Orgoth Tower Tutorial

By John ‘Scarab’ Salmond

When I first saw the artwork for the Orgoth Tower in NQ, I knew I wanted to build it some day. It was very impressive and awe inspiring. Those two elements combined for a cool terrain piece. My roadblock, however, was creating the molds I would need to accomplish the piece. When my nephew, Ian, became fairly proficient at mold making, he taught me how to create molds. Because I make terrain pieces for personal use, I sometimes use materials that are easy to manage but can often be brittle. The piece I constructed is not for a hobby store. It would not live up to the rigorous playing, unless you made some minor changes in the structure and material used.

The main structure of the building is constructed of ¼ inch foam core poster board. The dimensions of the base are 4 inches square and 4 ½ inches high. The opening for the door is 2 ½ inches wide and 3 inches tall. Make sure you have a solid cutting surface, metal ruler, pencil and a hobby knife, before starting on the structure. Measure the walls, and use the ruler as a guide. Cut the foam core with the hobby knife. Make sure you have a cutting board under the foam core.




If you plan on having your tower surface be the bare foam core, do not use stickpins to hold the structure together while building. You will have ugly little holes everywhere. I planned on covering the entire surface. I used stickpins to hold everything together prior to applying the white glue. I created the two 4 inch circle pieces using a compass. These circle pieces will rest on the top of the base structure. I wanted the circle section to be around a ½ inch thick so it required two pieces of foam core. I used white glue to attach the circles to the top of the base.




The main tower is tapered slightly. The base of the tower section is 2 ½ inches square, the top is 2 inches square, and the height is 10 inches long. I cut four identical pieces for each side. This portion is a little bit trickier to put together. After you have cut the pieces out, you will need to trim the inside edges on an angle. This will make all of the sides fit together correctly. After trimming the inside, put the pieces together first (without any stickpins or glue) to ensure they fit together correctly. Make any necessary adjustments before gluing.



Once the base and the tower are dry, you can attach them together. Before attaching them together, take the top of the base and measure half way on all four edges. This will allow you to have some guide marks. The corner of the tower section will align with the halfway marks you made on the top of the base. The idea is to have both structures in opposite alignment. Each corner of the tower should be around ¾ of an inch from each side of the base structure. Secure the two pieces together with white glue.



Using the same Wall Joint Compound (WJC) I use on the walls in my home, I applied a thin layer of the WJC to this building. I like how paint works with it. I can also chip it away after it has been sanded to give it a weathered look. For this project it was very important to make sure the layer was thin. You can use the same tools you would on your home walls.



After it is dry, I used a 220 grit sand paper to smooth it. I then applied chips and cracks to the structure with my hobby knife.




The sculpting clay and carving tools I used for the various features of the building can be picked up at an art supply store. There are several grades of clay. They can range from very soft and pliable to hard. I prefer the hardest when it comes to mold making and for personal use. Before starting on the main door, draw an outline for the dimensions of the door on a piece of sheet styrene. Make sure the lines exceed the square to use as guidelines later. As mentioned before, the door was 2 ½ inches wide by 3 inches tall.



I worked the clay by hand first and then applied it to the center of the outline. I took another piece of sheet styrene and flattened it out to obtain an even thickness.



I used a metal ruler and the extended guidelines of the outline to score the clay.



Once the clay was scored, I cut the clay with my hobby knife to remove any excess material. Make sure not to push hard, or you will accidentally cut through the plastic.



I then used some standard clay sculpting tools to make the carvings. My nephew, Ian, carved the two smaller faces. He did this to teach me how. I carved the rest. When you carve, do not forget that you can add clay back onto your sculpture. When I carved the mouth area, I removed the entire area. After that was completed, I applied the teeth to the empty cavity.




After I shaped everything with the clay, I created a square around the sculpture. I did this with connecting blocks (or you can use extra clay). It is very important once the blocks are in place that you seal them with painters tape. The two-part silicone rubber mold material used to make the mold will seep through the small seams in the blocks. Sealing the blocks with tape prevents this. Mix the silicone following the instructions. When applying the silicone to the sculpture, you will want to drizzle it on in a thin layer. The idea is to create a layer over the entire sculpture so thin; it will remove any air bubbles. The layer should almost be transparent. If you just pour the mixture in, you run a high risk of having air bubbles attach to your sculpture. This will ruin your mold.



