How to make warhammer 40k craters
Craters usually occur as a result of a large explosion caused by bombs, meteorites, or volcanic eruptions. In our modern world we can see craters when a bomb explodes. We rarely see a crater created by debris falling from the sky because this will leave a very large crater.
But in the Warhammer 40K universe they are an everyday thing, so it’s unusual that you can’t see a crater. Therefore, it is common to see craters made by things landing from the sky. Take for example the dent that a laser cannon would leave if it fell to the ground.
Material’s list
-polystyrene (styrofoam)
-utility knife
-PVA glue (white glue)
-Cast
-toilet paper
-Paint brush
PAINTS
-acrylic black
-tin bitz (dark grey/brown)
-Graveyard dirt (dark brown)
-beastly brown
-snake bite skin (light brown)
-green camouflage
Step 1 Prepare the base
As the saying goes “there are many ways to kill the cat”, we can also say that there are many things that we can use to create the base. It is up to you what would be the best material to use. A thin piece of wood or thin Styrofoam will do the job better. But for this project we used thin wood.
Step 2 Trim Crater Bits
Creating crater pieces will be as easy as taking candy from a baby, just take the Styrofoam and cut small triangular wedges.
Step 3 Glue wedges
Using a PVA glue (white glue), glue all the wedges you cut and glue them all together to the thin wood we created for the base. When gluing the wedges, to create a unique crater look, try staggering the wedges or leaving a gap between each wedge.
Step 4 Fill in the gaps
After gluing the wedges, you can see that in each wedge there is a gap, fill the gaps between the wedges with a plaster. But if you have putty, you can use it to fill in the gaps.
Step 5 paper mache your crater
If you know how to make papier-mâché, this will not cause you any trouble or delay.
Using toilet paper strips and diluted glue, you can now begin to pound down your crater.
The purpose of the papier-mâché is to keep the plaster protected so it doesn’t come off easily. The papier-mâché also gives a more earthy look to the crater.
Step 6 Base Coat
For the base coat, prime the crater with black acrylic paint.
Step 7 layers of paint
After the base coat dries, it’s time to paint and finish the job. There are actually many combinations or layers of paint to use. These are our suggested layers to wear. Start with tin bitz (dark grey/brown) and then brush dry with graveyard dirt (dark brown). Next, drybrush beastly brown and then snakeskin. Lastly, dry brush a final coat of camo green to give a mossy effect.
And there you have it! Beautiful realistic looking craters made easy.