Wargaming Terrain guide
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Why terrain is important
Terrain will make the battlefield come alive with difficulties and decorations. You can even use a simple cup in place for a tree to give the board more depth or a book for a hill. This article will guide you into what Terrain is, what you can use, and how to build your own.
The simple answer to the first question, what is the terrain? The role of terrain in creating a realistic battlefield and enhancing gameplay. The terrain is used to give your soldiers cover or stump your opponent’s advance. Easy right? That is wrong; each game has different rules for its terrain. So, it is recommended to read and study those rules before playing the game.
Table of Contents
Getting Started with Terrain Building
Terrain
Safety tips for using crafting tools.
Basic techniques for constructing simple terrain pieces.
Designing a Themed Battlefield
Disclaimer
What you read is information that comes from either the writer’s experience or their research. We do not call ourselves experts and if you wish to learn more on this topic we highly recommend it.
Material List
Designing a Themed Battlefield
Getting Started with Terrain Building
Types of terrain commonly used in wargaming.
- Natural Terrain: Hills, forests, rivers, lakes, and other natural elements.
- Urban Terrain: Buildings, streets, ruins, and other cityscapes.
- Fortifications and Defensive Structures: Walls, bunkers, trenches, etc.
- Sci-Fi Terrain: Alien landscapes, space-themed structures, and futuristic elements.
These are the few basic terrains that will get you started in creating your collection.
Terrain Building
Materials for building terrain are dependent on what you are creating. Most of the materials you will need can be found at any local hardware store. We will try to provide links to the materials for your to consider.
Safety tips for using crafting tools.
- For creating any large stone structures or hills first you will need Insulation Foam, for a lot of terrains this is a common material for wargamers. It is easy to get your hands on and to craft with. Next is a box knife, blades, and some sandpaper which all can be found at a hardware store. Lastly is black spray paint and grey craft paint including some cheap paint brushes.
- Trees and grass require a little more special materials. You can find high-quality materials at the Army Painter website, they have a nice collection of materials. But in the end, fake grass is all the same. You will need Elmer Glue to make the grass flacks stick to your bases. Trees can be made but they come with their difficulties, so buying them pre-made is recommended. We will give you a link to all kinds of fake grass and trees. If you find yourself unable to buy these materials it is highly recommended to go out in nature and find sticks or stones to use for your bases.
- Buildings or Urban terrain will also be hard to give exact directions. It depends on what period of buildings you want and what they look like. For medieval buildings, you might cut a foam box and then start to glue wood sticks for siding. Or if modern you can carve and craft the foam to look like concrete bricks. It is probably best to find reference images online. If you don’t want to use your hands and time you can always 3d print the buildings. The benefit is that you get high-quality terrain, but the downside is spending that money on the machine itself.
It’s important to protect yourself when dealing with any crafting materials. Wear a mask when painting because of the fumes, be careful when handling a knife, and do not cut toward yourself. Wear gloves to not harm your hands when gluing. Ect. A lot of the safety guides are common sense, if you think it might be harmful to breathe it in, then most likely it is.
- Cloths or table blankets are another key way to give depth to your war game. They are not required but will add a second layer to the game. You can make your own or spend some cash and buy a few offline. If you make one keep in mind the table and decipher the width and length, that way you know how much materials you need. Next, go to your local Walmart or craft store and find some fabric. Doesn’t matter what fabric, but just make sure it’s not super nice material. After that, you lightly spray paint the fabric, and boom! You have a mate. There are more steps you can make but that is the basics.
Basic techniques for constructing simple terrain pieces.
Foam cutting. As mentioned before using a box knife to cut foam you will need to change the blade frequently, being the foam dulls the blade quickly. When using Insulation foam you will use sandpaper to round the hard cut edges.
Bases. When creating bases for buildings or trees you can almost use anything. Some use cut foam others use wood. But the goal is to have something flat, or a slight hill, that is stiff. Now the Elmet Glue comes in. You will smear the glue covering the base and sprinkle the fake grass. Let the glue dry, then knock off the loose grass.
Painting. Use spray paint as the base of the terrain, then take some craft paint for the details. You can do a dry brush on the terrain to give it a realistic worn look.
To dry the brush use the makeup brush or old brush dip it in water then use a paper towel to dry it mostly. After finding a lighter paint than the surface you are painting on dip the brush in it. Take the brush and dab it on the paper towel until there is very light paint
Designing a Themed Battlefield
All games have different rules and in different eras. Unlike army building, terrain is universal, the only difference is the size. If you are a Warhammer player then you will focus on making ruined buildings or alien terrain. If you play historic wargames then you would have a lot of green and wood buildings or a small town with a road.
If you want to create a historic or fantasy battle then you will need to research it some. Depending on how hardcore you are, you can easily pick some terrain and a mate to use. If you play a game that requires an objective you can use any terrain for it or use a simple token.
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