Thursday, December 1, 2011

Think inside the box

A light box that is. I created a quick and easy light box out of foam board. A light box really helps when taking pictures of your minis. The white interior reflects light and make the miniatures appear brighter with less light (less muddy). If you have been taking pictures of your minis you probably know how difficult it can be to make them look decent. Plus it blocks out the background so you don't have clutter or people won't see what you don't want them to (like you collection of Justin Beaver CDs.. say WhAT!).

What You'll Need:
Foam Board - White
Xacto Knife
Elmers Glue All (or other standard type glue, hot glue, Gorilla, Tack, etc..)
Ruler (C-Thru being my Fav, love these rulers. If you can in fact love a ruler)
Pen or Marker (I usually don't use pencils myself, they can dent or poke through the foam board if you push too hard)

1) Figure out the size you want the box to be. I made mine 10". I didn't want it to be too big, I already have enough stuff in my room of manliness. 10" will fit most mini's.. I haven't tested a LR or SR or anything though.
2) Then measure out the four pieces. Cut the four pieces. If you are going with the 10" it was:
     a) Bottom 10" x 10"
     b) back 10" x 8" (again I didn't want it huge so only made it 8" high
     c) sides 101/4" x 8" ( add a 1/4 of an inch to the sides to cover the width of the back)
   ** Any size can be made, wide or tall, standard or metric just remember to add the width of the back to the sides **
   *** Always be careful when cutting with an Xacto they are sharp and stabbing yourself isn't fun, as I've described in an earlier post. A self healing matt is always a bonus when cutting objects.)***
3) Break out the Elmers or other compatible sticky material (keep the suggestions to oneself!) And put a line of glue on three of the edges of the bottom piece. The side with no glue is the front.
4) Run a line of glue on both the 8" edges of the back (only two edges, don't go buck wild with the glue people)
5) Attach the back to the bottom making sure the glues edges aren't down and up.
6) Attach the sides. Adjust the sides to get it pretty square, you don't need a square or level but you also don't want a rombus.
7) Let it dry for about 30mins if you are using Elmers. If you used Hot Glue you have to glue a little differently as the gule will cool when you try to run all the lines. Attach the piece you just glued before moving on to the next,but if you use hot glue on a regular basis you probably already know that.
8) BAM! you have a lightbox. This is ultra simple but helps a lot when snapping those pics. You can get all serious and build one out of wood and paint it, attach lighting to it but you are going to need the room to store it and will spend a bit more cash. I don't have the storage area so the quick and dirty version works for me.

While I was messing with the Foam Board I figured I'd also work on something Terrain wise. I've been wanting to make some Eldar Terrain and I have been playing around with making a large Webway Gate but haven't completed it. I cut it from foam and not completely happy with it. It has too much texture and was thinking about making it in wood. I also wanted to make some smaller portals, the final will be made of wood for sure but I'd need the template. So I started to draw out some ideas and then cut out pieces. Foam board is pretty easy to use but when you cut shapes, it can take out chucks of the foam (even with a sharp blade).
But it's still good for a quick piece or as a template. I'm pretty happy with the look but I think I'm going to make the vanes a little thinner at the bottom and I'm going to make the base a little wider with a longer bottom step so a mini can actually stand on it. 8)

Looking at it I may also make a middle support as well. this is just a basic template but it helps give you an idea of what it will look like. I'll have to score some more wood and head out to the scroll saw.

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