Hatchway designs for my Zone Mortalis Caverns

So I needed to design some simple cardboard hatchways to use on my new Zone Mortalis board. Using paint, I sketched up a basic design, such as the one above.

I found some textures of metal on Google, and experimented with a couple different combinations.

Now I have a variety of hatch types, and I will start slotting them into the board. I have a system planned where I recycle old sprue to make the slots, glueing them directly into the board. I will post another update once I have a working hatchway to show you! Next, I'll have to make some destroyed or burnt out versions of these hatches for destroyed ones!

Teun Tries Terrain: -Easy- Zone Mortalis Board - Caverns (Part 4)

As the end of this side project nears completion, you can really start to see the caverns take shape!

But first: How I got here! I used scrap from the carving of the tunnels to bulk the board up a little higher.

Then, I enlisted the aid of my girlfriend to help me paper mache the entire thing. Then I sealed it with PVA glue brushed on over the top!

I used toothpicks, and hot glue, to make some creepy rock formations inside the cave... I also used some screen and a few straws to make a nifty pipe and industrial area.

Lastly, I sprayed the entire board with spraypaint, after leaving it overnight to dry. I put black primer on first, then dusted it with a ruddy brown color I had left over.

I still have some details to finish up on. I plan on adding bulkhead/hatchways at strategic locations in the caverns. I also want to flesh out a few more industrial areas. However, you can see that the basic layout and shape of the tunnels has now been completed! I am very excited that I can begin to use this board for Zone Mortalis games in the future.

Teun Tries Terrain: -Easy- Zone Mortalis Board - Caverns (Part 3)

I took a break from painting to try and crack out this Zone Mortalis board. It's definitely a lot of hard work! Next time, I'll spend the extra 25 bucks and buy the second sheet of material so that I don't have to worry about the depth of my cuts. Now that the hard part is done, however, I can start to work on finishing this board out.

Teun Tries Terrain: -Easy- Zone Mortalis Board - Caverns (Part 2)

Ok, I have to change the title...

Teun Tries Terrain: Easy  FREAKING HARD Zone Mortalis Board - Caverns (Part 2)

That's better. So, many hours and blisters later, I carved out the tunnels from half of the board by hand. 

I didn't take pictures after this point, but I hotglued pieces that I carved out onto the top of the board's remaining walls, to bulk them up higher. The plan is to use paper mache and plaster to texture the walls after, but I need to make a trip to the store first before I can do that.

I'm tired. I'm going to sleep now, nighty-night!

Teun Tries Terrain: Easy Zone Mortalis Board - Caverns (Part 1)

So I have been thinking about making a Zone Mortalis board pretty much ever since Betrayal at Calth came out. I wanted to try out some 30k without needing all the Forgeworld toys that would bankrupt me... and ZM games are a perfect way to ease into it, I figured. Well, fast forward to now, when I have bought enough darn toys to play full sized 30k games anyway. However, a lot of new people are starting up with it, now that Burning of Prospero is a thing.

A local guy is trying to get a 30k ZM league going, to get more people hooked on 30k. It got me thinking about how I never got around to making the board I wanted.

Unable to sleep last night for unrelated reasons, I started brainstorming. Papercraft bulkheads and walls? Doable, but kind of cheap for my tastes. Plaster mold kits? That would work, but it also could get super heavy and expensive, not to mention taking a really long time.

So I started thinking about alternative ways to make a board. The description of ZM battles mentioned caves, tunnels, etc. That sounded easy... It is harder to mess up an organic shape!

I drew up some quick plans and hit the sack, being 2 or 3 in the morning.

Today I went to the hardware store and bought a sheet of 2 inch thick "rigid foam insulation" board, 2 feet by 8 feet long.

I had to cut it in half to fit it in the truck, which turned out to work perfectly. I had brought a tape measure and a pencil with me, so I bought a utility knife with the board and cut it in half as evenly as I could by scouring both sides as deeply as I could with the knife before breaking it off.

When I got home, by far the hardest part so far was to recreate the plans I had drawn:

Drawing the outlines in marker, I found it hard to erase mistakes and get it right. So I had to go back over it with brown craft paint to be more sure of the areas I had marked out:

Now, I designed it to be used in two configurations (hopefully giving it a little more usefulness without making it a pain to use). I planned the way it is pictured, where each side joins up in a large center room with two passageways on either side. Alternatively, each piece of the board can be flipped around, making a second configuration of the tunnels and rooms.

I think I did ok. Using a Dreadnought to test the width of the corridors, I realize I may have planned it a bit narrow. So I will have to widen them when I start carving. But for now I have a much better idea of how it will look. Line of sight will further be broken up when I add hatchways and stalagmites. Should be a fun project!

Stay tuned if you want to see how this project develops! I hope to have it done by this Saturday... just in time for the Burning of Prospero set to arrive!

Terrain Workshop: Easy Tree Armatures

I wanted to bring back terrain building posts, as I feel that they are among the more useful of my posts, but I do not care to make it a weekly thing again. Thus, I am going to label all the terrain posts I do from this point on as "Terrain Workshop" posts.

First up: Today I tried my hand at making some tree armatures. For now, they will serve as dead trees until I find suitable flock (or motivation) to make them live, or at least dying.

What you will need:
*Paperclips (jumbo for taller trees, small paperclips make decent shrubbery or short trees as well as smaller branches)
*Hot glue gun
*Basing material (cardboard, foamboard, or cork)
*2 sets of pliers
*Craft paints

STEP 1:
Use the two pairs of pliers to twist the paperclips into the tree's roots, trunk, and top branches. Usually it takes at least 3 paperclips for this, but the more is usually the better. Cut out the base for your area terrain from the material of your preference (I used cork in this example).

STEP 2:
The gluegun should be hot by now, so use it to glue the wire armature to the area terrain base. After it is secure, simply use the hot glue to give the wire armature some shape. I have heard that you can alternatively use air-drying clay for more control, but hot glue is generally a lot cheaper. I start large at the base, building up the trunk before moving out to the branches. If you get the strings from the hot glue, you'll need to get rid of them, so your miniatures don't become entangled in them. Also be sure to cover all the paperclip armature, because the metal does not hold paint very well. Let this glue harden completely before going on to the final step.

STEP 3:
Paint it. If you have other terrain pieces, use a similar method for the ground as you have done before. For the trees, I suggest either a dark brown, or a light brown drybrushed with a light grey for a dead appearance.