Building a modular river

Marko Paunović, 11th September 2020

If you've been following my articles about building terrain in previous articles on this site, you'll know that I've slowly been making terrain for my Wild West table for Malifaux. I've already built a church with a graveyard, an undertaker's on a hilltop, a minehead entrance, a watertower and in the last issue I've covered the building process of modular railroad tracks. This time, I decided to do a modular river to span the length of the standard Malifaux table.

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Idea and planning

As always, planning is important, in some cases even vital part of the design process so it's always good to prepare yourself for the build. Good preparation not only saves money, but it also saves time. As I mentioned above, in this issue I'll be discussing how to build a modular river. Most of the rivers for tabletop look fake because people tend to make two banks with the river in the middle. This in itself is not bad, however, when placed on a flat tabletop, it will look more like a man made canal than a proper river. This had me thinking and I've come up with a simple solution. I decided to make the river modules about 30 x 30 cm (12'' x 12'') out of 2 cm thick HD styrofoam. This way, I'll have a part of the table at an elevated level with enough space to place some of the already built terrain. But most importantly the river won't look so much like a man made canal placed on top of the tabletop.

This in turn presented additional problems. Having such a river might provide some difficulties during gaming. How to get across to the other side, lots of free space with long lines of sight. Therefore, I decided that each of the three modules would have a river crossing. In order to make it as diverse as possible, I've decided to make one wooden pedestrian bridge, one railroad bridge (as I had some tracks left over) and one river crossing over shallows.

In fact, when I thought of the shallow crossing, it dawned on me that the overall setting on my table isn't what you normally see with lots of green colours and vegetation. It's almost desert like. That's the reason I decided to make the river almost dried up. (I will however, explain how to make the modules if you wish to have a full body of water inside your riverbed).

Materials and tools

After the rough sketch, I could make a definite list of materials and tools needed for this project. Those are as follows:
- roughly 10cm 2 mm balsa wood plank (they come in 10 x 100 cm planks)
- roughly 10cm of 5mm balsa wood plank (they also come in 10 x 100 cm planks)
- about half a sheet of 2cm thick HD styrofoam (50x100cm)
- about 30 x 30 cm of 5mm thick MDF
- superglue
- PVA glue
- 0,5 kg of DAS air drying clay
- gravel (four sizes)
- static grass / tufts
- AK Interactive Light and Dry Crackle Effect
- sanding paper (1 sheet)
- masking tape
- Gedeo Crystal Resin
- Pebeo Vitrail Colour – Greengold
- railroad tracks (toy)

The tools needed are:
- scalpel blade
- marker pen
- scissors
- modelling saw
- brushes – various sizes – for painting/washing and for drybrushing
- hot wire cutter

* Like in previous issues, I used my Proxxon table mounted circular saw, jigsaw on the MDF to cut the river base and cut the tracks to size.

Building the base

Having aquired all of the materials, using my scalpel blade, I first cut the three 30 x 30 cm modules from HD styrofoam. I then cut them in half with one side being about 20 cm wide and the other 10 cm. It was then time to draw the shape of the base of the riverbed on a piece of 5 mm thick MDF. If you have an irregularly shaped piece (like I had) it's wise to try different ways of placing your 10 x 30 cm riverbed modules to find the easiest way to cut the MDF. If you look carefull, you'll notice both red and green lines on my piece of MDF. In the end I cut the MDF along the green lines as it saved me a couple of passes with my jigsaw.

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When both the HD styrofoam and MDF parts were cut, I made a mock assembly to find a suitable place to put my railroad tracks (as I had no straight lines, only curved). When I was satisfied with the layout, I cut the last piece of the track using my table mounted circular saw. If you don't own one, same can be done with either a scalpel blade or a modeller's saw.

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When the railroad was cut, it was time to design the river banks. Placing the three pieces that make one module (small and large HD styrofoam part with MDF river bed in the middle), I drew the outline of the river bank using my marker pen. I made sure that the edges of the modules on both sides were exactly the same dimension. This would ensure that the modules can be placed in any formation. Following the drawn lines as closely as possible with my sclapel blade, I cut the embankments. It was now time to try to fit the MDF river bed to the remaining two parts. Again, using my marker pen, I marked 5mm from the bottom side of the styrofoam board and exactly 18 cm from the back of the larger and 6 cm from the smaller styrofoam piece. I cut along the lines and removed the excess material. This would ensure that my MDF riverbed would snuggly fit the HD styrofoam parts of each module.

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Before assembly, I had to cut the surfaces of the embankments. I used my electric hot wire cutter. Hot wire cutter can come in several forms and power outputs. The one I have is the cheapest out there, powered by two AA batteries. How it works? The electricity from the batteries heats up the wire that then melts the styrofoam performing a perfect straight cut. However, as it heats the wire elongates so you should take into account that fact when fixing the wire to the cutter. It is quite cumbersome to operate in small, confined places which is the reason I used it before assembling the river modules.