Now that you have some molds to work with, it is time to pour them for the tower.




For my next step, I used Plaster of Paris. You can also use resin. Before I poured the plaster, I mixed some water and Jet Dry in a spray bottle. I used this to spray the mold before pouring the mixture in. This helps prevent air bubbles occurring. If you do not have a shaker table, you may want to slightly tap your mold to help remove the stubborn bubbles.




Let the plaster dry for at least a ½ hour before you remove it from the mold. Try to pop one side out first. Then slowly work the cast out. This prevents any fine details from getting ruined. Once you have the faces done you can begin to apply them to the tower. The large face is place in the opening with the mid sized faces bordering the door. The smaller faces are placed at the bottom of the tower.




Some of the molds I created, I call ‘Blanks’. This allows me to carve into the piece of plaster after it has been cast. It permits me to have more variation if I choose. If you have any blank casts, you can choose to let them cure over night. You can also work on them right out of the mold. There is a difference on how the plaster reacts in both cases. You may want to practice to determine which method you prefer. On this piece I let all my casts cure over night before I worked on them. Before I carved the blanks, I drew a pattern on them first. All of the carvings on this piece I did with my hobby knife. I carved the patterns in everything but the faces.




I then used white glue to attach all of the pieces to the tower. I used a little WJC to smooth out some of the joints for a cleaner look. I then used sand paper to smooth those after they dried.



Painting the tower was very straightforward. I used a slightly watered down light gray for the first layer. Every color after the first layer, I streaked vertically on the tower to give it a weathered look. I used a medium gray followed by a dark gray for the weathered streaks. I also thinned some dark brown and medium green to apply to the structure very sparingly. Green was added in crevices where moisture could collect to give a feel of algae growth.



Where the base of the structure meets the earth, I really applied the brown and some green. Buildings that sit on earth will get mud splashed on them from the rain. They also tend to have more growth at the base of the structure from everything living.



I purchased some burlap rolls from the local nursery to make a Gillie Suit for some other hobbies. It is used to wrap trees, and I usually find it in browns and greens. I created the vines using the colored burlap strings that were pulled from larger strips. I liked this material because it has random fibers that come off of the main string. I attached the strings to the tower using white glue. One trick I learned in doing this was to attach one end of the string first and let it completely dry. If you do this first you will have a much easier time doing the rest. After the ends are dry, weave them around each other. Do not have straight lines, for they do not exist in Mother Nature. Secure each vine several times to the tower, but make sure not to attach the entire string. From time to time you may find it beneficial to let sections dry to achieve a better flow. Apply all of the vines before moving on to the next step.





The ‘foliage goo’ is a longer process. Using tin foil, create the mixture using one part white glue, one part paint, and one part water. Mix it all together thoroughly.




Take some toilet paper and drop it into the ‘foliage goo’ mixture. Do not use too much. It is better to have less than to have too much. Adding too much does not allow the tissue to completely soak.




I used dental tools to apply the ‘foliage goo’ to the building. In areas where the vines are hanging away from the structure, I spread the soaked tissue out and draped it over the vine. Once the foliage is applied you will want to pick at it and move it around to give it a natural feel. You will notice that I have done this in a vertical motion unless the foliage is in a crack or on a flat surface.





I noticed rather quickly that I wanted to vary the sizes of the ‘foliage goo’ groupings, and to have them tapered down on the building. You will use several different shades of greens, and have them in the same area. If you want to create more depth, then apply all of your darker greens first and layer them with lighter colors. You can also dry brush the foliage after it is completely dry.



You now have a piece of terrain that will add theme to you battle field and catapult you into a realm of rivets, magic, and destruction.




Hope you enjoyed this as much as I did constructing it. Good luck. Feel free to contact me with any questions.

Later,

John Salmond…

Scarab…