So those are my top tips folks, what are yours?

Some good tips and here are a few from years of running a MDF terrain business. 1 - switch to a thick clear glue like Aleen's tacky glue gel. It works better than standard PVA. It dries in stages and has a low water content. It is sticky so parts stay attached but it dries slower so you can pull parts apart if needed for up to an hour after they are assembles without any problems. It also has a bit of a gap filling property. 2 - Instead of sealing with paint, use a good wood water sealant. Rub on polyurethane is great. It seals the cut edges so they don't stand out. Best of all it is cheap and can be brushed or sprayed on. A little in a single action airbrush works wonders. 3 - Bet 123 blocks instead of Lego blocks. They are metal and heavier so you can used them yo remove warps and weight down pieces as the glue dries. They also are magnetic so it is easy to use magnets to turn them into clamping surfaces if needed. 4 - Seal both sides of the material even if not painting. It will cut down on warping and swelling. 5 - Sawdust and glue make the best joint filler. It always sticks and doesn't chip or pop off later like some wood putties.

Laser MDF Stonework can be enhanced - by going over the laser-lines with a pyrography pen or soldering iron (this will amaze you) - by glueing on graybeard stones to make some stones pop out and cut others out to make it look more 3D.

I finished my first MDF kit two months ago. It was a gift. I found it a stress free build as all the pieces fit and I did not have to modify anything. You gave some great tips that I will use on my next build.

Dry fit before priming and painting. When the plain wood is hard to assemble you need to file some things down. Doing that with painted MDF is a PITA.

Mel - Awesome video!

Fill un-slightly joints with a putty. Rendering some buildings (desert, Normandy, etc) with plaster, grout, etc will enhance the appearance greatly.

I don't think I have any tips to add, but this is a great video. I really, really like the magnet and lego trick. I'll be using that in the future. Saves buying specific angle magnety clamp things.

Ordered an mdf kit yesterday...boom 3 year old mdf tips from the pro himself...gotta love youtube algorithm

Companies that make MDF kits need to link this video on their sites :D

Really solid suggestions and tips. Mine: More than just test fitting, I'd recommend a complete test build (where possible). There are often pieces that are almost right but that are intended for some other place in the model. If you think you know what's going on but you're 1/8" off, your life will be less fun. Make sure you know exactly which piece is intended to go where before you start gluing.

Rustoleum Filler Primer spray paint is what works best for me. Usually a light initial coat followed by a light secondary coat is all it takes.

A lot of common sense tips (and a few REALLY clever ones) that, for some reason, I overlooked! Terrific video and terrific examples. Thanks!

Oh Mel, Mate: you really really are a wonderful man and a scenery genius - THANK YOU!

My Tip, lightly sand the edges before to paint/prime. Just like plastic kits and models you need to remember to clean up the points where the piece was connected to the sprue. A light sand will not only even out those points but will allow for the primer to stick better to the MDF. Also you can do this during the dry fit stage to help remove any leveling issues. If you're like me and wait to prime similar pieces all at once. take the time to use wood filler (sandable/paintable) to remove any gaps or holes.

I learn quite a bit from this video. I am new to the MDF buildings and this will save me from some mistakes. Thank you

Great helpful tips! I normally build al things from scratch, but I will try mdf buildings in the near future.

Snagging this for future projects. Thanks Mel!

Mel. I love your imaginative use of LEGO. I've already made a miniature try square for some of my work and a corner block- but the addition of magnets is brilliant!

Excellent video Mel, very useful and informative. Well done on the production side too, looking pretty slick👍

I've had my first MDF kit staining around for literally years before finding this video. Thanks!

Great tips mate, changed my approach to MDF

Great video! Thanks Mel!

MDF dust particles are carcinogenic. Use a dust mask when cutting or sanding. It also swells up terribly when left to absorb water, so keep it in mind when storing in a garden shed etc ;)

Mel, my son thinks your officially a genius! I agree.

I tend to stipple on paint quite thick on building walls, it creates a nice texture on otherwise super smooth MDF.

Great tips Mel, as usual. Thank you very much.

As always Mel. You're a life saver.

Wow! Thanks! Great video. I've got some 4 ground kits to build but I was hesitant to get started. Now I know why. This was the videos that I DIDN'T know I was looking for! Lol.

This will help a lot. Thanks for sharing :)

Fantastic, production value has really gone up ! Thanks !

Great video! Thank you heaps!

Great advice! Thank you!

Great as always, ta.

The magnets for clamping idea was brilliant. Thanks!!!

Brilliant video pal

Love the magnet idea. I use squared steel blocks to keep things all lined up. Magnets on the interior of the joints would work well to hold fiddly bits. Nice tip mate, thanx.

Brilliant. Just briliant.

Use painters blue tape to secure your right angle ruler to cutting pad/board

Awesome Mel, thank you so much!

Great tips, thanks so much.

You are simply the best wargaming tutorial maker there is.

You've cut down on saying "Yea" so much, thank you!!! Solid tips!

That magnet, lego tip is brilliant. Will have to use that.

These will be useful, my first mdf kit is coming in, a scifi building by the broken token

Nice! My buddy and I are getting ready to laser out our own Necromunda terrain and its the first either of us will be working with MDF.

I also use clothes pegs to hold piece's together whilst the glue is drying. On brick work buildings I paint red and shade up, then run a white or off white chalk all over it. This sticks in the cracks to give the white cement look without the tricky painting. Just wipe of the excess and varnish.

Amazing vid! Thanks for sharing!

very useful, especially since i´m about to play around with MDF buildings for the first time.

Great tips, wish I'd watched this before. A really damp winter has caused unpainted MDF buildings in my garage to go mouldy so am going to have to do all the hard work now cleaning, drying and then painting and sealing them. Doh.