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When the embankments were formed, I turned the two HD styrofoam pieced over, generously poured some PVA glue and placed the MDF river bed in its place. Using my finger, I removed the excess PVA glue and with some 2 cm thick masking tape, I covered the joints between HD styrofoam and the MDF ensuring I had a really hard bond. Also, covering the joints with tape, enables you to procede with the build as it prevents the PVA glue from leaking. PVA glue normally takes up to 6 hours to fully cure.

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With the tape in place, I turned over the tree modules and I built up some volume using DAS air drying clay. I made sure I had some clay on every edge of the module. When I add texture, this will ensure that the resin remain inside my module. I've already mentioned that I want the river to be half dried-up so this will actually help with the build as well as look good.

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Texturing

At this point, I was nearing the end of the construction and all that had to be done before the painting was to add texture to the base. In order for the grooves that were cut with the hot wire cutter remain undamaged after undercoating (undercoat sprey burns styrofoam so it needs to be protected), I decided to cover those surfaces with a cote of pure PVA first. While it was drying, I took out all the gravel I was to use on this project: - chinchilla sand – smallest grain - basing grit in two sizes - chinchilla sand – largest grain

Once the PVA protection was dry, I smeared more wattered-down PVA on the vertical surfaces and sprinkled some smallest grain chinchilla sand. I then repeated the PVA smearing process on the roads and river shallows. Here, however, I first sprinkled over some largest grain gravel, next I sprinkeld some Basing Grit and to finish I poured over the smallest grain chinchilla sand. If you sprinkle gently and with care you can end up with nice variations in texture – for instance the middle of the dirt road usually has some larger stones as opposed to the sides of it. When the road was dry, I repeated the process with the rest of the base, sprinkling the two largest grains over the ground part. Inisde the riverbed, I carefully placed the largest gravel where the riverbed would be dry, and intentionally left the smaller grain where the water effect would be placed.

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When I tackled the module with the railroad tracks, I first covered the route of the tracks with pure PVA glue to make sure the railorad tracks would stick. Then I sprinkled some roughest grain gravel along the route and in between the tracks.

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You will notice that all of the modules have some parts of the modules without sand (with only PVA over them). This part of the modules would be covered with AK Interactive Light and Dry Crackle Effect paste to create the image of a dried up desert. But more about that a bit later on in this article.

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Making the bridge structure

Before undercoating, there was only one more thing to do – the wooden pedestrian bridge. Using a 4,5 x 8,5 cm piece of 5mm thick balsa wood I made the body of the bridge. The dimensions I used are a bit odd, but it's only because the bridge was made to measure. I measured the width of the road and the span of the river and came up with those numbers. The 4,5 cm wide bridge would however accommodate every miniature base for Malifaux. When the body was cut, using a wooden stick, I made grooves across the bridge that would make up planking. Then, using 2 mm thick balsa wood, I made several supports for the bridge and glued them using super glue. Before gluing the bridge to the base, I undercoated the underside of the bridge as well as the river bank and river bed under the bridge to make my job easier later on.

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Painting

First job when painting is to undecoat everything. This will help with the shading and the overall 3D effect of the entire terrain piece. Wanting all my terrain to fit one theme (and consequently one tabletop) it was only natural I use the same colours and colour scheme as on the earlier terrain. Therefore once again I used Pebeo Deco color range. I used Brown (29) for the basecoat and continued drybrushing with Ocre (51). Lighter shades were done with a 50:50 mixture of Ocre (51) and White (41). The final highlight was done with Antique White (69). The road and the river shallows were first basecoated with Brown (29) then heavily drybrushed with Ocre (51) and a 50:50 mixture of Ocre (51) and White (41). The last two highlights were Antique White (69) and pure White (41). This way, I had a visual difference between the normal groundwork and the worn out road.

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The bridge and the wooden parts of the railorad tracks were painted by drybrushing first using a 50:50 mixture of Black (55) and Grey (54). Next layer was pure Grey (54) and the finishing highlight was Ash Brown (70). I was not quite satisfied with the result, so I added another highlight of pure White (41). The metal tracks were then painted pure metal (I used Citadel's Runefang Steel). When it was dry, as was the case in the last issue, I covered the metal bits with Model Mates' Rust Effect.

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With the basic painting done, you'll have noticed the large patches without texture where pure PVA was placed in the texturing phase. As I promised before, I covered this parts using AK Interactive Light and Dry Crackle Effect. In some places I left only a thin layer, while in some I put it on generously and left it to dry. When it was dry, the effect of dried earth was created.

