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If you haven't glanced at the related thread, we're trying to reinvigorate the League of Extraordinary Riveters "Terrain Contest" by re-imagining it as a "Hobby & Craft Challenge"... less of a head-to-head contest, and far more accommodating of things that aren't terrain: bases, displays, table tiles, markers, game aids, etc. (though playable terrain pieces are still very much in). One outcome of our discussion was an inclination to save the thematic element of the event, with a theme poll to launch each round a la the Painting Challenge... we like having a unifying concept, but we can't afford to narrow the field of entries with major restrictions. So...

What very broad themes would motivate or entice you to join a bi-monthly celebration of the craft element of the hobby?

I'll throw one out as a model of what I imagine would be workable...

TIME: Your build must relate to time in some way; this might include anything from clocks to time travel, might be as simple as something with a seasonal element, could involve bones, ruins, decay, or other examples of time's passage, and could even be a turn counter or score-keeping tool that tracks time.

Time example works for me because that theme relates to entry and/or to materials used. Just like the Sport theme allowed me to build Redallert2 tower using golf balls and stay within the "theme" of sports
Gives me freedom to build what I wanted while having a theme restriction that forces me be creative and relevant.

Theme examples:
Springs - Incorporate springs or spirals into the design, could be spiral wizards tower or recycled mechanical pencil spring, or drywall screws somehow used in the terrain, or even a painting of a spiral on the side of the building.
Wheels - Somehow incorporate wheels in the design, or use wheels from legos, toys, or scratch built.
Wood - Use any type of wood in the creation of the terrain entry, found piece of drift wood, or toothpicks, balsa wood, ets
Magnets - Magnetic themed terrain piece of a scifi lab, or incorporate magnets in the terrain for function or esthetics.
Glass - Use glass or clear plastic as a material in the entry or a see through, clear, themed terrain design.

For me any "Materials to be used" themed theme Is most fun

"Art imitates life" - a terrain piece inspired by a real-life location. Can be a full recreation of the location, a singular element of the location, or simply inspired by the look.

"Elevation" - a terrain piece focused on height. This can include areas that models can be placed on, or other elements that add height (ex. flagpoles, spikes, antennae, chimneys, etc).

"Cube/Tube/Cone/Sphere/etc" - a terrain piece that must contain the chosen shape. It can be the main silhouette of the piece, a singular section, the starting material, etc.

"The Message" - a terrain piece that contains elements that convey information in written form to the models. Can be the entirety of the piece (billboards, hieroglyphic stelae, etc) or small aspects of the piece (hanging signs, warning labels, lab protocol instructions, graffiti, purity seals, rock carvings, etc).

I'll add any more if I can think of any.

Communications - aerial, satelllite dish, magic orbs, comms equipment, screens, signal flags - anything that operates as a method of communication between units or forces. Alternatively, incorporate materials from communications devices - wires, speakers, casings, connectors etc.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Thumpingbear beat me to it with "The Message"

You could also go for simply described usage case as well

Bridge - either in the literal or figurative sense of joining one thing to another over some kind of physical or metaphorical obstacle

Sleep - barracks, dwellings, mortuary?

Fun - cinema, swimming pool, fighting pit, barrel full of fish

Office - where the work gets done. What exactly that work is could be variable

Also I haven’t read the other thread, but doing this monthly would allow awesome opportunities for crossover with the other painting comp, for those that can hack the pace

here are a few i came up. most are randomly titled however a some have titles that can also be dug into for other avenues of creativity. feel free to use or modify.

Influenced by the Influencer - Youtube has been a particular boon for the hobby world allowing creators to show their work and techniques to millions across the globe. It has allowed access to so many ideas and the processes that are used to realize them. There are dozens of highly skilled builders posting videos each week of their projects and how they were achieved. For this challenge find a piece you like from one of these videos and build it using the video as a guide. One thing of note is to give proper credit to who you are basing your piece off of.

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery - There are many talented people making terrain and uploading their pictures today to not only show their work but to also help inspire others. For this challenge find a piece of terrain created by someone else and replicate it. Maybe this from your favorite Pinterest poster, a piece displayed in an old copy of White Dwarf, or even something you've seen on this site. It doesn't need to be a 1 to 1 copy but should try to mimic the original where possible. Color swaps are a good example of a deviation from the original that doesn't harm the spirit of the challenge. One thing of note is to give proper credit to who you are basing your piece off of.

Scatterbrain? More like scatter terrain - Scatter terrain is prevalent on most boards and can really help bring some visual appeal to a table. From a group of barrels or bundles of pipes to small barricades and piles of rocks many things can be used as scatter terrain. For this challenge make a few pieces of scatter terrain.

