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Terrain Building - Part 2
Designing And Building Terrain The Jersey Way
Whilst the other members of our group were running our new participation game Operation Dumbo at SELWG 2005 I was able to meet many of the attending gamers and discuss and answer numerous questions on the building of the terrain and buildings.
Although the general methods are covered in the main write-up this additional article is to expand on and hopefully explain in more detail the points most often asked. One point I should have clarified in the original article is that in order to seal the cut polystyrene surface on the more detailed terrains I use a thin coat of Tetrion or similar plaster finish before applying the masonry paint.
Having arrived at the venue the first and main job for all of us is to assemble the terrain. Once the various sections have been placed in the correct order we always check that the terrain is sitting as level as possible on the tables provided. Sometimes uneven table heights, particularly at joints, will require moving the terrain to accommodate this and in the worst cases may require packing to level the sections. Having spent a lot of time and effort when making the terrain to ensure that sections join together seamlessly you do not want your hard work ruined by uneven tables. To prevent the sections from being moved by enthusiastic players we strap these together with brown parcel tape around their perimeter. Next we set to work to seal all the joints with plasticine of a suitable colour to blend with the general background. Once this is completed we paint the joints with the masonry paint used on the general background and this is followed immediately by covering this with a suitable scatter to blend this into the surroundings. Initially this stands out but will quickly dry and disappear into the general layout.
Additional landscape features such as trees, buildings etc can now be added to finish the scene setting. Always remember to scatter additional ground cover around these features to blend them in. How many times do you see in magazines great looking terrain spoilt by features being simply placed on the surface and not blended in.
The most satisfying moments at a show is to be told by a member of the public that they thought that the whole terrain was one piece.
Lots of interest during the day was shown in the jungle and how this was created. Having an avid gardener as a wife I am often taken to gardens, garden centres etc. both on Jersey and any time we are away on holiday. The one high spot of these visits is that I have discovered that almost on all occasions the associated shop has a collection of dried and artificial flowers. Whilst these are designed to be displayed in vases and have long stems by careful selection many of these are very suitable for wargame use.
Sections of these plants can be broken down into smaller pieces suitable to form trees, bushes, crops and general planting. Mixed with manufactured ground cover and foliage materials you can produce any type of landscape you require and to the scale that matches your figures. We have quite recently purchased some palm trees to set off the village area but there are also some home made palm trees placed in the jungle. The palm leaves were made simply by sticking two pieces of fairly stiff paper either side of a wire and painting these before cutting them into fronds. Five or six of these are then wired to a suitable twig to form the basic tree. Coat the wires with Tetrion and paint, bend the leaves to shape, and they are ready to plant.
Although we all have amongst our collections various buildings we have purchased from many of the excellent companies manufacturing these we have always found that nothing beats producing your own to add something special to your game. For past show games we have not only been able to build specific buildings, not readily available, for the scenario but to also customise these to include some local characteristic. For the latest Vietnam scenario I made several typical thatched houses on stilts which were based on those shown in the stills from the film.
The materials that I gathered together to make the huts with consisted of white card, wooden skewers, spills, Milliput, PVA craft glue and paints. For those of you who are not familiar with spills these are thin slips of wood which are used for pipe lighting and are obtained in a specialist pipe dealer tobacconists. The wooden skewers I buy are the sort readily available for kebabs etc and can be found in your local Chinese or kitchen utensils shops.
Having made the floor and the four walls out of card, with windows and door openings cut out, these were glued together and pieces cut from the skewers were used to both reinforce the corner junctions and provide the stilts supporting the hut. Sections cut from the spills were glued on to the walls to represent the boarding of the real huts. A length of skewer was then fixed across the gable ends as a ridge for part of the roof construction. The thatched roof was made by laying several strips of Milliput on to a card background and scratching the surface to get a reeded effect before letting it dry. Whilst the roof dried I painted the inside of the building black and gave the boarding a dark wash to bring out the wood grain and give a weathered appearance. The two roof sides were then glued to the tops of the walls and the ridge and everything was left to dry. Once the building had set strips of Milliput was laid along the ridge over the junction of the roofs and under the edges of the roof on all four sides. This additional "thatching" thickens the roof to give the true appearance of a real thatched roof. The roof was then painted and the hut touched up and generally completed ready for putting on the terrain.
So on show day with the terrain sections dressed in, foliage planted, buildings placed everything is ready for the game to be presented to the public. To complete the total presentation the figures, character sheets, playing aids, handouts etc and our T-shirts have been prepared especially for the day by the other members of the group.
A final word on SELWG 2005. Throughout the day I met and talked with many enthusiastic and interesting gamers on a wide range of topics who had not only travelled from various parts of the UK but had also come from Belgium and Holland.
It is nice to know that not only is wargaming alive and well but gamers are prepared to travel to great shows wherever they are.