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Vegetation

After the painting, it was time to add the vegetation to the base. Normaly, at this point, I'd add some trees (in the case of this Malifaux build, pine trees to be more exact). However, here I decided not to plant them as this way, the storage would be much, much simpler. And anyway, my intention is to make a lot of smaller terrain pieces (like small pine forest patches, some crates and other debris later on – maybe even in the next issue). With the trees out of the way, I added some static grass. I made a mixture using several green, brown, yellow and black shades of static grass and when I was satisfied with the end product, I glued it in random patches throughout the modules. One thing I made sure of is that I put static grass over any and all of the remaining holes where the black undercoat melted the HD styrofoam in order to hide the unintentional mistake. Once the static grass was in place, I applied several shades of different tufts. Again, as in the former articles, I used tufts made by a company called Gamer's Grass.

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Working with resin

The water on the tabletop terrain can be simulated in many ways. Some are better and more realistic, while some are simpler but less believable. In my experience, I've come across six ways of reproducing water. In the end I'll focus on one method that in my opinion gives the most faithful reproduction of water.

First method is to texture the surface using PVA glue and sand (which is an especially good method for streams) and then paint it using long strokes of greenish brownish tint. After the paint dries coat it with a thick layer of marine varnish or some other form of gloss cote.

The most primitive method is using water itself. Leaking and not having depth in artificial light are the biggest drawbacks apart from evaporation and tendecy to grow life.

The third option is using glass. Make a riverbed like I explained earlier and put a glass surface over it. For extra effect you can tint it on the bottom. However, it is difficult to shape, so that it is not worth the effort.

The fourth method is using plexiglas. Same principles apply here as in the previous method. It is relatively easy to cut and is good for flat and calm water. I've seen it used in railroad models extensively and while both of these methods can look good on static displays such as railroad model tables and such, on smaller pieces of terrain (like used on tabletop) it is better to avoid these two methods.

The fifth method to recreate water is using marine varnish. Pouring in numerous layers means it takes a lot of time to finish. And still you will not get much depth in your river/body of water. It is therefore suitable for small wetlands or small ponds and puddles on various terrains. As with the first method, work in well-ventilated preferably open areas.

The final method, and also the most realistic, is the usage of resins. Are usually two-component mixtures (one is resin, the other a hardener). They are a really good way of creating water, both still and running. Good depth can be achieved and they can be tinted with special colors so that you can get the shade of water you need. A few tips for working with resin: - Protect your hands - wear gloves - Work in well ventilated areas - Have thinner handy to clean up if your pours outside the wanted space - Stir in plastic cups - When it is poured, drill the bottom of the glass so that Resin can slowly leak to avoid creating air bubbles

There are numerous versions of resin available at the market today but I’ll name a few products I use.

First, two part resin called Crystal Resin which is made by a company called Gedeo. It comes in two various sizes (300 ml and 750 ml), and can also be bought predyed. It’s main advantage over other products out there is that it is mixed in 2:1 ratio (resin : hardener), unlike most products who mix in 97:3 (or similar) ratio. Because of the easy way to calculate the ratio, this enables me to use quantities I need and does not force me to use the whole package at once. It has a drying time of 24 hours.

Second, Vallejo Still Water which is an awesome one part resin. It does not require mixing and can be dyed using Vallejo colours. It comes in a 200 ml bottle and is great for small ponds on your bases.

The third kind I use is Vallejo Water Effects (Extra Heavy Gel). It comes in various colours, but I use the transparent one. It is a white paste with the consistency similar to that of a tooth paste that dries clear. It is great for modeling ripple effects or waves on your water surfaces.

Back to the practical application. For this build, I chose Gedeo Crystal Resin. I first mixed a batch of resin and hardener (2:1 ratio as per instructions). Once I got a murky consistency, I poured in some Pebeo Vitrail Greengold Colour. Using a stirrer, I mixed it evenly throughout the resin. When I was satisfied with the colour, I carefully poured the resin inside the modules making sure I do not drip where I'm not supposed to. I left it to dry for 24 hours and my modular river was done!

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How to make full-bodied river modules?

Simple. Follow the steps described earlier up to the point of pouring in the resin. Before I could add resin into the riverbed, you need to make dams to prevent the resin from leaking. Easiest way is to use strips of plastic foil gently glued to the sides of each module using superglue. Then use Vallejo Extra Heavy Gel to seal the joints between the modules and the plastic foils on the inside of the riverbed. Leave it to dry thoroughly, day or two if neccesary. Once dry, covered the plastic foil on the inside with some cooking oil to prevent it from sticking to the resin. Then place all the modules next to each other and pour in the coloured resin of your choice into each of the modules making sure that the level of the river in each module was the same. Leave it to dry for 24 hours, at least. Also, if you want to have a gradual transition of the colour in your river (pure resin on top with the darkest colour in the bottom), use several layers starting, obviously with the darkest colour allowing each layer to fully cure. Once the resin is dry, remove the plastic foil dams and there you have it – river done. To add some ripples and waves, you can use Vallejo Extra Heavy Gel when the resin is dry.

