HTP: Industrial Chem Tank (PromethiumForge)

I loved building these kits. It's satisfying taking straightforward kit and a soda can to make terrain.  It takes me back to gaming in my friends basement as a kid where we had to make terrain out of anything we could find.  Taking something sentimental and turning it into a project was really enjoyable. With that in mind, I'm building/painting the version of this kit as of today.

If you're interested in getting these kits you can find these for sale at Promethium Forge's Etsy store.

1. To start, I wanted it to be heavy terrain.  I don't like anything you can bump and knock over. Infinity in particular needs very specific terrain that doesn't bump or move.  So I opened the ends of the can's (carefully, you still want some lip for the wood to glue too when you're gluing things down) and filled the insides with drywall Joint Compound.

I let this dry enough that it wouldn't slop out. To be honest mine isn't completely dry, but it'll be sealed in the container so I wasn't concerned.

2, To start building the actual tanks I began with the vertical tanks using the Starbucks cans. There is a tab on one of the rings that needs to be in the middle of the 3 rings. This will be where the ladder connects to the tank. I also added 3 of the 4 joining beams to one side for a bit more visual contrast.

Before gluing down the rings to the can I made sure to line up and place the top plate on the cans.

3. For the ends I glued the back piece on, and popped the middle out of the front one. This allowed me to add the pipe which isn't necessary but looks really cool on the table.  With that done I've finished the horizontal chem tanks. I intentionally didn't add the ladder as it will be painted separately.

4. For the vertical towers, I laid out all the pieces and planned out how to paint each piece.

The stairs are one of my favorite parts of this kit. all of the stairs are built the same way so it's safe to do them all at once. A lot of work went into making sure the curve of the can matches the curve of the step.  The rails are laid out to help with workflow.

There is one key piece that you have to remember. It attaches to the last stair to give you a solid base on the table.

5. I primed the can's multiple times with cheap black rattle can primer. Normally I'd use vallejo surface primer but in this case I wanted to make sure it's good and primed. I followed this by painted all the terrain with Minitaire D6-117 Bark. After this is done I followed it with a coating of hairspray for the chipping effect I'll be doing later.

6. To start the green's I airbrushed Minitaire D6-154 Gremlin Green over the whole surface.

7. From only the top I followed that step with Vallejo Game Air 72.729 Sick Green. Pretty Easy there.

8. To get the rust effect I just took a stiff bristle brush dipped in water to brush the paint off. It takes a few seconds for the water to penetrate to the hairspray. Be careful to not rush and push the paint off down to the primer and you can always use more water.

9. To start the metals I masked the grate on the top of the horizontal containers and airbrushed the metals with Minitaire D6-111 Coal followed by D6-105 Dusty Ground.

10. I took the mask off the top of the can and assembled the ladder. There's something super satisfying about putting these on after the airbrush paint.

11. To provide further weathering I used Secret Weapon Dark Earth mixed with water. This is applied around the crevices and anywhere dirt would gather. Once this is dry you use a wet Q-Tip to remove the excess powder.

12. I wanted to keep the green ring around the top of the can. Liquid mask is perfect for this making sure the airbrush paint doesn't cover.

13. The steps and tower nest will be tan to contrast the green's.  Airbrush Vallejo 71.079 Tan Earth. In the future I will pick a darker brown for a stronger contrast.

14. The outer ring I airbrushed Minitare D6-159 Rotten Wood as well as the top of the rails that clamp to the ring.  For the stairs I only airbrushed the middle for a bit more interest.

At this point I also airbrushed the NMM parts including the railing, circular rail, and the pipe holders that go on the side of the can. The color selection is the same as the ladder and grate earlier. 

Assembled! 

15. for the pipes that can go on the outside. They're sized for bendy straws which I don't have. fortunately the void of fun in my life left from the lack of bendy straws left room for 3/16th size plasticard tubes. I cut them to size for the next step. 

16. I painted all the tubes with Vallejo Surface Primer 74.600 White. followed by Game Air 72.710 Bloody Red.

17. Jumping back in time, I primed the hazard signs with Vallejo Surface Primer 74.602 Black.  They're all attached to the adhesive side of a piece of masking tape for ease of painting. Not pictured. I also went over the top of the hazards with white so the yellow would be strong. 

18. For the signs I went over the top first with Vallejo Model Air 71.002 Medium Yellow and the bottoms with Minitaire D6-128 Hazard Orange.

19. To finish up the signs I used Vallejo Model Color 70.941 Burnt Umber for the edges. Followed by picking out the '!' and border with Model Color 70.986 Deck Tan.