Matakishi's Tea House
A simple little site...
What's all this then?
I've called this section Silly Scenery because I want to show some of the scenery items I've made with 'rummaged' items, things that were never intended to be on to a wargames table. Most things on this page were originally bought in charity shops or jumble sales or just found. They've had almost nothing done to them other than being painted and based. The aim here is not to put any effort into making the scenery item, none of them are major pieces or focal points, they're quick, cheap things to add some interest to the table top.
If you haven't made any scenery for your games and think you might like to try these are the sort of things I would recommend. There's no (well, maybe a very little) modelling skill involved and they can all be made in about an hour or less. Sometimes much less.
It's amazing what you can find if you keep your eyes open and have the right frame of mind.
If you haven't made any scenery for your games and think you might like to try these are the sort of things I would recommend. There's no (well, maybe a very little) modelling skill involved and they can all be made in about an hour or less. Sometimes much less.
It's amazing what you can find if you keep your eyes open and have the right frame of mind.
Alien Nest
Here's a peculiar thing I found in a charity shop. It's some sort of gourd or the centre stem of some plant. Someone had put it on a lathe and turned it into the shape it is now, presumably as a tourist souvenir or similar*. I immediately saw it had potential to become an insect or alien nest. I could picture giant wasps squeezing put of the holes or fat, crawling grubs appearing and dropping to the ground.All I did to this was to stick a pine cone in the top to cover the obvious man-made hole there and add a couple more pine cones to the base. I had to saw the end of the closed one off so it was flat and I could glue it. The base is made from hardboard but plasticard or thick artists' board would do as well. I coated everything with a covering of Basetex, scattered on some miniature leaf litter which I had left over from my Vietnam project. Once the Basetex was dry the base got a drybrush of Foundry Rawhide 11C so it looks like my other jungle bases.
There you are, a no-effort piece of interesting scenery that I for one would be wary of getting too close too. The 'miniature me' in the picture is a 28mm Alpha Forge figure for scale and is fearless.
Things like this are a very easy introduction to the fascinating world of terrain making.
*Static Tyrant informs me that this is a seed-pod from a tree belonging to the (Australian) Banksia family. Thanks very much for the information ST.
Pine Cone Trees
As quick companions to the piece above I stuck some more pine cones to hardboard bases and finished them the same way. These took minutes to make but are effective none-the-less. They make good alien trees or just strange jungle plants and essentially cost nothing.
Hover Cars
I needed some transport for my Rezolution APAC crew, what better than some hovercars? I got a couple of broken computer mice from work and removed the balls. I used the hole underneath to put a bit of dowel in as a support and then painted them in the crew colours, stylish black plexiglass canopy and a bright yellow body. The decals were added to tie them in to the crew so there'd be no mistaking the ownership.I think they're very effective and I'm going to do more for the other factions in the game. Again, this is a no-skill starter project if you haven't tried this sort of thing before. What could be easier?
The Melancholy King
Making a miniature figure into a statue is one of the easiest things to do for a scenery item. I have several statues made from old figures that no longer make the grade as actual gaming miniatures, detail and size are constantly changing and most older figures I end up getting rid of. Some are too important or precious to lose and they become scenery, a kind of retirement for them.I'll try to present ones here though that don't use miniatures but instead use other figurines or objects.
This is a resin king from a replica chess set based on an old design. He was on his own in a charity shop and cost £1.50. His crown is broken to match the original and this, coupled with his expression, gives him a wonderfull air of abandonment. I thought he would add an air of mystery to an area, perhaps with a few piles of rubble scattered around him to suggest the ruins of once proud buildings.
I glued him to a large cork (from a spaghetti jar) to give him some height and added some stones and grit to be rocks and rubble. Again, my handy Basetex filled the gaps and added texture. Everything is mounted on a bit of plasticard.
Before the Basetex was added everything was painted black to seal it then drybrushed up with three shades of grey. after the Basetex had dried it was drybrushed with a light green.
The Dark Goat of the Woods
This statue was in the same charity shop as the Melancholy King. It's carved from wood and the tips of the horns are broken off. It cost 80p. I wanted this to be a focal point for a section of my Ars Magica game that deals with Satyrs but it's usable for a Beastmen totem, Cthulhu games, Pagan idol, and much more besides.The base is integral to the carving so all I did was add some stones and grit and paint it. I think it's a very nice piece. The semi-abstract style of the carving adds to its mystery.
It's unlikely that you'll find a carving exactly like this but there are hundreds of wooden carvings floating around, many of them are tribal which are very usable. It's well worth having a look around the cheap shops and boot sales.
giant Rock People
I found this and its partner in a £1.00 shop. these are brilliant, I didn't even have to paint them as they come ready drybrushed. They're hollow pottery heads designed to go in the garden I think. I based them and added some Woodland Scenics foam to simulate climbing plants and make them look more sunken into the ground.They make good items to put at opposite ends of a battlefield or large dungeon room. Good Head and Bad Head that confer bonuses to those near them? Or perhaps it's only one Head and its expression changes as things progress? Maybe they have bodies underground. whatever, they're picturesque, cheap and incredibly easy to incorporate into your terrain which is the whole point.
I managed to make them the focal point of a struggle between The Doctor and the Daleks, I'm sure you can think of something equally as strange.The Mausoleum
Ok, this one's a bit of a cheat, but I wanted to include it because it is the first bit of scenery I ever made. I made this before I had any skill at making basic shapes for buildings. I didn't even know what the options were, I'd never heard of foamcore and I couldn't use cardboard because I only had superglue to stick things with. Yes, it really was that bad and I really was that ignorant.I still managed to make this in an evening though, and it's still here, as strong as it ever was; so, if I could do it then, you can do it now. Trust me, it's easy.
In case you haven't worked it out, it's a biscuit tin with a deodorant cap stuck on top. The door is a Fantasy Forge resin one which I had to hand. There's hundreds of alternatives though, a simple door frame made from three bits of wood or plastic with the centre painted black would make a simple, effective entrance.
Even I could stick a plastic cap onto a metal tin and paint it. It actually took less time to make than it did to eat the biscuits.
