So you've got this beautifully painted army, and you're itching to get it onto a table, only to have the aesthetic effect of your attention to detail, dynamic posing, and unified paint scheme ruined because your troops are about to scale a chemistry textbook. Not cool.
Terrain is every bit as important to the miniatures gaming experience as the models themselves, just as the scenery of a play contributes to the theatrical illusion as much as the performance of the cast. Even simple terrain is a bigger improvement over no terrain at all than the difference between good terrain and great terrain. That said, using a few simple techniques, one can achieve terrain that looks great without being crazily expensive or complicated to build.
For instance, the lowly boulder is a staple of the battlefield diorama. Plenty of kits are available, such as rubber molds for plaster of paris, or sculpted styrene pieces that look like the real deal. But that's all gilding the lily as far as I'm concerned; the best and most economical option is as follows:
1) Go outside.
2) Pick up a rock that looks right.
3) Take it inside and wash it off.
Seriously, if you're going to the trouble to pay money or spend time making fake rocks when you live on a planet made of rocks, you're doing it wrong.
Making water or forests are only marginally more complicated. (I'm not going to suggest you pour water on the table, for instance.) The best and easiest method is to take some swatches of felt, such as these, and cut irregular rounded shapes to use as groves or ponds.
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Each of these costs a dollar and something at the local chain craft store; you could probably be even more economical buying felt by the foot at a fabric store, if you intend to use more than just a couple of small bits.
Some terrain, of course, will have to be constructed, but that doesn't mean too much effort, either. At the same craft store, I bought an assorted bag of boxwood pieces, which I'll be using to put together a number of terrain features.
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Most stores sell basswood and balsa right next to one another; balsa is lighter and easier to cut, but is flimsy and prone to break. Basswood has more solidity while still being relatively easy to cut with a good, sharp knife (but be careful and observe all proper safety precautions - I don't want any of you cutting yourselves accidentally!).
Using some of the short square dowels from the bag, cut to the length I wanted, I started about putting together a small wall for the tabletop.
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Because I come from horse farm country, and there are lots of split rail fences, I decided to use the look of such structures as inspiration. Below are the lengths with guiding lines drawn on: this is where each length will be further cut down to make a series of irregular "logs" to be reassembled into a more authentic looking fence.
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Once the bits are cut apart (note the ragged edges on some, done deliberately to create the illusion of once-larger beams broken during combat), rearrange them and use some simple white school glue to build each stack. I put the bottom row on a thin strip of cardstock slightly wider than the dowels, for stability.
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To make things interesting, a couple of the smaller bits with the most uneven edges were added to the top like worn and battered crenellations, incidentally allowing some models to be hidden behind them while others can peek out between them for line of sight.
![]()
Add a stain of your choice in a watered-down color (I used a reddish-brown to simulate mahogany), and you've got a suitable wall. More layers can make a taller wall for bigger models; this one is appropriate for 28mm human-sized models (i.e., my Warmachine infantry).
More fun with basswood and gravel to come!
Terrain is every bit as important to the miniatures gaming experience as the models themselves, just as the scenery of a play contributes to the theatrical illusion as much as the performance of the cast. Even simple terrain is a bigger improvement over no terrain at all than the difference between good terrain and great terrain. That said, using a few simple techniques, one can achieve terrain that looks great without being crazily expensive or complicated to build.
For instance, the lowly boulder is a staple of the battlefield diorama. Plenty of kits are available, such as rubber molds for plaster of paris, or sculpted styrene pieces that look like the real deal. But that's all gilding the lily as far as I'm concerned; the best and most economical option is as follows:
1) Go outside.
2) Pick up a rock that looks right.
3) Take it inside and wash it off.
Seriously, if you're going to the trouble to pay money or spend time making fake rocks when you live on a planet made of rocks, you're doing it wrong.
Making water or forests are only marginally more complicated. (I'm not going to suggest you pour water on the table, for instance.) The best and easiest method is to take some swatches of felt, such as these, and cut irregular rounded shapes to use as groves or ponds.
Each of these costs a dollar and something at the local chain craft store; you could probably be even more economical buying felt by the foot at a fabric store, if you intend to use more than just a couple of small bits.
Some terrain, of course, will have to be constructed, but that doesn't mean too much effort, either. At the same craft store, I bought an assorted bag of boxwood pieces, which I'll be using to put together a number of terrain features.
Most stores sell basswood and balsa right next to one another; balsa is lighter and easier to cut, but is flimsy and prone to break. Basswood has more solidity while still being relatively easy to cut with a good, sharp knife (but be careful and observe all proper safety precautions - I don't want any of you cutting yourselves accidentally!).
Using some of the short square dowels from the bag, cut to the length I wanted, I started about putting together a small wall for the tabletop.
Because I come from horse farm country, and there are lots of split rail fences, I decided to use the look of such structures as inspiration. Below are the lengths with guiding lines drawn on: this is where each length will be further cut down to make a series of irregular "logs" to be reassembled into a more authentic looking fence.
Once the bits are cut apart (note the ragged edges on some, done deliberately to create the illusion of once-larger beams broken during combat), rearrange them and use some simple white school glue to build each stack. I put the bottom row on a thin strip of cardstock slightly wider than the dowels, for stability.
To make things interesting, a couple of the smaller bits with the most uneven edges were added to the top like worn and battered crenellations, incidentally allowing some models to be hidden behind them while others can peek out between them for line of sight.
Add a stain of your choice in a watered-down color (I used a reddish-brown to simulate mahogany), and you've got a suitable wall. More layers can make a taller wall for bigger models; this one is appropriate for 28mm human-sized models (i.e., my Warmachine infantry).
More fun with basswood and gravel to come!
