StuffedKiwi Posted January 29, 2015 Report Share Posted January 29, 2015 Here are some pics of a swamp board I made and have been using. I wanted something modular, so it can be re-arranged for more playability, so it's nine pieces each one foot square. The basic design follows a step-by-step for a swamp board in an old issue of Ancible magazine -- I could track it down if anyone is interested. It works pretty well. If I was going to do it again (which I'm not! So, really, for anyone else who is interested in making something like this), I'd make it with more solid ground and less swamp: not because there's too much height-zero, severe terrain (I think that's a fine thing to have, you just have to make sure everyone knows in advance so they can pick a crew with it in mind), but because there isn't really enough room to put as much blocking and/or scatter terrain down as I would like to have. Any questions welcome. EDIT: The instructions I followed were in The Ancible Issue #8, in an article by Pat Ohta of Senji Studios. Senji Studio's website suggests downloading that issue here: http://www.senjistudios.com/4x4-swamp-board-tutorial-for-malifaux-or-warmachine.html for the modest price of $1.51 (currently). Pat's board is less modular, and much prettier. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fireuser Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 Wow, nice!! Would be awesome to play on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dhampir Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 That looks really cool. Seeing your modular board has given me a +1 motivation to get mine done...Couldn't you still put lots of foliage in the swap sections to block LoS? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuffedKiwi Posted January 30, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 Thanks! Swamp foliage to block LoS is a good idea -- any ideas or suggestions on what it could/should look like? Tall swamp grass, maybe, maybe could use some bamboo-style pieces for that? Other thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zFiend Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 That is a cool board! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snitchythedog Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 Thanks! Swamp foliage to block LoS is a good idea -- any ideas or suggestions on what it could/should look like? Tall swamp grass, maybe, maybe could use some bamboo-style pieces for that? Other thoughts? Nice modular build. For vegitation, most swamps have lots of trees. Many growing right out of the water so that would be a good place to start. Google swamp images and you should get some good hits. Snitchy sends. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dhampir Posted February 3, 2015 Report Share Posted February 3, 2015 These were some tree ideas I was working on a while ago. They give a swampy feel 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuffedKiwi Posted February 4, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 4, 2015 Very nice trees. I've already got a few (smaller than that) single trees that I use on that board -- they're good for cover, but don't block LoS much (being, basically, too narrow). I wonder if anyone has ideas for similarly in-theme pieces that could both (a) stand in the 'swamp water' areas, sensibly/aesthetically, and ( block LoS a bit more than a narrow tree will? I'm thinking out loud, and have no idea how to make them, but something like a stand of mangroves (Ht 3), or a thicket of tall marsh grass (Ht 2)? I've also just got a kitset shipwreck in the mail from Renaissance Miniatures that I think might be a good option. I'll add some photos and feedback once it's put together, but anyone with any other ideas or suggestions, please chime in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Furio Posted February 4, 2015 Report Share Posted February 4, 2015 one thing that makes good swamp trees that block a bit more LOS is GW's trees with old man's beard lichen attached to them to give them a swampy feeling. I've got the trees and lichen to do this, but it's still in the to do queue. Something like this.... EDIT: please do track down the article you used to build this, I'm sure it could be very helpful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dhampir Posted February 5, 2015 Report Share Posted February 5, 2015 +1 for lots of hanging vines; combined with heavy shrubs and you have dense, blocking terrain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbobovalsocks Posted February 6, 2015 Report Share Posted February 6, 2015 I love it! My only criticism is the white building. For me it's much too white for a half-submerged swamp building. I think a bit more weathering on it would improve the look of it a lot. Beyond that, the board looks very nice - and thanks for posting a link to the original article. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spectrehorseman Posted April 17, 2015 Report Share Posted April 17, 2015 You know what makes great hanging vines? (yes, this guy is a little cheesy with the jokes but I kinda like him) Fast forward to 2:15 for the tutorial. I have some GW trees as well and now that you mention it, I think that would make a great swampy tree ps love the swamp board, very nice, would be fun to play on Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavicusPrime Posted May 15, 2015 Report Share Posted May 15, 2015 Here's an example of the trees I've made... My method for building these things is a bit involved, but if you aren't making lots of them, they make for some good center piece type terrain features. The trees pictured are wire armatures coated with a layer of air-dry clay. I used GW large flying bases because I had a bunch lying around at the time... Currently looking at other options as I've run out of them. Then I sealed the clay with white glue, primed and painted it and added leaves using woodland scenics clump foliage. I put some magnetic sheeting on the bottom of the base to help secure them on the terrain piece but also allowing their removal to simplify moving mini's and measuring. Lessons learned: -Top heavy/tipping problems: I started incorporating fishing weights inside the tree trunks to counter this, plus the magnets. Stronger magnets would probably also help counter this. Another potential fix, is keeping the canopy smaller and/or increasing the size/weight of the base. -Clay crumbling and flaking off the armature: If the armature is too flexible and/or the clay too thin, it comes apart if a limb gets bent/flexed. I have since started using heavier gauge wire for the main trunk and branches. And I'm testing out a polymer oven cure clay. My first test of this combo is still in work, so the jury is still out on this fix. The wire was an improvement, but the cured clay has not yet been tested. -Reel in the size: When I first made these, they were supposed to be very large old trees so I made the big ones to be about 11-12" tall. This is overkill to the extreme. Case in point: The pic below shows a GW dreadnought (approx. 2.25" tall) next to the first two trees I ever made. Top-down, these things covered so much area that only one of these fit into the envelope of the forest terrain pieces they were part of. One big one and one small one were all it took to cover a half sqft of table space. A dense forest they do not make. But I guess you could fill a whole table with just 18 of them. My current tree 2.0 project, has the large trees in the 7-9" range, which is plenty big enough for a game where the tallest mini's are under 3.5" tall. And they have a much smaller diameter on the canopy. It'll have the same general look, but won't take over the table like the old ones. After my 2.0 test case is done I'll post the results along side the older trees and provide a tutorial. -DavicusPrime 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Scorcho Posted June 6, 2015 Report Share Posted June 6, 2015 Awesome Job Dude! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Scorcho Posted June 8, 2015 Report Share Posted June 8, 2015 What about a float like this one ? http://www.modellbaufechner.de/files/images/img_0089.jpg a float with a big rotten sail might look pretty cool. another advantage of a float is, that you can place it on the water areas also as a kind of bridge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuffedKiwi Posted June 8, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 8, 2015 That's a nice idea, though that particular float is a bit medieval- or ancient-world-looking rather than Victorian. I got a shipwreck from these guys that looks pretty good in the swamp: http://renaissanceminiatures.com/gallery/gallery.php?series=Pirates (Scroll way down the page for the shipwreck. And I noticed on AWP that they've done a Malifaux-specific board for Connecticon that looks pretty fabulous, though the other things of theirs I have are noticeably 28mm rather than Mailfaux's 32mm scale -- even a Guild Lawyer has to duck and squeeze sideways to get through a doorway, etc.). Maybe a Gremlin-themed, or Steampunk-esque version of a float/raft, though, that would be pretty cool. Thanks for the suggestion, I'll keep thinking.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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