Best tips i have seen

Great tips Mel

Tip. Keep a file on hand. I painted all my pieces before assembling and some of the slots swelled up but with a small hobby file I was able to trim them down. Also keep your pieces of MDF sprue and scrap. All those tiny MDF bits pooped out your terrain pieces make excellent bricks and rubble and MDF sprue can be cut and used as smaller cover pieces like wall segment and beams/rafters

That Lego tip is brilliant!

Thank you!

Great Tips Mel!

Tip 8!!! Magnet use is brilliant!

Great tips and the magnets and magnets and Lego is something I will be using next.

this was awesome thanks heaps man

I don’t punch out my pieces. I use an xacto knife to cut them out. I find that works better, especially with thin materials.

thank you for the tips

You are indeed the Terrain Tutor!

the mdf can look very flat, so use a bit of time adding textures to the building. This can be thinned filler, fine sand or even a stippled paintjob. A nice weathering works wonders. Try the hairspray technique of the armor modellers to create worn paint on your walls and windowpanes. Quick and easy. White pigment looks like mortar. Brown pigment looks like dirt and dust. Black pigment looks like soot or dirt. Terrain is like miniatures and can be zenithally primed to good effect. This works great with washes or thin airbrush coats. Think of the building as a miniature and make sure to give it base, shade and highlight coat. A little goes a long way, so dont overdo it.

Great video!

Great tips! I have an MDF kit to assemble.

Tip1 : fill your tab gaps. Makes it look much nicer. Tip 2. Use filler and fine sand where the walls are meant to be concrete/mud/clay and rattle. Tip 3. Use coffee stirrers/matchsticks for some wooden beams where applicable. Tip 4. Texture the roof with card or foam (tiles for where ever is relevant.)

Great clip. TY

Great tips, thanks a lot. Do you have any tip for making gaardens for town houses?

That Lego corner clamp is a brilliant idea,

Hah! Minutes after I order an MDF kit... unbelievable.

thanks for the magnet tip...

I had very good results on smoke damaging brickwork by rubbing powder from charcoal briquets onto it with my finger. Practice first to see just how damp your fingers should be to hold the powder and smear it.

My top tip for painting mdf is to watch your channel m8!

good tips

Hey Mel, I'm definitly watching this again tonight. As of yesterday I jumped into the world of Test of Honour too and TT-Combat has some really nice Japanese terrain. I hope to have the game somewhere next month. BANZAI!!!!! 😂 Patrick.

Thank you, I​ just got an MDF kit and I had no idea what to do.

For fiddly bits or things you need to instantly bond use mitre mate (or any superglue/ activator combo

Nice tips.

For those cheaper mdf models you can get on eBay, try stippling on thinned filler to not only seal the mdf but also add a great texture for brick/sandstone/granite type Finnish. Great vid Mel.

Just in time for my very first 4Ground kit.

“Dad, there’s some pieces missing from my Lego set. Have you seen them?” Me: “Ermmm....”.

This gets a like! Thank you!

Love the videos Mel, What kit was that you put together in the video? Looking to make a japanese style map for my malifaux ten thunders.

I clean my mdf with my airbrush, just run an empty cup and blow air to get rid of ash dust.

ive found that if you wanna use the inside of some of the sarissa buildings for tabletop you can round off the tabs that lock the stories together. that way when your playing and a character enters a building you just need to lift and set aside the upper floors.

Hi Mel ... What was the product wash you used,,, as ever great respect for a great "go to" channel.

Hiya Mel, Great Tips! I really like the trees with fruit, in the stills section. Any chance of a tutorial? Kind Regards Johnny

Hi there, great video as usual - I've watched a few of them now as I'm about to start building a board for the Batman minis game. One thing I've seen mentioned a few times in other places is magnetising doors but I can't seem to find any tips on doing this... any ideas? :)

Not just for MDF kits but, don't be afraid to buy similar sets and mix and match parts of them. This helps make a generic model look a little more personal. A good example would be the flames of war series buildings... Not to say they're bad. They just don't have anything special about them after you've seen them a few hundred times.

mine is be a bit gentle with the kit. you don't want to snap anything while you are building it.

Shame, had this been a week earlier I would have been golden. Putting together the Proxxon kits from shifting lands. Magnets! Magnets *SMH*

My top tip: If a spray adhesive says that it'dries clear' make sure it does before you spray and flock all of your trees with it. Now I have to tell people my jungle board is infested with giant psychic spiders...

What kind of magnets would you recommend for clamping?

Hi Mel, thanks for the tips - these are things i just didn't think about. Do you know a good way to inscribe bricks and mortar to a flat surfaced mdf building? A flat surface can make an otherwise good kit look so bland. Thanks.

So if I understand this correctly: I can use an acrylic rattle can primer on a MDF piece and the paint will not be as socked up, as if I've done it with a "normal" acrylic paint (from the tube or a bottle)?

Hi Mel, thanks for these tips. I have a question for you: if we paint the pieces separately, will the PVA glue work fine over paint? I thought PVA adheres to wood, not to paint... so, in that case, should I sand the paint a bit where the glue is going to be applied or what? Cheers!

Was wondering if you need to seal mdf when using filler or acrylic caulk when using mdf for miniature basis?

Have you used GW rattle can primer and does it work?

I always though these kit where click and play kind of build. I'm searching more for something like that. Or pop up terrain like i have going on a kickstarter. Any leads or tips on more of those ?

MDF is very customisable. You can cut it with a big craft knife and rough up the edges for easy ruins. I heavily customised this windmill to make it unique: www.richbuilds.com/articles/fantasy-terrain-ruined-mill/