Purchasing Terrain

[Jonas Albrecht]

With my mini selection large enough for now, I want to turn my attention to gathering terrain. Terrain for Malifaux, of course. Specifically, stuff thats going to let me take advantage of the myriad of locations that you can flip for on the Rising Powers Outdoor location table.

You can sort of divide that table into three parts:

A. Bayou

B. City

C. Desert/Scrubland

So, those are the things I'm looking for. In addition to those features, I want to find some stuff to accentuate them. Stuff like ruins, and more importantly, steampunk devices.

I've been searching for these, but I value the opinions here, and I'm curious to where you turn when you need to purchase terrain.

[Dragthar]

Well there is talk about terrain called terraclips that seems to be promising but you cant buy it here like some threads say you can but they look amazing.

[jmp_mydog]

There are plenty of places out there to by terrain it really depends on what you're looking to get.

GW makes some nice plastic kits that are comparably priced to their other models and give you lots of options to build with. Of course this means you have to build and paint yourself.

Along those same lines I think it's Peagasus that make a set that you can click together, also plastic and unpainted.

If you're looking for a more intense project Hirsts Arts makes some really nice molds that let you build whatever you want (at least structure wise). This is a time intensive process because you have to cast, build and paint everything. From the Hirst site you can however find companies that sell just the blocks.

There are also numerous companies that make resin unpainted and pre-painted terrain that works great for the game. These options can get a bit pricey.

If you're looking for a relativly cheap method, Worldworks makes pdf terrain that you print and build yourself. There is also a product called White Wash City, the scale seems small for this one so I print it at 150%.

There are also numerous sites that will build custom terrain, either to your specs or prebuilt based of templates. I personally prefer this place (shameless plug).

Good luck on your search for the perfect terrain.

[nilus]

Also don't forget if you are crafty there are hardware stores and dollars stored stocked with items that can easily be converted into terrain.

[oozeboss]

Plus model railway suppliers, and that haven of the bizarre, aquarium suppliers. So much of the stuff put in fish tanks translates easily to gaming tables, and is often incredibly affordable!

[the imp]

I've been thinking on this very subject of late. Here's what I've been able to dig up so far.

Armorcast is the only resin terrain manufacturer that I've found so far that includes anything remotely "steampunk" in their line. A lot of other companies do industrial style stuff, but they're the only ones with more clunky steampunk style terrain.

Woodland Scenics is the best source I've found for trees. They have a set of 28 plastic tree armatures from 3" to 5" for $13.99 US. They also sell complete trees and kits with armatures and foliage that you can glue together, but I think Malifaux lends itself well to bare trees.

If you've got bare trees, you might want to have some leaves. Skullcrafts sells a variety of very nice fallen leaf scatter for basing applications. It does seem expensive at $12 US for 6 grams, but you might be able to get a deal on a larger quantity. Or, if you've got birch trees where you live, you can make your own.

As for buildings, most of what I've found is very expensive.Bachmann Trains Plasticville has been the largest selection of affordable ones I've been able to locate so far. They're scaled for O gauge layouts, which would make them approximately 37mm. Given the distorted proportions of gaming figures, I expect they'll be about right. O gauge kits for large buildings, like you might expect to find in a city the size of Malifaux, are very expensive. $80 US is not uncommon. I'm reconciled to building my own. Fortunately I found an excellent reference for period buildings. The New York Public Library website includes tons of photos of buildings and actual floor plans from the late 1800s to the early 1900s in their Classic Six Collection. It focuses on apartment buildings, which I'm very interested in. It may not be as useful to you. If you do decide to build your own structures though, I highly recommend picking up a copy of a book on constructing [ame=http://www.amazon.com/s/qid=1288295054/ref=a9_sc_1?ie=UTF8&search-alias=stripbooks&field-keywords=architectural%20models]architectural models[/ame]. I have Architectural and Interior Models by Sanford Hohauser, and it is an invaluable resource for this sort of thing.

I'm also considering picking up two [ame=http://www.amazon.com/Lemax-Village-Landscaping-Display-Accessory/dp/B00436JBDO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1288295246&sr=8-1]Lemax Pebble Display Mats[/ame]. These are 18x36" vinyl mats that have a cobblestone-like pattern on them. That would let me have a play surface that is the perfect size with a convenient street texture on it.

[Kaine]

Examples of hirst arts boards for malifaux

http://malifaux.info/terrain/

[Rob_Jedi]

There's some nice lasercut terrain by Aetherworks which was unveiled at a recent con in Australia. Shame their webstore still isn't set up

Pegassus Hobbies are about the only company that make in scale cacti that I could find. Perfect for that desert frontier town feel.

[oozeboss]

Very nice looking store. Can the inside be easily accessed.

[the imp]

Plastruct makes a several varieties of cacti in many sizes.

[Rob_Jedi]

Yep the roof lifts off and there is open floor inside.

[shadowbeast]

There's some nice lasercut terrain by Aetherworks which was unveiled at a recent con in Australia. Shame their webstore still isn't set up

"shortly" to them means the rest of the quarter, apparently. Doesn't bode well for anyone attempting to order.

Outback Model Company do some buildings but they are quality railway craftsman kits and terribly expensive.

They have some good wagons and accessories though.

[Lord Shaper]

I'm wishing I went to MOAB to see the terrain myself... I'm waiting for their webstore but since I'm moving soon I'll email them after I'm settled

[shadowbeast]

still no store?

This is like waiting for the old Aramac to Barcaldine...