The Battlefields Blog

Terrain

Firestorm Movement Tray Tutorial

To start with all of the tray pieces were separated. I was surprised none of them needed tidying up. The laser cut was really crisp. I decided to apply the texture paints to the top half before gluing. That would prevent any of the texture paint getting stuck where the base should fit.

Games Workshop Astrogranite Debris was applied on the large areas using a Citadel texture spreader. It is better for shaping but hard to apply to the thin ring areas so standard Astrogranite, which is thinner and easier to paint on was used instead.

Now attach the two parts of the movement tray to each other. Army painter basing glue is perfect for this. A generous application here is required to make sure the trays are held together well.

One of the coolest features of the straight trays is that they tessellate. I glued two together side by side to make a 10 model tray. Very good for factions like Tau and Millitarum, you can make a dynamic squad movement tray - first rank fire, second rank fire!

Time to base coat. If you haven't sprayed mdf before be aware it can absorb the paint. A second coat can be required and a first coat can look inconsistent. Don't panic. Let it dry and apply a second coat, usually from a different angle.

Now you can paint these trays for hours but I want a fairly swift paint scheme so I have gone for a base coat of Games Workshop Mechanicus standard grey followed by a light dry brush of Dawnstone. Bear in mind you need to be gentle at this stage. Some texture paint is likely to fall off and can leave exposed mdf. Base coat touch ups can cover this but don't be too rough.