These are the final Warsenal terrain pieces from last year's Black Friday/Cyber Monday haul. These sci-fi street lamps come three to a package and are mostly a combination of MDF and acrylic. A short coil of black coated wire is provided, but I decided to go with something more colorful.
MDF Parts Assembly
The instructions are a single page of exploded views available for download from the Warsenal site. I glued together all the MDF parts with PVA glue. White glue isn't my first choice in many cases, but the bond is strong enough when joining MDF. I left the acrylic parts and wire off until after painting.
Primer Coat
Krylon Fusion All-In-One Matte Black.
Base Color Coat
Krylon ColorMaster Paint + Primer Metallic Aluminum. This gives a shiny metallic appearance with minimal effort.
Dark Wash Coat
FolkArt 479 Pure Black mixed with Liquitex Matte Medium and diluted with water to improve flow. Applied evenly over all surfaces. Brushed on paint and washes tend to bead on Krylon, so I wiped off the excess wash with a sponge to avoid pooling and spotting. The main goals were to dark down the bright metallic a little and bring out the recessed details.
Acrylic Parts Assembly
I was concerned about frosting the clear plastic by using CA glue, so I reached for my bottle of PVA glue during this step. I'm a little dubious about the strength of the bond, but it seems to be holding up well enough.
Wire Detail Assembly
I used a spool of red coated wire I salvaged from some dead electronics awhile back instead of the black wire that came in the package. The red wire is a little stiffer and I wanted a brighter color to stand out from the rest of the pieces. I applied a drop of CA glue to one end, inserted it into the provided hole, wrapped the wire around the piece I was working on, cut off the length of wire I needed, and glued the other end to the second hole provided.
These work well for adding a touch of verisimilitude to an urban sci-fi board. It can be argued that the cable and battery pack shouldn't be exposed, but they add some interesting visual detail. The tower lamps might not work for a sleek sci-fi setting where technology is hidden behind clean lines and smooth panels. However, they would fit into a setting with a cobbled together aesthetic.
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