A Blast From the Past

Before my time at Privateer Press, I was fortunate enough to work on the GW US hobby team with terrain masters Jason Buyaki and Chad Mierzwa. Some of my favorite projects from those days were the tables that we built for Games Day. 

There are three tables that I am particularly proud of– These were built in 2004 and since I haven’t been to a Games Day in years I don’t even know if the tables are still in service. I’ve tried searching for images online, and either my search-fu is really weak, or there just aren’t any photos out there. Makes me glad I had the foresight to take some pics of the tables before they shipped out, otherwise they may have been lost to the ages. These tables are all constructed on a 4’ x 8’ wooden frame. Each was finished in about a week or two, so I really didn’t have time to take step-by-step shots. If you see something and want to know more about how it was constructed or what parts were used, please shoot me an email or post a comment. 

At the top of my blog is a new tab for my terrain gallery. I have 25 different images for each of these tables, too many to put in a single blog post, but you can poke around in the gallery to see all the different angles and detail shots. 

Now, on to the tables!

"LUSTRIA REVISITED"– A re-envisioning of an older Lizardman temple city table. 

The depressions in the table were burned in with a heat gun, and Envirotex Lite was used for the water. The jungle patches are a mix of scratch-built tree trunks and aquarium plants. The temples and streets are cut from insulation foam, with a few Hirst-Arts bricks added here and there.

"NO-MAN'S-LAND"– Two trench networks separated by (you guessed it) a treacherous no-man’s-land! 

I had designed a few different trench sections and mass-produced them in resin. Putty sandbags and basswood strips were used to conceal the joins between each piece. The standing water in the trenches and craters is Envirotex Lite, given a muddy tint with brown paint.

"DA ORK SKRAP YARD"– a rusting junkyard filled with enough cannibalized tank kits to make a grown man cry!

We had an excess of spare kits to use for terrain projects. The tank kits are cut up and distressed to look like blasted out hulks. The buildings are constructed from foam core and covered with styrene card. The ground covering is a mix of ballast, gravel, and all the sprue rubble you can eat. My favorite bits are all the hidden details and Easter eggs. I’ll let you spot those for yourself.

'Til next time!