Frozen Death World Gaming Board

Greetings all,

The following is a log/showcase of some terrain and tables I am working on.  Truth be told, scenery and terrain is what originally got me into miniature painting so it seems fitting to catalog my advancements here along side my DE forces.  

Any and all critiques and suggestions are welcomed.  I try to incorporate unique elements that I haven't seen often - using techniques i've either developed over the years or seen done by some prominent YouTube scenery personalities.  That being said, if anyone has any questions about how to obtain the looks or results seen here, please don't hesitate to ask, as I would be happy to remove my Archon hat and share advice and techniques!

Anyways, here is the gaming board.  It's three (3) 2'x4', 1/4" MDF with 1.5"x.75" strapping to prevent any warping

The overall motif, if you will, of the board (world) was to be the outskirts of an abandoned imperial world utilized for its resources.  Given the alluring combination of humanoids and resources, this obviously made it a prime candidate for raiding parties of the Kabal of the Sinister Void - who did frequent the planet often     The good times did not last, however, as the planet became unstable and inhospitable as the insatiable humans rushed their harvesting practices, pushing the planet to its near breaking point.  This planetary instability is represented by a few "unique" rules while also adding some drama to games played on the surface.  The fracturing of the planet is represented in the fissures seen throughout the board while the remnants of the people that once inhabited and defended this world are also present.  Hope you guys enjoy!

So a few additions have been made to the scatter terrain of the board since my last post.  Below are some WIP pics of a poster-board building where you can see the techniques used to establish, what I think to be rather realistic looking, crumbling concrete.  Its a simple design and my first attempt at built-from-scratch buildings but i'm rather happy with the initial results.  The piece is based on 1/4" MDF and fits into a "modular slot" on the gaming board.  This will hopefully translate into a more cohesive looking feature when finished while also allowing for easier storing of the 2'x4' boards.  The building was sealed/textured with watered down filler/joint compound not only to protect it but to add some "concrete-like" texture to the build.  The piece was then primed black with the addition of surface gravel and texture coming soon.






Next up is a piece made to represent an abandoned front-line fortification.  It's entirely made from poster-board, Popsicle sticks, cardboard, toothpicks and modeling putty.  The piece has been textured with the same joint compound to achieve a concrete look while the putty that was applied post-priming will likely remain white and be covered in snow effects to represent snow drifts against the walls of the fortification.  The whole feature is based on expanded PVC board.  It's a material used for commercial advertising by companies like Fast Signs and Staples and is immune to warping while still remaining stiff enough to support terrain features.  I picked up some scraps from a local Fast Signs shop for free and it has quickly become my go-to for basing terrain.  Anyways, enough of that, hope you enjoy the pics below and stay tuned for more works to come!

Awesome work!!

God that's awesome!
Been trying to make a bunker, but was gonna sculpt the barracade with some clay. Man was that the wrong route, your solution is ALOT better. And it looks fantastic. Gj mate!

I love the sheets of broken ice in the rivers, could you please share your method?

I love snowy battlefields, so this gets a thumbs up from me! The river with moving ice is terrific! I assume the two terrain pieces will be sufficiently snowy as well?

Thanks for the positive feedback, everyone!  It's as encouraging as it is motivating!

@tzelok - It would be my pleasure! Its, in its simplest form, melted candle wax.  I bought a pack of candle sticks (white/clearish) from a dollar shop and melted them down on a metal baking sheet in the oven (on low heat so not to smoke out my poor, tolerant, Fiance!).  I then removed the sheet and let it cool overnight.  The next day i twisted the sheet (much like an ice cube tray) and sections popped off the sheet.  I then broke some of the larger sized pieces into shapes that were similar to the existing river bed and filled in the smaller gaps with the left over smaller chunks of wax.  I then poured my resin/water mix and pressed the wax pieces into the still wet water effects, achieving a half-submerged effect when desired. I suppose in hindsight I would have melted the wax in a bowl in the microwave and the poured in onto the baking sheet in the shape of the premade river...that would have simplified the process a bit, I suppose, but either way I was impressed with the results despite the time intensive nature of the process!  I'm glad you like the finished product, as well!

@siticus the ancient - Thanks for the support!  There is just something about the contrast of a snowy battlescape that just makes any tabletop army look that much better.  Yes, indeed, the scatter terrain will be snowy as well.  My dilemma, moving forward, lies in the snow texture for the scatter terrain...since I utilized a "wind swept" snow pattern for the board itself, I'm torn "weather" or not (get it??) to continue the same pattern on the scatter terrain.  The alternative would be to use snow flock (as I've used on my army, itself) on the terrain pieces so that the wind blown pattern wont conflict with the pattern of board itself.  This internal struggle has driven me to shelve the terrain for a bit and focus on some scourges but they are very nearly complete and I fear I will return to the same design stand-off I left nearly 4 weeks ago!  Needless to say, any suggestions you may have would be gladly taken into consideration

P.S. Great Facebook page...really awesome looking stuff on there!

I know the struggle you're going through - I've changed the way I do snowy bases quite a bit over the years, and recently getting some Eldar painted really drove me up the wall when it came to basing - I had to dig out the old GW snow flock just to retain some sense of continuity, even if I now go with simple baking soda and PVA mix on a dark blue ground.

I'd say for terrain consistency with the army perhaps does not matter as much, so I'd suggest continuing to do all terrain the same way. It's hardly unusual for the terrain to not closely match the bases of an army - that personal patch of snow the troops carry around does not melt even on the hottest, most volcanic death worlds or jungle!

Ha, wish that Facebook page was more up to date - really had no time to get new, decent pictures. Maybe one day! In any case, thanks for checking it out

Great concept and just awesome execution! The ice in the river! Superb! One day I hope to have the space to make some tables, your work is quite the inspiration!

Thanks everyone for the kind words!  I've found the time and motivation lately to attempt to finish the modular terrain for this board once and for all!  Below are some pictures of the bunker and ruined building.  They really only require snow - which requires me to make a batch of the same stuff that was used on the board itself.  I hope to get that done at some point this week but i just wanted to post these in the meantime.  It's worth noting that the white modeling clay on the front of the bunker will represent snow drifts once snow is applied, but in its current state, is not intended to be "white snow" Enjoy!  Ask any questions you might have with regards to technique or methods - I'm happy to share