Sulfur Fields Hills

The Zuzzy mat's texture really captures my table join bump like no other mat.

Generally the first thing you want to add to a flat play area is hills, so I did that.  This set of hills comes in (basically) four pieces, but the top sections of each are removable and interchangeable so technically I guess it's six pieces.  Either way, I had to make new hills because I made a new mat and this is what we have now.

Ol' styro-cutter and me have been through a lot of foam over the years.  Sometimes I stop and I wonder, exactly how old is that D battery is that runs you?  I guess when you start to corrode I'll bury you.

It started as these things often do - with some styrofoam bits I had captured here and there.  These are irregular pieces of various consistencies and makes, but that's usually how I roll.  Cut with wire foam cutter to wargames consistency.  No, I don't usually do 'rounded' edge hills because in my experience that's asking for wobbly-model syndrome.

Maybe one day I should try that, though.

Hand Made Modern Textured Cement Finish and Vallejo Black Lava make up the textures we're using.

I usually cover the foam at this point in PVA glue and allow it to harden, but this time we're trying a different material altogether.  To have these hills match our Zuzzy Sulfur Fields mat, we're going to have to make sure the paint goes on correctly, as it were.  We're going to start with a base of Textured Cement Finish and allow it to dry.  This is probably the most serious product in my arsenal, as it really, really had the smell of paints.  Had to open some windows.

It dries in place and hardens the foam, filling in for pva glue.

Once it's dry, we get an interesting cool texture over the foam.  It has fantastic coverage, and generally behaves like a very thick paint.  It breaks apart as it dries and stretches, leaving cool broken earth-like marks.  It was about this point in the project I decided NOT to use the Vallejo texture, as it would raise the profile up a lot more than this.  I wanted the tops to be flat to accomodate smaller pieces on top of them, so I left it like it was and moved on.

Look at all them tasty textures.

I was working on several projects at once here, and the table started to get a little cluttered.  The next phase would be to paint on an acrylic wash, just like on the Zuzzy mat.  This would be a dark brown, red and black mixed to create an interesting, earthy tone that would blend well into the textures.

I use old Pla-Doh containers to mix acrylics.

 When inking, I made certain to get WAAY up under the edges.  This keeps any white from 'peeking' out from behind the facade.  Gotta maintain that illusion.  After that, a light grey drybrush to match the table and matte sealer to guard against minis make these tabletop ready.

Section A (2 parts) and Section B.

 Hills are, to me, an essential part of any table.  These aren't that high, but are pretty large in area allowing for a lot of things to be done with the arrangement.  I think the manage to blend into the table fairly well, despite not having the Vallejo black textures.

Section C and Section D (2 parts).

 I plan on expanding the table with some more rock formations, but these hills are the basic pieces every table needs.  I found that it looks best if the sulfur flows don't have hills on them but it's actually fine any way.  It doesn't really break your immersion, as it were.

Jade Falcon RZR mech patrols the ridgeline.

 Moon planet achieved!

Stormhammer CGR mech crouches in a low valley.

I changed around the formations and stacked them differently in the following pics to show some of the ways it can be set up.

Jade Falcon scout units storm over the hill.

For this table, one feature I want to try to strive for across all it's terrain is a claustrophobic one.  More canyon / channel type terrain to really make it difficult for units to maneuver.  It will be a challenging prospect to some commanders.

Enemy Contact!

 My only regret is that it doesn't presently seem like I can get any more of the Textured Cement Finish by Hand Made Modern.  I have no idea where to get it.  It seems to be an exclusive to a certain retailer but they are all out of stock.  I have looked around for a substitute, and I'll probably get the Grey Pumice from Vallejo.  With the inks and drybrush we should be able to achieve a similar color / texture.

Enemy aircraft making attack run!  Take cover!

Soon we'll have moonbases and mechs all over this table.  It will also pull duty as various inhospitable planets throughout our games.  All the terrain I'm making for it right now is pretty scale-ambiguous, so it will work for any minis in the scales I use.

Viva la Moon Patrol!