Basic tools and materials

Lord of the rings - Royaal

Basic tools and materials

The stuff you use

Part of our beloved hobby is made up of terrain building. Whether a simple hill or the amazing fortress of Helm’s Deep, a few pieces of terrain can greatly enhance your gaming table. Terrain can also be crucial to a battle plan; it can block line of sight, give cover to troops, slow models down or give archers a better field of vision.
But where to start? Building terrain may seem like a daunting task at first, but the finished result is usually well worth the effort. This article presents all the basic tools and materials a budding terrain builder will need to start his very own terrain collection.

Modelling Knife- This is one of the most important tools you’ll need whilst constructing terrain. A modelling knife is a knife that comes with a retractable blade, so the blade can be retracted in and out of the handle to suit your needs. The blade is quite sharp though, so take full care whilst using it. A modelling knife is usually used for cutting thick cardboard, polystyrene and other hard materials.

Scissors- Another important tool, scissors are used for cutting thin cardboard and large materials where a modelling knife would not be quite safe to use. Scissors are also easy to control, meaning that there’s less danger of you hurting yourself.

Steel Ruler- A steel ruler is vital for measuring materials and drawing shapes. Whilst cutting materials with a modelling knife, always use a steel ruler to support the blade, ensuring you cut in a straight line.

Clippers- Available from Games Workshop, clippers can be used for a variety of things in terrain building. They can cut wire, bend plastic and some types of metal.

Pencils- These are a very useful tool is terrain building. Pencils can be used for marking measurements, making shapes and a whole load of other things.

Hot Wire Cutter- Available from Games Workshop, a Hot Wire Cutter is a tool used exclusively for cutting through polystyrene. Currents pass through the wire, heating it, and thus allowing it to cleanly cut through the polystyrene sheet. The wire does become very hot though, so be very careful not to touch it.

PVA Glue- This is one of the most important materials you’ll come by in the hobby. PVA Glue is used to glue together a wide range of materials, including cardboard, polystyrene and balsa wood. PVA Glue can also be diluted easily with water to have different types of effects on your terrain.

Cardboard- Cardboard is used for a variety of things in terrain building, including being used to make buildings, river sections and even hills. Thin cardboard can also be cut into small pieces to represent flagstones on a fortress.

Polystyrene- Another very useful material in terrain building, polystyrene is used to make hills, buildings and other types of terrain. It can easily be cut with a modelling knife, but it is quite messy to work with, so ensure that a few sheets of newspaper are on your workplace so all the leftover pieces of polystyrene can be cleared with ease after you have finished working. A way to counter this is to used a Hot Wire Cutter, which will neatly cut through the polystyrene without making a lot of mess.

Balsa Wood- Balsa wood is usually used for buildings, bridges and fences. It can be cut quite easily and can be painted to good effect.

Sand/Gravel- This material is used to add further effect to your gaming boards, to construct the banks of rivers and any other useful thing you can think of.

Paint- A very useful material, paints are used to bring life into your terrain pieces. They can be used to paint your gaming boards, your hills, your buildings, etc.

Static Grass- A material that I find very useful, static grass is a much more realistic version of flock. It is usually used to represent grass, and can be glued onto your hills and other terrain pieces with ease. Static Grass Battle Mats can also be bought from Games Workshop to cover your gaming boards.

Conclusion

Building terrain is an immensely satisfying experience, though it takes time and patience to fully master this part of the hobby. So go ahead, put down your paintbrush and dice, and have a go at making terrain. The Last Alliance boasts a very large library of terrain articles, so you won’t have much trouble finding inspiration. And like they say,don’t knock it till you’ve tried it!