Lockdown 2.0 Project Log Day 42: Retro Terrain Part 7 Brotherhood Shrine Complete!

 Hi!

I finally finished my Brotherhood Shrine for Warzone Eternal (and also handy for Rogue Trader shenanigans!) and thought I'd share some photos:

Made from tons of cardboard, its possibly the biggest terrain item I've ever made and took a load of work to get it finished but I'm really pleased with how it turned out.

It changed a few times during the build phase and got bigger and bigger until I began to worry that it was just too big for my table but it makes a really large centrepiece to my games.

After all this terrain making, I am going to take a day off before getting back into painting some random miniatures but I have lots of ideas for making more Warzone themed terrain as there's something pleasing about working on a grotty, rundown sci-fi dieselpunk/steampunk/cyberpunkish theme.

I had thought of doing a stained glass effect on the windows but went for a simpler deep purple as I was beginning to flag with the painting. I may go back to it and add a more blingy window sort of thing in the future but for the time being, this will do the job for gaming.

If I was to do it again, I suspect I'd probably make it a bit smaller and add more steampunk elements but I'm happy with it as is and had to work with the stuff I had lying around the flat and not nip to the Works or Hobbycraft to pick up interesting new elements or gubbins to ramp up the doodad level.

I now need some NPC types to occupy it, be they local denizens, suspicious priestly types or sinister cultists but will need to wait for the moment as I don't have any suitable stuff kicking around. I may yet sculpt one or two odds and ends to populate it and liven up games...

The pipework was made from green plastic coated garden wire and is really handy for adding a bit of a low grade sci-fi element to an otherwise olde church.

Finally, I've been asked for a figure to show scale and used my only Warzone figure that I still have from my old collection, the good old Wolfbane Commando!

I'll maybe do a bit of a photo shoot of the board thus far for tomorrows update but until then, All the best!

Lockdown 2.0 Project Log Day 40: Retro Terrain Part 6 WIP

Hi!

I've found myself obsessing about making Warzone themed terrain over the last few days as it's the closest that I can get to actual Warzone gaming before the new edition is released later this year as I haven't got any of the miniatures left from 1st edition.

After making some generic stuff such as the hab units I moved onto the Bauhus building and in a fit of enthusiasm set about making a Brotherhood Shrine. This has been a really big project for me to do and it's taken a lot longer than expected as I build more and more stuff onto the basic structure and cut about a gazillion shingles for the roof and still haven't finished it but instead of posting some waffle up, I thought I'd share some work in progress pics:

The basic structure is made from mounting board whilst the pink parts are thin card that I had lying around. I also used a few cocktail sticks for bars on the windows. 

The whole construction is about 30cm long by 25cm tall at it's highest and I've still got loads to do to get it completed, mostly in the form of adding small details and finishing the tower off with some guard rails. I also need to add some pipework, grilles and some other assorted gubbins.

Once that's done I'll seal the whole lot with wood glue and add some polyfilla to add texture before moving onto painting.

I suspect I've got carried away with the building as it's turning out to be a mighty project to try to put together but I'm really enjoying it, despite the work that's going into getting it done. It will eventually look like a combination of retrotech, dieselpunk and industrial with a smidge of olde English and hopefully I'll get it finished in the next day or so!

Again it's been super cheap to make with about £2.00-£3.00 worth of materials and will make a good centrepiece to my table once it's finished and it will be multi use so will see action in Rogue Trader or Stargrave once it's released as well.

After this I think I'll take a bit of a break from large scenics and get some miniatures painted though as I need to paint something smaller to keep from going mental!

Lockdown 2.0 Day 39: Retro Terrain Part 5, Bauhaus Edition!

 Hi!

I've just finished painting the next of my retro terrain together and am trying to make it a bit more multi use so have given it a Bauhaus Megacorporation theme to it:

Like the rest of my buildings, I cut some shapes from mounting board and with a fair amount of glue make the buildings basic shape before decorating it with thin cardboard oddments. The roof is thin card superglued into place and covered in polyfilla which gave it a bit of thickness, texture and strength it didn't have when it was just card. 

I used a circle cutter that I picked up at university but never used and am really impressed with how much fun it was to cut the rounded edges and will be using it for some more projects in the near future.

