing Modelling techniques Terrain & battlefields Terrain building Tools & materials

Back to the original

Find this article in White Dwarf 517, pp. 38–43.

This is an original summary. Refer to your magazine for the complete article, rules, images and painting steps.

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ModellingWD 517 · pp. 64–69

The Defence of Inwit

Mark presents an underground research station on Inwit breached by Traitor attackers. Zone Mortalis and Ruined Underhive pieces form the core, while pipes, terminals, reactors, rubble and even snow entering through the breach turn the board into a believable slice of a much larger installation.

The Horus HeresyImperial Fists14 paint colours
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ModellingWD 517 · pp. 70–73

Winter in the Westfold

Lewis builds a winter battlefield outside the Hornburg for the follow-up to issue 510’s War of the Rohirrim game. Four braced plywood sections receive loosely shaped foil rocks, PVA, grout and sand, then layered snow flock applied through repeated fine sprays of diluted glue.

Middle-earth Strategy Battle GameRohan7 paint colours
October 2025Read summary
ModellingWD 517 · p. 110

Battlefield Biomes: Ancient Temple

John converts the Realmshaper Engine into an ancient temple, adding Arcane Ruins pillars and Krondspine statues. Successive neutral drybrushes establish the stone texture over a brown base, while paper-painted leaves tie the structure to a jungle environment. The resulting elevated platform provides a suitably monumental setting for his Lizardmen.

Warhammer: The Old WorldLizardmen6 paint colours
October 2025Read summary