One Man’s Trash is Another Man’s Wargaming Terrain

Wargaming is a form of entertainment in which players collect miniature soldiers, paint them up, and fight battles on a tabletop using different rule sets to organize the flow of play. Someone once said that it is like a game of chess, only with prettier figures, a more ‘realistic’ game board, and far more ‘advanced’ rules. Oh, and I’ll throw in a little something else-it is much more fun!

A lot of wargamers like to use terrain, or modeling/hobby features created to look like miniature forests, towns, roads, rivers, industrial parks, airports, lakes, space ports, and everything in between. These little additions to the wargame table really make the table feel more realistic, and lifelike, and also add in a fun element to the game, as this ‘terrain’ provides cover for little toy soldiers from enemy fire, or a place to reform, etc.

Most rulesets used in miniature wargaming give bonus’s to troops that are in bunkers, or even in light cover like a forest or shrub garden-it all depends on the ruleset. Now, you could go out and spend a lot of money on terrain for your wargames, be it for Warhammer or Flames of War, Lego (Block) Warz or Battlefield Evolution, Warmachine or Stargrunt.

There are many excellent sources for pre-made terrain for miniature wargaming online, and many hobby stores sell this sort of material as well. However, if you want to save money, and help the environment while you are at it, then try recycling for miniature terrain.

Confused? You shouldn’t be. It’s possible to take old pieces of junk, even garbage from old paper boxes or metal cans and recycle it, turning it into some truly unique and awe-inspiring (for a gamer!) pieces of terrain for your miniature battlefield. It is really fun to create your own custom terrain, be it a small, dense forest, or a dirty factory, as you can add your own creative touch, save money, and really make a set of terrain that no one else has.

The Internet has a wealth of resources for people looking to make their own terrain. Simple searches on the subject matter may get the job done for short, and simple, tutorials for wargamers. If you want to know what to save, and not throw out, start with your cereal boxes and carboard pieces of similar size. They can be cut up, and used as scrap pieces for all sorts of buildings, rubble piles, even as bases for miniature units or terrain pieces. Or, you can keep the whole cardboard box and turn it into a building, adding painted roof pieces and various windows.

Save old metal soup cans, spray paint them black or grey, then go in an add details with hand painting to make them look like giant industrial containers for factories and processing centers. Small clear, plastic bubbles that little $1.00 toys come in can be used as some sort of sci-fi research facility piece.

Straws can be bent and turned into smokestacks for factories. Pieces of foam may be painted to look like scrub bushes or shrub/hedgerows. The possibilities for unique, and custom terrain are endless for those looking to start making their own! Wargaming is a fun form of entertainment, and making your own custom pieces really adds to the game play. Enjoy!