I keep all my plastic sprues, and have used some from Wargames Factory (Greek Hoplites) to construct some simple rustic tables. Using the scrap from one table, I was able to make a pile of chopped wood, which could go next to a fireplace or as outdoor decor for the exterior of a building.
We’ll need the sprue, some matchsticks, card stock, pva glue and paint:
Flip the sprue upside down. Trace and cut the cardstock so it’s the same size as the sprue:
Line up matchsticks and cut them so they’re a hair longer and wider than the cardstock. I used a razor to cut them. Scissors tend to spread the cut ends too much for my liking:
Put glue on the matches and stick the cardstock on. I kept the matchsticks square by pushing on the ends with the long edges of 2 uncut matchsticks:
Flip it over and set it across 2 matchsticks to dry, so it doesn’t get glued to your work surface. Wipe off any excess glue with your fingers:
While waiting for this to dry, paint your sprue dark brown:
Once the glue is dry, paint the tabletop:
Glue the top on and you’re all done:
Here it is on a tile:
Part 2 – the wood pile…
Take the matchstick scraps from the tabletop and cut them in half. Again, use a razor so you get a clean, square end:
Glue a row of them onto cardstock that has been painted. I did black:
I missed photographing the next couple of steps, sorry. Once the first row is glued down, apply a dark brown wash on 2 or 3 long sides of the logs. This gives the appearance of bark on some sides and bare wood on others, like split logs. Avoid hitting the ends. You can see below that some wash bled into the ends, but from 2-3 feet away it looks fine. Apply a wash after gluing each row of logs as you build up the wood pile. Once done I added a couple more washes on some of the logs, so some are darker than others. Doesn’t really come across in the photo, but in person it has a nice effect.
