Creating terrain for 6mm world war II

[Stug]

Hi everyone! I am a total newbie into miniature wargaming. I am especially interested in world war II. In a few days, I should receive my first 6mm german and american units.

I would like to know if it’s possible to create a beautiful and cheap terrain for 6mm? I would like to be able to have plains, forests, hills, rivers, village … I am not sure if I should go with hexes or no hexes. I like building things and modeling.

What do you suggest me to do?

[madman]

Welcome. There are quite a few videos on youtube with ideas on creating terrain.

 

I have a couple ideas for buildings. If you like them paper terrain (some name like that) makes good buildings with coloured outer shell and an inner which is the destroyed version of the same building. Price is good. You could search for paper buildings on the web. Print them at a scale which would give you a single story height of about 1 cm.

For woods just place handfuls of lichen on the table. Tape for roads or streams. Pipe cleaners (coloured or white coloured with paint or markers) for walls, fences, tree lines or crests of small rises in the ground. I also saw a guy using sand on a drop cloth for dirt roads. A the end of the day he used a car vacuum to pick up the sand. Emptied it back into his jar.

Personally I like hex terrain. Some don’t. I find the regulation of the terrain keeps players honest and rules make good use of the easy range measurement. RAFM makes iron on hexes which you can mark a drop cloth with. I use an old sheet of green fabric (cheapo fabric store) which I painted blotches of various spray paint on to break up the visual blankness. I like 2″ hexes and use ASL scale on the hexes (40 yards to 50 meters across).

I also use felt for roads, lakes, undergrowth. I use corduroy for plowed fields and dry brush it with green to make cultivated fields.

The fabric I have for a game field is flexible and stretchy so books placed under it don’t leave lines and ridges.

So some ideas for low cost (not free or hideously pricey) ideas to get you started. Good luck.

[Mark Luther]

I have quite a few games on my flickr site:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/6mmgaming/albums

And one of the albums covers setting up game tables:

I just use an old bedsheet dyed and spray painted with foam shapes for hills underneath.  Soft pastels for roads and flat linear lines.  Always happy to answer questions.

Mark

[Mike]

I am not a fan of the visual aspect of hexes myself, but I can totally see how they can make game play quicker and less prone to creative interpretation of measurements.

Hills can be made from foam or cork, hedges and the like from scoring pads dipped in glue and covered in flock.

Ebay is a good source for cheap and cheerful trees if you can wait a few weeks from delivery from China.

What sort of rules will you be using?

[Ruarigh]

I really like hexes for the flexibility they offer at some cost in set-up time. This is a WW2 Western Desert game I played recently. The hexes got a bit knocked about because I did not have my usual frame to hold them and they are on a slightly uneven surface, but you can still see the effect. I cut all these hexes myself using a hot wire cutter and EPS.

There are more pics on my blog.

I also have a European terrain set using the GHQ Terrainmaker hexes. I have a love/hate relationship with those because they are not uniform and that leads to gaps where there should be no gaps.

Again, there are more pics on the blog. A lot of these hexes still need fettling and tarting up to bring them up to the standard I finally decided on, but I do like the overall effect, and find that the gaps tend to disappear visually when you are focused on playing.

Never argue with an idiot. They'll only drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.

https://roderickdale.co.uk/
https://emidsvikings.ac.uk/

[Mike]

Mike wrote:

I am not a fan of the visual aspect of hexes myself,

This however has lots of scenery so that for me hides the hexyness, which I do like.

😀

Though I suspect a green bit of cloth will be closer to the cheap bit of the brief?

[madman]

Mike wrote:

I am not a fan of the visual aspect of hexes myself, but I can totally see how they can make game play quicker and less prone to creative interpretation of measurements.

I prefer hexes partially for your reasons and partially as I like turning board games into miniatures games. In the Conflict of Heroes series of games the entire hex is considered composed of the terrain occupying the hex centre. This makes line of sight easy as, unlike ASL, precise variations in the layout of the terrain (specifically building placement) does not affect LOS. Plus when converting real world terrain one can just use a suitably sized clear hex overlay over a map and convert each hex into the appropriate terrain.