I’d Buy That For a Dollar - Most areas have dollar stores or their equivalents and in this challenge we will want to find something at one of these stores to turn into terrain. There are many videos and articles out there from people who have done the same thing so coming up with something to make should be easy. Just take a scroll through your local store and I’m sure you will quickly find something that you can build off of for this challenge.

For Whom the Bell Tolls - During the holiday season you will see bells used as festive decorations but bells have been used in various forms for millennia. They can be found in some form from practically every culture throughout mankind's existence albeit in various shapes. Some have even gained their own notoriety due to their age as a cultural icon. For this challenge use a bell in your design. Maybe you will see it up high in a bell tower or cracked and ruined lying in rubble. However you choose to use it, simply use a bell in your terrain piece.

Big in Japan - Even after the disastrous release of Cyberpunk 2077 Asian inspired hobby projects still seem to be popular. Playing into that your piece should have an Asian aesthetic to it. Whether this is mimicking a rural village from medieval China to the futuristic cyberpunk of New Tokyo you should do your best to incorporate items or colors that show an Asian influence. Or simply make some Epic 40k terrain pieces that will look perfectly at home with a giant kaiju tearing through them. You can build wall sections that pay homage to the Great Wall or maybe you want to recreate aspects of Tokyo's Big Sight. From torii gates to a near future e-waste facility there are many directions you can go with this challenge.

Hasta la vista, baby - Arnold Schwarzenegger is one of the most famous and popular actors of the last 30 years. As such he has been in movies spanning every genre and theme. For this challenge you will want to make something based off of something found in an Arnold Schwarzenegger movie. Some examples are the sci fi ruins found in Terminator, a rocky crag as seen in Conan, a village on the edge of the rain forest with a Predator lurking nearby, or even a crazy maze that is part game show part dilapidated buildings with a Running Man in them. Arnold has many movies under his belt which creates many possibilities for this challenge.

Tastes Like Cardboard - In all honesty I don’t think I have ever eaten cardboard to know what it tastes like, but for whatever reason I still know what it tastes like. That notwithstanding for this challenge you will want to use cardboard as a main building material. Cardboard is the backbone of this hobby and brings with it a wealth of building opportunities. Let's all enrich ourselves and use cardboard for this challenge.

All that Glitters - While gold gets all the glory it's not the only thing that glitters. There are many shiny objects that can be found that have their places in terrain pieces. From alien crystals to polished brass you may notice a sparkle in many things. A building's glass windows can reflect sunlight so intense as to blind people. A newly manufactured chemical plant might have miles of chrome tubes and pipes. Even a rocky outcropping of hematite can glitter when the sun's rays hit it. For this challenge you will want to build something glittery or shiny or have those aspects used in the final piece. This can be achieved through painting techniques and the materials used or using actual glitter.

Thicker Than Water - There is a lot of water on this planet with roughly 71% of Earth considered wet. For this challenge we want to make sure we are helping represent that fact on our tabletops by building something that is a water feature or has a water effect. There are many different ways to achieve this with possible methods being resin, pva glue, store bought water effects, and even building caulk. Your feature can be anything from a small creek to an industrial sewage vat. Maybe you would like to build a well for use in your skirmish game or you want to add some water effects to you underhive building. As long as it's wet it’s on theme for this challenge.

I Saw That Episode - In this challenge you will want to pull inspiration from a TV episode and create something that would fit in that show. With more than a million TV episodes across every genre the possibilities are near endless. Whether you want to recreate your favorite Star Trek set piece or something from The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr it should be easy to find something to spark your creativity.

Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road? - To get to the other side? I’m not sure that’s the answer for this challenge. Instead you should build something that can be traveled upon or if nothing else, crossed. Be it a modern road for jeeps and buggies or a rutted out strip of mud that oxen trudge through daily you will be creating a lifeline for travel. With a multitude of styles and possible building materials this challenge might be able to finally answer this age old riddle.

MC Hammer - You know, I have no idea where this came from, but I think it can work. I get that when you think about building terrain MC Hammer is probably the last thing to come up but I think I have some ideas. For starters, the man's name is Hammer. Maybe a weapons armory or a forge can be the direction you head in. Or you can look to some of his song titles for inspiration. Let’s start with his most famous song “Can’t Touch This”. Maybe some sort of defenses or barricades. Maybe a cave on the top of a crag with no way to reach it. Maybe you were more of a “Addam’s Groove” type of person and want to build some zany gothic piece that works perfectly on your table. Maybe you enjoy “Pray” and want to build a temple piece for your soldiers to be blessed in. I know it seems odd on the surface, but I think there is a bit of gold that can be mined from this theme.

