A Productive Evening

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Treg92

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Hey everyone, I am just a newbie, but i decided to build a decent sized tank for jungle who has outgrown his current one, and thaught i would share the progress with you, and ask for any advice you may have or helpful hints.

Anyway, i am an apprentice carpenter so by the time i get home from work it is virtually dark. I started work at about 7ish, and made the basic outside of the enclosure. it is 900mm wide by 1250mm high by 550 deep. i used just some left over particle board to build the top and sides, and a flooring sheet for the bottom (they tend to cope with moisture a lot better than standard particle board). as i said i am using leftover timber, as i am a lowly paid apprentice.
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once the basic carcass was built, i but a back on. i actually used Masonite sheeting to keep the weight down, but am interested to see what happens in time to the foam background, as the Masonite has a fair bit of movement in it. one the backing was secured, it was time for the fun stuff to begin.

growing up i was a bit of a nerdy kid and was into that whole warhammer model stuff so i have decided to do a fake background, included in this background is a basking shelf up high. i am running a vertical thermal gradient rather than a horizontal as the cage is tall and narrow, as it has to fit in my room so my mum doesn't freak. anyway after a couple of hours with a hotwire cutter, a knife, a heatgun, expanda foam and three tubes of liquid nails, it was finished (leaving a considerable mess). It is a bit gappy, but a few layers of grout and texture paint hide a multitude of sins (from Experience). i have brought it in overnite and put it near the fire to dry (it is like 5 degrees outside), so hopefully i can start to grout tomorrow nite.
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for heating, i have been reading a lot about DIY heat panels and thought that one of them on a thermostat would work well. i am also thinking of glass sliding doors on the front, need to get a price from a glazier tho.

anyway, i thought it was a productive evening
comments and constructive criticism are welcome (remember, this is a first attempt)
cheers
Josh
 

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Looks good mate just remember where you are putting it and make sure it will fit through your doorway. I have made that mistake but only once lol.
 
Looks good mate just remember where you are putting it and make sure it will fit through your doorway. I have made that mistake but only once lol.
hey, as long as you learnt, i double checked before i started building :p

Very Productive evening indeed*claps hands* great to see you applying your chosen trade too
thanks heaps, it is useful having some experience when doing this kind of thing
 
hey, as long as you learnt, i double checked before i started building :p


thanks heaps, it is useful having some experience when doing this kind of thing

Cool well good luck.
 
Great job! With the glass watch out for flex or your mate will escape through the gap in between the two panes of glass, make sure all the timber is either covered in foam or a sealer or paint to stop urine soaking into the timber...

I cant wait to see the end result if you use to do wargame terrains, it should be impressive :lol:
 
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cheers mate, i do hope it does look good

i am pretty stoked atm, i am at tafe this week doing theory, but snuck off campus at lunchtime and went to........BUNNINGS (angelic chior with trumpets playing in the background)

so i have all the gear i need to start grouting tonight, and this means that after a few layers, i can start PAINTING (yay)
 
LOL, it doesn't seem to matter how much you have in the 'supply pile' you always have to go to bunnings for something !

Are you actually using grout, or are you just being generic ? Acrylic render works well, sets harder than grout and is easier to work with than cement.
 
bunnings is totally awesome, it is so true, you can never go there and not buy something

i am actally using grout, but acrylic render may be a good option for next time, cheers for the input.
it has been a few years since warhammer so i am a bit rusty, but am hoping for the best
 
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Oddly enough i've got to call into Bunnings on the way home for additional supplies, :lol:
i'm about to try a bit of 'modelling' painting technique on my current project, not something i've tried before so it will be interesting. all my previous work has been just fake rock and quite easy to high/lowlight this one will be a bit more detailed and staying under wraps until i've finished it but i'm taking pics along the way so there will be a thread shortly, and the next one is already in the planning stage
 
Oddly enough i've got to call into Bunnings on the way home for additional supplies, :lol:
i'm about to try a bit of 'modelling' painting technique on my current project, not something i've tried before so it will be interesting. all my previous work has been just fake rock and quite easy to high/lowlight this one will be a bit more detailed and staying under wraps until i've finished it but i'm taking pics along the way so there will be a thread shortly, and the next one is already in the planning stage

Im excited, i cant wait to see what you r working on. im busily working to but am starting to think i have my ambitions mixed up with my capabilities LMAO
 
LOL, I think most of us get our ambitions and capabilities confused at some stage during our "productions"

Treg, don't forget to add a bonding agent (pva glue will do) to at least the first coat of grout to help it bond to the foam
 
Treg, don't forget to add a bonding agent (pva glue will do) to at least the first coat of grout to help it bond to the foam
i was just about to mix it up and had totally forgotten about that!!!!! thanks for the lifesave
 
Let me guess, another trip to bunnies. I'll be in the shed in about an hour or so, so you'll have some 'company' :)
 
in the shed!!!!! Hell, that is going to be cold, i am inside tonight on my parents expensive rug, perfect place for grouting
 
I'm tough, I've worn enough render I couldn't toughen up anymore if I tried!
You obviously enjoy living dangerously doing it on the parentals rug ROFL
 
You obviously enjoy living dangerously doing it on the parentals rug ROFL
true, true, but it is near the fire, this way it will actually dry, and not freeze like it would if it were outside.
i was using some expanda foam lastnite, and i sprayed it on, and it didn't expand, thats how cold it was. when i brought it inside near the heat it slowely started to expand

anyway, just did my first grout coat, i did a very runny one with a high pva content, so....
1. It would provide a nice undercoating for the next few thick grout layers
2. it would run down all those little gaps and cracks, which could save me hours down the track when it comes to painting.


It looks a bit shabby at the moment, but a few thick coats of grout should get rid if those rough edges and make it look like a more Natural.

once i have finished grouting, a coat of texture paint or two, just to get that really fine detail, so later when i stain and drybrush it, it should hopefully come out looking really good (fingers crossed for this)

at the end of the day, if it does look crap, a few big trailing vines should hide most of it :p
 

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You're off to a great start by the look of it. It was a nice brisk 4c out in the shed. I hate waiting for things to dry.... It's so time consuming LOL.
tip for the expanda foam - a light mist from a spray bottle makes it take off, I normally give mine 3 days to settle before I coat it, but that's in the shed with no heating !
 
Too cold for outside work tonight, guys! The rottie glares balefully at us whenever we try to get near 'her' fireplace. We are only tolerated because we are refilling it....

Treg - you are going to put in a litter guard in front when you finish the background, right? A bit of spare wood trim and aluminium flyscreen or mouse wire will make a good guard for a homemade heat panel if you want to use a heat cord to make one. It's definitely the cheapest way to go and dead easy, too. Looks like you are having good fun. Keep going with the photos!
 
too cold!!! you can say that again. i just went out to wash my brushes, and almost froze solid.

deffinately putting a litter guard at the front, i made that mistake on my first enclosure and hinged the door, so every time i open the door, newspaper pellets go everywhere.
cheers for the tip on a guard, have been thinking up ways of making one, but i think you just answered the question
 
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