Scatter Terrain for Skirmish Games

At the start of the year I used the Paint What You Got Challenge as an opportunity to prepare for the first Rangers of Shadow Deep mission. This was mostly building, kitbashing and painting minis, but I did want to add to my terrain collection as well.  I managed to finish five Nest Trees, but there were several other bits that weren't quite finished. 

They were all built and painted by the end of March, but I couldn't decide how I wanted to base them. Long time readers of the blog will recognise this as a common fault in my hobbying, especially with regard to terrain.

Other things got in the way, of course, but I've just got around to finishing these three pieces.

The three rocky bases

A different angle

Rocks

Many skirmish games benefit from cover, and rocks and boulders are one possibility (they are a big part of many Rangers of Shadow Deep scenarios).  These were simple to make, just carved scraps of XPS textured with a ball of foil.  I'm experimenting with different forms and colours, as I plan on making more of these.  Each piece has a slightly different function in game;

Boulder  This is the simplest; a big rock that provides cover and acts as an obstacle.  The colour scheme is similar to the Tors, classic wargamers grey rock. This, and the tor, was designed to allow minis to be placed on the rocks.

Rock Tor  This blocks line of sight or provides cover.  It can be climbed over, and minis can be placed on it.  The form and colour was loosely based on the gritstone formations found locally, though those tend to be darker, thanks to a couple of hundred years of industrial pollution.

Rock Spires  These block line of sight and can't be crossed, at least by creatures limited to surface movement.  I painted them a lighter sandy colour not so obvious on the photos, possibly influenced by vague memories of Bryce Canyon.

Back to Bases

For years I simply stuck terrain on to MDF, prior to that I used hardboard, which is even more prone to warping than MDF, and in the early years, just cardboard.

Fairly recently I discovered foam board (NOT the XPS sandwiched by thin card stuff). Waterproof, so it's much less likely to warp, and very easy to cut. This is now my basing material of choice, at least until I discover something better.

To texture, I used to use sand and paint, latterly with static grass and tufts to finish off. But this gives a fairly uninteresting result. 

I've seen some great terrain and basing, for instance, this Middle Earth themed set from Microforge Minis; if I can achieve something like that, I'll be more than happy.

A lot of hobbyists use dried, baked soil, but round here this tends to be quite dark, almost black. To match my mini bases I want something more traditionally brown. I'd like to grab some of the lovely rich brown soils from the Vale of York, but so far I've not got round to it. 

Failing that, I've been collecting dried tea leaves (loose tea*, as it has a nice granulated texture) and dried coffee grounds. 

There are potential issues with using these; they can go mouldy, but I've dried and baked them thoroughly first, and I plan on sealing them well, so no additional moisture or air should contact them. 

Fingers crossed, this should work.

The Answer's in the Soil

For my first try (the individual rock) I mixed up some brown grouting powder with dried tea and coffee in roughly 2:1:1 proportions. I found that the pale grout was by far the dominant colour, so mixed in a bit more of the coffee. 

The base was given a coat of Mod Podge and the mix sprinkled over, making sure that everywhere was covered.

For the other two pieces I applied patches of tea and coffee to parts of the base; this bit of variety in colour and texture gives a much more interesting and realistic look.  I then filled round with the grout and scattered some over the tea and coffee to blend them more into the ground.

Seal of Approval 

Once the Mod Podge was well on the way to drying, I gave the base a spray of isopropanol. This helps break surface tension and allows the sealant to soak in to the ground texture.

The sealant is simply watered down Mod Podge, a 1:1 mix, though a bit more water won't harm. When I'm doing this stage with minis bases I just dollop it on with a brush, but on a larger bases like these, a dropper or syringe is much better, and doesn't disturb the carefully piled clumps of foliage in the second seal stage (see below).

Unlike just PVA glue, the Mod Podge contains a resin. It's this that I hope will protect the tea and coffee from moisture, as well as making sure that the texture stays on the base.

Green Fingers 

With the soil firmly in place, I added some Fine Turf. I clumped this around the base of the rocks to look like low bushes. I also added some static grass in several different colours and lengths, and finally a few tufts (including some 'flowers').

