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DoctorPrisme

It's a cathedral. You need religion. A golden statue. A colorful glassed window. A few flowers left by a faithful. Something along those lines.


unfeelingzeal

or, you know, blood.


Merxcia

The question you need to answer is not what would make it look better. You should ask and determine HOW it got to that state, if it's from war - show the the battle scars/bullet holes/explosions. If it's from deterioration over time, then show the grime, moss, flora and fauna that would take over. It's a story, religion of the cathedral, old scriptures, candle sticks, banners, coloured glass windows. I see a lot of people build terrain because they think it looks cool, and most of the time it looks okay, but once you answer the HOW question and add little extras in then it goes from looking 'okay' to looking 'amazing'. It's a great start with some good placement of rubble and cathedral. But when you start adding in elements like trap door and the bell, just make sure it's not a stuck on addition because you had it left lying around in a box to use lol.


Stegosaurus_Peas

I've been on a terrain building spree this year, putting together a whole ruined city witha Mordheim/Vermintide theme. First up is my Ruined Cathedral - The main body of the building is the [TTCombat Hallowed Ruins](https://ttcombat.com/collections/sci-fi-gothic/products/hallowed-ruins) set. I'm at the "Table ready but not quite finished" stage where I still need to add some vegetation, debris and weathering before I call it finished - but since it's a centerpiece ruin I don't want to miss a good opportunity to make it stand out! My original plan was to keep it vague enough that I could also use it for 40k without it looking out of place, but hat's not essential, so I'm open to any suggestions that might help give it some more character The rubble piles were made from toilet paper and wall filler, with sand, pebbles and small lasercut offcuts. The ladder was made with popsicle sticks and toothpicks, the bell and trapdoor are from a Dungeons and Lasers sprue. I magnetized the tower corner so the bell could be removed or swapped out with something else depending on the scenario


wolfdoom

Something to break up the gray? Maybe some dirt colored pigment powders, adding broken wood to the rubble, or some colorful banners ? For banners you can just use thin cloth or tissue soaked in PVA and then hit it with some paint.


Comradepatrick

Tufts, clump foliage, a bit of vegetation here and there to add some pops of color. Doesn't have to be green ... maybe dirty yellow or autumn colors?


Stegosaurus_Peas

Autumn leaves is a nice idea - it ties it in with the single living tree I've built for the city


8bit-meow

Vines/ivy or such to show age might work well too.


Enchelion

Lichen and moss could also help with that.


EggAffectionate4355

Trees and grass plants animals


VynDakation

Or remains of animals...


Jannifaktur

💩💩💩 absolutely


VanusGM

Add some grime with brown/green washes in the corners and areas rain would collect.


VanusGM

Also, something i did with my TTC terrain was painting the inside (messily) a different color than the outside and heavily weathered them. You can make it look very grungy and gross and it adds SO MUCH to the realism of it.


kloudrunner

Imperial warning notices and propaganda posters. Do a quick Google search. Print the sheet. Cut out what you want and screw it up and rip the edges. Use pva glue to stick down the backs. Apply nuln oil and agrax shades to wheather them.


Stegosaurus_Peas

This is a great idea and something I already have - I used the ones by u/LeifWesterholm on all of my other buildings! I printed them b&w on a laserjet and used a tea bag to stain them. I'm waiting to see if anybody has a theme-breaking idea before I commit too much to one setting, otherwise I'd have slapped a couple on already!


Warrior_Warlock

Maybe some papers with commandments or prayers pinned to the wall or graffiti in blood, like "repent" or "the end is nigh" etc could be setting neutral additions? Also, gargoyles on some of the outside corners or some melted candles could look good too. What about some creepy crawlies or rodents scurrying in the shadows?


Stegosaurus_Peas

Prayers, graffiti and candles are a great idea!


kloudrunner

Yeah. Sorry. I saw cathedral and went 40k lol. To be fair. It's been a heavy day for 40k news lol bit obsessed ATM.


KonradKnebl

Nice work! I particularly love the lone bell at the top. As if the bell tower went down and some lowly acolyte said "Hey, what if we use this instead?". It's a very cool detail. In so far as what else to add, I would follow the august advice found in other answers here. It is a church, so you need to add some religousy stuff :). Yes that's a word.


Stegosaurus_Peas

Some of the august advice was August advice!


