"GW Hills as Hobbit Holes?" Topic

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If I were to add an MDF base, circular doors and windows (and other accessories), do you think it is possible?

CC

I forgot to mention that I was planning on making the hill itself removable to view inside details of the hobbit hole too.

CC

I think if right that the hills will be too low for doors and windows. They are quite low hills

however, this company do front of house or hole so to speak at I think what equates to $11.50 USD

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Don't think they'd be high enough. You would need hills at least an inch high to fit with GW LOTR Hobbits. And you will also need a (nearly) vertical face to fit your doors and windows. Surely cheaper to make your own?

Well, from bottom to top, this is what I was planning to do:

Start with 1/2 inch MDF as a base.

Add 1/2 inch foam on top of that, which will have the rooms and hallways carved in. The circular door, hedges and other details will be attached to this and will help keep the top of the hobbit hole (the GW hills) in place.

So, basically, the GW hill is just a ready-made top for the hobbit hole.

The MDF and the foam will add about an inch to the overall look.

CC

In essence, the GW hills will be unmodified and useful as hills in other games.

Plus, when I store the hobbit hole, the overall height will be reduced by that much too.

CC

"Start with 1/2 inch MDF as a base."

Why so thick? Incidentally MDF is dodgy stuff to cut and this should really be done where there are means to extract the dust. I would have thought 1/8 inch (3mm) MDF would be plenty – the great thing about MDF is that it is rigid in even quite thin sizes.

"Add 1/2 inch foam on top of that, which will have the rooms and hallways carved in."

So your rooms etc. will only be 1/2 inch high? I think the GW LOTR Hobbits are taller than that (particularly when you take into account their bases). You should use 1in foam at least.

That makes sense now CC :0) It sounded like you were going to slice the top off the hill and stick a door on the side.

yep should work though I would add the odd tree, tufts of long grass, shrubs and rocks…oh and dont forget a chimney pot

Mike, a full inch foam it is then. As for the MDF, I still have lots in that thickness, plus it will give it added height, I think, and will have a trail faced with "stone". Thanks.

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Lowtardog, the chimney pot will have to be removable too. Otherwise, I won't be able to use the hills as hills. Gotta be versatile. :)

CC

Hey CC,

Here's a link to a tomb I made (now long sold off on Ebay) that follows a similar construction principle. I made the base from 2 layers of 25mm foam cut using a hot-wire cutter round a template, and glued to a circle of hardboard/masonite.

The "lid" was also cut using a template, and then shaped to look like a hill. The whole thing took about a Saturday morning to make the templates, cut the hardboard and foam circles and the foam rings, and assemble. Painting and flocking took another evening.

A hobbit hole would look very similar. Remember that most minis these days stand about 30mm+ including the base, so you may want to make the main body of the building slightly thicker than 25mm

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Tanuki,

Thanks for the truly inspiring photos. I will start on mine this weekend and see if I can follow the suggestions.

Much appreciated!

CC

I guess that the next logical question is . . .

Is there a floorplan to Bilbo's/Frodo's hobbit hole anywhere?

CC

I can't believe it has been a year since I started researching and trying to decide whether to purchase or build a few hobbit holes:

TMP link

CC

Knock yourself out!

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en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bag_
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Thanks. But "Bag"?

I tried looking up Bag End (which I think was your intended link) and got this:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bag_End

And there's a link to the floor plan at the bottom!

Much appreciated.

CC

This is a neat idea but I bet you will find you do want a thicker base.

I have a couple sets of these GW hills. They are not extruded polystyrene / styrofoam but rather a harder but slightly flexible thin plastic. Probably they are vacu-formed. So the bottom is hollow, which I guess helps with what you are proposing -- if the miniatures stick up taller than the walls of your carved-out rooms, you still have a little headroom (literally!).

But I would guess mating the two pieces so they match well is more trouble than you think. The flocking is one issue. Possibly you have that worked out (I believe static grass flock from GW matches, as does one of the lines from the original manufacturer, Noch -- Spring Meadow possibly?).

The main issue though is that since the edges of these hills slope, it sounds you're talking about a structural extension to keep the windows and doors vertical, that I guess would stay attached to the base -- a dormer basically. That sounds like a pain to do.

Going to a 1" or 1.5" polystyrene foam base would alleviate this, though, as the overall height of the base would now meet the doortops / windowtops . And with that thickness of polystyrene, you could go to the thinner MDF someone else proposed as the combination would be quite rigid.

You have seen the GW articles on how to make hobbit holes? I can dredge up the links if not. One quick tip -- they use round bases bottom out with a crosspiece inserted as the outside of round windows.

Wonderful suggestions, Don.

Didn't someone say on a previous thread that they were planning, or already making, a Hobbiton or Bywater terrain board, done to scale and using official maps and diagrams?

I would love to see what they have done or propose to do.

CC

"Bywater terrain board"
Here's one:
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or this:
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I almost choked at $30.00 USD for hills. Sorry it took 20 mins to get off the floor.

Tabletop, I got mine a LOT cheaper on ebay. :)

CC

I'd hope so. I like to make my own for real cheap.

Ive got 4 different ones at Fantascene now……….plusruined and deluxe versions of each.
fantascene.net/halflings.htm