"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 result, and the last games on this board were really atmospheric. 

I don't know about you, but I'm a little disappointed. Why? It has never been so easy to create interesting, varied terrain. Whether using 3D printing, laser-cut terrain, plastic 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!

Printheim - Part II

I want to show you how I built the individual panels that form the basis for Printheim: 

To prevent the individual panels from warping and breaking, I reinforced them with wooden battens. The battens were glued and also nailed on.

Once the glue had dried, I glued a cork mat on top of the panels. These mats will serve as a base for everything that is coming later. And that´s it. Easy, cheap and straight forward.

I also had to familiarise myself with the print files first. The first house was printed quickly, but when positioning the first miniature, I realised that the house looked too small. After I scaled the files up by 20%, it looks fine.

The larger scale makes everything look "realistic" and the minis actually fit through the entrances. On the picture below, you can clearly see the print lines (0.2mm). I will try to soften these later during priming.

Printheim - Just another Mordheim Project

Ever since I was able to play Mordheim a few times on Goatmörser's fantastic gaming board a little over ten years ago, I've always been intrigued by the idea of creating my own gaming board that captures the dark atmosphere of the City of the Damned.

Such a project always seemed too intimidating and time-consuming. Many Mordheim projects drag on for years and then somehow never get finished. I can't rule out that not happening here, but I will take a few shortcuts.

That's why I decided to take a different approach and will be focussing on 3D printing (FDM). Hence the name for this project:

I hope to complete this project in the next three to four months.

The first step was the rough planning of my game board. To start with, I will build four individual boards measuring 60x60 cm. I roughly sketched out how I imagined the cityscape, with narrow alleyways, dilapidated ruins and dark corners inhabited by sinister characters. Then I started looking for suitable 3D print files. Fortunately, there are plenty of free and reasonable prices Mordheim terrain files online, such as these from MINIATURELAND.

I've completed a few larger terrain building projects like my Sororitas Shrine, Retro Orc Killteam board, Combat Arena Board or a Blitz Bowl Pitch. But that's precisely why I know what a huge task it can be to build a board like this. So kudos to all those who do it completely by hand!

To further enrich the gaming board, I will use prefabricated terrain such as from the "Terrain Crate" series from Mantic Games. The status of the first board currently looks like this:

As you can see, it will be a temple plus three ruined houses, some trees and a wall. While this first tile is still at ground level, I will also use platforms on the upcoming tiles to make the playing field a bit more interesting vertically. However, I won't be using cellars or bodies of water. They look great, but I don't see any real added value in terms of gameplay. For me, they are simply dead areas.

By the way, I won't be printing the platforms, but building them myself. They will be roughly in the style of my Blitz Bowl Pitch.

I'm looking forward to your suggestions/tips and hope that "Printheim" won't be boring despite the printed terrain. Hopefully the matching paint job will bring everything together nicely and make the terrain look unique.

[Tallarn Desert Raider] FW Heavy Bolter Turret Emplacement

I moved and had little time for the hobby. 

But now, the new mancave is slowly taking shape and I find more time to build and paint some miniatures. The first painted piece is a Forgeworld Heavy Bolter Turret Emplacement for my Tallarn army:

 

[Retro] Space Ork Kill Team Board - Finished!

I finished the Kill Team board a few days ago, finally. We have used it in a few games already. It looks great and works well. The terrain is fully versatile, so the games should not become too dull.

 

 

[Retro] Space Ork Kill Team Board - Promethium Tank

This piece of terrain is not my best work, but it should work well on the gaming board nevertheless.