Another problem I have found is that should you want to make up the table to play an historical battle,having irregular scenery makes it harder ( to me anyway) to work out how big or at what scale to make the armies.
Therefore I decided to try and make the scenery fit to the square system. This created my first problem in that most war game scenery is made for the figure scale not for the table. This meant I would probably have to make my own.
I will say at this at this point that I have acquired ( when I could afford it) tailor made scenery, but most times I have made my own. It's not brilliant, but it does fit the 2 inch grid.
The next item was , how much scenery do I need?. Well, I decided firstly how big a table I had room for. Years ago I had a 6x4 foot table, then a 7x5 foot table. That is 180cm x 120cm then 210 x 150 cm. That was when I was using measuring tapes and bounce sticks. At that time I was a flat dweller therefore on numerous occasions I had to move the furniture to accommodate the table,and the guys I used to wargame with. I was also using 28mm figures.
Fluctuating fortunes in the job market made sure I never became a home owner. Fluctuating money supply made selling my figure collections an unavoidable event.
Fast forward a few years. I'm still a flat dweller and married, with children coming and going according to the ebb and flow of their own circumstances. Also elderly relatives were reaching the time in life when they needed help.
Having a large war game table with big scenery and loads of 28mm figures is no longer an option. So, thinking "Bejou and compact" the table is 3 x 2 feet, (90 x 60 cm). Everything I play is geared to that table size. The table is in one corner of the bedroom. This means I can have a game and leave it in situ should we have visitors.
So, having fixed the board size I worked on the amount of scenery required. Having thought about the sort of battles I wanted to do this is the basic requirement I came up with ;
6 hills, 8 x 8 inches ( 20cm x 20cm)
6 hills 4 x 4 inches ( 10cm x 10cm)
3 base outlines for woods 6 x 8 inches ( 15cm x 20cm)
The trees themselves are not fixed and on their own bases. This is so I can move them to put figure stands within the woods.
For rivers I use thin blue card overlapping marked in two inch segments. I use 2 inch (50cm) wide pieces for small rivers/ streams. I use 4 and 6 inch width ( 10cm and 15cm) for larger rivers requiring a boat to cross. The reason being that using cheap card allows me to make any kind of river formation.
The same reasoning applies to roads and the outline of villages. I use light brown card for this. I tried using sticky tape but having left it on the board to long the tape was a job to get off! and it marked the board.
Over the course of time I have built all kinds of scenery. It's not that good but it forfills a requirement . In recent times I wanted a fleet of 4inch (40mm) long ships wide enough to fit a stand in. I built 18 ships. They would definitely NOT win any awards for expert modelling! but, I can get my Saxon warbands ashore in Southern Britain.
The materials I use are;
Cardboard, the thick type used for picture framing and the other thin stuff.
Sandwich board, the stuff with a layer of foam between two pieces of cardboard.
Cocktail sticks.
PVA glue.
Texturing paste. This stuff can only be got from an art store or online. It's not cheap but you get a big pot. This is great if your model doesn't go together accurately. You just brush the paste on and let it dry. It can be undercoated and painted as normal. It's handy for covering over the rough bits!!.
Next time I'll talk about the era's I'm interested in and why.
The top pictures show my boats ( sorry, barges)
The bottom pictures show the castle. All scratchbuilt.
The figures are Hat Industries Goths and Emhar Viking Rowers.