This project was initial inspired by the release of the Wood Elf book. I had almost chosen them as my first army (but the Ogre models are hard to beat) and the new book came out when I was still pretty fresh to Warhammer. But a number of things conspired to make this my first terrain project.
- The WE rules specific call out the Citadel Woods kit as the appropriate size of the forests for WE players to field.
- Anyone fielding Wood Elves needs more than one piece of forest terrain and buying multiple Citadel kits didn’t seem likely.
- And finally, our local game shop forest terrain was getting pretty worn out, and none were the exact size of the Citadel Woods.
I actually sat on the idea for awhile because this was going to be my first wargaming terrain and trees are sort of intimidating. But you’ll see how I cheated on those.
Forest Base
I did pick up one Citadel Woods kit and traced the outline onto 2″ pink foam. With a hot wire cutter I roughed the shape, carved the contours down to the thin edge, and then sanded it down. Next I glued on some foam rocks for more interest.
For texture I drizzle on the glue and then spread it around with a thick damp paintbrush, poured on some rough and some fine ballast, and let it sit for 24 hours. After it dried I use fine mist spray bottle filled with Woodland Scenic’s Scenic Cement to seal it. I’m not certain if it’s as strong as a 50/50 PVA/Water mix, but it’s so easy to apply.
The base pain was a Burnt Umber, and a Quaker Gray was used for the highlight dry brush. The Flock is Burnt Grass from Woodland Scenics. The color choices had more to do with what I had around then a planned out color scheme, but the low contrast between the earth tone and the grass tone turned out pretty well. I think the splotchy grass pattern really went a long way to make this piece feel natural and unique.
Umbrella Trees
Here’s where I cheated. I was at the local hobby train store (where I get my woodland scenics stuff), and one of the regulars had made these trees from vegetation on his property. I’m not certain of the plant name, but they reminded me of the Umbrella Trees you’d see in a photo of the Serengeti. The other kicker was that they were $0.50-$1.00 each, so it was a no brainer to try and make them work.
To prep them for a bit longer life on the tabletop I used the same spray bottle from before to firm up the flock that was added to the top. And since this was my first attempt at this I didn’t get too complex. I drilled holes in the foam base and just stuck these in.
Here’s the view that drew me to them the most. The best part was getting them over to the LGS and seeing everyone enjoy using them. I don’t know how long the trees themselves will last, but they look damn cool when they are setup.
Had a good conversation with Conesy on how these could be improved on and made to last. Perhaps wire frame trunks and branches wrapped in green stuff and painted up real nice. If you try it before I do, post it here or send me a DM on Twitter @StoneMonkgamer and I’ll post it up.