 

[Stug]

Mark Luther wrote:

I just use an old bedsheet dyed and spray painted with foam shapes for hills underneath. Soft pastels for roads and flat linear lines. Always happy to answer questions. Mark

Hi Mark. I really like your terrain. It looks easy and not to expensive to make. On the other side, I like modeling and create landscapes. I will watch a few videos to help me find inspiration. I am also into model railroading since last year and I really like it.

madman wrote:

Personally I like hex terrain. I find the regulation of the terrain keeps players honest and rules make good use of the easy range measurement.

A few years ago, a friend introduced me to Flames of War. We played two games. It was fun and his terrain was awesome. He had a 8×4 table and his terrain consisted of about eight blocks of 2×2 if I remember well. But I thought, what is he going to do when he is bored with his terrain?

Ruarigh wrote:

I really like hexes for the flexibility they offer at some cost in set-up time. This is a WW2 Western Desert game I played recently. I cut all these hexes myself using a hot wire cutter and EPS.

I also have a European terrain set using the GHQ Terrainmaker hexes. I have a love/hate relationship with those because they are not uniform and that leads to gaps where there should be no gaps.

I really like your terrain. So you did all those hexes on your own? Can you suggest me a good hot wire cutter and EPS (I don’t know what is EPS because my native language is french)?

Finally, I’m still stucked. I really like the look of hexes terrain and, at the same time, I also like the non hexes 😉

[Stug]

I have just discovered this website. He has a Youtube channel with some videos. Have you ever heard of this system? Have you tried it? What do you think?

https://www.hexterraintoolkit.com/

[Ruarigh]

Mike wrote:

Mike wrote:

I am not a fan of the visual aspect of hexes myself,

This however has lots of scenery so that for me hides the hexyness, which I do like. Though I suspect a green bit of cloth will be closer to the cheap bit of the brief?

A green cloth would certainly be cheaper and quicker to get started, but there is joy to be had in making hexes! 🙂

Stug wrote:

I have just discovered this website. He has a Youtube channel with some videos. Have you ever heard of this system? Have you tried it? What do you think? https://www.hexterraintoolkit.com/

That is the system I used to make the desert hexes in my picture. It works well. I use XPS  (not EPS as I wrote before) sheets from Panelsystems in Sheffield. This is the blue foam that many people use, although the Panelsystems people sell it in grey now. I don’t think the colour matters at all. I’m not sure who in France would sell it, but building supplies and insulation companies might have it. My hot wire cutter is from Woodland Scenics, because it was easy to get hold of at a local hobby shop.

In terms of getting started, I think that a simple green cloth, as Mike suggests, would be a good start. That will let you get playing immediately, which I find important for keeping going with projects. You can then start building the really good terrain and start using that when it is ready. The hexes I made myself took quite a while to do, so being able to play keeps my enthusiasm up while I am working on them.

 

Never argue with an idiot. They'll only drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.

https://roderickdale.co.uk/
https://emidsvikings.ac.uk/

[Stug]

Ruarigh wrote:

A green cloth would certainly be cheaper and quicker to get started, but there is joy to be had in making hexes!

In terms of getting started, I think that a simple green cloth, as Mike suggests, would be a good start. That will let you get playing immediately, which I find important for keeping going with projects. You can then start building the really good terrain and start using that when it is ready. The hexes I made myself took quite a while to do, so being able to play keeps my enthusiasm up while I am working on them.

Yes I thin you are right. I should find a green cloth to start with and maybe later try with hexes if I am not happy with the result.

Do you know of any good-looking green cloth that could be used for terrain and that I can find online?

