I remember as a child building forts and castles out of my set of wooden blocks which were then fought over with my toy soldier collection. Often I was recreating scenes from whichever movie I had last seen. The advantage of these blocks was their flexibility. This level of flexibility is something my current sci-fi wargaming terrain does not offer, and making more terrain creates storage problems. So with toy building blocks in mind I have started building my block sci-fi terrain.
Over the last few weekends I have been cutting up a couple of 90mm x 90mm wooden posts into lengths of 90mm and 180mm. I have 16 blocks in all a mix of the two sizes but mostly the larger block size.
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| 90mm x 90mm x 180mm wooden block |
I am going to be gluing bits of Warhammer terrain onto the blocks, along with other items from the hardware store. The Warhammer terrain will help theme the building for my models and existing terrain. The plan is to use the blocks with my Necromunda gang figures for skirmish games.
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| Some W40k scenery and bits from the hardware store |
Using a hot-glue gun bits of scenery and assorted items are stuck on. I don't worry about the pieces being flat against the block as they will get covered up later on, when I add 10mm x 10mm strips of wood.
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| Scenery items stuck to sides |
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| Strips of wood are added to hide the gaps |
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| A fire from the top showing how the strips of 10mm x 10mm wood strips work |
Then out of MDF I cut some 150mm x 150mm and 150mmm x 240mm for the roofs and floors. With these flat pieces and the blocks I can construct different buildings.
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| Five blocks are build so far, with twelve to go. |
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| When combined with the floors and roof the buildings can be single storey or on multiple levels. The size of the floors allow for figures to be placed on the balconies of different levels. |
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| Some recently painted figures on the top floor with some walls added, but not fixed. |
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| Gantries can be added |
Once all the block terrain is made I will start the painting and post the results in part two. A few weekends away I expect.
Looking both good and useful as always - I knew it was going to be impressive after the first photo, where the blocks are so precisely cut ... that of course says much about my own woodworking skills :-)
ReplyDeleteThe sawing was time consuming and needed a miter saw with stand to get the required accuracy.
DeleteHi Peter,
ReplyDeleteThis all looks a very interesting technique of obtaining robust structures for your 28mm Necromunda figure games. Stacking the modules is a stroke of genius - well done. Cheers. KEV.
Hi KEV. The stacking also helps with their storage. Thanks, Peter
DeleteI was looking at lumber today, inspired by your project. It seems like the 4x4 stuff here is all pressure treated fence posts or cedar. A bit gnarly/rough/splintery....not nicely finished like yours appears. Did you get yours at a specialty shop, or know what it's typically used for?
ReplyDeleteI found the posts at Bunnings here in Melbourne, Australia. Here is the link to their website which might help you find some, or be able to ask for, wherever you are located. https://www.bunnings.com.au/88-x-88mm-1-8m-premium-wrapped-pine-treated-f7-kd-h4-dar_p8423171
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