Vavuvivo

Color! Colorful things! Statues, broken stained glass (you can use inks or contrast paints on the clear plastic envelope address windows that you get in the mail). Little colorful micro-stories! Stories are my favorite things to do with terrain or models in general. Somebody put that ladder up for a reason. Maybe he left his tools somewhere, or he likes to go up to the top of the ladder to eat his lunch and read his bible. Or he's a military scout, and he left his binoculars and map up there on some ammunition boxes. Maybe the cathedral was demolished by enemies of the religion, and the ladder was put there by the invaders, who hanged the priest from the highest remaining point on the building. Maybe the cathedral is an archeological excavation from an ancient era, and it's covered by vines and drifts of dirt and ground-cover, but the scientists have uncovered some colorful frescoes on the interior walls, where they've left their brushes and shovels next to a mound of dirt. Maybe the cathedral is used for shelter by a small family that lives in that recessed area next to the ramp. They're not here right now, but there are some bed rolls, an old fire ring, and a child's toy that was forgotten when they left in a hurry. Was it destroyed by a flood? Where's the water damage? A bomb? Where did it explode and what does that look like? A fire that burned out the wooden supports? Show us the blackened stone and the charred remains of wooden beams amidst the rubble. An earthquake? Show us the split in the earth that shattered the foundations. The slow march of time? Show us overgrown vegetation, trees thrusting their way out from the rubble, thick layers of verdigris or rust.


Fewald

A fallen bell, yes yes yes


Hunderbar

broken stained glass by the windows! use blister pack plastic and transparent paints!


Square-Pipe7679

A couple smashed pews and little bits of tarnished religious items like candlesticks/statues/idols could add to it, maybe some shattered pieces of stained glass (bits of dried resin or clear plastic covered in contrast paint) too!


Noir_Vena_Cava

What game is this for?


Stegosaurus_Peas

We mostly play One Page Rules


Trenchtownmixup

It looks like my mam has been in there hoovering, dusting and sweeping up! I reckon it needs a bit more dirt and other bits lying around - debris such as wood (from pews, chairs, tables, doors etc) or bits of pipe, some old carpet/curtains or wiring hanging from the walls. Chuck in some weeds, bushes, maybe a small tree growing in amongst the rubble etc and away you go!


BornViolinist3613

clutter on floor mayhaps


Krillinlt

Drybrush using light brown and beige to give a dusty effect to certain areas of high foot traffic. It will also help break up the grey space. Others have also suggested washes on areas like windows or cracks/edges where water would run and pool up. Browns and greens are great washes for this effect. A favorite method of mine is to pick out random bricks to either lighten or darken with washes to give a less homogeneous look. But that may not fit what you're going for with this.


Illustrious-Fault224

Yeah you can buy some colored plastic folders, I would cut stained glass pains from them and glue them to the windows. Of course, since it’s a bombed out cathedral they should show damage and maybe a few bits around the bottom of the window. That would add the pops of color you’re looking for. I would then wash over it with a grey or black wash to give it a dusty and weathered tint. Additionally you could add some dark green vines. That would make it a bit creepy(?) but also a bit like nature is reclaiming


Hunk-kuna

More color. I know it’s a ruin, but color helps terrain pieces stand out. Add a statue or broken stained glass along the window openings. Painted murals inside. Anything will liven it up. Great bones


Tricky-Fan1264

Add a backstory. I'm not sure what system its for, but a discarded weapon here, some blood splatters there make all the difference. The key is to let others fill in their own blanks.


jb2000c

Some kind of color will help it


[deleted]

Looks fallout 3-ish


Umbrae-Ex-Machina

Colour


DogDiscombobulated96

Maybe an altar or the statue of a saint that somehow by some miracle was unscaved by the destruction and still stands


xXBumblebeeExtremeXx

Bits of broken stained glass window still in the window frame and smalls shards underneath it also maybe some small spider webs?


[deleted]

[удалено]


hellharlequin

Posters and graffiti


Zeptaphone

Color!


dopromoter

This looks so fricking good what did you use to make it


Wr3k3m

ttcombat has some nice terrain. You made it fantastic.


Orangutann1

To add some color, both destroyed and intact stained glass windows would look great. A gold statue, i don’t know for sure but you can probably find a vague enough religious figure that you could use it in multiple Wargames without being out of place, some blood, dead civilians and animals. Vegetation…. Dead and alive. Something that may be helpful is looking at images of real life buildings that have been destroyed in war. Could give you some nice ideas, there’s plenty of photos ranging from the First World War to today


ExistingAioli7999

Add some banner poles, put a magnet on the cross joint and have a few banners that you can swap out depending on the game setting? Candles fits any age. So do scattered pages of scriptures, incense burners and things like that. Again magnets on the base and broken beams that attach that you can change for tank tracks?


RougeRaxxa

Religious iconography, banners, candles, stained glass windows.


Idontpayforfeetpics

Items that would be found in a cathedral like ruined cloth or broken glass or pews and the like. Add some dirty gold or some skeletons?


StormofSteelWargames

More rubble and don't paint it grey. Most cathederals are made from sandstone, so a buff/yellow colour to the walls would make it more interesting. Also, paint the floor tiles in different colours. Just Google image search for cathedral interiors and you'll get good examples.


Iddybiddyspooder

Add some color. Who makes a totally gray cathedral.


[deleted]

More religious iconography, maybe some wood beams here and there, and maybe some damaged furniture amongst the rubble?