Hobby Hole: Good and Cheap
Building terrain and backstory for your miniatures.
“Good, fast, cheap — pick two” applies to many things in life, but it could have been written specifically about wargaming terrain. Fast and cheap? Stack up some books for hills, cut some wobbly shapes out of paper to mark groves of trees or difficult terrain, throw some random objects on the table to represent buildings and such, and you’re done. Completely free, virtually no effort, looks absolutely terrible. Good and fast? There are some excellent off-the-shelf finished terrain pieces available nowadays, but filling a table will cost a lot, especially for a skirmish game that relies on dense terrain.
Today’s Hobby Hole is about the good and cheap (and undoubtedly most fun) option – making it yourself!
Like many aspects of the hobby, there is no real upper limit to how expensive and fancy terrain crafting can get. Check out some of the folks producing terrain videos on YouTube, and you’ll spy a bevy of hot wire cutters, 3D printers, and power tools. They’re all nice to have, but they’re not necessary. In fact, I’d argue that scratch building from whatever materials you have to hand is the most enjoyable method. Meticulously planned projects have their place, but sometimes you just want to grab some coffee stirrers and glue and go goblin mode!