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Latest articles

  • Agram Group Build #Project2 – part 3.
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    From 2021, the Association also organizes group projects for its members in which several members participate at once. The program called Agram Group Build was created after our members discussed joint projects on Wednesdays and how it would be convenient to gather more people on Wednesdays at our Hobby corner to work on a common "something"... #Project2 presents a dieselpunk diorama of a flying island with a fast food stand and several docks for flying cars, and the wonderful art of Alejandro Burdisi serves as a template. The main effects on the diorama will be LED lighting, but also the application of the tensegrity principle.

    Click for enlarged picture

    After a strong start the past two weeks, we continued at the same pace. During the past few weeks of construction, we concluded that working on the island was very awkward, since it could not stand on its own. Therefore, we agreed that the first thing to make was some kind of stand on which the island could be placed while working on it. Kruno decided to make his own stand out of wooden slats. He cut the slats to the desired length, glued them with superglue, and also inserted pins for better support.

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    During this time, Marko set about making a rack for growing tomatoes and other herbs and spices that the burger master needs to make his juicy burgers. He used similar methods as he had done the week before to build the kitchen. He got the main shape using plasticard profiles, while he got the ground by modeling DAS clay (which he mixed with a little PVA glue to better adhere to the smooth plasticard.

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    Finally, we had to test everything we had made so far, and check how the elements we had made so far worked together, as well as all the characters we would place on the island. One character would be in the kitchen, one (an old sea wolf) would be by the railing, and the third would be sitting on the lower deck, looking into the distance and probably smoking a cigarette… In addition to the human crew, there would also be robots helping the team with the hard work. After checking, we weren’t sure what we were more pleased with, the composition or the fact that the stand was doing its job!

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    Next time we'll continue making parts. The burger joint needs a big sign, and maybe we'll even start installing electricity.

    " ["content_hrv"]=> string(3687) "

    Od 2021. Udruga za svoje članove organizira i grupne projekte na kojima sudjeluje više članova odjednom. Program pod nazivom Agram Group Build je nastao nakon što su naši članovi srijedama razgovarali o zajedničkim projektima i kako bi bilo zgodno okupiti više ljudi srijedama na našem Hobby kutku srijedom i to oko rada na zajedničkom „nečemu”… Projekt #2 predstavlja dieselpunk dioramu letećeg otoka sa štandom za fast food i nekoliko dokova za leteće automobile, a kao predložak služi nam predivan art Alejandra Burdisija. Glavni efekti na diorami biti će LED rasvjeta, ali i primjena tensegrity principa.

    Click for enlarged picture

    Nakon žestokog starta protekla dva tjedna, nastavili smo u istom tempu. Tijekom izrade proteklih tjedana, zaključili smo da je rad na otoku jako nespretan s obzirom da ne može samostalno stajati. Stoga smo dogovorili da prvo što treba izraditi je nekakvo postolje na koje će se otok moći staviti tijekom rada na njemu. Kruno se odlučio na samoizradu postolja od drvenih letvica. Letvice je odrezao na željene duljine, zalijepio ih superljepilom, ali i provukao pinove radi boljeg držanja.

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    Za to vrijeme, Marko se bacio na izradu stalaže za uzgajanje rajčica i ostalog bilja te začina koji su potrebni burgermajstoru za izradu svojih sočnih burgera. Koristio je slične metode kao i tjedan ranije za izradu kuhinje. Glavni oblik je dobio koristeći profile od plasticarda, dok je zemlju dobio modelirajući DAS glinamol (kojeg je malo pomiješao sa PVA ljepilom kako bi se bolje prihvatio za glatki plasticard.

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    Za kraj, trebalo je isprobati sve do sada izrađeno, te provjeriti kako kompozicijski funkcioniraju do sada izrađeni elementi kao i svi likovi koje ćemo smjestiti na otok. Jedan lik će biti u kuhinji, jedan (stari morski vuk) uz ogradu, a treći na donjoj palubi sjediti, gledati u daljinu i vjerojatno pušiti cigaretu… Pored ljudske posade, tu će biti i roboti koji ekipi pomažu u teškim poslovima. Nakon provjere, nismo sigurni s čime smo zadovoljniji, kompozicijom ili činjenicom da stalak radi svoj posao!

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    Sljedeći put nastavljamo dalje izradu dijelova. Burgerdžinica treba veliki znak, a možda čak i krenemo sa instalacijom struje….

