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I know you're going to see my post-count and scoff.

I'm a long-time fan of WH:40k, but mostly due to the novels, rather than the game itself. I tried playing a while back, and even though I was running Grey Knights, lost every game but one out of a dozen or so. I did, however, get caught up in miniatures in general, and started making stuff for the tables.

I would actually like to start doing this as a kind of side-business (making terrain / beauty pieces), but I'm not really sure where to start. I figured I'd join here and ask your opinions as veteran players.

If you were looking for a piece of terrain to go on your table, and saw this....what would you reasonably expect to pay for it (unpainted or painted, but please specify)



Dimensions are approx. 1'L x 6.5"W x2.5"T

Yeah, I know it's white. I decided to do that because I would hope to provide unpainted resin casts, which the buyer would paint themselves. I -am- going to paint this particular piece in the next day or so, however, and just so you can gauge my skill-level:





I find the models themselves tedious to paint, but I enjoy making terrain objects. If I could mold and cast duplicates of original pieces that people would actually be interested in buying, that would just make my day, lol. If not, tell me what I'm missing.

I wouldn't pay anything for it for at least 5 reasons.

It's really basic and something that I could recreate in a few minutes with some foam, board, sand and glue.

I'd also be able to make as much as I needed for a whole table in an afternoon.

Finding anything to match your single piece of terrain would be impossible so it would stick out on the tabletop and look odd.

I hate organic terrain pieces on square, oblong, circular or straight sided bases.

Resin is a awful material for large terrain pieces. It is prone to chipping, doesn't store well and is expensive.

I hope this doesn't sound too negative and that you can see this criticism as constructive.

It also looks a bit of a pain to balance models on.

I like your idea though, always worth pursuing something you're passionate about!

I am afraid I wouldn't pay for it either, I will try to give some good feedback...

The regular shaped bases like rectangles and squares always turn me of as it reads as artificial

It seems to be hard to balance the models on top of it. Playability is more important than realism and marrying the two is hard.

Textures are too uniform. The rock faces and the paths have the exact same textures. A path may be a bit more worked or worn flat bit use over time.

The rock faces have four different textures. Modelled cracks, horisontal cracks from the plaster, brush strokes and grains from the plaster. It makes the over all look a little to busy. Woodland scenics have some good examples of rock mold textures

Transition to the gamingsurface. The edges with the paths are very steep and this creates problems when entering and leaving the terrain with miniatures.

I wish you luck with future pieces and I hope the critique don't get you down. We live and we learn.

As a next step this might be helpful for the finishing work on rock surfaces. The classic way to do it is by drybrushing but I have always hated that since it is hard to get a natural look.

The nearest comparable of mass market terrain would be battlefield in a box. They have some nice, prepainted rocky structures.

I'm sorry, but i can't recall the pricing of them.

Thanks so much for the responses, and while I'm a little disappointed, I'm not in the least bit offended by anything that was said. On the contrary, it's given me things to watch out for on the next piece. I'm still going to pretty this one up as an example, which should at the very least fix the texture of the paths after dirt / sand are added, but I see your point.

Another point taken was playability. I didn't plan it out as well as I should have, and after it was assembled I realized it would be difficult to have even a five-model squad together on the terrain whilst keeping their bases within an inch of each other. Lessons for next time, I suppose.

Good post, good attempt, good understanding of the criticism posted. I'm proud of you, internet stranger.

For me, these have no value - not because of you, but because of me. If there was something for me, it'd be some kind of decent scatter terrain in resin. Something that wouldn't look out of place on a GW board, with GW scenery. Things that would fit into a cityscape - lots of which exists in MDF, but I don't really want MDF. I'd probably pay $15 for enough unpainted resin scenery to fit into my hand? I don't know.

As far as terrain goes, I wouldn't personally pay for anything. I am a big fan of the hobby side of it. People have offered to buy my pieces, and I've considered the business idea of it, but it's a lot of work to ruin something I enjoy. If you want to sell terrain, its' all about cheap reproducability. If you can churn out decent looking terrain, local players will pick that up all day long as they often hate building terrain.

Sorry it took me awhile to get back to this. I know it's not terribly interesting anymore.

Turns out I needed an adapter to connect my airbrush to the compressor (first time I've used it since I ran out of the cans of "fuel"). Should be here tomorrow, and I still intend on fixing this piece up.

I have a couple questions regarding things that were said earlier, though;

Is naturalistic terrain just not something sought for at all by WH:40k players? I mean, I know destroyed city-scapes are popular, but that's not the only place where battles happen, lol. Wouldn't a "set" of similar terrain intended to model different scenarios (forest, desert, plains, etc.) be wanted?

Also, what would be a suitable material for these to be made of, if not resin? I'm not intimidated at all by the mold-making process, but what material should I consider to cast them in, that would be suitable for long-term use and storage? Provided I plan these out a bit better so that they're playable, should I consider adding in a bit of Woodland Scenics trees and shrubbery / foliage flocking as part of the "kit", assuming that I offer them unpainted?