The vegetation was then sealed in just like the ground texture.

Rangers explore the rocky borders of Alladore

Finally 

So that's three small pieces of terrain.

It might not look like much, but it's important because I've now got a method I'm happy with. I've several more pieces of terrain just waiting for basing, and plenty more that I want to build, such as the Bogel's Farm. 

Now I can get these done and maybe, perhaps, end up with a box of terrain that I'm happy with.

*In this case Rington's Breakfast Tea, though of course other teas are available. It's very tasty though.

** Unless, of course, it all goes mouldy in a few months, in which case it's back to square one.

Paint What You Got Challenge Completed

For the past 48 days my hobby time has been dedicated to Dave Stone's Paint What You Got Challenge. I decided early on to use it as a spur to paint stuff for the first mission for Rangers of Shadow Deep, with the option to start on the second mission if time allowed. So how did it go?

Pretty well actually. While I didn't finish some of the terrain that I'd planned, and I never got on to mission two, I've got a good base of Heroes and Creatures for the game. If the Rangers' choice of Companions isn't too exotic then we can play the first mission easily.

Let's have a closer look at what I managed to paint, if you want more details, use the PWYG tag, or just look at the last couple of months posts.

Heroes 

Four Rangers, three are based loosely on characters we used in our games, though given that we can change equipment between missions, this isn't too important. All three were kit bashed from various sprues, especially the various Frostgrave sprues from North Star Miniatures.

The fourth Ranger is a Reaper Bones Dark Elf.

Four Recruits, the basic hire in the game, wannabe Rangers who might not be individually strong, but are cheap. These are based on the Oathmark Human Light Infantry sprue, with a few bits from other sources.

Two Men at Arms and one Guardsman, These Companions are drawn from Alladore's army. The only difference between them is equipment. Men at arms have a hand weapon and shield, whereas the Guardsman has a two handed weapon. They all use the Oathmark Human Infantry bodies, with other bits from various sources.

Three Archers, in the game, archers use either bows or crossbows. These also use Oathmark Human Infantry bodies. Other bits from the same sprue or from the Frostgrave Soldiers sprues 

Creatures 

Mission one requires zombies, giant rats and giant spiders. I managed eight zombies, four giant rats and four spiders, (well initially I only had four spiders, but I managed to get some more. So, technically I didn't have these at the start of the challenge, so I'll not count them). These are all Reaper Bones minis, acquired from various Kickstarters.

Other Stuff 

I painted up some Reaper Townsfolk as surviving villagers and even managed some bits of terrain.

The biggest terrain pieces are the Nest Trees for the second scenario, but I also finished the Reaper Bones pumpkin filled cart.

The List of Shame 

Not everything got finished, of course. 

One thing I wanted to craft was some buildings with accessible interiors. I built one that works well (though the interior dimensions are a bit cramped) and started another, but the weather hasn't been good enough for using my airbrush outside, so they'll have to wait for spring.

I also crafted various rocks.  These are all painted, but the bases still need some work. 

I based up a lot of my random collection of wargaming trees, but again, the bases need work.  

My plans to do some hedges didn't get very far, but I've got some ideas to pursue. 

I've also got more Rangers and Companions to paint, kit bashing them is becoming an obsession. It makes more sense to work on stuff for mission two though, essentially gnolls.

Every Day's a School Day 

I learnt some things as well. I experimented with Marine Juice (or Sonic Tonic, and the Sonic Sledgehammer now calls it) and I think it's currently my favourite wash, especially for the lesser heroes. It's a good shading stage for the main characters too.

I also worked on my Slapchop technique. I've sort of used it before, but I've got a much better idea of how to get it to work, and I think I've improved. As part of this, I've persevered with Vallejo's Xpress Color paints, and I'm much happier with them now.

So it's been a great couple of months. It's helped me focus my hobby time, without it feeling too constraining. 

I'm already looking forward to the next one, and I'm wondering about trying Dave's Terrain challenge in the summer.

Thanks, Snap Fit for mentioning PWYG, and thanks Dave for having me onboard.

