Has it really been over a month since my last post? I'm sure you all were breathless with anticipation. Too bad all you're gonna get are some pics of forest terrain. Whatdaya goonado? forgetabouit.
The Last Tree
Following up from my forest terrain tutorial I went all in as they say and just banged out the rest of it so I could call the project complete. Maybe banged out is the wrong phrase, because it sounds a little dirty like something a high school kid would say and it wasn't exactly quick. It took longer than I thought due to distractions (shoo kids, shoo family, shoo away work, I'm trying to make important miniature gaming stuff here!) but in the end it made a nice change of pace and now I'm ready to get back to painting miniatures.
These were all made as explained in the previous posts; here are some helpful links
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
I'm pleased with how it all came out. Too bad that with COVID it might be awhile before it hits a game table, but no matter. Prepare yourself for a deluge of leafy green splendor...
Smaller Bases
Here are the 'smaller' bases. These are made with the idea that they will sit in the larger ones and provide more details, or just off on their own somewhere if they're being grouchy.
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| All of them together |
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| Some close ups |
Trees
I also made a bunch of individual trees. These are based on metal washers and the ground texture is made with concrete patch with makes them bottom heavy like a middle aged woman whose had too many kids. So they don't fall over easy. Other than that there's not much to say, they are tree-riffic.
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| I tried to vary up the colors somewhat. |
Large Forest Bases
For 28mm skirmish gaming I like it when each terrain feature has it's own base, and these will be the proper forest bases indicating where the woodsy terrain begins and ends. All the stuff pictured above will be placed on these bases so they are intentionally made kinda dull and flat. Just some details around the corners that hopefully won't interfere too much with game play. Each of these is around 8x11 inches or there abouts.
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| Six bases all together now. |
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| Some close ups |
And Now for the Whole Kit and Caboodle
Now for some pics where the pieces are all put together; I think they look suitably wood/forest-ish.
Reminder: the idea being that it'll all look nice on the table and as troops eventually seek cover in the woods (those cowards) stuff can be moved off / around and placed to one side to accommodate them. A balance between pretty details and being functional.
As an aside, I always thought the phrase was 'kitten caboodle.' I never understood it before and have been saying it wrong for decades now. Embarrassing.
So that is the forest terrain complete and I've gotten terrain making completely out of my system. These should come in handy for my 28mm Dark Ages, Lord of the Rings, and the slowly coming AWI.
Time to put it all away.
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| This all stores nicely in two storage tubs. |
Bonus Terrain: Hayfield
But wait! there's more! I also made a hayfield. Complete with haystacks. It's about 6x6 inches.
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The Haystacks are on their own base and can be moved around.
They were also kinda a PITA to make which is why I stopped at two.
Maybe when I'm feeling more patient I'll make some more. |
I'm not sure I love the hayfield. I might need to see it next to some other terrain like a barn and some fences to really sell the look. I went back and forth about adding a fence to the base but obviously decided not to; I figure it'll be more modular without one.
Terrain Making is Messy (just like real life)
All this terrain making has made my little hobby corner a real mess....
As you know, I can only take soo much mess before I start to feel too cluttered to do anything.
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My hobby area in full terrain production mode.
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The desk starts clean, gets messy through a project, gets clean again, the next project starts...sunrise, sunset. The painted armies get bigger. We all get older. Children grow up. Not fast enough (shoo I said!).
Time to clean this out and make organized. Till next time. Thanks for reading, and super thanks (more powerful than a regular thanks) for leaving a comment.
Well! This is an impressive display of woodlots. Your works are superb and in good quantity. I like them very much. My only complaint is that I wish these two BIG buckets or trees were in MY game room.
ReplyDeleteGreat stuff!
Thanks Jonathan! I appreciate it.
DeletePerhaps when I get bit by the terrain bug again I can make you some.
Though I’d have to make a lot for that huge table of yours. 😀
The Terrain bug is one I hope you catch!
DeleteGood job, like the fallen tree and the haystacks, which have a good look with the texture and look better than the manufactured resin ones, which seem to be the ones commonly used.