Automatically Appended Next Post:
In addition to my previous post, as a kind of teaser, these are photos of something I made awhile ago from styro, Great Stuff, and silicone sealer. Mind you, this wasn't wargaming terrain, but a 3D backdrop designed for insects to walk around on. (It's in my 2.5 gallon black widow enclosure)

I don't think it's a question of natural looking terrain being undesirable, it's more a question of function being more important than form. If you can't put models on it, it just doesn't work. Back in the day, when I had hair, we made hills and such out of styrofoam, and they were tiered so we could place regiments on movement bases on them. Did they look natural after painting them? No, they didn't, but they functioned.

Just guessing here, based on my wants, but I would think buildings and the like would be more in demand. GW and others charge a small fortune for them. That's most likely too big of an undertaking, though, for a garage type side business.

Ultra Grey wrote:
I don't think it's a question of natural looking terrain being undesirable, it's more a question of function being more important than form. If you can't put models on it, it just doesn't work. Back in the day, when I had hair, we made hills and such out of styrofoam, and they were tiered so we could place regiments on movement bases on them. Did they look natural after painting them? No, they didn't, but they functioned.

Just guessing here, based on my wants, but I would think buildings and the like would be more in demand. GW and others charge a small fortune for them. That's most likely too big of an undertaking, though, for a garage type side business.

Buildings are part of my plan as well, though I'm hoping to make them modular to the point where you could add multiple floors / expand on it simply by adding more pieces to it.

However, buildings are boring. I actually have fun with natural terrain, and believe me, I would endeavor to make them both pretty and functional, with as few compromises as possible, within the scope of tabletop gaming.

Still...isn't there also the matter of "cover". Things that are just there to hide troops behind so they don't get shot up while organizing?

Zathura wrote:


Still...isn't there also the matter of "cover". Things that are just there to hide troops behind so they don't get shot up while organizing?

Yes, but even for a terrain building hater like me, that stuff is quick and easy to make, with everything you need readily available at your local hobby store. The key to your success would be offering things that a reasonable number of people wouldn't want to tackle on their own, for whatever reason. That would be your target market.

Ultra Grey wrote:

Zathura wrote:


Still...isn't there also the matter of "cover". Things that are just there to hide troops behind so they don't get shot up while organizing?

Yes, but even for a terrain building hater like me, that stuff is quick and easy to make, with everything you need readily available at your local hobby store. The key to your success would be offering things that a reasonable number of people wouldn't want to tackle on their own, for whatever reason. That would be your target market.

That's what I'm trying to get a handle on. What -would'nt- my demographic want to make. And perhaps it was a mistake to come to these forums. NOT because you guys are giving me bad advice or anything, but because I'm posting in a global community....IN THE PAINTING AND MODELING section, lmao.

...Of course my amateurish stuff is going to stink, but how much of an ass would I be if I walked into my local gaming store and asked the guys, "How much would you pay for this?" lol

I don't think I'm an expert at this by any means...but compared to some of the stuff I've seen in person, I'd like to think I'm better than average, and that my stuff could sell, even if only locally. I guess I'm trying to see if it's even worth -that-, though.

After I make 2-3 more pieces, that I've measured (I'm using quarters to simulate 1" bases now) and planned out for playability, I'll make a new thread, and see what you guys think then. Just know that it's going to be absolutely heartbreaking to me if the WH:40k players don't want naturalistic terrain at all, which means I'll have to start marketing for a completely different audience (maybe the WWII tabletop players) that I know nothing about, or offering services to the model-train guys. :/

I think my stuff might possibly look better than the mounded plastic-grassed tunnels I see for sale in the model-train section of my hobby shop, lol.

There are people who would buy the natural looking pieces. Playability is a big part of it though. What it looks like your creating so far is something for a show piece. What would your product be made from? A lot of people can make their own stuff for cheaper if they have the know how, so what makes yours better?

Zathura wrote:

This is actually quite awesome, a full board of this would make pretty much the best alien landscape I have ever seen.

If you want to use resin I would suggest looking into a resin filler, they are pretty much small balls of air. They make the piece lighter and cheaper and should not mess with details.

Nice looking piece, well done.

Now, as a person who makes terrain on commission and for events, I have to say there are some key things to remember...

1 - Looks good
2 - Durable
3 - Game friendly.

It is a balance of all of these - and since we are gaming, number 3 is incredibly important.

Others have chimed in on this as well - you need to be able to put models on it and have them stay. I have discovered you have to be very distinct on where the models can go - if you have a spot where a model might go, but is not stable - someone will try to put a model on it.

So, does that piece of terrain look cool?
YES! Well done.

But it might not be as useful for gaming, as recognized by yoruself and others.

Now, you say you will be disappointed if gamers don't want "naturalistic" terrain....you can do both, you just need to adjust your designs a bit.

Best of luck!

Thanks for the additional comments. I hadn't checked this thread in a few days and was worried it had died completely, lol.

I finally got the fitting I needed for the airbrush, and after a lot of messing around with both that and hand-stippling, I've gotten a fairly decent paint-job out of it so far. It's a little muted, so I might touch it up with some yellows and khakis as "lichen" to make certain parts pop. Still not quite done, but here's how it looks so far:







Tomorrow I plan on adding sand/dirt/flocking and doing some touch-ups, but I'm interested in some general feedback. (Other than it's lack of playability, which I've already noted, lol)

Looks good.

Clearly a lot more "game friendly".

Looking forward to seeing more.