Painting Reaper Bones Tomb Rats 07031 and Townsfolk

I don't really need any new rats. I have a good number of the old Bones rats painted and based, more than enough for the first mission,  but the newer Tomb Rats are much more impressive, and given that we've lost Companions to them both times we've played*, they just look the part. 

I've got villagers as well (painted as one of my 'Palette Cleansers' back in 2021) but I'd like more of the Townsfolk painted up to match the old chap from last December. 

Slapchop seems an ideal way of getting these minis done quickly.

Tomb Rats

Painting the rats was straightforward.  As with the Zombies,  I gave them a wash of Army Painter Darktone thinned with Vallejo Thinner,  then a drybrush of white. 

I used mostly Army Painter Speedpaints as there wasn't much complicated in the colour scheme,  though I did use Vallejo Xpress Color Fairy Skin for the tail and noses, as its a bit pinker. 

Fur was a mix of Army Painter Speedpaint Sand Golem and Hardened Leather to give some variety,  and a line of APS Dark Wood along the spine.  Reactivation helps blend this in.

I also painted an albino rat, but it needs some work to base properly, so I'll not include it here.

All the rats were given VGC Off White teeth and black eyes.

Four Tomb Rats

I said the painting was straightforward; the preparation wasn't.  I'm sure my readers know that I prefer my roleplaying and skirmish minis on clear bases.  With the exception of my Lord of the Rings collection,  and more recently, my Oldhammer stuff, I've been clear basing since 2016. Some minis are easier than others, but these rats were a real pain to remove from the integral bases. 

Townsfolk

The Townsfolk were also pretty easy, though again, removing the bases, especially for both the women in their base hugging skirts took some effort with a Stanley knife.

Colour choice was the only thing I struggled with. 

Three more townsfolk

Stylistically, these Townsfolk look a bit later than the zombies or the old chap. Indeed, they'd not look out of place in the sixteen hundreds.

I deliberately tried to match the colours of the lady zombie in the green dress for the younger of the two women. It's not exact, but hopefully it links them.

Young woman and zombie 'twin'

Otherwise, I mostly used various combinations of Speedpaints, though once again the VXP Fairy Skin was used on the younger woman.

So that's everything I mentioned in my planning post painted. Enough minis for the first mission, and my entry for Dave Stone's Paint What You Got Challenge. 

But I've been working on some scenery and if I can get that finished in time, I'll add it to my entry. 

#EDIT# 

Further to Bodvoc's comment below,  the newer Reaper Bones minis are made of a much harder material. The original Bonseum was softer and more flexible.  Bonseum Black (actually a mid grey) is much tougher. It's harder to cut, and doesn't bend as easily,  great for detail and reducing 'floppy weapon syndrome'.

It does make it a beast to remove large amounts though, and like the original (and Restic) leaves a very rough surface if sanded or filed. 

Puddle bases are much easier to remove,  if nothing else,  they can be sanded down. 

*Something that shouldn't have happened.  I missed the bit that said that monsters don't score Critical Hits.  So it's not possible for a Giant Rat to take out a Man at Arms in one bite.  It looked good on the table top though

Rangers of Shadow Deep - More Heroes

I Can Stop Anytime I Like

I find kit bashing minis for games such as Rangers of Shadow Deep almost compulsive. I sit surrounded by sprues and hold them against each other to see what bits look good together. I've also got a compartmentalized box with lots of bits clipped off largely emptied sprues so I can root through various different weapon and equipment options. 

Anyway, while doing this I built a couple more Companions along with the Ranger I briefly mentioned in my planning post.

Man-at-Arms, Ranger and Archer

The New Companions

The Man-at-Arms and the Archer are straightforward builds from the Oathmark Human Infantry sprue, so don't really count as kit bashing.

The painting is straightforward. They both have Vallejo Game Color Sick Green tunics and VGC Green collars. The leather armour is VGC Leather and I gave each of them some yellow somewhere. 

The two currently unnamed Companions

They got some highlights before the Marine Juice, then a few details, such as the shield design, buckles and metal studs, then a few more highlights where required.  I kept the shield design simpler than on the earlier Man-at-Arms, perhaps he is from a different division?  I think I got his skin tone a bit better than my first attempts with Bellisara, in fact I went back and repainted her hands and face using the same recipe.  He does have a bit of an 'early morning stare' though.