I've enjoyed making themed terrain like this and have plans to add some more workshops, housing, bunkers, mines and oil derricks when I get the chance. The total cost for this piece was about £1.00 for materials compared to nearer £20 for buying something similar in MDF so I'm liking the savings and loving the building process!

I've got quite a bit made thus far but want to keep going as the settlement is really starting to come together and I really like that the variety of terrain one can make cheaply and easily is most satisfying!

Hopefully I'll have more stuff finished tomorrow and I'm also mid way through writing up a battle report using Warzone 1st edition that I played yesterday to try and remember the rules as I've not played a game for over 20 years now!

In the meantime, All the best!

Lockdown 2.0 Project Log Day 36: Retro Terrain Part 4

 Hi!

I'm really enjoying making terrain at the moment and it's been a good way of avoiding getting bogged down with figures too. Again these were inspired by the old How to Make Wargaming Terrain book!

I made some simple boxes using mounting board and then added lots of small decorative elements with cereal box card and a piece of plastic I had lying around. I'm really pleased with how they turned out, even if they are rough and ready as I feel they are meant to be played on and as such are robust and act as good objectives, cover and targets to blow up.

Shed 7 and 5 are prefab containers turned into hab buildings by the excavation team on Genos XV, a death world in the Farpoint sector. Their sturdy construction comes in handy to protect their inhabitants from the unwelcome attentions of the denizens of Genos.

I went for a similar paint scheme to the previous box terrain and grotted it up a bit with lots of washes of various browns. Add a few little gem effects for com panels and whatnot and I've got some handy gaming terrain!

Inquisitor Frost's party encounters an Ork warband.

In Warzone news, we now have a name and a Facebook group!

At present, there's not much on it other than 300+ excited Warzone fans but there's hopefully going to be short stories, previews and all manner of other exciting bits and bobs. At present it appears that Res Nova don't have any other web presence but I'm hoping that as we get closer to the games release, we'll start seeing all sorts of exciting stuff.

In the meantime, All the best!

Lockdown 2.0 Project Log Day 32: Retro Terrain 3

 Hi!

I spent a bit of time yesterday playing around with cardboard and have built some properly retro ruins based on the How to Make Wargame Terrain book!

Made from a double layer of corrugated cardboard card for the walls and the floors and base being made with mounting board. I sealed the edges with a thin piece of masking tape to make it look a bit more solid.

Whole they're not the most exciting, they're dead handy and I had lots of fun making them and they really look the part as a retro terrain must. I departed from the original guide a bit by using the mounting board base as it's a bit sturdier than the original design suggested. I also used a double layer of corrugated card, taped together with double sided tape to give them a bit more heft. I also used some cocktail sticks to represent bars or girders.

Given a suitably grungy paint job, they will give me some much needed cover for my games and are quick and easy enough to make a decent amount in very little time. I plan on using some similar techniques to make a settlement! 

Looking at the ruins, I think I'll add some vegetation to the bases to give a bit more interest and liven them up. 

Looking forward, I need to write up some of my background and crack on with some more painting. My Imperial Inquisitorial retinue is slowly coming together and I'm also eyeing up some Ork boyz that I have lying around...

Hopefully in the next few days I'll have a ton of ruins to explore and some more odds and ends painted up too and may try to play another game or two. Thus far this year, I've played a couple of solo games, one of Void 1.1 and the other of Rogue Trader but they've been more about reacquainting myself with the rules so haven't been worth posting a report but hopefully I'll be able to get some more exciting games done in the coming weeks.

In the meantime, All the best!

Lockdown 2.0 Project Log Day 29: Retro Terrain 2

 Hi!

Here's the next additions to my retro scenery collection!

First up, I've got a simple, boxlike terrain piece, be it a storage or shipping container or high tech generator, its handy for blocking visibility and can make for a useful objective for tiny troops to fight over in the far future!

Constructed from an old mobile phone box and lots of pieces of cardboard, I went for a rather brighter colour scheme than the more usual Grimdark grey. I found I had a blue that reminds me of some of the old terrain from 40k and it was a real pleasure to work on (not to mention simple too!). To be honest, most of the detail is painted on and I think I'll need to use some thicker cardstock in future to give my terrain a bit more depth...

