Tag Archives: MiniNatur

Terrain, Trees

Leafy experimentation – How to Make an Ancient Yew Tree for 28mm Part II

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Our yew tree stands already proud, but yew trees are evergreens, so we cannot leave it barren, instead we have to find a good-looking solution to depict coniferous leaves.

In Part I of this tutorial we created the trunk, branches and scenic base of our ancient yew tree. In this second part we will conduct some experiments to find the best solution to depict the  leaves, use some simple weathering techniques to add depth to the foliage and finally fixate it with thinned down PVA or acrylic medium. The last step is to matte varnish the tree and then glorious battle around its trunk can ensue! We will also revisit the fallen branches and add some finishing touches to the bases.

Continue reading Leafy experimentation – How to Make an Ancient Yew Tree for 28mm Part II →

Terrain, Trees

Through a Forest, Darkly – How to Make an Ancient Yew Tree for 28mm Part I

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Ancient trees with their often haphazardly growing branches, bulbous trunks and weathered appearance always fired up my imagination. Inscribed in their bark are stories of times long past, combined with a certain mysticism and deep respect for such an old being. To depict such a tree on the gaming table can add such qualities to our games and add narrative potential as well as a welcome change to young or middle-aged deciduous trees that are most commonly depicted.

For this two-part tutorial I chose to model an ancient yew tree. With their broad, often hollow trunks they allow us to use the tree as cover or as a mission objective, adding further to the appeal. I also decided to magnetize two of the main branches for easy transport and storage. Per usual I will provide some botanical background, some facts about owls, a list of the materials needed, followed by detailed step-by-step instructions. Part I will cover the trunk and branches as well as the scenic base, while Part II will focus on different options to depict the foliage.

Continue reading Through a Forest, Darkly – How to Make an Ancient Yew Tree for 28mm Part I →

Terrain, Trees

Squirrly goodness – making Hazel shrubs for 28mm and 15mm

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Browsing my blog it becomes apparent that I have a thing for modelling trees, evidenced by earlier posts on oaks and birch trees. But what about bushes, shrubs or hedges? There is a variety of shrubs and bushes that one could depict on the gaming table and construction will be very similar in most cases. That said I chose to make a hazel bush for this tutorial given they have a distinct, very appealing bark texture and the fruit lends itself for base decoration. Oh, and I think squirrels are adorable, so why not give them some scale hazels to forage?

Per usual a step-by-step tutorial will guide you through the creation process, with additional background information and scenic shots of the finished bushes.

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Terrain

Remnants of the Past – a collection of mediterranean terrain pieces for 15mm and 28mm

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Some years ago I made my first steps into miniature terrain building. Alongside my ever-growing Carthaginian army I also wanted to have some nice terrain pieces for Field of Glory. A system that requires players to have a good selection of terrain that goes well with a specific army. I did not want to go the felt pieces route, so I decided to make a variety of mediterranean pieces: A lake, a group of mediterranean pine trees, an olive grove, several fields, a swamp and a number of hills.

I will present some of my early works and provide some brief notes on how I created the pieces. As I am working on improved versions of these I will, as of now, not provide detailed step-by-step instructions. Some of the photos are of an older make, so please excuse the sometimes less than stellar quality. The pieces will also go up for sale very soon in a new section of the blog, so if you are interested watch this space.

Continue reading Remnants of the Past – a collection of mediterranean terrain pieces for 15mm and 28mm →

Terrain, Trees

Winter is coming – Realistic trees for wargaming and dioramas part II

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Last time we fashioned a barren oak tree using twisted wire for the main trunk and seamoss for the ramifications. We went on to add some structure to the bark edging a characteristic pattern in a layer of woodfiller. Painted up the tree looks the part for a winter scenario, but in adding some fall foliage and critters we can add some colour and life to it before winter arrives.

I will briefly outline how to paint the squirrels, how to finish the autumn themed base and finally how to attach the foliage.

As always, some facts about squirrels, materials required and step-by-step instructions will be provided.

Continue reading Winter is coming – Realistic trees for wargaming and dioramas part II →

Terrain, Trees

Winter is coming – Realistic trees for wargaming and dioramas part I

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Last time we looked at a simple method to make realistic wargaming trees using just seamoss, a bit of wood filler and foliage nets, but there are more advanced techniques that will yield even more realistic results suitable for the gaming table and a diorama alike. Naturally this comes at a price: the time involvement is much longer, as this project will take you about three evenings.

This time the tree of choice  is an old oak tree. We expand on the idea of utilising seamoss in first making a tree armature out of wire to have a sturdy set of main branches and then attaching seamoss to depict the finer branches closer to the top of the crown. Finally we will add the distinctive bark texture. This way we achieve a tree siutable for a winter themed gaming table or diorama. Foliage and further details will be added in part two of this tutorial, situating the tree more in a late fall landscape.

As always, some facts about oaks, materials required and step-by-step instructions will be provided.

Continue reading Winter is coming – Realistic trees for wargaming and dioramas part I →

Terrain, Trees

How to make realistic wargaming trees – Project Birch

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Wargaming terrain without the one or other tree would be quite boring, after all we try to recreate natural surroundings for our games and even in the driest desert some form of tree will dwell. It does thus not surprise that there are plenty of techniques out there to make visually appealing model trees.

Some use prefabricated armatures made of plastic or metal, others go the scratch built route using wire or others again use natural products, such as twigs and sea moss or ‘Meerschaum’ as it is called in German (botanical name chenopodium aristatum).

A similar variety of foliage products exists: Clump foliage, either bought or self-made, fine turf in combination with loose ‘leave’ scatter or foliage nets.

This short tutorial focuses on an easy technique that yields very realistic results. We will make a simple birch tree for 15mm scale using sea moss and MiniNatur foliage nets to achieve a true to life appearance while keeping the time involvement at roughly one hour. If you are looking for a more involved project and even more realistic result have a look at my Oak tutorial.

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