...or rather, making the hills.
Two more hills have been added to my mix of heights.
The first is a long-ish, low ridge, measuring 600mm long and varying between 200mm and 250mm wide, with a height of around 20mm.
The second is a steeper, more rugged height that is 450mm on the long, around 300mm on the short long axis and about 30mm high. Steep on one face with a rocky outcropping on one end and various areas of erosion across the rest, but with a more gentle approach on the opposite face.
When I started the terrain tile project one of the options was to make tiles with hills built into them, but on analysis it introduced a multitude of problems:
- My tiles are only 300mm x 300mm so the size and shape of heights is restricted, unless I was to make tiles that joined with others, but that would have created a complex number of tiles.
- Then what if I wanted a road or a stream beside the hill, this would increase that complexity and number of tiles again
- Storage becomes more complex because the tiles as as they are can stack on top of one another without damaging them, whereas as a hill tile would have odd shape and would stack awkwardly and would damage easily.
Having hills that sit on top of the tiles seemed to be the simplest way around the problem with no more than a dozen hills in different shapes. It also solved another problem for me. I have always liked that way that terrain tiles give the option to sculpt terrain below the surface: to have rivers and streams with real banks, to have sunken roads and dips in the ground, but what has always ruined the aesthetic for me is the checkerboard effect that tiles can create. Placing items like hills, woods, buildings, fields, etc on top of the tiles helps to cover and disguise the joins, as shown here.
The checkerboard effect |
The checkerboard effect minimised with a wood, a field and two hills |
That checkerboard effect is made worse in my case because I have made them super light - a standard tile weighs less than 200 grams (7 oz) - so in play they are going to get knocked and will move around easily and create the gaps that will offend my eye. My initial solution was to use rare earth magnets to hold the tiles together, but it meant buying some 300 magnets and initial tests did not go all that well. The answer for me was to build an adjustable edge that could be attached to my table that would lock them in place.
So I made plans to build this edge, an edge that would not only lock the tiles in place but would also extend my table on both axies to turn my 1525mm x 2740mm table tennis table into a 1800mm x 3000mm table. I bought all the MDF sheeting I need prior to Christmas and the plan was to complete the work before my return to work on 3 January. This was to be my main summer project. But alas my plans were thwarted by my medical problem earlier this month which prevents me from anything too strenuous for the next couple of months. The MDF sheeting itself is not all that heavy, but it is awkward to handle and since I lack a workshop the cutting of the MDF has to be done outdoors (otherwise there is likely to be a severe amount bleating about MDF sawdust in the garage from Domestic Control) which would mean carrying the MDF out the side door of the garage, down a narrow path, past the washing line to an area where the saw horses can be set up. Frustratingly this awkward manoeuvring makes the task impossible in my current condition.
And this, dear reader, is why hills, and a few other items, will feature heavily on these pages over the next month.
I particularly like the second hill with rocks and erosion, Mark - it looks great!
ReplyDeleteYes by far the bulk of the hills will just be variations on a fairly plain shape, but on the three or four "rough" pieces I can really creates something more interesting.
DeleteThose look great Mark! Many years ago I wanted to do Perry style sculpted terrain, but soon realised that I simply didn't have the space to store the tiles. So the classic GW battlemat and terrain on top sufficed and more or less solved the storage issue. A for holding your tiles in place, could you use those ratchet straps that delivery drivers used, that you could wrap round them and then gently tighten? I've seen this used quite effectively, but on relatively thick tiles.
ReplyDeleteI ummed and ahhed about terrain tiles for years...even tried experiments with some that measured 1200 x 600, but finally took the plunge during the COVID lockdowns. I thought of the tie, but my tiles are only 20mm deep and most ties are at least 25 or 30mm wide so may not work. I will get my table edging done, but just need to let things settle.
DeleteI think the separate hills is the best solution. Every time I have looked at custom-made terrain tiles I have always been put off by how many more I would have to buy and store because of the hills that have been incorporated in them. I'm a big fan of those adhesive magnetic sheets for storage, and find that on bigger pieces like ships they really hold things in place in my storage boxes and provide extra weight to the figures. Of course you would need to lay down a big thin sheet of metal over your table. The table edging sounds like the most practical solution.
ReplyDeleteWhen I sat down and worked out the combinations I needed at least an extra 20 tiles to cater for hill variants. Mind you by extending the table as I intend I need another 15 to avoid having have a stream of river on every table...at least these new ones will be flat and easy to store. The edging is a simple solution and it is easy for me to make...just need to be in a bit better condition.
DeleteYour method to hide joining is similar to the hexagony we deal with using geo hex . Movable single terrain features, done as well as yours, draw the eye and can be different dimensions for the tableau to hide the pattern from the underlying terrain tiles. Good job, hopefully you work out the magnet option.
ReplyDeleteI think that the bit of active concealment by putting thing on top, together with large numbers of figures will certainly distract the eye.
DeleteI think it’s a really great set up. Terrain tiles I think are one of those things that after an initial investment start to pay off.
ReplyDeleteSorry your recent medical scare has you unable to finish the project. Terrain making is probably the only part of wargaming that could be considered strenuous. 😀
The restriction on my activity is a real pain. The whole job is no more than a dozen cuts with a skill saw. I could enlist the help of the Domestic Controller to move the MDF, but I am sure she would insist on giving instructions that would be contrary to what I want to do (probably more annoyingly some of those ideas would be better than mine 🫤) and that would create greater stress than the physical activity!
DeleteThe separate hills work well…
ReplyDeleteCertainly a lot easier to ‘manage’ than fully modelled boards…
All the best. Aly
I agree. I now have another four hill is progress with two more to go after that. Given that I am on "light duties" I should be able to get them by the end of next week.
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