Next up, here's the first of my Jungle bases inspired by the old How to Make Wargames Terrain by GW:

Made from twisted pipe cleaners, paper and some cheap aquarium plants. I really enjoyed putting it together but it took a bit more work to get it finished than I'd expected as I had to wait for glue and paint to dry repeatedly but I think it was well worth the effort. 

Next time, I'll do a whole load of them done at once so I can set up a bit of a production line to make the process a bit quicker!

Along with the other odds and ends I have, I've got enough to cover a square foot of board which is good, but I have still got loads to do to give me a fully covered wargaming table!

Speaking of which, I have been rummaging my terrain stuff and found the old Phantom Star Wars Rebels ship that I picked up for £4.99 from Tesco quite a few years back. I had originally planned to use it as a 15mm scale dropship but I think it will make a rather fun lander or cargo loader for Rogue Trader.

I need to give it a more beaten up colour scheme and add some guns on to it to give it a bit less of a toy look to it but I'll leave that for another day as I'm currently working on the first of my Eldar and Inquisitorial Investigators.

Hopefully I'll get the test pieces done over the next day or two and will have lots more completed gubbins to show for my next update!

In the meantime, All the best!

Lockdown 2.0 Project Log Day 21: Retro Terrain Part 1

Hi!

Here's the first of the terrain items that I've made after taking inspiration from the old How to Make Wargames Terrain!

It's a really simple piece consisting of an old instant chai can, some foamboard, cardboard and cocktail sticks. The vegetation is a mixture of cheap aquarium plants and paper.

I'm really pleased with how it turned out as it's got a lot of oldschool charm and after a bit of hesitation I went for a largely green base which actually turned out a lot nicer than I was expecting, giving a strong contrast between the grey, oranges and brown of the tower.

The model is based on a piece of pre-cut MDF that I picked up from Warbases a couple of years ago. I'm really enjoying making vegetation from pieces of paper too as it's rather therapeutic to paint, cut and shape the stuff. I plan on experimenting more to see what other types of terrain I can make from such simple materials.

Hopefully I can get my third Imperial trooper finished today and work on some more Flintloque stuff tomorrow and am keen to keep going with the retro terrain too!

I've also discovered a tub of oldschool figures sat under our sink that have been soaking in Dettol for some time and will see if I can get them properly stripped and see what I've got in the assorted bits and bobs. 

In the meantime, All the best!

Lockdown 2.0 Project Log Day 20: Terrain Making

 Hi!

I'm busily rummaging out some suitably old school bits and bobs to put together some cheap and cheerful scenery for my sci-fi projects.

As a handy reference, I'm using How to Build Wargames Terrain, the old GW book that came out during the height of the Red Period of Citadel and it's full of simple projects using easily obtainable materials and is a fantastic source of inspiration.

I'm a huge fan of the old 2nd edition scenery for 40k and whilst the projects featured in the book are towards the simple end of the spectrum, they look like great fun for a lockdown side project that only requires household supplies, packaging materials and some green flock.

If, by the end of the lockdown I have a decent selection of cheaply made scenery, all the better!

I've got the first piece almost finished and will get photos of it tomorrow once I have the base finished and will post my progress with the rest here but one of the things I like about the book is it encourages you to make stuff yourself rather than just buying plastic scenery and shows to some extent how much GW has changed over the years.

Another thing I like is that it's got some very modest suggestions for a good battlefield set up to get folks going, namely A Gently Sloping Hill, A Wood, A section of River, Stream, Crevasse or Ravine, An Area of Difficult Ground, Buildings and Ruins, An Area of Very Difficult Ground.

I hope to make all these odds and ends and the obligatory spiky cactus too and I'm also using lots of old pictures of GW's rather fantastic setups as inspiration as well!

Its going to be an interesting process as I've never had a green battlefield before but I am thinking of setting the campaign in an overgrown frontier world which has traces of lost civilisation as well as abandoned settlements and the odd carnivorous plant too.

I think I do need to purchase some pre-cut mdf for bases but otherwise, I'm fairly sure I have nearly everything I need in my flat at the moment so watch this space!

All the best!