Broken Glass

[their kin]

So I want to do a display board of Crimson Fists blowing the crap out of a city block. To the point: does anyone have any effective ways to imitate broken glass on a base? I want it to look like tiny little pieces as if they were walking in front of a broken window (also I want to make a building exploding from inside, so blown out windows may be necessary).

 

Thanks in advance guys.

 

-joe

[esinhorn]

Cut up the clear plastic blister packaging into shards.

[CarbonCopy]

Cut up the clear plastic blister packaging into shards.

 

This...

 

But just be careful what you use to glue it in place with. Use something very matte. And don't use super-glue as it will frost it up, destroying the illusion.

[kizzap88]

I don't know how this isn't known by everyone, but if you have clear parts that you want to remain clear, use PVA glue (that white craft glue that dries clear) to attach those parts. No issues with frosting whatsoever.

 

-kizzap

[deathnid]

you could get some glass and break it? :)

[Gurth]

You could also glue the shards down with varnish.

[Redtoof]

Have you considered a gentle sprinkling of snow flock over the scene to represent the tiny shards? It sparkles nicely and doesn't look much like snow unless you put it on a white base. Obviously make sure it is scattered under the windows instead of in neat little piles B)

[winterdyne]

Depends what style you're shooting for. Realistically, crushed glass (Secret Weapon sell it for frost / ice effects) is the way, combined with larger pieces made from blister pack. Not nice stuff to use though. More cartoonishly, cut up blister pack into tiny shards (use scissors) will also work, but it's not so realistic.

[their kin]

Hey guys, thanks to everyone for the suggestions. This definitely gives me something to work with, and now it's time to experiment!

 

Winterdyne: does that crushed glass look okay as actual crushed glass, or does it simulate ice a little too well? I had been looking at that and didn't know if it would work (but hoped it would).

 

-joe

[winterdyne]

Depends on how you put it down. For ice / frost you really put quite a bit of it down and let it clump a bit. For actual glass you're going to want very very little and have it spread only where the most glass would fall. Probably a better idea to use hairspray or varnish as a fixative / initial adhesive rather than PVA or whatever. If you have an airbrush, you can put the fixative on through that and have more of the glass adhere near where you need it by applying the fixative in quick stages.

[adeptuscustodus]

You could also use the glass inserts from a fire alarm button they are made from really thin clear glass about 1mm thick (wear gloves) Then you also have the sparkle effect a bit.

As how to glue it down you could maybe use gloss varnish or clear resin. I don't think it's wise to varnish after finishing as so to keep the glass clear unless you want it to look lik it was already there a long time.

[their kin]

Hey thanks guys, i'm definitely thinking varnishing would be the perfect adhesive, hadn't even occured to me to us it. I may throush some weathing powder or a fine spray of paint to simulte dust, not sure yet.

 

-joe

[Adeptus-Alaska]

salt, salt would look like to scale crushed glass. also, for shard glass, testors makes a glue specifically for clear plastic. also they sell clear glitter at micheals thats made of ground glass.

[winterdyne]

Salt has the issue that it leeches out as soon as moisture hits it. Once you've used it for weathering, you'll understand why not to leave it on the model for long.

[Gurth]

You could also use the glass inserts from a fire alarm button they are made from really thin clear glass about 1mm thick (wear gloves) Then you also have the sparkle effect a bit.

Or, since we're on the subject of real glass, microscope cover slips — they're made of very thin glass that should appear as pretty much scale thickness on a 40K model. Whether or not you can get any of these easily depends on how often you're around microscopes, I suppose ;) (I know I haven't handled any in almost twenty years, but their modelling potential struck me back then already.)

[Venerable Jazzman]

Scale glass, might be worth a look. 0.007" thick.

 

Looks pretty evil to work with though ^_^

[BorisBC]

In my local hardware store, in the craft section was a heap of small glass tiles, about 1" square. Broken up with a hammer they would do the job, plus coloured glass (to represent stained glass windows) might stand out better.

[YoungWolf7]

I've seen eggshells used for this very thing (among others). Cheap, easy to use, breaks realistically, doesn't care what adhesive you use. Just needs to be painted.

[Redfinger]

The clear plastic is a solid suggestion, but one major issue with it is the edges of it, the clear plastic can have a "white" edge left on it when cut with an exacto, also light does not travel as readily through clear plastic, you pick up a lot of distortion with it.

 

The best thing to do if you are going to go with plastic, is dip the pieces in Future Floor Polish, let them dry, then place them on the model with white glue. The future helps the light pass through the plastic more easily, and covers up those pesky "cut" marks that can be left on plastic.

 

I have been using it for years on my plastic airplane canopies, here is a tutorial;

 

http://www.ipmsstockholm.org/magazine/2005...ch_canopies.htm

 

Ashton

[mr tough guy]

Or, since we're on the subject of real glass, microscope cover slips — they're made of very thin glass that should appear as pretty much scale thickness on a 40K model. Whether or not you can get any of these easily depends on how often you're around microscopes, I suppose :angry: (I know I haven't handled any in almost twenty years, but their modelling potential struck me back then already.)

 

 

Seconded, these would be perfect for miniature scale (broken) glass