"Can anyone suggest some vendors for 15mm terrain?" Topic

I've been working on some terrain for some Stargrunt 2 games, and the one thing that has been difficult to do is hills. I don't have a hot knife, and don't want to mess with them. I would prefer to buy some nice quality hills, some grassy, some rocky.

Are there any vendors/brands that seem to be of high quality and won't cost a lot of money?

I'm also not sure whether hills that resemble natural hills, with sloped sides or stepped sides like I see in Battletech games (so the mechs don't slide down the hill/fall over) would be better? I'm thinking stepped, but this is my first venture into 15mm terrain (any terrain, really, since I've always been a space gamer).

Contact me at wdaniel994(at)comcast(dot)net and I can make some for you and send pictures.

Bill Daniel ( bills Gamer Garage)

I like these guy's: pastimesonthesquare.com

Battlefront/FOW has some good pre-painted 15mm terrain sets.

Kyromek 25mm sci fi terrain is actually quite good for 15mm sci fi. It's old school 25mm, so rather smallish.

Gamecraft Miniatures is also excellent mdf terrain, with a 15mm SF range, and of course GZG games.

For hills, def Battlefront.

Battlefield terrain concepts for hills is where I would start.

Another way to go is to use a felt or fabric groundcover, and to put stuff underneath to make gentle hills, ridges, etc..

facebook.com/geohex or on ebay auction

Had a lot of good games using this terrain system

+1 Stew art

If desired, you could just buy some of the blue/pink, extruded foam, and cut/file/sand it to shape without a hot knife.

A serrated steak knife can be used for most of the shaping, and then file/sand to final shape, as desired.

A bit messy, and you'll want to wear a face mask so you don't get the particles down in your lungs, and goggles to protect your eyes, but it's pretty simple to do, and very inexpensive.

I'd do this over a garbage can, or inside a large trash bag to catch most of the debris.

Paint and seal with a mix of craft paints and white glue – 50:50 mix will work, and help harden the shell to protect the foam from damage.

Sprinkle with fine grass flocking from the model railroad or hobby shop as desired.

Home Depot sells 24" x 24" squares of the pink stuff, 1" thick, as well as 4' x 8' sheets.

To make stepped hills I just cut up expanded polystyrene with a (very) sharp stuff bladed carving knife. You don't need a hot knife.

Seal it with a couple of coats of PVA to stiffen it up and protect it from impact damage, then just paint/flock or whatever. It is very easy and quite satisfying.

Thanks for the ideas guys. Thresher's idea is possibly doable, so I may try that first. I have some Modge Podge sitting around that might be of use sealing it up/toughen it up a bit.

My favorite material for making hills in 15mm is the soft cork tiles used for bulletin boards etc. It cuts super easy with a knife or even scissors, you can break it by hand to. It has natural texture, takes paint easily and is pretty durable if painted with a layer of white school/craft glue. It's also cheaper and easier to clean up. No mask or anything. The scrap can be crumbled by hand to make piles of rocks or rubble.

You can also find 1/2" foam boards in the poster section at craft stores. It's a different type of foam than pink or blue board, it's cheaper, and the size makes each layer roughly head height for a 15mm figure. It's also a little cleaner then house insulation

Kallistra make some really nice hills that are non hexed. I like them quite a bit. Several flock options are available also.

In addition to the hills purchased from various sources, including people who sell finished expanded polystyrene terrain on Etsy, I've made hills as described by Thresher. I've also done hills on a base of mdf or thick card, with foamcore shapes cut for volume and covered with paperclay or similar cheap modelling compound. I've also created contour hills of multiple levels using thick felt or foamcore to create the layers.

In most cases, I start with a primer or sealer coat (black tinted modge podge if its a material that will be affected by a spray primer), paint as appropriate, then PVA and flocking or sometimes with sand/tiling grout if I want a more desert or rocky look. Once I like the way it looks, then I seal the whole thing with a flat polyurethane spray. Messy and smelly, so outdoors, masks and/or good ventilation is always good advice.

Here is a thread with cork hills and 15mm sci-fi.

TMP link