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Skirmishing on the Cheap

Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2008 6:42 am
by DangerDwarf
My wife and I decided to give the miniature skirmish game Warlord a try. After much deliberation we decided on our factions and placed an order for our initial forces. While we await them to arrive I've been brainstorming ideas to have a suitable, and decent looking play area. Preferably cheap.

We have a small dining room table, so I was wanting something larger to play on. Looking around I found two closet doors I was fixing to get rid of (they are the folding kind). After some work with them I discovered they will make a great tabletop with the added bonus that I can fold them up and store them under our bed. Space saving is a plus!

Just getting into this, I lack terrain, nifty buildings and other things to make the battlefield look more interesting. Thanks to the products of Fat Dragons Games, I'm currently remedying that. I printed up a slew of the wilderness tiles today (enough to cover about a 6' x 4' surface). I'm currently taking a break from cutting all these buggers out so that tomorrow I can mount them on those foam poster board thingies for added sturdiness. Add to the tiles a couple of Fat Dragon Hilltop models and some pieces from the cavern set and it looks like we have everything we need for an impressive looking battlefield outside of a dwarven mine when we get our mini's in and get them painted.

I love it when I can get something done for cheaper than I initially anticipated, and still have it look so good.

My only dislike is the amount of ink I'm using, but I'm still getting off cheaper than going some other routes. Really looking forward to having this all come together. For all my gaming years I've been the DM 99% of the time, finally looking forward to doing some gaming as a player.

Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2008 8:00 am
by CoryKhouri
How do the Fat Dragons Games wilderness tiles compare to the WorldWorks games kits?

If you haven's seen them, you should check them out!
www.worldworksgames.com

They have pirate coves, a ship scene , a harbormaster building, village settings, dungeons, caves, and even modern/future stuff.

Check 'em out!

They even have a card-modelled, dice-roller kit. Very cool!
_________________
CoryKhouri

aka Necromagnus Elbareth,

aka Azarael, aka Slai Rahkuhn, etc.

Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2008 8:15 am
by CoryKhouri
Okay! Just checked out Paizo's offerings from Fat Dragon Games. Wow! There is some awesome stuff here. And really cheap, too!

The WorldWorks stuff looks really complex and there are a lot of 3d props beyond floors and walls. Their stuff is really centered around specific themes. Though, with some 'kit-bashing' you can customize different sets, mix and match, etc. the FDGames stuff looks more general purpose, and more customizable.

As soon as the kits I get from WorldWorks Games comes in, I'll compare them with some FD stuff that I NOW want to get. and post an update, unless someone already has first-hand experience on this subject.

L8r;
_________________
CoryKhouri

aka Necromagnus Elbareth,

aka Azarael, aka Slai Rahkuhn, etc.

Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2008 8:28 am
by DangerDwarf
Wow, that WorldWorks stuff looks pretty damn sweet. Its a bit pricier, but have to admit it looks nice.

Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2008 8:39 am
by DangerDwarf
Oh, and the wilderness tiles are amazing looking printed, even on my crappy inkjet. I loved the customization of each tile with the layers too and was able to print a huge variety of of them. I'm going to attach them to whole 20" x 30" boards (making prolly around 8 large tiles) so I can mix it around for some change from time to time as well. If it turns out good I may use the reverse side of the board for another terrain type later on, maybe the cavern floor from the other set I picked up and use it for battles inside caverns and mines.

Makes it handy for RPG'ing too as I can use the same big tiles for Forest encounters.

Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2008 10:02 pm
by mordrene
For cheap terrain, paint, glue and styrofoam go a long way. Citadel and GW stuff is cool but too expensive. A foam cutter is cool too but you dont need one right away. check out these web sites
http://www.frpgames.com/cart.php?m=product_list&c=507
http://www.woodlandscenics.com/

the second is a model train site. there are great ideas and how to make terrain for cheap. Just remember, most of the sets on the lord of the rings were foam.

Posted: Sun Feb 03, 2008 4:56 pm
by DangerDwarf
Sweet. That link for the model railroading is going to come in extremely handy. Thanks.

Posted: Mon Feb 04, 2008 8:38 pm
by Kos
I always use dollar store craftpaint for terrain. Model train stuff can be cost effective to. Just keep in mind that the cheap stuff usualy works as well as the more expensive. Somtimes the best stuff isn't even supposed to be model terrain, my friend and I have been using aquarium plants/castles for years.

Posted: Tue Feb 05, 2008 6:08 am
by sykoholic
DD- If your looking for DIY terrain check out this site:
Terragenesis

They got an awesome castle made out of styrofoam and Pringles cans, as well as instruction on how they did it.