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Modeling Desert Terrain: September-October 2014

1) The document discusses modeling desert terrain for wargames, noting that assuming perfectly flat desert terrain is a myth and bad assumption. Desert terrain features subtle undulations, rocks, wadis, and vegetation that provide cover. 2) Step-by-step instructions are provided to model a desert hex and a wadi hex using simple materials and techniques to create varied desert landforms. Cutting and gluing foam creates terrain features while washes add realism. 3) Successful desert commanders understood and exploited the subtleties of this unforgiving terrain, which challenges wargamers to accurately model its varied features rather than assuming flatness.

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Vaggelis
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190 views4 pages

Modeling Desert Terrain: September-October 2014

1) The document discusses modeling desert terrain for wargames, noting that assuming perfectly flat desert terrain is a myth and bad assumption. Desert terrain features subtle undulations, rocks, wadis, and vegetation that provide cover. 2) Step-by-step instructions are provided to model a desert hex and a wadi hex using simple materials and techniques to create varied desert landforms. Cutting and gluing foam creates terrain features while washes add realism. 3) Successful desert commanders understood and exploited the subtleties of this unforgiving terrain, which challenges wargamers to accurately model its varied features rather than assuming flatness.

Uploaded by

Vaggelis
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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GHQ, 28100 Woodside Road, Shorewood, MN 55331 USA • (612) 374-2693 • www.ghqmodels.

com
September–October 2014 Modeling Excellence Since 1967

MODELING DESERT TERRAIN


Desert fighting has given us some of the most “Assuming the ground is perfectly flat (not a bad
fascinating campaigns and personalities to be found in assumption in the desert) and assuming a straight-line
history. The names of Lawrence, Allenby, Rommel, projectile flight to the target plate (a bad assumption
Patton, and (dare we say?) Montgomery, are known by anywhere but one which gives the defender the
virtually everyone who has made a study of warfare. advantage), it can be safely assumed that the plate’s
The see-saw campaigns of World War II and brilliant vertical slope is constant.”
victories of World War One and the Arab-Israeli Wars
have filled volumes of history books. So why does a Assuming the ground is perfectly flat in the desert is
theater of operations that produced such interesting not only a bad assumption, it is a perfectly lousy
history produce such mediocre war games? assumption. It is a fundamental myth associated with
desert warfare. Flat, featureless terrain would never
An insight to this dilemma can be gained from this have allowed the Afrika Korps, with marginal German
excerpt taken from the Designer’s Notes of Avalon Hill’s and Italian equipment, to inflict the crushing defeats
Tobruk boardgame. The author is explaining the they dealt to the British. Nor, would it allow the
methods used in the game to determine the effectiveness Israelis, with their inferior tanks, to prevail in the
of armour-piercing shot against armour plate. 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s.

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Desert terrain features rocky slopes, wadis, and
vegetation. Subtle undulations can provide a hull-
down position for a tank, scrub and depressions
provide cover for infantry. No other theater of
operations require the battlefield commander to make
such minute reconnaissance of the terrain. The success
in attack or defense hinge on its accurate assessment.
For success in the desert, a commander must
understand, and exploit, its subtleties. This harsh
and unforgiving environment requires an adaptive
and innovative mindset. Perhaps this is the reason 1. Use interior latex paint to paint the sides and top of
why the desert has been history’s proving ground for the hex tan. Set aside to dry completely.
great commanders.
2. Make a dark wash by adding enough brown acrylic
Only GHQ’s Terrain Maker offers you the varied paint to water to make it look muddy but not
landforms actually found in the desert. thickened.
Making a Clear Desert Hex
The final spectacular results belie the simple and
straight forward techniques to create Terrain Maker
desert scenery. With this system you will now be
able to make the unique terrain features that make
the desert one of the more formidable battlegrounds
in history.

4. Randomly dab the dark wash on the surface of the


hex. Blend the edges of the brown wash by
vigorously scrubbing the edges with a coarse
bristled brush.

