My Scenery Journey: From The Beginning

[stayscrunchyinmilk]

I've moved house, and for the first time in 6 years I have space for a gaming table.
I've been a gamer for about 10 years, so I'd like to think i've got some experience.

I'm going to do my table, and fill it with scenery a few times over. I'm going to show step by step how i'm doing it too.

I now have a small child and wife, time and money (In that order, because of that order) are both very limited, so i'd best try to be clever about this - it has to be easy(ish) for good results. I also want to document this project so you can all get some ideas / feedback.

I'll do the different projects on seperate threads, and link them all back to this one (and vice versa)

The Plan:

1) The Board / Table.

I've got to save for a dining room table, however I redecorated the house and bought two wallpapering tables instead of one from B&Q.

I'm going to get 2no 4x3 boards, green one side and grey the other - my painted 40k armies are "mostly" grey rubble based, and the WFB requires green.

I chose 2no 4x3 boards, as although fiddly I need to store them in a cuboard, and 6x4 won't fit very well.

On the boards themselves: I think house emulsion will work well - And I have "Army Green" primer which a few loose dashes over a darker green should go down well, and i'll do the other side a dark grey and use halfords grey primer in dashes over it for the same effect (I'm using it for concrete building base coat)

I wanted to sand them originally, but It may damage the dining room table (wifey being happy with gaming is important) and movement trays disagree with sand.

Besides, i intend to stick the scenery onto placemats, (go to pound shop / asda etc for 4 for £ 1.50 or therabouts - the design doesn't matter) and the cork bottoms will stop any slipping on non-sanded tables anyway.

2) The scenery - the plan for using it best

I want to be able to play all my games on the finished project:

40k - I play enough to require variation in my scenery, a large bit piece or two for apocalypse would be good. All my armies are based on grey rubble, so grey boards required.

WFB - Green to match the bases. Smoothness for movement trays should be taken into consideration.

Necromunda - Not my highest priority, but being able to do walkways etc and making a small board very busy would be good.

Mordheim - Less important still, but it'd be nice to have the option.

I also have a whole cupboard for storing my Gaming stuff, but keeping it so it can be easily packed away would be helpful (more room for mini's).

So, I have split the scenery into 4 sub-projects (and i can cut one if i run out of time):

1) Imperial world. 40k Cityfight Basilica and administratum kits used extensively here. I was thinking of a highly populated world that has now been reduced to rubble.

2) Jungle Terrain. This will be useable as both the green WFB and W40k - my IG expansion has catchans, who are the 1st 40k army i'm basing as non-rubble.

3) WFB Terrain - fences, rustic buildings, maybe a pool or river with bridges. Some forests are required for Wood Elves, maybe a Ork encampment would be good if i find the time.

4) Industrious 40k - For necromunda and 40k, modular pipework sections with mechanicus buildings, and modular gangway bits would be great.

3) I'm going to make the scenery by:

Imperial world:

Shedloads of GW Kits. I traded 2/3rds of a City boxed set (!) for 30 marines (black reach and the tacticals fro my company i replaced with DA vets) and a devastator sprue. I got a good deal. That was after I got the sector, then got another one to make a church. i'll spot this with monuments (To match my inquisition armies - DA and IG) and may, if i find the time try to do a freeway, (Imperial road with streetlights every foot, seperated by crash barriers) or train system (Girder tracks, raised) - both of which would have to be in sections for storage, so may as well be modular.
Likely to get a landing pad in the future.

This can be mixed with the Industrious scenery for an apocalypse table.

Jungle:

Alot of aquarium plants and the GW bushes on coins - This means I can either cover the table with bushes and it's all jungle (all difficult terrain, 12" LOS) bar openings or I can use it in "patches" like a very wooded 40k board for a apocalypse board - maybe adding the WFB bits for a "feral" world.

GW Jungle Trees - I got about 5 sprues of 2nd hand ones off mates by trading, and ordered 2 myself to bulk out the broken bits. These will be fixed onto plasticard for stability.

Arcane ruins - I will make these and not base them, so they just slip into the jungle without any fuss, or they can be used on another table without fuss (as not green)

I will also make oval/curved wood shapes, and i'll sand and flock them - in standard 40k i'd put the bushes / trees on these to mark the boundaries, in the jungle terrain i'll use them as clearing markers.

