Category Archives: terrain

Blitzkrieg Commander Terrain, river WIPs

The latest addition to my 1/72 Blitzkrieg Commander terrain project, the bridge.  With this and two basic river tiles finished, I’ll have the whole river done soon.  Stay tuned.

Blitzkrieg Commander, terrain WIPs

I’ve slowly been assembling a modular 1/72 scale terrain board for my groups Blitzkrieg Commander games.  Due to the types of tables available to us, we normally play on a 120cm x 200cm surface.  The terrain board I’m building will fill the center of this area, and be comprised of a variety of 20cm x20cm MDF boards, including a railroad (WIPs below), a river, farm plots, roads, and a village.  The board, once complete, will fill an area 120cm x 120 cm.  The remaining 40cm at either long end of the table will be empty and reserved for deployment space, rulebooks, dice, etc.

There’s still a ways to go with the railroad, but it’s getting there.

The hedges, in combination with stone and wood fences, will surround the 20cm x 20cm plots of farmland.  To make them, I cut a heavy-duty scouring pads into strips, spray with Mr. Hobby Dark Green, apply white glue liberally with a brush, and add flock.  I’ll also apply a mix of water and white glue with an atomizer bottle once complete to encourage the flock to stay put.

You can see some of the raw materials for this project in an earlier post.

Making Snow

Snow bicarbonite

Müller has a great article about making snow on his site Minis from Valhall that is worth checking out.

With all the formulas on making snow out in the world, it would be a good idea to write a page devoted specifically to the topic (note to self).

Cadwallon via Pardulon, doors, doors, doors…

Many moons ago, Rackham produced some fantastic doors as part of their line of scenic elements.  The doors have a strong Aarklashian look to them, and are ideal pieces for anyone venturing to build a three dimensional representation of, for example, a Cadwallon neighborhood.  Unfortunately, Rackham only made two.

Rackham's "large door"

Rackham's "manor door"

Enter a small European company called Pardulon, who make four resin-cast doors (sculpted by Karsten Radzinski) that are perfect for any Aarklashian setting: French, wizard’s, merchant’s, and simple.  The photos of their doors speak for themselves:

Pardulon's "French door"

Pardulon's "wizard's door"

Pardulon's "merchant door"

Pardulon's "simple door"

I don’t know anything else about Pardulon save what is on their Web site and some good reviews about their products I’ve heard from a friend.  That being said, I’ll be placing an order with them very soon.

P.S. For those of you ambitious enough, volume 13 of the print edition of Rackham’s Cry Havoc! magazine has a fantastic article about making your own Aarklashian doors.

Cry Havoc!, vol. 13

Recent Order, an experiment

Bjorti TrollsBane (sculpted by Tre Manor)

Bjorti TrollsBane (sculpted by Tre Manor)

Hostrom HammerSmite (sculpted by Tre Manor)

Hostrom HammerSmite (sculpted by Tre Manor)

Crowbiter (sculpted by Tre Manor)

Crowbiter (sculpted by Tre Manor)

Goblin Berserkers (sculpted by Tre Manor)

Goblin Berserkers (sculpted by Tre Manor)

Viking Husecarls (Kallistra)

Viking Husecarls (Kallistra)

50mm castle wall section (Kallistra)

50mm castle wall section (Kallistra)

Mongol light cavalry (Kallistra)

Mongol light cavalry (Kallistra)

Mongol heavy cavalry with lance and bow (Magister Militum)

Mongol heavy cavalry with lance and bow (Magister Militum)

Ashigaru on foot with spear (Magister Militum)

Ashigaru on foot with spear (Magister Militum)

Greater orc warrior with armour (Magister Militum)

Greater orc warrior with armour (Magister Militum)

I recently placed orders with three separate companies, Kallistra, Magister Militum, and Red Box Games.

Rather than order direct, I decided to buy the RBG stuff from Full Metal Planet, one of the two online vendors for miniatures-related product in Japan (the other is Malefic, another great store).  There aren’t many game stores in Japan, so this is the closest I can come to supporting an LGS.  I’ll post pictures against the grid when they arrive, for those of you who are curious.

This is my first time ordering from Kallistra and Magister Militum.  I’ve been interested in some of their products for several years, but have never made the commitment to buy anything, because the pictures don’t tell me enough about what to expect.  Size is the main issue here, but also detail, casting quality, and customer service.

I ordered this seemingly random selection of models (see photos above) because I’m still looking for good proxy models to flesh out my ever growing 10mm Middle-earth project.  I don’t really need anymore orcs, as Copplestone Castings has provided me with ideal models for the race, but I’m always looking for ways to add further character to what I have.  I’m also looking for models to use as Dunlendings, Variags of Khand, Wainriders, and Easterlings, thus the Vikings, Mongols and ashigaru, the latter of which will require some modifications with putty. Questions remain, however, about how these will work with the standards of my project, largely set by Copplestone, Eureka, and GW 10mm metal models.  When they arrive I’ll put them against the wall and take a load of comparison pictures to share here.  We’ll all know soon enough.

Awesome Architecture

The Loyalist

The Loyalist

Truly amazing, inspiriational work.  Some of the best I’ve ever seen.

Click on the image to be transported to Jeff’s gallery to see more.  (Brace yourself!)

Nosferatu – A Symphony of Horror!

A sleepy village ripe for the horror that is Nosferatu

A sleepy village ripe for the horror that is Nosferatu

This is actually a little old, but I’m posting it for those who missed it.  More stunning work from the Lead Adventure Forum.

Never seen Nosferatu?  Shame.  Murnau (the classic) or Herzog?

Updates on a Couple Great Terrain Projects

Crane bits

Crane bits

Completed "Quite a Big Terrain Project"

Completed "Quite a Big Terrain Project"

There are a couple updates to some fantastic terrain projects I’ve been following over at the Lead Adventure Forum that are worth checking out.  Click on the images to be redirected to their respective threads.

NOTE: Images featured in this post are Copyright © 2009 Admiral Benbow (steam powered harbour crane) and  Captain Blood (Quite a big terrain project) of the Lead Adventure Forum.

Steam Powered Harbour Crane

Admiral Benbow's custom made steam crane

Admiral Benbow's custom made steam crane

Wow.  Click on the image or here to be redirected to the Lead Adventure Forum thread to see more of this fantastic beast created by the mad scientist Admiral Benbow.

More Great Terrain Projects, LotR

Bywater Mill

The Bywater Mill, by MacGothmog

The Buckland Brewery, by TheBucklandBrewer

The Buckland Brewery, by TheBucklandBrewer

Both of these are featured as tutorial threads over at The One Ring.  You can check them out by clicking on the images above.

Quite a Big Terrain Project, Lead Adventure Forum

There’s an amazing terrain project in process over at the LAF that is worth checking out.  Educational and inspirational, to say the least.