    " ["created"]=> string(19) "2025-07-10 08:00:54" ["modified"]=> string(19) "2025-07-10 08:00:54" } ["Member"]=> array(10) { ["id"]=> string(2) "64" ["group_id"]=> string(1) "1" ["first_name"]=> string(9) "Krunoslav" ["last_name"]=> string(8) "Belinić" ["first_name_mask"]=> string(9) "krunoslav" ["last_name_mask"]=> string(7) "belinic" ["username"]=> string(5) "Kruno" ["password"]=> string(40) "eb3fda45fbec0258e90d809803b10491c548b22f" ["born"]=> string(19) "2015-01-18 09:19:00" ["created"]=> string(19) "2015-01-18 09:20:39" } }
    Krunoslav Belinić, 10th July 2025
  • Agram Group Build #Project2 – part 2.
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    From 2021, the Association also organizes group projects for its members in which several members participate at once. The program called Agram Group Build was created after our members discussed joint projects on Wednesdays and how it would be convenient to gather more people on Wednesdays at our Hobby corner to work on a common "something"... #Project2 presents a dieselpunk diorama of a flying island with a fast food stand and several docks for flying cars, and the wonderful art of Alejandro Burdisi serves as a template. The main effects on the diorama will be LED lighting, but also the application of the tensegrity principle.

    Click for enlarged picture

    This time we started making the interior of the container. As we said, the container will house a burger joint. Since the windows are open, what we were doing was the kitchen. The guys divided up the tasks, so Kruno started making the counter and window covers. He made the details out of thin plasticard.

    Click for enlarged picture

    During that time, Marko started building the kitchen itself. He also first made a double refrigerator out of plasticard, and then continued with the kitchen elements.

    Click for enlarged picture

    He installed an oven, a large griddle for grilling burgers and a sink in the elements.

    Click for enlarged picture

    In the end, we connected Kruno's part to Marko's and confirmed that it would be necessary to put in electricity if we want any interior detail to be seen.

    " ["content_hrv"]=> string(2750) "

    Od 2021. Udruga za svoje članove organizira i grupne projekte na kojima sudjeluje više članova odjednom. Program pod nazivom Agram Group Build je nastao nakon što su naši članovi srijedama razgovarali o zajedničkim projektima i kako bi bilo zgodno okupiti više ljudi srijedama na našem Hobby kutku srijedom i to oko rada na zajedničkom „nečemu”… Projekt #2 predstavlja dieselpunk dioramu letećeg otoka sa štandom za fast food i nekoliko dokova za leteće automobile, a kao predložak služi nam predivan art Alejandra Burdisija. Glavni efekti na diorami biti će LED rasvjeta, ali i primjena tensegrity principa.

    Click for enlarged picture

    Ovoga puta krenuli smo s izradom interijera kontejnera. Kao što smo rekli, u kontejneru bit će smještena burgerdžinica. S obzirom da su prozori otvoreni, ono što smo radili bila je kuhinja. Dečki su se podijelili u zadaćama pa je Kruno krenuo sa izradom pulta i poklopaca za prozore. Detalje je izradio od tankog plasticarda.

    Click for enlarged picture

    Za to se vrijeme Marko bacio na izradu same kuhinje. Također od plasticarda je prvo izradio dvostruki frižider, a onda je nastavio dalje sa kuhinjskim elementima.

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    U elemente je postavio pećnicu, veliki rešo za pečenje burgera te sudoper.

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    Na kraju smo spojili Krunin dio sa Markovim i potvrdili da će biti potrebno ubaciti struju.

    " ["created"]=> string(19) "2025-07-10 07:59:55" ["modified"]=> string(19) "2025-07-10 08:03:12" } ["Member"]=> array(10) { ["id"]=> string(2) "35" ["group_id"]=> string(1) "1" ["first_name"]=> string(5) "Marko" ["last_name"]=> string(9) "Paunović" ["first_name_mask"]=> string(5) "marko" ["last_name_mask"]=> string(8) "paunovic" ["username"]=> string(5) "marko" ["password"]=> string(40) "3bd37b326d19d1880d3b93a4b32e8fb3a90fa122" ["born"]=> string(19) "2033-03-07 20:35:00" ["created"]=> string(19) "2009-06-02 20:37:03" } }
    Marko Paunović, 10th July 2025
  • Agram Group Build #Project2 – part 1.
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    From 2021, the Association also organizes group projects for its members in which several members participate at once. The program called Agram Group Build was created after our members discussed joint projects on Wednesdays and how it would be convenient to gather more people on Wednesdays at our Hobby corner to work on a common "something"... #Project2 presents a dieselpunk diorama of a flying island with a fast food stand and several docks for flying cars, and the wonderful art of Alejandro Burdisi serves as a template. The main effects on the diorama will be LED lighting, but also the application of the tensegrity principle.