Conorith the Ranger

Conorith is the Ranger I used in a three player game last year (mentioned in the previous post about the Recruits). He's equipped with heavy armour, a two handed weapon and a crossbow. I was deliberately going for a very 'fighty' Ranger, no magical abilities at all. 

My first thought was to choose a body from the Frostgrave Knights sprue, but building the various Companions left me with the Human Infantry cloaked body, and I do like my Rangers to wear cloaks or long coats. 

I particularly wanted him to have a Greatsword, and there's a nice one on the Frostgrave Soldiers 1 sprue, but it's held resting on the shoulder. What to do with the left arm? I tried various arms with crossbows, but they were all obviously firing rather than just holding the weapon and looked wrong. In the end I slung a crossbow on his back (a bit of cutting and filing removed the hand holding it). Thin plastic provided a suggestion of some rope holding it in place (actually the waste from drilling holes in the minis legs for pinning - waste not, want not). 

Because the Rangers are explorers as well as fighters I gave him a torch, again from the Frostgrave Soldiers sprue. I can have a go at object source lighting I thought.

Conorith the Ranger

I painted him alongside the Companions, but went on to add extra highlights and details after the Marine Juice. 

The OSL was simply a drybrush of VGC Moon Yellow on the bits that looked like they'd catch the light from the flame. I'm not convinced it looks that good (it's worse in real life than on the photos), still, I'll keep on practicing.

So there we go. More than enough Heroes for games of Rangers of Shadow Deep, and of course they'll do nicely for roleplaying games and other skirmish games. Very enjoyable to build and to paint.

Rangers of Shadow Deep Recruits

Why Recruits?

In a recent three player game* we didn't have many recruitment points, so we ended up with a ten point Recruit each. For the game we simply used some of my Frostgrave collection and relied on player memory to know which mini was a Recruit and which was a Man at Arms (not always successfully). Having seen how useful they were, I'd like to have some dedicated minis for future games (they will, of course, be suitable for other small scale games as well).

What to use

North Star recently brought out Human Light Infantry for Oathmark, stylistically similar to the normal infantry, as seen in my Karpath army and donating torsos for some of the other Companions. But the Light Infantry are obviously unarmoured, wearing short tunics, and all have short cloaks. Whilst I'm not sure I'd want a whole unit in cloaks for my army (I tend to think of the cloaks as denoting rank or quality), I can imagine the young Recruits to the Rangers of Alladore being given a short cloak when they are inducted. Presumably this is then swapped for a full length cloak when they become full Rangers.

Anyway, enough justifying my minis choice, here they are, Alladore Ranger Recruits.

The four Recruits

The simplicity of the minis fits the role. I've gone for similar greens and yellows as the Alladore infantry. The cloak is the same shade of green as the Rangers cloaks or long coats.  Recruits only get hand weapons, so I used the different options on the sprue to add variety.  I even used a set of arms from the other infantry sprue, with puffier sleeves for a bit of variety.

I'm sure that in game these Recruits will be referred to as simply 'those axe guys'

As with the earlier Companions, I gave them a base coat, some highlights and then I used Marine Juice again.

I added a few extra details and highlights, then done.

Sword guy and mace guy?

I'm pleased with the results. They are simple minis with straightforward paint jobs, but I think they look the part.

*This was a three player game to introduce T'Other One to the game. Andy played a similar Ranger to Portus Fell, I went for a very martial build.

The game was fun, though the event cards didn't produce the glut of zombies we got in our first game, so things seemed, perhaps, a bit easier. Having three Rangers probably helped too. 

It was this game that inspired me to build the four Recruits. Their low points cost means they fill gaps in the recruitment process.

