Emplacement Build Guide

 Hello folks, Today I'll be delivering to your eyes an in-depth guide on my emplacements, as promised previously.

These were simple to make, and quick to build. Not including drying time, I think the set of 4 emplacements only took about one hour to make in total. These are an easy way to add to your gaming table or diorama, or to fill out your terrain collection. 

Now, let's get started on the build.

Step 1: Measure and Cut Out Parts.

The cardboard base.

The first thing you need to do is to measure a 5 by 20 centimetre rectangle out of a material of your choice. Cardboard, MDF, and foamcore are all great options. Cut this out, measure 32mm up from one of the long edges, then draw a line running through that point. This will act as a reference for later.

The foamcore wall.

Next, do the same on a piece of foamcore, except make it 1 inch long on the short side. This will allow your average infantry model to see over the wall, but still be in cover. As before, cut this out. Also, if at all possible, use a new blade on your knife for this. If the blade is dull, the foamcore could tear as you cut it.

Step 2: Prepare Foamcore. 

Just add water.

The next step is to peel the paper backing off of both sides of the foamcore. Depending on the brand, you could just peel it off with no extra effort. However, if your foamcore is like mine, the adhesive for the paper will make it hard to peel the paper off. If this is the case, you can simply run the foamcore under hot water so the adhesive weakens and allows you to peel the paper off. 

Texture time.

Next, add texture to both sides of the foamcore. This will add to the concrete wall look. I did this by stabbing at the foam with an old, gunked up, stiff brush, but you could use rocks or a ball of scrunched-up tin foil.

Step 3: Assemble the Parts.

Where to glue the foamcore.

The next step is to glue the two pieces together. Glue the foamcore so that it is in front of the line as shown in the picture. This will make sure there is enough space for a miniature with 32mm base to stand on the space comfortably.

Tile time.

Next, glue some cardstock rectangles to act as tiles for the larger section. These do not need to be perfect, so you can eyeball their size.

After this, add any damage to the wall you want. For mine, I added a hole in the wall, as if it was blown up. If you do this, don't forget to add rebar using paper clips.

Step 4: Basing.

Pointy.

To base the emplacements, start by gluing spikes onto the small side, at an angle pointing outward. These could be made of sprues, toothpicks, cocktail sticks, or really anything long and pointy. Next, use PVA glue to stick small pebbles, sand, and other small stones to the front of the base in a way that hides the spikes' connection to the ground. The aim is to make the spikes look as if they are embedded into the ground, so make sure to cover them in your basing material.

Step 5: Painting.

The paintjob on these is pretty simple, and requires only 4 colours and some gesso.

The first thing you need to do is give the whole emplacement a coat of gesso. Either white or black will work, but in this case I used white. Next, mix up a few shades of grey and coat the wall with a dark grey, hit the tiles and surface underneath them with a medium grey, and paint the spikes with a light grey. Then, mix black and burnt sienna to make a dark brown, and paint the sand and gravel on the front of the piece with it. once everything has dried, stipple the large rocks with medium grey to the point where only a little brown is showing in the recesses. After that is done, coat everything in very thinned black paint. This will go int the recesses and bring out a lot of detail. Lastly, drybrush everything with a very light grey. Oh, and dont forget to paint the rebar with some silver, if you chose to add it to the piece.

The finished emplacement.

And there you go! Now you know how to make easy emplacements for tabletop wargaming. Feel free to create variations and to experiment. These are fairly basic, so there is a lot of room to expand and improve upon the design. Now go and make yourself some terrain!

Happy painting,

FP01