    Click for enlarged picture

    After a long time of this project "cooking", and after successfully completing three projects (Full Tilt game boards with figures - #Project4, busts of musketeers - #Project3 and busts of Iron Maiden Eddie - #Project6), it's time to start with the dioramas. We had two projects to choose from. #Project1 - a diorama of New York/Gotham in a scale of 1:35 and #Project2 - a diorama of a flying dieselpunk island.

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    Since we managed to find an adequate set for making a flying platform in Carta, the decision fell on #Project2. We used the Necromunda Platforms and Walkways set. We glued two platforms one on top of the other in opposite directions, thus obtaining the construction of an island.

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    We used the walkways to expand the surface of the platform and added a 40k container to it, on which we cut windows on one side. In this way, we will make a burger joint (or some such fast food facility) out of the container.

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    While some of us had fun making the island, others started looking for bits that we could use in the diorama. As this project has been in development for four years, over time we managed to acquire the appropriate bits that now needed to be found first. We found garbage containers, bottles, demijohns, canisters, buckets, garbage bags, but also a few 3D printed actors – robots in various poses.

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    A lot of these parts required extra work – removing unnecessary 40k insignia. We left skulls here and there… every burger joint should have some poison in its barrels…

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    In addition to the above parts, we also found satellite dishes and welding gas tanks and assembled them.

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    Next time we'll start with creating the interior of the container, or rather, creating a kitchen, but maybe also creating high beds where the boss will grow vegetables and spices for his burgers.

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    Od 2021. Udruga za svoje članove organizira i grupne projekte na kojima sudjeluje više članova odjednom. Program pod nazivom Agram Group Build je nastao nakon što su naši članovi srijedama razgovarali o zajedničkim projektima i kako bi bilo zgodno okupiti više ljudi srijedama na našem Hobby kutku srijedom i to oko rada na zajedničkom „nečemu”… Projekt #2 predstavlja dieselpunk dioramu letećeg otoka sa štandom za fast food i nekoliko dokova za leteće automobile, a kao predložak služi nam predivan art Alejandra Burdisija. Glavni efekti na diorami biti će LED rasvjeta, ali i primjena tensegrity principa.

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    Nakon duljeg vremena što se ovaj projekt „kuha“, i nakon uspješno odrađena tri projekta (Full Tilt igraće table sa figurama – #Projekt4, bisti mušketira - #Projekt3 i bisti Iron Maiden Eddija - #Projekt6), vrijeme je da krenemo i sa dioramama. Na izbor smo imali dva projekta. #Projekt1 – diorama New Yorka/Gothama u mjerilu 1:35 i #Projekt2 – diorama letećeg dieselpunk otoka.

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    S obzirom da smo u Carti uspjeli naći adekvatni set za izradu leteće platforme, odluka je pala na #Projekt2. Iskoristili smo Necromunda set Platforms and Walkways. Dvije platforme smo zalijepili jednu na drugu u suprotnim smjerovima i tako dobili konstrukciju otoka.

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    Walkwaye smo iskoristili da proširimo površinu platforme i na nju dodali 40k kontejner na kojemu smo na jednoj strani izrezali prozore. Na taj način ćemo od kontejnera napraviti burgerdžinicu (ili neki takav fast food objekt).

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    Dok se dio nas zabavljao s izradom otoka, drugi su se bacili na potragu za bitsima koje bismo mogli iskoristiti na diorami. Kako je ovaj projekt u razvoju već četvrtu godinu, tijekom vremena smo uspjeli nabaviti odgovarajuće bitseve koje je sada trebalo prvo pronaći. Našli smo kontejnere za smeće, boce, demižone, kanistere, kante, vreće za smeće, ali i nekolicinu 3D isprintanih aktera – robota u raznim pozama.

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    Dosta tih dijelova zahtjevalo je ekstra posla – micanje nepotrebne 40k insignije. Tu i tamo smo ostavili mrtvačke glave… svaka burgerdžinica treba imati ponešto otrova u bačvama…

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    Osim navedenih dijelova, našli smo i satelitske antene te tankove plina za zavarivanje te smo iste složili.

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    Sljedeći puta krećemo sa izradom interijera kontejnera odn. izradom kuhinje, ali možda i izradom visokih gredica gdje će šef uzgajati povrće i začine za svoje burgere.

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    Marko Paunović, 2nd July 2025
  • We Visited: SVET V MALEM, Pivka 2025
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    for better photos check out our social media.

    " ["content_hrv"]=> string(3993) "

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    U subotu, 24.5.2025. zaputili smo se u Pivku u Sloveniji na tradicionalno međunarodno natjecanje Svet v Malem. Kao i proteklih godina i ovaj puta se održalo u Parku vojaške zgodovine u Pivki smještenom u bivšoj vojnoj kasarni.

