Scenery and More

If you've got a tabletop, and you want to play a game, you've got to have something to put down. If it's not a vehicle, and it's not a figure, and it's not a building, it's here under the category of "scenery and more".

Rough Ground

Some time back on the Colonial Wars yahoo group, the Major General mentioned finding some long haired wool which he thought would make great undergrowth or long grass areas. Well, after much searching, WalMart provided me with a big skein of Olive wool of just such a type. It's called "Bee Hive Fun Fur" and the label promises 64 yards of said fun fur all for a shockingly low $5 Canadian. I think it makes a quite nice looking "rough terrain" or "thick bush" type of setting and at the price it's hard to go wrong. As the Major General mentioned at the time, it would be smartest to lay this stuff down on a template so as to clearly mark where the edges of the "rough" are.

Hills

Hills are a vital ingredient of any battlefield, but how to make them?

My hills are made from sheets of corrugated cardboard (cut from old moving boxes) glued together into double sheets and then stacked up. The sheets are glued using rubber cement rather than water-based white glue, which would warp the sections as they dry.

To fill in the open edges of the cardboard sections I use a non-water-based wall filling compound that comes in a squeeze tube. Here in Canada it's Polyfilla, but I would imagine that similar stuff exists in Europe, Australia and the US. Please note, however, this isn't just pre-mixed wall filler, which is still water based, but rather a different product. It's more liquid than the tubs of premixed stuff and says on the label "does not shrink". I find this stuff fills in the sides quite nicely, gives a very natural look, and it also takes paint quite well.

The hilltops are then flocked by laying down a layer of rubber cement, which when dry is covered with a few coats of spray matte sealer. I found that spray sealer doesn't cause the cardboard to warp. I'm thinking of trying to seal the hills first then use white glue for the flocking, since it's easier to work with than the rubber cement. I'll have to do more experimentation to see if the spray sealer is enough to really waterproof the cardboard.

Paths

Gravel paths, roads and tracks.

How to Make Gravel Roads and Paths
Using a strip of clear plastic card (I cut mine from hard-pack style packaging) I lay down a 2" wide drizzle of white glue which I then brush around to make a good covering with somewhat uneven edges. It's best if the card is wider than the roadway so that it makes it easier to hold on to while working and you can get a less even edging to the road. Once the glue is ready, I flock it with grey railroad ballast stones. After letting the whole thing dry I then blasted it with a coating of spray matte sealer, which is essential to preven the next step from pulling the stones off the plastic. Once that sealer's dry I coated it with water-thinned white glue to keep everything locked down to the plastic, then after it dried again, gave it another couple shots of spray matte sealer.

Personally, I'm pleased with the result. The clear plastic edgeing lets the groundcloth show through, so the road automatically matches whatever sort of terrain you're on. I've also done some much narrower versions for footpaths. I'm thinking about adding some darker tinting to the thinned glue to get a bit more color in amongst the rocks.

Trees

No one ever has enough trees. Ever.

Brickabrack

Fences, walls, temple figures and other fun stuff.

	Teddy Roosevelt poses by a giant Buddha statue, found in the wilds of China, by way of the DollarRama store at Carlingwood Mall in Ottawa.
	The men of the 99th Lanarkshire, dressed to the 9s, hold a dollar store wall against the Imperial Chinese advance.

Tell me what I'm missing, and how to make it.
Mail me! ehpeaell@yahoo.com

Scenery and More