Glow Sticks are Cool - I have only been to one concert since moving to Japan and it was quite a bit different than the ones I attended in America. One of the big things that I noticed was the prevalence of glow sticks in the audience. The fans would constantly be waving them, often in unison and synchronization with each other. It was interesting to see to say the least. Walking back to the train station after the show I was thinking about how bright and colorful the show was when I also started noticing the neon lights and plethora of video screens that were lighting up the street. Almost every building had its own form of glow. For this challenge you should incorporate a lighting effect or make use of object source lighting in your piece. Maybe it will be a lone street light on a broken down street corner. It could be a raging bonfire used to burn the dead of battle. A landing pad for a vehicle is home to many a light. However you choose to build, try to bring some light into your hobby world.

It Was Acceptable in the 80’s - Nostalgia can be an amazing thing. For this challenge we will tap into that amazing thing and build something that originated in the 80’s. From your favorite TV show, movie, or book draw upon something from this time period and build it for use on your tabletop.

Where Eagles Dare - Eagles are known for flying high in the sky while they search for their prey. Our prey for this challenge will be to build something tall so we can reach the eagles. Be it a wizards tower or a radio tower, a skyscraper or an ancient oak tree that scrapes the sky you will want to build something that towers over the rest of the terrain on the table. Let's go where eagles dare.

@Arakasi: I'd consider those different themes - mine is specifically with written word, yours includes written word but encompasses many other communication methods.

"Memento Mori" - a terrain piece that incorporates death in some way (shouldn't be very difficult for Warhammer). Can be direct (ex. corpse piles, graveyards/mausoleums, memorial walls, etc.) or representative of the idea (ex. a broken down vehicle, a collapsed building, withered trees, etc.). Can be the entirety of the piece or individual elements, such as the skull motif found literally everywhere in the Warhammer universe.

"A Story to Tell" - Terrain isn't just ruins on a table, it represents a living place within the universe of the wargame, now torn apart by conflict - so what was that world like? This challenge has no criteria for the terrain, but must provide historical context for the piece in the wargaming world/universe. This would be an exercise in both terrain crafting and creative worldbuilding. This can include events/details of the world before the conflict (ex. a statue of a historical figure or event, a bridge built by a wealthy noble who hated tolls, a chemical processing plant that refines the planet's main export, trees that bear a useful and tasty fruit, etc.) or events/details during the conflict (ex. a makeshift scout camp that was abandoned hastily, a downed spaceship trying to escape the warzone, a wall with loyalist and rebel graffiti competing for space, etc.). This challenge would require a write-up of the terrain's story.

"Cast-Away": Use a piece of material that was discarded, create or use pieces that have been cast in a mold, or create a terrain piece with a sense of desolation or being stranded.

I don't have as much creative flair as others, maybe Peterhausenn can apply their skill for words to create more appeal!

 tinker wrote:
"Cast-Away": Use a piece of material that was discarded, create or use pieces that have been cast in a mold, or create a terrain piece with a sense of desolation or being stranded.

I don't have as much creative flair as others, maybe Peterhausenn can apply their skill for words to create more appeal!

"Aha. Look what I've created. I have made Fire!" Well, maybe you shouldn't make fire but you should create a terrain piece that uses molded elements for this challenge. Whether you are making a quick mold from green stuff/hot glue or are going with a more involved rubber/silicone mold you will want to use elements you hand replicated. There are multiple how-to videos on YouTube ( https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=making+40k+mold ) that will take you step by step through the process.

Alternatively you can call for Wilson and build a piece that recreates your time together stranded on an island paradise. Whether it's a secluded beach with lonely footprints or a grove of fruit bearing trees that will provide you with sustenance for this challenge, create something that signifies the feeling of loneliness and desolation that comes with being cast away from civilization.

Secret: your piece of terrain contains a feature that's hidden/hard to see (at first sight): so a secret cave, door, treasure room, booby trap, weapons storage, pitfall etc.

It's alive!: your piece of terrain contains something that clearly came/is coming alive, like a statue, tree, tank, house, pond, vulcano, wall etc.

These are brilliant! I'll skim off a few gems and put up a poll this weekend and then launch the cycle for January-February. I'm pumped for this fresh take!

A new hope....Beginning of the year revitalising the league. How you work it into terrain? Well pretty much anything Star Wars inspired or a construction site....