Warhmmer 40K, How to run a club: DIY Terrain

Terrain makes for interesting games.


Put it this way... every successful battle report provider, be they White Dwarf, Youtuber or blogger will have an interesting looking field to fight over. It sparks imagination, and puts you in the right frame of mind.


At the beginning of my club, the battlefield was the amazing, and exotic, Varnished Wood planet, set in an ecosystem with frequent rains of sometimes corrosive chemicals. Erosion patterns somehow caused Low Gothic markings to appear, often talking about how 'Steve wos 'ere', indicating a strong Chaotic influence. There was a single structure, a tumbled down Imperial building donated by  student, but mostly what we had to play on were lab benches.


In short, fairly rubbish.


Games Workshop has been very helpful in this area, donating some really high quality Age of Sigmar terrain pieces, being constructed and painted as we speak. But it's not enough to keep the 4 tables we have running looking suitably awesome for the club members.


To make up for this, we make our own stuff out of cardboard and sand. Here's how:

Grab some cardboard. These corrugated bits from an IKEA package are great for stacking into larger structures, and are pretty good heights to boot. They block line of sight for smaller models, and act as chest high walls for monstrous creatures.

See all the shapes you can make? (Incidently that metal thing in the background is the Van De Graff generator). The next step is to sand them off for some good rubble texture. PVA glue on, and spread it around. Avoid adding water to the PVA, as when it dries it will shrink the cardboard. You'll also want to make sure the thicker blocks of cardboard brace the broader thin parts.

Shake off the excess sand, and you're ready to go! When you buy your sand, don't get the modeling stuff. You can pick up a sack full for a few pounds from Homebase or any other DIY shop. But if you're not content with the desert look, simply spray them with a grey primer.

A quick dry brush with a  light grey...

Some more dry brushing around the edge...

And a final highlight with white!

As an optional step, you could then wash it with some thinned brown acrylic paint for muddy patches. Don't use your modelling shades/washes. Save that for your models... unless you're rich, but then why are you making scenery out of cardboard?

A quick tutorial, and not exactly rocket science (trust me on that), but an easy tip worth sharing.

Until next time!

Thanks for reading.

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