Reaper Bones Zombies 07055; More Slapchop

With the success of the old chap from the Townsfolk set using the Slapchop method, I tried a few variations on some zombies included in the latest Reaper Bones Kickstarter. These are lovely zombies, as with the villagers, they are dressed in a suitably 'historic' fashion. These are dead peasants brought back rather than warriors or adventurers. They'll be ideal for Rangers of Shadow Deep, and many other RPGs and skirmish games. Although these minis arrived in the Bones 6 Kickstarter they were the bonus pack, I believe they were originally in the previous Kickstarter.

The four different zombie sculpts

Painting the Zombies

As with the old man, I gave the minis a shade wash using a 1:1 mix of Army Painter Darktone wash and Vallejo Thinner, followed by a white drybrush.

This time I used my small (but slowly growing) collection of Vallejo Xpress paints. I've no problem with the Army Painter Speedpaints; I've got used to them, I'm learning some nice mixes and the reactivation can be used to blend. But they don't allow me to use different layers of paints and washes. I also felt that my first go with Vallejo Xpress paints was less than satisfactory, and I was sure I could do better.

I've recently seen a couple of YouTube videos for zombie flesh that I thought I could adapt. Essentially a thinned flesh wash followed by a green/grey wash. This seems to be becoming popular in the hobby-sphere, but I remember doing a cruder version of this back in the 1980s using Bronzed Flesh and thinned Goblin Green.  Nowhere near as well, I should add.

Test Zombie 

For the flesh I used a 1:1 VXP Dwarf Flesh:Xpress Medium mix, followed by a 1:1 VXP Plague Green: Xpress Medium mix. 

I like the result, although it's darker than my usual zombie flesh colour of VGC Dead Flesh followed by a Strongtone or similar wash. I checked with my local friendly zombiemeister, T'Other One, and he assures me that zombies have quite varied skin tones. 

Test zombie skin tones

Clothing was simply a case of choosing suitable fairly desaturated colours, though I'm slightly hampered by my limited stock of Xpress paints.

 

Three More Zombies 

I liked the test results, but for the rest I decided to slightly vary the skin tones. Nothing drastic, but I think the variety works for the subject matter.

They all got a drybrush of Vallejo Game Colour Earth around the feet and lower legs and lower sleeves to dirty them up.

Four More Zombies 

I enjoyed painting them so much that I painted another four to bring the number up to eight, as per my planning.

The second batch were pretty much the same, but I tried to make them look a bit different. This was mostly through different colours for the clothing, but also different washes on top of the flesh colour. Some of the clothing looks a little garish to me,  especially as I'm trying to make them look naturalistic (for zombies), but some of it is fine.  I'm particularly pleased with the lady in the light green dress (VXP Orc Skin) with yellow trim. 

There are a couple of things I'm not completely happy with.  Mould lines and hair.

Slapchop really emphasises mould lines, and although I thought I'd done a pretty good job of cleaning these up, there are quite a few obvious lines.  More care and attention required next time.

None of the zombies have particularly convincing hair colours.  I'm not sure if this is down to my limited range of colours or a result of using the Xpress paints.  I can easily go over these again with more conventional paints.

Vallejo Xpress Paints

At the start I mentioned that I wanted to give the Vallejo Xpress Paints another try. What did I think this time?

Well, I'm impressed. I've seen YouTube videos about them, particularly from Juan Hidalgo (who helped design the latest batch) claiming that they are particularly good for Slapchop. 

I agree. There's a better gradation between the highlights and the shadows than I get with Speedpaints, though it's not such a difference that I'll stop using the Army Painter stuff. Indeed, I used some Speedpaints on the second batch of zombies as I was running out of colours for clothing and I wanted to make them as individual as possible.

My collection of Xpress paints is small (but growing) and the first release lacked some important shades. I particularly miss anything similar to Pallid Bone, which I use frequently to dull down and lighten other colours. The second batch does include some of these sorts of colours and I intend to get some,  but my local shop selling Vallejo (Boyes, a good old fashioned department store) hasn't expanded their stock yet.

A Note on Costume 

The different coloured collars might seem odd, but my musical friends who play in costume assure me that this was quite common. In fact, in most illustrations, what can be seen as a collar is actually a separate hood, the actual hood bit being frequently worn off the head, just hanging down over the back.  Medieval illustrators didn't always show the hood, leading to speculation if it was there or not, but my friends assure me that it is much more practical to have a hood rather than just a wide collar.  