Here's my start on the jungle terrain:
http://www.librarium-online.com/foru...ml#post1453623

WFB Terrain:

A watchtower is owned, and some woods and fences will be made up. I will try to make a ork encampment (If i'm clever it can go in the 40k jungle scenery too) using the generals compendium for the ork huts, and the Skull pass goblin shaman teepee. A river (modular) would be good.

Fences - Finished
http://www.librarium-online.com/foru...ml#post1454145



A Barn - Finished
http://www.librarium-online.com/foru...n-ii-barn.html



Industrious World:

Pipework - I'll use general household plastic drainage ones to make a modular pipework network, with two storage tanks, and manufactorium buldings. I'd also like to make a modular gangway kit i saw at a club (Clip together plasticard - You'll see). This is for 40k / necromunda

4) I'll also create models for each table
I love playing / running scenarios, and free units in apocalypse for each side to match the table has a really nice feel to it.

Imperial City:
The centrepiece will be a church, so a undead guard squad (about 400 points worth) and a SOB force (same size) to fight over it would be great. A Necromunda Arabites gang would compliment this force (As stormtroopers with shotguns - It's even tabletop legal, see Witch hunter codex)

Jungle:
Catchan jungle fighters to bulk up my IG army / Use in combat patrol, and a variety of beasties will be made for this table.

Here's my start on the guardsmen:
http://www.librarium-online.com/foru...ml#post1450105

WFB:
I'd best start painting my WFB army at some point.
If i end up with the time i'd love to make enough buildings for a raid scenario, then i can give myself the excuse to get the ork raiders. Forests = Mail order giant spider.

Manufactorium:
I will spruce up my techpriest and servitors, and then try to make up an adeptus squad of marines (Bionic bits from the Iron warriors kit with the SM vehicle sprue shoulder pads, paint red, add rhino). If i can, adding to my necromunda collection - probably Escher (I have a dozen old ones and want enough to make a gang) to use instead of my converted van Saar (from IG) would be a bonus.

[bugbait_nz]

Ok , Im interested! The industious world sounds great.
So when are the first pics up? thinking about it it the easy part!!

Bugbait out

[Meph]

Go man!, I'm in *grabs a seat*

[DMikulasr]

I think your going to do very well! PLanning is very important for any project.

[stayscrunchyinmilk]

Right, an update 03/06/09:

Finished:
WFB Fences,
WFB Barn.

WIP:
Jungle bushes / trees,
Jungle Guard,
Jungle Beasties
some minor bits and bobs e.g. craters and a monument, they don't warrant their own post yet.

I also received from ebay / bought / have been scrounging:
20x necromunda bulkheads (some bits clipped off, bad shape)
6 x new Necrom. bulkheads
Guitar wire (for Industrial cabling)
WFB Fortress
WFB Watchtower spare windows x 2 sets
Balsa for WFB buildings
More jungle trees (Oh god... that'll be 10 sprues when finished.)
Bret men at arms box
A charity shop necklace - a good sized chain, and the cheap gems will be smashed up to be wyrdstone counters.

And will be receiving soon (hopefully)
Mordheim door/window sprues - Set One Received
Bits from the empire cannon, volley gun, bret archers, giant and some tau drones (flip upside down for 40k building machinery)
A mordheim sprue (Treasure chest and arms etc) - received
and 3x incomplete sets of heroquest furniture for the inside of mordheim buildings etc (replace card with balsa)

I will be working on stuff, my next post will be with at least one more completed article - I aim for about next week.
Oh, to tease you a bit more,(And make me cringe) = 208 bushes. 208! and castle, and beasties are on my table.
The other stuff on it is car body filler mesh, a bunch of bendy straws, the plumbing from under a sink, and bits off 5x GW sprues that aren't moved in game normally.... guess!

[Meph]

Awww no pictures, no joy

[stayscrunchyinmilk]

Originally Posted by Meph

Awww no pictures, no joy

I have edited the top post, every finished item has a picture and a link to a post with how to pictures and the finished article. (average 20 pics each so far)

[rodgers37]

Very good, i like it very much, i am planning on starting my own board in the next 2/3 weeks, i don't think i will do a river on this one, i want a sort of winter abandond ruin place, am going to try and find some cheap stuff on ebay, not sure quite what i need/want, but.... hopefully