Throwback Thursday: Terrain Retrospective

In this post, I take a look back at some of my favorite (and most memorable) terrain projects from the past, and what I got out of them.

 

Converting the Punisher

The Punisher has long been one of my favorite comic book characters, and The Punisher War Journal was the first "superhero" comic that I ever bought. I was psyched to get the Marvel Crisis Protocol Punisher, and decided to convert him into a classic "War Journal" version of the character.

 

Terrain Showcase: Boot Hill Battlefield

This scenery commission for the Boot Hill game consists of four 2' x 5' board segments: the mesa, the ranch, and two town sections. They all line up to form a sprawling 5' x 8' battlefield. Here's a look at the boards, buildings, and all the accessories I made for the project:

 

 

Boot Hill Battlefield, The Town of Blumville

In the previous post, we took a look at the mesa and mine tunnels on the battlefield I made for the Boot Hill game. This time we'll cover the construction of the town of Blumville...

Boot Hill Battlefield, The Lost Kaye Mine

Earlier this year, I finished a commission for a gigantic 5' x 8' battlefield for the game Boot Hill that was featured at Gary Con in March. The battlefield was divided into four 2' x 5' sections. The two sections in the center contained the town of Blumville. On the two outer sections, one had a mesa with abandoned mine tunnels running underneath, and the section at the opposite opposite end had open pastures and a large manor house overlooking the town. In this post, we'll take a look at the construction of the mesa and tunnels of the Lost Kaye Mine...

 

 

 

Hobby Bingo Mid-Year Update

At the beginning of the year, I began working on the wargame hobby bingo card, and I'm hoping to have it filled n by the end of the year. Here's how things have shaped up so far:

Terrain Showcase: Wild West Exodus Harbor

Welcome to the image gallery for the Wild West Exodus-themed harbor! This is a game board that I was commissioned to build for Warcradle Studios. It was on display in their booth at Gencon 2018, where it was used for demo games, and now I am able to present it here in all its glory. I kept a log of its construction, and you can view those posts under this link: Project Log: WWX Harbor, or via the same label in the sidebar.

 

Catching Up

The Wild West Exodus Harbor board made it to Gencon, and you can see it this weekend if you're at the show. Check out Warcradle Studios in Hall F, booth #3027.

 

With that project out of the way, I have a little more time to focus on some other projects. My focus is on Age of Sigmar at the moment, but I still have this techmarine that I'd like to finish up.

 

I built a servo arm for him, but I want to cast it before I glue it on, so it will still be a while before I can get around to painting the model.

 

I can also get back to my Warscryer Citadel. I've been working on the wall sections for the bottom of the ruined tower, but it's like trying to reverse-engineer a jigsaw puzzle by drawing the images on separate pieces that haven't yet been cut into their puzzle piece shapes. I'm probably over complicating it (like I always do).

 

I was able to get some hair, so I can finish off the Banshee conversions. Just in time for the new Nighthaunt army, too!

 

I picked up the "Magic Goes Bananas" box, and I've built my first Endless Spell (technically my second, if you count the Balewind Vortex). I play a lot of games against Deciples of Tzeentch, so the ability to toss out a spell that can (potentially) dispel everything the enemy attempts to cast and then explode in his face seemed like the obvious choice to start with.

The Malevolent Maelstrom was one of the most visually uninteresting spells in the box, so I spiced it up by adding some extra spirit heads and the skulls from one of the Lord Executioners. My intention was to was to create more of a swirling vortex, sucking souls toward its center so the model didn't look like a lumpy ball with a couple of faces on it. The spirits thematically match my undead army as well.

 

 

Once I knock out those projects I can begin work on my Nighthaunt army. I've been contemplating how I would base the army– Would I match the square bases of my Undead Legions, or use rounds and treat it as a separate force?

I settled on rounds since they come with them, and a lot of the models have integrated rounds anyway. Allying the Nighthaunt units into a Legions of Nagash force isn't very appealing, since they don't benefit from any of the allegiance abilities, not even the basic Deathless Minions roll to ignore wounds. The units in the Soul Wars set can be PART of the Legions army, but I don't think they offer much more than what's already available. I'll likely build a few characters, like the Lord Executioner, to match my Legion, with square bases and all, but the majority of the Nighthaunt will remain a separate force.

 

One issue I have with the army is the beautifully modeled Easy-to-Build scenic bases, which don't match the other units, which will have regular-shmegular flat bases. If I want a uniform basing scheme throughout the army, I need to either model ALL the bases to match the scenic bases, or reduce the detail on the scenic bases. Right now, I'm leaning toward keeping the large elements like tombstones, and statuary, and sanding over the cobblestones. I'm also not a fan of sculpted vegetation on models, so those thorns and flowers have got to go.

Some have been wondering whether or not GW would release a Nighthaunt base pack to match the ones in the Easy-to-Build kits, but I don't think that's likely. All of the Nighthaunt models have very specific attachment points and modeled bits that need to either be glued to a flat surface, or that have a tab for a slotted base. That would be a lot of work to get the models to attach to scenic bases. GW probably would have released them by now, as well.

