40k Gothic Terrain Sprue ... for Fantasy?!

Just last week I completed another brief terrain project. It's a small ruin created from the ubiquitous terrain sprue from the old Warhammer 40,000 3rd edition boxed set.

We've all seen these nifty pieces on tabletop battlefields for the better part of 18 years (has it really been that long?). Ideally they're painted and based, but I've seen plenty of unpainted wall sections rattling around the shelves of many a game store over the years.

Although designed for the far future battlefield, the shattered and pitted gothic walls and windows work just fine in a fantasy setting, too. There are explosions and shrapnel on fantasy battlefields, right?!

When I acquired these two corner sections from Mattias, one of them was missing the second-story ledge. So I fashioned a makeshift floor out of balsa wood, which gave me a great excuse to use a color other than gray on this piece of terrain!

I splashed some brown and green washes on the gray walls to add a little more color, then liberally applied flock and static grass to represent just how long this little ruin has been sitting in the wilderness, untouched and unexplored.

The rubble in the center is composed of broken Hirst Arts pieces, small stones and gravel. I used Gorilla Glue on this area, which expands as it dries to fill gaps between the rubble bits. Pro tip: After you've laid down your Gorilla Glue and arranged your large stone pieces, let it stand for 20 or 30 minutes, then come back. The glue should have expanded and foamed up quite a bit -- now, sprinkle some sand or gravel onto the expanding glue to add more texture. This is a great way of building up volume quickly and easily without having to wait for subsequent glue layers to dry.

The tall pieces of foliage are just plastic aquarium plants I pulled apart and attached with super glue.

I've got quite a collection of fantasy ruins at this point! Time to do a wilderness-style Mordheim game, maybe?

-- Patrick, Chicago Skirmish Wargames club member