I think I have almost hit the wall.
Building terrain for an event is no joke – so much work goes into the tables to get it right. It does not help that I am trying to not cut corners in the paint and finish of each piece. What I have come to realise though is that sometimes, you have to say enough is enough.
Don’t get me wrong, the OCD part of me will no doubt go back and add more details before each event I run going forward as well as repair the inevitable damage the pieces will suffer but its still a massive chore for me.
I think that’s the key – I don’t find it fun and it becomes a chore.
Painting an army is something I tend to enjoy once I get the colour scheme down – I can paint and paint and paint once I have it sorted – I painted my 3 knights and skitarri (1850 total) in about 5 weeks and loved doing it. I painted 70 genestealers in 4 weeks. I painted my 3 wraith knights, 15 wraithguard, 2 wave serpents, 3 jet bikes, 5 rangers and characters in 5 weeks with a broken hand!
Painting a table worth of terrain on the other hand – despite the pieces being on the table for more time then potentially any model in my army! – seems like work as its just the back drop to the army. When a friend comes over to game, its the new units and heroes that get picked up first – if the terrain is mentioned at all!
Despite this, I am plowing on. Danger Rod has done a fantastic job of my crater and desert tables while I have an arctic, city and industrial table underway. With my new hobby room getting its finishing touches now, I can get stuck into it as well as doing some recording of games and look to launch my new podcast.
As a teaser – here are some very dodgy pics I grabbed on my phone of 4 of the new tables.
As promised, the Black Templars lost 2 of their mighty land raiders trying to deal with the arid aussie climate! I think the Fat Mats from Frontline Gaming really bring these tables alive!
Back to the grind stone for me… I need to be on top of this before the Betrayal at Calth box is available… that spells the end of any motivation for terrain I am sure!
I am trying to sneak some terrain building into my schedule now. It is a challenge for sure when lots of other models are begging for attention. Keep up the good work. Seriously.. please keep it up as I need motivation from the other side of the planet to keep me going.
Thanks Ben! You would not believe how motivating this sort of comment is! I should have some more pics of the terrain later today or tomorrow – I am sticking at it!
I seem to remember from one of the podcasts that you were in the print industry (apologies if I’m mistaken). I am as well, and I had an idea that I will hopefully be putting into place here soon. I was thinking of printing directly on to 1/8 or 1/4″ styrene/pvc with top-down images of various terrains. Rubble, ice, toxic wastes, etc. I’m thinking they would be awesome bases for terrain without the need to paint and detail for hours. Big picture would be to print out 2′ x 2′ sheets and make a custom realm of battle board. Have you ever done, or seen, that done to any great effect?
I have a few ideas like this myself. Send me an email obsec@optusnet.com.au and we can share ideas