One little nitpick is the difference between the starter set Glaivewraith Stalkers and the ones in the Easy-to-Build kit– The poles of the fence are noticeably thinner in the ETB kit, and much more fragile. (Do they really expect that tiny arrow to stay attached?) I think GW has just about reached the limit of how thin and brittle they can make models before it becomes completely impractical. There are legitimate reasons for thicker and larger accessories on models; in addition to "readability" on the tabletop, they need to stand up to repeated handling, and being put in miniature cases. I foresee a lot of extra tombstones and bits to reinforce some of the attachment points as I dig into this army...

 

 'Til next time!

Project Log: Wild West Exodus Harbor, Part 9

This project log focuses on a Wild West Exodus themed harbor that I am building for Warcradle Studios– This is the final installment before I show the finished board. This time, I finish off the buildings and a few other odds and ends, and talk about painting them.

 

Project Log: Wild West Exodus Harbor, Part 8

This project log focuses on a Wild West Exodus themed harbor that I am building for Warcradle Studios– The board is a harbor featuring a large ship pulled into its berth. In this installment, I'll be finishing up the ship's construction.

 

 

Project Log: Wild West Exodus Harbor, Part 7

This project log focuses on a Wild West Exodus themed harbor that I am building for Warcradle Studios– The board is a harbor featuring a large ship pulled into its berth. Last time, I built the bridge, engine and smoke stacks. This week, I tackle the paddle wheels and the main deck...

 

Project Log: Wild West Exodus Harbor, Part 6

This project log showcases a Wild West Exodus themed harbor that I am building for Warcradle Studios– The board is a harbor featuring a large ship pulled into its berth. This week, I'll show you how I began tackling the construction of the massive vessel...

 

 

Project Log: Wild West Exodus Harbor, Part 5

This project log focuses on a game table that I am building for Warcradle Studios– A Wild West Exodus themed harbor that will be on display in their booth at Gencon. This week, we'll take a look at another building and I'll show you how I make my water effects...

 

Project Log: Wild West Exodus Harbor, Part 4

This project log focuses on a game table that I am building for Warcradle Studios– A Wild West Exodus themed harbor that will be on display in their booth at Gencon. This week, we'll take a look at the process I use for constructing the buildings that populate the docks...

 

Project Log: Wild West Exodus Harbor, Part 3

The Wild West Exodus harbor project is proceeding smoothly. If you are new to this series, I am building this for Warcradle Studios, and it will be on display in their booth at Gencon. This time out we'll take a look at some of the details around the harbor...

Project Log: Wild West Exodus Harbor, Part 2

In this project log series, we're taking a look at the Wild West Exodus harbor table that I'm building for Warcradle Studios. Previously, I finished the table frame, streets, and harbor walls. This time I tackle a few of the details around the harbor and begin construction on some of the larger elements.

 

 

Project Log: Wild West Exodus Harbor, Part 1

I've been building tables for the Wild West Exodus miniatures game pretty much since its inception. Every one has been a unique design that presented its own set of challenges.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This year Warcradle Studios has commissioned me to build a port city, complete with a ship docked in the harbor. In this project log, I will be documenting the progress of the table over the weeks between now and Gencon. If you attend the show this year, you'll be able to see the board in the Wild West Exodus booth.

New Blighted Well, From Skull Forge Scenics

This Blighted Well from Skull Forge Scenics is a last-minute surprise for 2017, and the timing couldn't be better with the upcoming Nurgle releases for Warhammer Age of Sigmar!

 

 

 

My original plan was to release a Blighted Well, but I figured a "normal" well might appeal to a wider range of people and games, so I made a master casting of the basic well before "putrifying" it. The Blighted Well is overflowing with puss and giant maggot-worms. Woe betide anyone who falls in. (They will wish there was only a long-haired, creepy zombie-girl at the bottom!)

 

The blighted well is available for purchase HERE. Pick one up for your battlefield, and ring in the New Year with blessings of filth and decay!

 

The original Town Well is also available. I previewed this a couple weeks ago, but here is a painted example. This well may be old, but its water is still safe to drink!

 

 

 

 

 

 

You can purchase the Town Well and Blighted Well in my Skull Forge Scenics shop!
Skull Forge Scenics

Happy New Year!

Wargame Hobby Bingo, 2018

As 2017 draws to a close, it's time to set some goals for 2018. And for that, we need a new Hobby Bingo card: 

 

Well, well, well...

Today I put up a new product in my Skull Forge Scenics online store. This town well is the first of my "Ruins of the Ancient Realm" line of non-graveyard fantasy terrain. I kept it fairly generic, so it will fit with medieval fantasy games like Warhammer, Kings of War, or Warmachine, or old west games Like Wild West Exodus, or even similarly scaled historical games.

 

 

 

 

I wanted to make something with a broken shingled roof, and I'm really happy with the results. The initial castings came out great!

 

 

 

 

I'll post more pictures as soon as I get one painted up.

If you've been following my twitter feed, you'll know that I've also been working on my Adepta Sororitas kill team again for the new Shadow War league the shop is starting next week. Once they're finished, I'll be tackling some of the Primaris space marines from the starter set. I've also got a handful of figures for my Skaven Pestilens army, like the Plague Censor Bearers, which I might get to this year...

'Til next time!