5. Dab white glue on the hex and apply ground foam


for desert scrub. Tap the hex to remove excess foam.
Set aside and allow to dry.
Materials
6. That’s your first finished flat land hex!
• 1 pack 1/2” (TM1) hexes
• tan flat latex interior paint*
• brown acrylic paint**
(dilute with water for dark wash)
• white glue
• 1”–2” paint brush***
• smaller brush***
• foam ground cover (I used mostly TMA6, TMA11)
2
Making a Wadi 2. Along the top of the hex side, measure and mark
It does rain in the desert. The nature of the soil with pencil 1cm inward from each edge. Repeat on
contributes to a dramatic run-off, with even the the directly opposite side of the hex.
smallest amount of precipitation. This run-off is
funneled into channels called wadis. This natural 3. With a straight edge draw two diagonal lines
trench system varies in width and depth, from a slit connecting the marks on the top and bottom of each
trench to an anti-tank ditch. hex side.
The methods for building a wadi hex are very similar
to those for building a stream hex. In fact, we suggest
you may want to review “Building a Stream Hex” in
the TM2 hex pack. The template for a wadi hex is
exactly the same as for the stream hex.

4. Connect the marks on the top of the hex as you


sketch out edges of the wadi banks in pencil.

Note that even though the river bends and curves


within the hex, as long as it enters and exits on
directly opposite sides, it functions as a straight
wadi. For a bend in the wadi bed (as in photo at left),
make the exit one or two sides over from the mouth
of the wadi, instead of making the exit at the
opposite side.
Materials
• 1 pack 1/4” (TM2) hexes
• metric ruler
• pencil
• hobby knife
• white glue
• tan flat latex interior paint*
• brown acrylic paint**
(dilute with water for dark wash)
• 1”–2” paint brush*** 5. To begin your cut, align the hobby knife blade on a
• small brush*** diagonal. As you cut through the hex, the angle of
the bank can vary, but the blade must exit the hex
• foam ground cover (I used mostly TMA6, TMA11)
exactly on the opposite diagonal. This makes a
• gel or impasto acrylic paint medium, or Durham’s standard bank contour to connect each hex.
Water Putty**
• butter knife or stylus When you have
finished cutting out
1. Along the bottom of one hex side, measure and the other wadi
mark with pencil 1½ cm inward from each edge. bank, you will have
Repeat on the directly opposite side of the hex. three hex pieces.

3
6. Cut small notches to
simulate sand erosion.

9. Use a blunt point, such as the bowl of a spoon to


drag along the wadi bed. This will represent the
action of wind and water on the lighter soil
sediment. Set aside and allow putty/medium to dry.

10. Paint and finish as you would for a clear terrain


hex, with this exception: do not apply glue and
vegetation to the wadi bed. Now you gotta wadi!

Notes:
* For the tan basecoat, pick up a quart of the cheapest
7. Smear an even layer of white glue on the bottom of interior latex paint you can find at your local home
the two bank pieces, and affix to an uncut TM2 hex, improvement store and have them tint it for you.
making sure all the edges align. That extra middle You may want to get a few colors for variety.
section left over from cutting out the river banks can A quart will last you for quite awhile.
make islands, sand pits, ridges or other features in **Home improvement stores carry many sizes of
your terrain. super cheap brushes. You can pick up a 2” foam
8. The dry stream bed of your wadi hex is of a different brush for under a dollar. For painting washes, I used
composition than the desert floor. To represent this, kids’ watercolor brushes I picked up for a couple
prepare your Durham Water Putty (or use acrylic of bucks.
medium) and apply it to the stream bed. ***Craft stores carry acrylic paint and medium or you
can buy Durham’s Water Putty at home improve-
ment stores.

A Note from the Photographer: They are also the easiest and fastest hexes to make.
With all of the effort you put into painting your Set up assembly-line style: paint a pile of hexes, set
miniatures, wouldn’t you rather see them on beautiful them aside to dry. By the time you finish painting all the
3D terrain than on an old bed sheet? hexes with the basecoat, the first hexes will be dry
enough to apply the darker washes, and so on.
You don’t have to be an artist to make great battlefields
with the Terrain Maker system. By just using very One thing to keep in mind is that every terrain board is
simple techniques, readily available materials, and a viewed in full, so don’t get caught up on the individual
few tools you probably already own, you can turn out hexes. Nature isn’t perfect or uniform, so your terrain
amazing terrain! certainly doesn’t need to be. When you lay all your
finished hexes out together and see them as a whole, I
I have never modeled terrain before. I am a total really think you will be blown away at what you can
newbie. I was amazed at how simply and quickly I accomplish with some paint, flocking, foam hexes, and
could put together some really sweet terrain. Flatland the Terrain Maker techniques in just an afternoon.
hexes (TM1) make up the majority of any board.
www.ghqmodels.com
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