ReplyDeleteThanks Norm. I’ll still have to reserve judgment on the haystacks and field. Something about them looks incomplete. 😀
DeleteTurned out really well - the little patches of different texture really sell the overall effect. Nice work!
ReplyDeleteThanks Markus. I appreciate it. 😀
DeleteDone yerself proud there mate. Those are going to look sweet on the table, and then we'll remove the offending lot for gaming ease of use. :P
ReplyDeleteYou're right about the hay field, something missing - not sure if it's lacking some cut-and-still-in-the-ground standing bits to make it seem more realistic, but then that might be a pig's ear to attempt and even get in the way of gaming usage? I dunno...
Those haystacks though... Super good. You need at least another pair.
(Still working on a free weekend. Seems coming into so many inlaws and so forth means I have a lot more "family" time than I did before.)
Thanks Dai. I knew it wasn’t just me about the hayfield. It needs something. I have an idea of adding more ‘hay’ to make the surface more uneven, and some more haystacks of course. 😀
DeleteNo worries about the weekend. I can Monday’s too if that helps. But whenever and whatever is fine with me. Family has a way to dominate time, I know. 😀
They look great Stew, hope you get to game with them soon.
ReplyDeleteThanks Tony. Let’s all hope so. 😀
DeleteLooking great! Forests are very useful, and you could probably use these trees in more than just 28mm sized battles too... kings of the forest in 15mm games!
ReplyDeleteAlso, I noticed that Blogger is making your pictures square and distorting things. Thanks new blogger update!
Thanks Laz. It’s true that while making the smaller bases I thought those could be used in my 18mm ACW games as well. I made sure to use less tall trees, closer to 5”, so that it’ll be compatible. 😀
DeleteYeah, I don’t know why blogger is making the pics so square. I don’t have a fix. My lovely pics RUINED by technology. ☹️
I really like all of the terrain you showed off but one thing I think is worth mentioning is that it is seriously impressive to get that much done even in a month or two's time. I think you probably remember how getting terrain and trees specifically really hurt my enthusiasm for a bit there so I commend you for knocking all those out. Best of all, the trees look great and I know I would love to play on a board with terrain that looks that good.
ReplyDeleteYou also hit upon one of the truths of making terrain. It gets messy and requires a lot of stuff. I hope the cleaning process goes quickly and smoothly as I imagine you have some more redcoats, militia, or Native Americans to paint :)
Thanks Kuribo. I’m very glad that you like the terrain and I appreciate your comments. You’re right that terrain making takes some more time because each step is usually so different from the next, plus glue drying time. 😀. When I did finally lay it all out I was pleased with how much was actually produced.
DeleteAnd you’re perfectly right, there’s a whole AWI Rebel army that needs painting. 😀
Lovely looking logically argued trees! Kitten caboodle sounds like a good phrase,maybe a children's book? My terrain building happens in the shed ,where I can get messy and wear an apron. Painting happens on my lap on a sofa in the house. I find it difficult to get enough shed time but you've knocked these out rapidly!
ReplyDeleteBest Iain
Thanks Iain. I find it hard enough getting any hobby time, so couldn’t spread it out over two locations! But you in the shed have produced some lovely terrain as well. 😀
DeleteLots of trees and best of all they all work well together. They belong, so to speak, and that belonging look is what can make a table look so much more natural. You've done a great job there and I love the versatile approach - form must follow function in this hobby. I like the way you show that it all fits comfortably into two storage tubs, however that's the easy bit, now where do the storage tubs go? That's my problem and the one voiced most often by my loving wife (an interior designer, among other things, for whom plastic storage tubs are a hideous abomination).
ReplyDeleteThanks TP. I agree that the (slightly) uniform appearance connects all of the bases together into a whole, and this will translate into a nice appearance on the table.
DeleteMy hobby storage tubs have a corner of the garage to live in, it’s dark and full of spiders. So tucked away out of sight. But I don’t need to worry about offending the wife; she has SO MUCH crap I mean stuff in her own tubs. There’s a reason that I only have one corner of our two car garage and our cars are parked outside...😀