[TMP] "Do You Make Your Own Hills?" Topic (2024)

14 Posts

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20thmaine	17Apr2024 2:41a.m.PST
I buy hills, I used to make them but no longer.
robert piepenbrink	17Apr2024 2:42a.m.PST
There seems to be no "sometimes" option. I have made my own hills, but mostly only when dealers and flea markets let me down.
Flashman14	17Apr2024 3:46a.m.PST
Aye, both.
advocate	17Apr2024 6:00a.m.PST
Objects under cloth, manufactured hills, and I occasionally use stepped hills I've made myself.
79thPA	17Apr2024 7:14a.m.PST
I think a lot of us have done a combination of things. I've bought hills, made my own hills, used other people's hills, put objects under a cloth, etc.
Parzival	17Apr2024 7:22a.m.PST
I have a GW hill divided into 4 parts which came in their OOP Battle of Five Armies game. I use this whenever I need hills/mountain slopes. Pretty much covers my need for hills, when I need a hill. So I no longer buy them, nor do I make them. Though if I needed more hills, I would be more likely to make them than buy them unless I found a really cheap alternative.
Sgt Slag	17Apr2024 8:15a.m.PST
Making hills is a part of my wargame crafting pursuits. I made a bunch of hills a couple of years ago. Haven't made any since -- I have more than enough to cover my 5.5' x 9.5' table! I use them for all scales I play (28mm and 54mm). Crafting for my wargame hobby, is a huge part of my fun. I used purchased foam hills, for the first couple of decades. I like my hills better, as they perfectly match my table ground cloth by being covered with the same material. Cheers!
DisasterWargamer	17Apr2024 8:22a.m.PST
A combo or several items mentioned from making the hill – or crafting the shape to go under a wargame cloth and bought a couple
PzGeneral	17Apr2024 9:25a.m.PST
'Other' I buy homemade hills at flea markets…
etotheipi	17Apr2024 10:50a.m.PST
Other – Make, buy, and improvise
Mister Tibbles	17Apr2024 2:58p.m.PST
Easiest terrain to make! I use flocked scraps of insulation foam.
Old Contemptible	17Apr2024 3:37p.m.PST
+1 robert piepenbrink I voted other. I make hills when I need them. But only if I can't make it out of Geo-Hex. I cover the Geo-Hex with fabric from Hobby Lobby. My biggest problem with making terrain is not making the terrain, it is having room to store it.
robert piepenbrink	17Apr2024 5:13p.m.PST
OC's right. I figure terrain for a given climate, period, scale and table size equals about two armies' worth of troops, and can easily be more. General observation: stray hills are not so bad. Mostly a matter of choosing "natural" or "wedding cake" and making sure they blend with the terrain. It's when you need an entire board edge to be higher than its opposite, or two opposing board edges to form a valley that you need some equivalent of Geo-Hex, and plenty of it.
Sgt Slag	19Apr2024 7:06a.m.PST
A gamer friend has boxes, and boxes, and… boxes of Geo-Hex. It was a game changer in its day. It was also exorbitantly expensive! My friend met the designer/maker, and bought numerous more boxes of second's off of him, some years ago. I believe my friend has every type of terrain the guy ever made! I love Geo-Hex (as long as someone else buys it). It does have its quirks, though. It can be challenging to keep it together, when you are making large setup's with it. When you cover a table entirely with it, it is gorgeous! On larger tables, I found it challenging: I leaned over a 6-foot wide table, placing my hand on a hill, to avoid falling over, as I reached for the center… My hand pressed into the foam hill, and my heart clenched inside my chest! I feared I had ruined an expensive piece of terrain! I am always very careful, now, when he deploys it. Having played on it since the mid-90's, I am still a fan of Geo-Hex. It has withstood the test of time, handsomely. For WW II, 6mm games, it is amazing. Cheers!