"Cites of Death" Reloaded - Part III

The board is now 85% complete, with just a few details and two or three buildings still missing. Overall, I am very happy with the rult, and the last few games were really atmospheric. 

I don't know about you, but I'm a little upset. It has never been so easy to create interesting, varied terrain. Whether using 3D printing, laser-cut terrain, pladtic terrain kits, and so on. Never before have there been so many different sources of information and such good tools available at the same time.

And yet, many gaming tables have never looked so dreary and boring. Thanks to gaming mats and the same old L-shaped terrain. That's really sad.

 

 

"Cites of Death" Reloaded - Part II

The first three introduction games were really great. The terrain made a real difference to the gameplay and the overall atmosphere. But there was still a lot of room for improvement.

Details such as posters, plants, barricades, puddles, signs, lanterns and so on were still missing. Then, of course, more buildings, possibly bridges, and definitely platforms or pedestals.

Next, I bought the set from “The Desolation of Emerita” by Sacrus Mundus, as it should fit well.

  

Then I tried out a new tool (thermocutter) and made some plateaus. I glued printed Necromunda wall sections to the Styrodur segments I had cut to size. It actually looks quite good, and the idea can be expanded upon.

“Cities of Death” Reloaded - Part I

The “Cities of Death” expansion for the 4th edition of 40k is now almost 20 years old. I used to play a few games with it, but I did not have a really fitting board back then. Later on, I had some GW ruins and two or three terrain pieces from Forgeworld, but it wasn't a real city either.

To make a long story short: I built myself an urban gaming table. I used mainly 3D printing. The project is finished to about 85%.

An old game board by my friends Clyde_Frosch and Chilla-Bot served as the basis, so I didn't have to start from scratch. I had a roll of cork left over from laying the floor, which I cut to size for the roads:

In two places, I worked the craters directly into the overall picture to create a harmonious effect. I wasn't stingy with the dirt, even though it may look a bit excessive in the picture. However, I vacuumed off the excess after it had dried.

I've always loved the aesthetics of the old Forgeworld terrain. That's why I wanted the terrain for the board to look something like that. I finally found what I was looking for at “War Scenery” and their “Siege of Castograd” series. I bought the ruins of the Imperial Warehouse and the Hab Block and fired up the printer. Using these two buildings as a starting point, I did some digital kitbashing and was able to print some more terrain in the same style. As an old nostalgic, I find the shrine of “Sanctuary 101” particularly awesome. Maybe someone else remembers it from the old publications. The files for this can easily be found online and downloaded for free.

 

I primed the terrain with black tinting paint to hide the print lines a little. This was followed by a layer of light gray from the can applied at an angle from above. Here and there, I roughly dabbed on some Reikland Fleshshade and Agrax Earthshade to make it look less monotonous. Finally, I applied a thin layer of black oil wash and that was it!