Wargaming Terrain

Echo

It's not all model painting -- I thought I'd try to make some interesting terrain to use on a table. So I'll document my escapades here as well as provide some linkage.

Terrain Thralls may be a fugly site, but they have some really nifty examples. For no particular reason at all I think I'll start by making this water tower.

The site is for Warmachine, but there's very little that can't be used for any fantasy/medieval-style game if you ignore the Warmachine signs and symbols.

Elbonian Man

I've been thinking about starting a new board for a snow planet, but I'm having problems coming up with features that I can put on it. Obviously snow covered trees are a must, some light gray industrial buildings would fit as well, but I can't really come up with much else. I want to give it some real character. Lost Planet looks like it would have some inspiration, but I don't know anyone that has it.

Valkun

Some ideas off the top of my head:
Funky ice crystal formations (painting it to look right may be difficult), snow drifts, ice covered lakes and rivers, cave opening with icicles, snow covered corpses, thermal vents (try pulled apart cotton balls?), and perhaps some sort of midden pile near the buildings?

MasterDebater

You can do an amazing amount with cardboard, styrofoam, and chicken wire.

Jolly-olly

When i was young i used to play around a lot with making terrain. when i found out you could use spray paint on styrofoam to make a really cool melty effect, i thought i was the coolest kid ever.

god i miss modeling, and now im going to go broke because i saw this thread and the one in se++.

fuck you, penny arcade. wait no, i love you, come back, i didnt really mean it. baby please...

DJ Eebs

This was the part of wargaming that interested me the most, actually. It doesn't matter how badass your troops look if they are fighting on a sheet.

Echo

So the place I work at?

Turns out they have a bunch of Hirst molds. :winky:

Talonrazor

Man, this is awesome. I kinda want to build some terrain now for my Rezolution models. Urban cityscape would be awesome.

Echo

My main problem is figuring out where the hell I can get proper materials to build terrain with.

Valkun

Unless you mean finding it especially cheaply, wouldn't any hobby shop have what you're looking for? I know mine stocks foam, dowels, sheets of plastic, colored dirt, etc.

Brainleech

I thought the interchangable cave that was built by Dwarven Forge was cool I was going to get one but I saw the cost and the size and second guessed myself.

I was going to play 40k in it as well since playing in the jungle/city ruins gets old after a few years.

It seems I had lost all my terrain when I moved so no poorly lite pictures this time.

Some of the terrain I planned on building was a Ecclesiarchy style town/city
a far better jungle and a better looking chemical factory.

I was going to make these modifiable so I could vary the look of the board

MasterDebater

Echo wrote: »

My main problem is figuring out where the hell I can get proper materials to build terrain with.

Half the shit in the pictures I posted was used packing material or discarded office supplies. That + hobby knife and painting supplies can do a lot.

laughingfuzzball

Valkun wrote: »

Unless you mean finding it especially cheaply, wouldn't any hobby shop have what you're looking for? I know mine stocks foam, dowels, sheets of plastic, colored dirt, etc.

Most hardware stores will have dowels. Most craft stores will have foam and a more limited selection of dowels. Either may have plastic, depending on precisely what you need. If in doubt, go to a craft store. They'll be used to dealing with people who don't have a clue, and if you're a guy this will just be assumed. They'll also have a lot of hobby materials and tools at lower prices than you'll get at a hobby shop. A hobby knife and a craft knife are the same thing, exact the latter costs about half as much.

Always keep in mind, though, that Britain-based companies, like GW, often use different names for things than is common in the US. No US craft store knows what "plasticard" is, for example, but if you ask for "thin sheets of stiff plastic", they should be able to point you in the right direction.

If you're in the American midwest, look for a "Ben Franklin". They're huge and carry just about every kind of material and odd knick-knack you'll need.