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    Iskoristili smo priliku i družili se sa našim slovenskim, talijanskim, srpskim, ali i hrvatskim prijateljima te saznali o osnivanju nove udruge u Rijeci pod nazivom: Udruga Argola.

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    Natjecanje je bilo na dosta visokom nivou, a naši članovi su osvojili nekoliko medalja.

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    Za više fotografija u punoj rezoluciji, pogledajte naše socijalne mreže.

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    Krunoslav Belinić, 1nd July 2025
  • We visited: Kontrast Miniature Painting Festival
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    This year, our member Ivan Knezović and his brothers, Petar and Filip, (popularly called the Knezović Clan) visited the Kontrast international miniature painting competition in Poland. And this is his report.

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    One of the largest miniature painting competitions in the world has been taking place in Warsaw since 2021. The Knezović clan visited Kontrast for the first time in 2023. The event was great and we enjoyed almost 1500 works, many of which were made by masters at the highest artistic level. We decided to visit Warsaw again in 2025, after completing enough works to justify the 12-hour drive one way.

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    We came to Kontrast as a kind of UMS Agram emissaries, and we handed out flyers for Black Queen 2026 and met a number of other enthusiasts, and we hope that some of them will visit Zagreb. We also brought home the Best of Show medal for the work that impressed us the most. We awarded the UMS Agram Best of Show to Dimosthenis Xylas, a miniaturist from Athens, for his dwarf. The work impressed us with its phenomenal atmosphere, smooth transitions, the play of multiple light sources, the level of quality on each individual element, and the convincing textures of the metal. Also, we simply love dwarfs.

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    The number of phenomenal works was large, because in 2025 more than 1700 works were exhibited in 2 classes - Standard for beginners and hobbyists and Master for professionals and those who have already proven themselves at international competitions (everyone who won gold in Standard will compete in Master in the future).

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    Petar won silver in the Master in 2023 and exhibited his works in the Master in 2025, while Filip and I did not have such good results and entered our works in the Standard.

    One of the works that particularly stood out was Captain Titus from the game Space Marine 2 in a huge scale, it seems to me to be 1/4. It may not be the best, but it is a work that all visitors noticed.

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    One of the works that impressed us was a truly enormous diorama of Khorne Chaos Space Marines vs. Ultramarines. The diorama is huge, but each model is painted to a very high standard and contains about 30 models in various sizes. It is an imitation of a famous painting depicting a battle in Warhammer 40k.

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    Going through every work that impressed us would make this article too long, and words convey much less than photographs. Luckily, Filip came with a very good camera, so I leave some pictures for the readers to enjoy.

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    Our results were beyond expectations. Petar did not return with a medal, because during the 2 years he worked mostly on orders. He painted more than 400 models, but almost all of them were orders. In 3 days he painted the Durgin Paint Forge Orca. The model is really excellent, but the competition was great. With a few more days of work he would definitely be in the running for a medal. I think he can be satisfied with his work and next time aim for a medal with 6 days of painting.

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    Jure Cukar, for whom we carried 3 models, won 1 silver in the Standard class.Filip won 2 silvers in the Standard class for his lizards (dioramas) and for his ambient soldier (single model up to 54 mm).

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    I came to Kontrast with 5 exhibits. I came back with results that I did not expect even in my most optimistic dreams, because this is a truly huge competition with numerous top artists. I entered all my works in the Standard class.

    For my Midori bust, I won gold in the Standard Historical and Realism category and an award from Alternity Miniatures, the company whose bust it is a product.

    For my cat Albert, I won silver in the Standard Storytelling category.

    For Dwarf Lord, I won gold in the Standard category for models larger than 54 millimeters.

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    For my dwarf adventurers, I won gold in the Standard Diorama category, a medal from Verko's Vault (miniature museum in Las Vegas) and what I really didn't expect, Best of Standard – the award for the best work of all works in the Standard category.

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    Finally, and this is perhaps the greatest recognition for my work, I won silver in the Master category for my Infinity regiment. Namely, all competitors submitted their works in only one class, either Standard or Master. However, the judges reserved the possibility of moving the model from Standard to Master.

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    All in all, Kontrast is a great experience. I hope we will visit Warsaw again, if not in 2026 then in 2027. In the meantime, I hope our Black Queen will also visit some of the new people we met in Poland.

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    Ove godine naš član Ivan Knezović je sa svojom braćom, Petrom i Filipom, (popularno nazvanima Klan Knezović) posjetio međunarodno natjecanje u bojanju minijatura Kontrast u Poljskoj. A ovo je njegov izvještaj!

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    Jedno od najvećih natjecanja u bojenju minijatura na svijetu odvija se u Varšavi od 2021. godine. Klan Knezović je posjetio Kontrast prvi puta 2023. godine. Događaj je bio sjajan te smo uživali u gotovo 1500 radova, od kojih su mnogi rađeni od strane majstora na najvišoj umjetničkoj razini. Odlučili smo i 2025., nakon što smo dovršili dovoljno radova da opravdamo vožnju od 12 sati u jednom smijeru ponovno posjetiti Varšavu.

