Tabletop Terrain: Dark Age - Constructing a Core Hive

HOH HOH!

Back with some updates for our Dark Age Terrain. I start to design the centerpiece of the gaming table by doing some final sketches with some more details to get a feeling for where I have to build several parts of the terrain piece - Building wargaming terrain is always about finding the middle between playability and looking perfect or better realistic. There must be spots for miniatures and it is sometimes better to shrink and stylize parts to get a compact and good looking terrain piece. I also like to give it a little bit of a comic style. That obviously depends on the setting. If you are building for a realistic wargame or do build terrain for games with a certain artistic look? You can try to fit that look or style in a way! 

But if you build terrain for models you want to give those models a fitting background. So do not use to many details in your terrain those would eventually distract from the awesome miniatures. 

Anyway - here you see the setting for the Core Hive Entry. It is located on a small rocky hill in a Arizona seemed landscape in a reddish theme. There are concrete stairs or a industrial road leading to a big double winged hatch door. An elevator transports the residents in or out the main bunker or better the hive.

The terrain piece is based on a wood plate which edges were sanded to get smooth transition. Than I draw on the base a 1:1 map to get the right arrangement. After that I carved the hill out of styrodur to set where are rocky parts and where to go less steep upwards. Afterwards I will work it out with filler, pebbles, sand everything else to get the right level of details. By the way - I love to carve rocks freestyle out of foam! But there a several different methods - you can also use bark or other textured materials for doing this. but for a typical comic like and real artistic look - better do it yourself cause it will be unique!

Till now I do not use any glue for a certain reason - I can rearrange everything like I want. That way of building is called designing with a model and when it comes to "normal" landscape architecture or other design works - it is for many professionals the ideal way of constructing. The concrete road or paving tiles were carved out of architectural foam which is easy to cut. Now it was time to catch some bits and pieces to start some experiments for the details. You can use everthing you can find - from old toys over packing materials to professional modelling stuff. 

So! If you have ideas and criticism? Please let me know! 

Best

TT-Lenny