Hills with ridgelines |
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asaura
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Post subject: Hills with ridgelines  Posted: Tue May 16, 2006 9:47 am |
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Hi. This is yet another topic about constructing hills. I know everyone has their favorite methods and the web is half-full of links about this, but I have a specific kind of hill in mind. This one has a real ridgeline on top, which allows for placing Leman Russ tanks in hull-down positions on it. The traditional "layered cake"-style hill won't fit the bill, since it has a flat top. There's no ridgeline.
Any tips, experience or links?
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javelin98
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Post subject: Hills with ridgelines Posted: Tue May 16, 2006 2:01 pm |
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Location: Spokane, WA, USA
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Well, if you're using "layered-cake" style hills made of foam board, you can cut a long, thin piece to represent the ridgeline. Just taper it with your hot-wire cutter to a crest.
If you're using the blanket-over-pillows method of terrain generation, you can create a ridgeline by wadding up aluminum foil into a snake-like shape and placing it atop one of the pillows, under the blanket. This will give the resulting hill a sharp crest at the top.
Just some ideas. I'm sure this crowd will have many more and better ones!
Thanks,
jav98
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dafrca
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Post subject: Hills with ridgelines Posted: Tue May 16, 2006 2:59 pm |
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I think the real question is how realistic do you want them to look. Real hills do not have flat tops per say but they do not have sharp edges either. The layer cake method is good to measure "levels" for rules reasons. But if you want a real rigeline then just make the top layer rounded.
dafrca
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nealhunt
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Post subject: Hills with ridgelines Posted: Tue May 16, 2006 6:33 pm |
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Location: Nashville, TN, USA
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If you want sloped sides instead of stair-stepped, think about miniature placement when designing the slope.
You will either need to make the whole thing at a low slope so models won't slide down, or you need to make semi-stairstep sections. Either can be done using more natural finishes than the layer-cake style.
I prefer a more natural hill, but they can end up being a lot more fiddly during play if you don't plan ahead.
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Neal
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javelin98
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Post subject: Hills with ridgelines Posted: Tue May 16, 2006 7:57 pm |
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Cuban Commissar
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Post subject: Hills with ridgelines Posted: Tue May 16, 2006 8:00 pm |
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Then there is Kansas 
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Dwarf Supreme
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Post subject: Hills with ridgelines Posted: Tue May 16, 2006 8:04 pm |
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| Quote (Cuban Commissar @ 16 May 2006 (20:00)) | | Then there is Kansas ? |
Good point! No hills to worry about there. 
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vanvlak
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Post subject: Hills with ridgelines Posted: Tue May 16, 2006 8:09 pm |
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firestorm40k
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Post subject: Hills with ridgelines Posted: Tue May 16, 2006 8:34 pm |
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Nice pics!  I was driving back from uni in Chester today, along the M56 through North Cheshire, with the industrial-type refineries on one side, and the Mid-Cheshire ridge on the other (that bit of Cheshire is dead flat) - and I was thinking it would make a great layout for an Epic gaming board...
When it comes to making hills, in the past I've favoured the 'layer-cake' approach, so to speak, but that's been for 40k scale boards; I think for Epic/6mm I'd not use that approach, but not make them too steep so you can't stand any miniatures on them! 
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javelin98
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Post subject: Hills with ridgelines Posted: Tue May 16, 2006 9:10 pm |
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Dwarf Supreme
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Post subject: Hills with ridgelines Posted: Tue May 16, 2006 9:15 pm |
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Wow, javelin, spectacular pics.
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dafrca
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Post subject: Hills with ridgelines Posted: Tue May 16, 2006 9:52 pm |
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Great pictures. They are good examples of what I was saying. Note: none are perfectly flat nor perfictly rise to a "ridge". Rather they all have various levels and grades. Some are flatter then others, but even those that are flat have "waves" or indents. Some are on an angle or have deviations in the ridges etc.
So how realistic do you want your hells to look? Once you know that, then the way to make them look like what you want will become more obvious.
dafrca
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Dwarf Supreme
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Post subject: Hills with ridgelines Posted: Tue May 16, 2006 9:57 pm |
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As aesthetically pleasing realistic hills may be, I do prefer plateaus, to prevent minis from sliding down.
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dafrca
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Post subject: Hills with ridgelines Posted: Tue May 16, 2006 10:05 pm |
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| Quote (Dwarf Supreme @ 16 May 2006 (13:57)) | | As aesthetically pleasing realistic hills may be, I do prefer plateaus, to prevent minis from sliding down. |
I agree. I have always like the hills with slightly slopped sides and a flatter top.
But I also know how the terrain will be used can play into that. If I am working on a game I will present at Histoicon or some other large convention, then I am working on a show piece. Something to make people stop and say ?Wow?.
But if I am creating some terrain for my house, it is different. Stuff me and a few friends will toss onto the table and slam minis while we eat pizza and argue about politics, well then that stuff just needs to be sturdy and last a while.
The show piece needs to be very realistic and eye pleasing. The junk I toss onto the table for a quick pick-up game does not.
dafrca
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"Every Man is a But Spark in the Darkness"
- Cities of Death, page 59
Come fight me, if you dare...... http://dd-janks.mybrute.com
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javelin98
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Post subject: Hills with ridgelines Posted: Thu May 18, 2006 12:33 am |
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| Quote (dafrca @ 16 May 2006 (13:52)) | | So how realistic do you want your hells to look? |
Well, I for one want my minis to know that they're in hell!
But that aside, I agree -- there needs to be a balance between looks and playability. I still think my idea of the tinfoil "snake" would work just fine for a sharp terrain feature offering hull-down protection. You could add it onto the top of a layer-cake hill for those games when you want something like that on the table.
All this talk of cake is making me hungry. Gotta go find some...
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