Painting Reaper Bones Spiders SKU77126

CAUTION. THIS POST INCLUDES PHOTOS OF PAINTED MODEL SPIDERS. I'll put the pictures right down at the bottom if you'd rather not look, and include something less potentially upsetting for the thumbnail.

Wallabies, definitely not spiders 

Old Unpainted Minis

I've had these models, designed by K. Williams,  for around ten years. A couple were included in the first ever Reaper Bones Kickstarter, though those particular ones seem to have scuttled off somewhere. These four were included in the second Kickstarter, along with extra beetles and other vermin. 

When I saw that I'd need spiders for the second scenario for Rangers of Shadow Deep, it seemed a great opportunity to finally get them painted.

I had hoped to get another pack to bring them up to the six required (see my planning post) but for various reasons they are proving elusive. So here are the four painted arachnids.

Painting the Minis

I gave them a base coat of black (Vallejo Game Color Black, but any will do) then a drybrush of VMC Scorched Brown followed by VGC Earth, just to accent the various details, especially around the head.

I painted around the various leg joints with VGC Gory Red, trying to leave the crevices of the joints black. I then added highlights with VGC Bloody Red.

The eyes proved tricky. Most real spiders eyes are shiny black, at least the ones I found on the internet are. This just didn't work at such a small scale. I tried dotting in some yellow, but it didn't look quite right. Then I tried VGC Goblin Green, with a dot of VGC Livery Green, which seemed ok.

Finished.  But they looked very drab. So taking a cue from the Black Widow I decided add a patch of brightness on the abdomen.  The mission implies that the spiders' bite creates zombies, at least that's how I read it, so I thought this design was appropriate.  In fact, I sort of wish I'd made the mark bigger.  Maybe for the next ones?

I'm pleased with the end result; there's nothing amazing about them, but they're fine for Rangers of Shadow Deep, and many other roleplaying games as well, and it's good to finally get them painted after nearly ten years. I need a couple more for the scenario, but they'll have to wait, meanwhile, these qualify for the Paint What You Got challenge. 

And leave a comment and award yourself a pat on the back if you recognise the inspiration.

Scroll down for the pictures

Four Reaper bones spiders

Spiders doing handstands

Bitey bitey spiders

Rangers of Shadow Deep; Painted Companions and Marine Juice

Back in December I built three Companions to match the ones Andy and I chose for our first game.

I've finished painting them now, and in the time slot for the Paint What You Got challenge too, so here they are.

Painting the Three Companions 

I gave them a base coat and chose colours suitable for the Kingdom of Alladore; green, since the Rangers wear a lot of green, and yellow as a more 'uniform-y' alternative to the Rangers' browns. I took inspiration from the game's author, Joe McCullough on his blog, The Renaissance Troll.

L to R: Uli, Arthur and Skegi

An Experiment 

After base coating I gave them all a bit of a highlight, then I tried something new. YouTuber Sonic Sledgehammer uses what he calls 'Marine Juice', apparently based on a mix used by the Forge World painters. His updated recipe, along with various tips on how to get the best out of it can be found on his YouTube channel*.

Now long time readers will no doubt think this is pretty much what I do for my orcs (and other, similar, minis) but the addition of the Flesh shade and Medium makes a difference. I was amazed at how well it works on the Caucasian skin tones, (I guess the clue is in the Flesh shade). It's also less brown than my 'Orcwash', making it more suitable for general use. I'll still use Orcwash, but I think I'll mix some acrylic medium in before use.

Uli

Arthur

Skegi

So here they are, with the rest of the gang from the first game. I'm pleased with the results, Marine Juice certainly speeds up the painting, but gives a good enough result for the supporting cast. I'd still want to put in the time with the Rangers, but this is fine for Companions.

Uli, Besaria, Skegi, Ellen, Portus Fell and Arthur

*You really should check out Sonic Sledgehammer's video, but if you need the recipe, it's one bottle of GWs Reikland Fleshshade, one bottle of Lahmium Medium and one bottle of Army Painter Darktone.