[Mike]

This is not as cheap a just green cloth, but I feel it is better and not much more expensive:

 

LINK

“Static Grass Mat”

[Mike]

I use them for my 10mm fantasy:

[Shaun Travers]

I second  Mike’s recommendation.  I used to use a green cloth but now use the railway model static grass mats for almost all my gaming.  One day I am going to treat myself and buy an actual gaming mat.  I have only been saying this for 10 years 🙂

[Ruarigh]

Shaun Travers wrote:

One day I am going to treat myself and buy an actual gaming mat. I have only been saying this for 10 years

You and me both, Shaun! 😀

Never argue with an idiot. They'll only drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.

https://roderickdale.co.uk/
https://emidsvikings.ac.uk/

[Stug]

Shaun Travers wrote:

I second Mike’s recommendation. I used to use a green cloth but now use the railway model static grass mats for almost all my gaming. One day I am going to treat myself and buy an actual gaming mat. I have only been saying this for 10 years

Thanks but I don’t see any price for this mat. I am in Canada so if I can find the equivalent here, the exchange and shipping price will be lower.

Mike wrote:

This is not as cheap a just green cloth, but I feel it is better and not much more expensive:  LINK “Static Grass Mat”

Thanks for the link. It looks great but I don’t see any price. Do you know of a place in Canada where they sell this?

Another question; I am new on this forum but is it possible to go to my profile and see my last posted thread and messages? When I click on my profile, I just see some kind of WordPress page.

[Mike Headden]

My first cloth was a remnant of green cloth from a fabric shop, my second was green felt that came from a ten-pin bowling alley that was being decommissioned, these days I have several that came from Tiny Wargames (https://www.tinywargames.co.uk/) and one from Geek Villain (https://geekvillain.co.uk/).

The first was cheap, the second free, the others are beautiful … but not cheap.

Many of my 10mm buildings have come from charity shops and were vastly cheaper than “proper” wargames buildings.

I’ve just picked up some cheap little buildings from Amazon that I reckon will do for 6mm but which are are intended for “Fairy Gardens” – who knew that was a thing?

Sources of terrain are many and varied and not always obvious!

Best of luck with your terrain making.

 

There are 100 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who can work from incomplete data

[madman]

Where in Canada are you? I am an hour north of Toronto. There is usually a street in most major cities with lots of fabric shops. The one I know for sure is in Hamilton. Probably no grass mats but a wide selection of fabrics and colours. I think there is a similar place in Toronto and should be something like it in Montreal.

I have some very stretchy green material I bought decades ago. I used a few cans of various spray paints and broke up the blandness that way. Grey, brown, brick red (primer I think) tan and black. Then I used RAFM’s iron on hexes (like the design on a T shirt except just the outlines of the hexes). You could use felt, it might be stretchier than a grass mat.

This assumes you want something quicker than making and detailing lots of hexes. They look great but storage becomes and issue. Each one is like a little diorama and takes some time. Depends on the game and area size you want to work in. In my case the hexes are 2″ across as for games like ASL that gives a good balance between space and utility.

[Mike]

Here is your profile:

https://www.thewargameswebsite.com/forums/users/stug/

For the mat search “Static Grass Mat” for online places to buy close to home.

[madman]

Was looking for other gaming mats today and Meeplemart in downtown Toronto (Chinatown area) has grass mats by woodland scenic at what looked like a good price. They also ship quick, inexpensive and easy.

[Stug]

Mike Headden wrote:

I have several that came from Tiny Wargames (https://www.tinywargames.co.uk/) and one from Geek Villain (https://geekvillain.co.uk/).

Wow, tinywargames have several mat that seem very interesting. But I am in Canada so it must be very expensive for a 4×6 feet with the exchange rate and the shipping in Canada.

Do you know if they have stores in Canada?

Can I see some close-up and photos taken from a distance of some of your mat? Thanks for your help!

madman wrote:

Was looking for other gaming mats today and Meeplemart in downtown Toronto (Chinatown area) has grass mats by woodland scenic at what looked like a good price. They also ship quick, inexpensive and easy.

Thanks for the suggestion. I have checked on WoodlandScenics. The only mats I have seen are in vinyl I think. I would like to find one that doesn’t shine with the light, like a cloth mat.

Mike wrote:

For the mat search “Static Grass Mat” for online places to buy close to home.

Thanks. I have tried but not been very successful yet 😉

madman wrote:

Where in Canada are you?

I am near Montreal.

