Terrain maker comments?

HKurban · Post by **HKurban** » Mon May 04, 2009 7:47 am

Well I'm so far impressed with the level of detail and precision in all of the GHQ products I've gotten. Now that I've got a good sized pair of forces, I've been thinking about getting some terrain together. I've been looking at GHQ's terrain maker line. The stuff looks simple, yet effective, but I had heard some complaints about the cut consistency of the hexes. Does anyone who has the terrain maker system have any comments, advice or experiences they can share? I'd love to get as much info as possible before I commit to investing in the system.

Also just a side note I plan to build "clusters" of hexes comprising of small hamlets, town blocks, or major terrain features so I don't have to set out hundreds of hexes individually.

JMD · Post by **JMD** » Fri May 08, 2009 10:02 am

I have used it quite extensively. I've done a pacific airfield, snow covered Ardennes terrain, Arab-Isreali War terrain, and European WTO terrain, some of which I used at conventions. For me it's the best micro terrain I've ever used. It is easy to work with, and the directions make it almost effortless. I have even used some of my own ideas, basically the sky is the limit depending on how abitious you are. I have glued hexes together to make farm complexes and towns sections. An alterative to gluing so many hexes together is to put a small dab of white glue on the bottom of the hexes and glue themto a sheet of thin blue board. I used this sytem for my Parker's Crossroad terrain(see CPQ #11) and have taken it several different places. I purchased GHQ's new Micro Skirmish Boards, but haven't yet used them, however I think they will be the way to go from now on. That will help keep the pieces in place. My first attempt at Terrain Maker was with my Pacific Airfield at an a Cold Wars and even though I had numbered the pieces it took to long to assemble. They definately need something to keep them in place. I have had some consistancy problems with the hexes matching up perfectly, but it is hardly noticable. I can't recommend this stuff highly enough, I actually have fun making the terrain, and I have even held a "class" at a hobby shop on how to make the basic terrain types with good success. It will do just about any terrain ideas you care to think up.

intobattle · Post by **intobattle** » Sun May 10, 2009 6:45 am

HKurban,

I've been looking into ways to deal with the fact that the hexes are not perfect and gaps do occur. I found some comments from a Gentleman on the Baccus 6mm Forum, he sands his hexes down to make them perfect (too much work for me) but he also uses magnets and galvanized steel sheets. Take a look at his link:

http://gallery.mac.com/mikim4#100008&vi ... lack&sel=2

I picked up a bulk pack of magnets from Hobby Lobby this weekend for a couple of bucks and gave his method a try... I'm pretty happy and think it's a great idea. I've tried the skirmish board and they are ok, but personally I like the magnets better.

Good luck!

Tanner

Ritter · Post by **Ritter** » Sun May 10, 2009 7:53 am

I used a wooden template (plywood) and a hot knife to trim the hexes to shape. Worked slick but a wee bit time intensive. The gaps were super thin and the look was excellent!

Troy

JMD · Post by **JMD** » Wed May 13, 2009 7:52 am

cama wrote:
JMD wrote: for my Parker's Crossroad terrain(see CPQ #11)
Do you have a link, or this a reference to a magazine?

There used to be a link on the old Command Decision page. It is a reference to Command Post Quarterly #11 magazine produced by GDW before they went out of business. There are copies out there, but perhaps MagWeb would have it to. The entire battlefield was on a 40" x 40" board made up of terrain maker pieces.

-JMD

HKurban · Post by **HKurban** » Thu May 14, 2009 4:50 am

Thanks for the responses guys. The magnet system looks promising. I'm going to look into that.

I got my first hexes today and I'd like to start flocking them as soon as possible so I can start using them. Is the grass material sold by GHQ fine enough to use for microarmor or should I look for something different, just use paint, etc.?

intobattle · Post by **intobattle** » Thu May 14, 2009 6:22 am

It all depends on how you'd like your terrain to look. Personally I think the GHQ "grass" is a bit too course and large for me... I prefer Woodland Scenics "fine turf".

I think Tom Stockton uses the GHQ grass for his ground covering and it looks pretty good... His site has some good information and comparisons - http://tomstockton.us/tanks/1-285/ghq/terrain_maker.htm

Good luck,
Tanner