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I'm planning to get an ice World Mat as a nice change of theme from the urban/industrial/badlands mats the group I play with use, and as such, I'm thinking of what terrain to use.

Now, in my group we have very little if any people using the STC Ryza ruins or death world terrain or eldritch Ruins. My idea was to use them to create a mechanicum outpost /habitation bloc overrun by the deathworld native plants, and the center is the xeno Ruins they were researching.

Pics for reference :






Plenty of soft cover and LoS blockers from the deathworld plants and STC Ruins with a bit of both from the xeno Ruins. I'll probably add some "ice" boulders repainted from other kits to add full LoS hinderence.

Your ideas on this endeavour gentlemen/ladies?

None of what you posted is line-of-sight blocking unless you're using some house rules for area terrain etc. You'll really want some hills/escarpments/ice flows to provide actual line-of-sight blocking. Large glacier sections, or ravines in the ice. An abandoned ship carcass would be cool (space ship or surface vessel).

 Elbows wrote:
None of what you posted is line-of-sight blocking unless you're using some house rules for area terrain etc. You'll really want some hills/escarpments/ice flows to provide actual line-of-sight blocking. Large glacier sections, or ravines in the ice. An abandoned ship carcass would be cool (space ship or surface vessel).

Very good ideas! And true, I was thinking more of kill team (played way too much of it!) so would adding a couple of stacks of these around be good as a true LoS blocking terrain?

For kill team yes. For 40k less so. Hiding whole squad behind those requires quite a lot.

Ah, okay, yeah for Killteam, etc. the bits you've showed could easily be blocking LOS, my bad. The Killzone with the containers is pretty fantastic for easy LOS blocking even at a 40K scale (you get six of those containers in a single box!)

One way you might be able to use the Ryza Ruins as LoS blocking terrain in regular 40k is to make them the second story walls (or the tops of tall single-story walls) and have large snowdrifts covering the first story.

Ya know was thinking about how to use those xeno plants.

was thinking maybe a good way to get them to actually function as terrain, you could spray in under side leg area with expanding foam to carve out rocks. that way they block los.

though i have no idea what they do in game so might not be worth it.

Or you just house rule them to block LoS in 40k.

 Desubot wrote:
Ya know was thinking about how to use those xeno plants.
was thinking maybe a good way to get them to actually function as terrain, you could spray in under side leg area with expanding foam to carve out rocks. that way they block los.
though i have no idea what they do in game so might not be worth it.

I like it. Alternatively fill them with shredded gauze bandages to create a mesh that would look like like dense spidery strands of stuff and prevent LoS. Or real lichen would do the same thing for a less man made made look.

Attached a few pictures from my groups table when we have it in ice planet mood. The more terrain is usually better

Uuh sparse board.

My groups added more since then but you have to balance between having large units and tanks being able to move around vs more terrain. Otherwise Bikes and Skimmers just dominate and tracked vehicles get to shoot once or twice per game.

One of the tables at my store is a scifi Ice terrain. There is a ton of styrofoam hills and crystals on it. Plus an Ice station and some bunkers or mine vents ment for infinity terrain. Stuff looks cool, but most people don't want to play on it because it is too dense for them.

One thing you could do, instead of just hills, is habitat domes. Nothing has to be massive, you can just say they're access points to a larger under ice facility. You could also do a few collapsed domes instead of just craters, so they'd even have leftover walls.

http://thminiatures.com/en/24-snow

Youre welcome!

Watch the movie "The Thing" with Kurt Russel. Plenty of ice imagery there.


If you are looking to add a 3D feeling, some "ice ramps" leading up to a landing would look cool.

Also, tunnels. It sounds a bit silly, but sculpting any hill over a 6 inch-long piece of large PCV piping cut into a U shape adds nice line of sight blocking terrain, multiple play levels, and a nice place to hide.

chaos0xomega wrote:
http://thminiatures.com/en/24-snow

Youre welcome!

Very cool site, too bad its unpainted.

I hate to say it, but you might have to go back to an industrial setting. A oil refinery in the middle of a winter wonderland. The oil tanks would give alot of LOS blocking.

chaos0xomega wrote:http://thminiatures.com/en/24-snow

Youre welcome!

Very nice terrain, but it's a bit to AoS/Frostgrave looking for the buildings, but those ice walls look great!

Avor wrote:I hate to say it, but you might have to go back to an industrial setting. A oil refinery in the middle of a winter wonderland. The oil tanks would give alot of LOS blocking.

I'm loathe to do that as we ALWAYS play on industrial terrain and it would be nice to have a change. I'm thinking of getting one of these on top an ice shelf to add a large centre piece LoS blocker



Just scratch build a ramp or two and it should be good!

Well that's not much of a los blocker either...The corners are only ones that provide LOS blocking. Rest you won't hide even a grot. Well on top if you aren't on wall you can get LOS block from under at least

You could petition GW to sort out their stupid Line of Sight rules. Failing that, I like the suggestion about snow drifts blocking the lower windows. Or, wait til the Christmas season and buy a bunch of those adorable, decorative snow-covered houses. Then drill a load of bullet holes in the walls, add some scorch marks and model a bunch of dead civilians sprawled on their steps.

Now that's a 40k Christmas.

Did anyone say ice? Otherwise simple stuff is rocky ridge poking out of ice covered in snow. Insulation foam for ridge/expanding foam for clump, savage cutting device or hot wire cutter and you are away. Pine forest. Buildings with snow on (sci fi mechanicus outpost obviously).

If I knew my table could hold the weight I'd just go grab some appropriately sized rocks, spray them light blue, drybrush them white and use them as LoS blocking ice formations.

 Excommunicatus wrote:
If I knew my table could hold the weight I'd just go grab some appropriately sized rocks, spray them light blue, drybrush them white and use them as LoS blocking ice formations.

You could probably get some fake rocks to do that with. Try the gardening section at stores. If you can't find any look for those fake rocks with the cut out on the bottom to store a spare key.

Just like any other setting, think about the theme you want to portray and build around that. You could do all sorts of themes on an ice world...

Abandoned Imperial base
Mining facility
Old alien site
etc

What armies do you typically run, as that can help with theme too.