[Deleted User]

For quick villages I recomend monopoly houses. The new plastic ones are good for modern but I prefer the more basic loking old wooden ones. no modelling needed simply print out some brick and roof tile patterns and glue them on the houses.

Hex vs non-hex
You could use both, go with the basic cloth as underneath and mount all your terrain on the same cloth cut into hex patterns. In time you’ll probably have enough hex scatter errain to fill the whole board.

One thing I found with cloth was using lighter green or tan and dye them in patches of greena dn brown, let the colors bleed into each other for a more natural look.

[Thuseld]

Here is some of my 6mm WW2 terrain.

The building at the bottom is a HACME building – you can get little sets of them and they are fairly reasonably priced. The roads are literally just brown felt with flock on them. I tried dabbing some paint but didn’t really like it. The roads are very much “that will do”.

The fields are a towel that I dipped in watered down green paint then flocked the edges and did some highlights for colour. The hill in the corner is stacked cork heat mats cut to shape and covered in static grass. The trees are cheap ebay china trees and I have since built some stands of trees that are better. Felt shapes for wooded area with little flock patches.

Hedgerows are the most complex thing here. Lolly stick with a kebab skewer on top, covered in wall filler, painted, covered in clump foliage and flock with the occasional tree thrown in.

Experiments here: http://inexperiencedmodelmaker.blogspot.co.uk/

Tranquil Stars updates: https://tranquilstars.wordpress.com

[Shaun Travers]

For the mat search “Static Grass Mat” for online places to buy close to home.
Thanks. I have tried but not been very successful yet

The static grass mats I use are the ones designed for railway model layouts.  So search for railway model grass mats or static grass mat for model railway or similar.  I got mine from the local railway model shop.

[Andrew Beasley]

One thing missing from Mikes table picture is very important – no drinks. Liquids and terrain do not mix 🙂

One option for hex terrain is to make the shapes in pen on a normal mat – some folk use dots (or this less accurate one), while others mark just the corners use a 3d printed template or repurpose Heroscape tiles (from eBay). You could also use resin bases  or MDF hexes (see a local base supplier or eBay, Etsy or ask Thomaston by PM here).

You can get 3D printed sets – often for Fantasy though.

Key thing with hex tiles I find is to use a frame if you plan to change the layout else stick them down as the gaps drive me potty some days.

Nice thing about this hobby is that you can start with the basic green sheet, play a few games, add a hill / river or two, play a few more games and grow over time. If you spend too long deciding what to do the game turns into diorama building (not that I could EVER be guilty of that).

I would go for a plain mat to start, add hex markings to see if you like the rules and then go on to make your mind up – you may never decide and end up supporting both. BUT get a few games under your belt and try it first as we all have our own opinions and do what is best for ourselves or gaming group.  Its pointless loving hex tables if no one will play with you (sorry – that reads so wrong) and you do not want to play solo games.

[madman]

If you want I can take pictures of my home made fabric mat(s). They stay as fabric I do not paint them with PVA and make them into solid sheets. As I said before I used a flexible fabric which allows you to put some terrain under the sheet (like books or boxes for hills) but I prefer having the hills on the top so I can see where the hill is and depending on the size of the hill I can see the contours, which in some rules affect movement and line of sight and or hull down considerations. In the past I just used individual buildings but am looking at basing a few into village sections. Then a few sections could make up a larger town or part of a city when grouped together to suit the scenario.

[6mmwargaming]

I agree with the comments regarding starting with a cloth first rather than hexes. It does depend on what rules you play, but I think there is a bit of a learning curve to making hex terrain.
I’ve got a few articles on making 6mm terrain on my website, and I hope to add some like trees and hills to it, in the next couple of months.

https://wargaming.info/6mm/page1000.shtml
https://wargaming.info/6mm/page353.shtml

For trees, the old twisted wire tree method works well and its very cheap. Here’s a couple of photos from a tutorial I’ll be adding to my site soon.

My 6mm Wargaming site https://6mm.wargaming.info

[madman]

Another way of adding hexes to cloths is you can buy a template then either use paint or markers to draw in the hexes. I have one, it covers about a foot by two. I bought mine from Litko.

Stencils

[Author]

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