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    Na Kontrast smo došli kao svojevrsni izaslanici UMS Agrama te smo podijelili letke za Black Queen 2026. te upoznali veći broj drugih entuzijasta te se nadamo da će neki posjetiti Zagreb. Donijeli smo i Best of Show medalju za rad koji nas se najviše dojmio. UMS Agram Best of Show dodijelili smo Dimosthenisu Xylasu, minijaturistu iz Atene za njegovog patuljka. Rad nas je dojmio fenomenalnom atmosferom, glatkim prijelazima, igrom više izvora svjetla, razinom kvalitete na svakom pojedinom elementu i uvjerljivim teksturama metala. Također, jednostavno volimo patuljke.

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    Broj fenomenalnih radova bio je velik, jer je 2025. bilo izloženo više od 1700 radova u 2 klase - Standard za početnike i hobiste te Master za profesionalce i one koji su se već iskazali na međunarodnim natjecanjima (svi koji su u Standardu osvojili zlato ubuduće se natječu u Masteru).

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    Petar je 2023. osvojio srebro u Masteru te je i 2025. izlagao radove u Masteru, a ja i Filip nismo imali tako dobre rezultate te smo svoje radove prijavili u Standard.

    Od radova koji su se posebno isticali bio je kapetan Titus iz igre Space Marine 2 u ogromnoj skali, od oka čini mi se da je 1/4. Možda nije najbolji, ali je rad koji su svi posjetitelji primijetili.

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    Jedan od radova koji nas se dojmio je i zbilja ogromna diorama Khorne Chaos Space Marinaca protiv Ultramarinaca. Diorama je ogromna, ali svaki model pobojen je na vrlo visokoj razini te sadrži oko 30 modela u različitim veličinama. Imitacija je poznatog slikarskog prikaza bitki u Warhammeru 40k.

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    Proći svaki rad koji nas se dojmio oduljilo bi ovaj članak, a riječi prenose puno manje nego fotografije. Srećom, Filip je došao s vrlo dobrim foto aparatom te ostavljam neke slike za uživanje čitateljima.

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    Naši rezultati bili su iznad očekivanja. Petar se nije vratio s medaljom, jer je kroz 2 godine radio većinom na narudžbama. Pobojio je više od 400 modela, ali gotovo sve su bile narudžbe. U 3 dana pobojio je Durgin Paint Forge orka. Model je zbilja izvrstan, ali konkurencija je bila velika. S još nekoliko dana rada zasigurno bi ušao u konkurenciju za medalju. Mislim da može biti zadovoljan samim radom i sljedeći put ciljati na medalju sa 6 dana bojenja.

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    Jure Cukar, za koga smo nosili 3 modela osvojio je 1 srebro u Standard klasi. Filip je osvojio 2 srebra u Standard klasi za svoje guštere (diorama) i za svojeg ambientalnog vojnika (single model do 54 mm).

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    Ja sam na Kontrast došao s 5 izložaka. Vratio sam s rezultatima koje nisam očekivao niti u najoptimističnijim snovima, jer se radi o zbilja ogromnom natjecanju s brojnim vrhunskim umjetnicima. Sve svoje radove prijavio sam u Standard klasu.

    Za svoju Midori bistu osvojio sam zlato u Standard Historical and Realism kategoriji te nagradu Alternity Miniaturesa, tvrtke čija je bista proizvod.

    Za svojeg mačka Alberta osvojio sam srebro u Standard Storytelling kategoriji.

    Za Dwarf Lorda osvojio sam zlato u Standard kategoriji za modele veće od 54 milimetra.

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    Za svoje patuljke avanturiste osvojio sam zlato u Standard Diorama kategoriji, medalju Verko's Vaulta (muzej minijatura u Las Vegasu) te ono što stvarno nisam očekivao, Best of Standard – nagradu za najbolji rad od svih radova u Standard kategoriji.

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    Na kraju, a ovo je možda najveće priznanje za moje radove, osvojio sam srebro u Master kategoriji za svoj Infinity regiment. Naime, svi natjecatelji svoje radove prijavljivali su samo u jednu klasu, ili Standard ili Master. No, suci su pridržali mogućnost pomicanja modela iz Stanarda u Master.

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    Sve u svemu Kontrast je sjajno iskustvo. Nadam se da ćemo ponovno posjetiti Varšavu, ako ne 2026. onda 2027. U međuvremenu, nadam se da će i naš Black Queen posjetiti i neki od novih ljudi koje smo upoznali u Poljskoj.

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    Marko Paunović, 5th June 2025

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