Pendraken Miniatures Forum

As I have come to value the opinions on this board, what should I do?

More and more I am moving to smaller, simpler game surfaces and am beginning to embrace grids. While many of you do stunning games (even in small spaces) I don't think I can reach that level. So the "boxy", all terrain components above the battlemat is now working quite well for me (in the end I still like the way the games in "Little Wars" look!). Someday I might use the Kallistra hexon system which look excellent.

For now, I'm using squares. The elevation squares are cut from 1/2" dense cork board and are simple to store and stack. I am setting up for the Battle of Mulroy (1688) and building a large hill (at far end of board):
(https://inredcoatragsattired.files.wordpress.com/2017/10/mulroy-pendraken-quiz.jpg?w=800)

I am in an absolute quandary about how to handle the elevation edges of the hill.

I made this a poll because many more folks participate in polls than actually comment. I also realize that many won't like this look at all but try to force yourself to make a choice.  :)

Many thanks,
d_guy

Similar shade of green to your tops

Yup, paint them a shade of green to match your tabletop, preferably mottled to break up the sharpness of their edge.

Same with your wooded base areas, paint them but differently from your tabletop so that the wooded area is obvious but not just a bit of MDF.

Ditto, from me.  :)

Cheers - Phil

Agree with Jim's comments.

If you have the spare cash the Kallistra hexon system is excellent

Cheers
Ian

Shade of green for me. I would make the edges sloped though!

chamfer and paint - little bit of work but would be massive improvement.

and paint the wooded board areas.

then you will have a bangingly good set-up because the rest of your terrain looks really good

Wot Matt said :)

Only problem of course is how many edges to chamfer  :-\

Definitely paint green and the rest definitely looks really good

Am with the overwhelming majority on green edges, mottled. Agree with doing something with the tree bases, too - maybe same shade as the board but with small rocks and lichen and clump foliage on the edges or some chunky flock across them for undergrowth & make them stand back out.

If you leave the trees mobile and keep the flock/edging low to minimal you can keep the space for the troops still AND not make it too awkward to lay the bases out in the square...

Funnily enough I would go with brown, or grey to match the tops. Using a block system like this is fairly unrealistic (although eminently practical and effective) and thus the high ground should stand out as being different.

I would definitely go with a shade of green

I would just add but as long as you're happy with it that's the most important thing

Take care

Andy

Gone with green

First, I very much appreciate the great response and several suggestions. So the poll up for less the 24 hours, green is winning with 93% of the vote, so I'm going out on a limb and project it as the winner.

I take seriously the comments about beveling/champhering the block edges. Doing so would give a much better look. In the end it would be as Paul says:

Quote from: paulr on 20 October 2017, 11:19:23 PM
Only problem of course is how many edges to chamfer  :-

I am trying to get by with as few element as possible which can be rotated in any of the four directions. I didn't have sufficient blocks to build the hill with sides extending and "sloping" left and right (not sure that would have helped appearance however).

Quote from: Sandinista on 20 October 2017, 08:21:12 PM
If you have the spare cash the Kallistra hexon system is excellent

Cheers
Ian

I am considering going this way but will need a substantial amount of time to do budget set-asides. May try to get a 3x4 single box to experiment with over the Winter.

Several of you suggested mottling the edges and that was a good idea. For a while last night I experimented with a WW1 dazzle (in brown, black,grey, green) but - uh, no.  :)

The trees, rocks and shrubs  are on individual (or small group) bases so they can be moved about. The squares that denote areas are small vinyl tiles. I had experimented a good deal with them recently and worked the edges a bit but need to have the same flexibility as with the elevation blocks

As Leman says

Quote from: Leman on 21 October 2017, 07:10:01 AM
Funnily enough I would go with brown, or grey to match the tops. Using a block system like this is fairly unrealistic (although eminently practical and effective) and thus the high ground should stand out as being different.

At the moment I going for practical.  :)
Using a uniform dark color (that's why I was really thinking about black) appeals. I even thought about embracing the horror and painting them red!

So I have done the front edges (and added in some lichen scatter). Also replaced the tan tiles under the foreground trees with green ones:
(https://inredcoatragsattired.files.wordpress.com/2017/10/20171021_135041830_ios.jpg?w=800)

The good news is that I rarely will need to do hills with this many levels (Killiecrankie being a clear exception) AND it does rather look like -dare I say it - an Aztec step pyramid.  :D

Again, thanks everyone this has been very useful!

The poll, however, runs for four more days and we have seen problems in projecting from early poll returns.  :-\

Have you thought about making some triangular strips to put next to the edges? Then you don't have to chamfer anything.

Dang! No I had not.

Quarter round baseboard - cheap, easy, totally reconfigurable - I even have a miter saw (for the few turns I would need to cut).

Brilliant - thanks, Peter!

I was just going to say that looks spot on, and PETER posted that excellent suggestion. Whilst the tab opened!

Green tiles look much better for trees as well, I think. Obvious but not to obvious :)

...and triangular might be better - cheap enough I can try both.
Thanks also, Pixie (and yes, the money is already set aside for your painting - not going to blow it on Kallistra.  :D)

Haha, don't worrry, I trust you. It's the US customs and the shipping companies I reserve the side eye for ;)

Quote from: d_Guy on 21 October 2017, 05:54:49 PM
Dang! No I had not.

Quarter round baseboard - cheap, easy, totally reconfigurable - I even have a miter saw (for the few turns I would need to cut).

Brilliant - thanks, Peter!

'welcome!

Green is a vast improvement :)

Definitely a brilliant suggestion by Peter =D>

Perhaps use the hills as is for steep/difficult hills and add the triangles/quarter round for gentle hills :-\

Thanks, Paul.

Yes it kind of falls out that way since I use two flush levels to indicate steep (and three+ as impassable ) - I was just sitting a moment ago and staring at the thing, imaging how it would look with the molding, and realized I would have to leave plus one levels unmasked.

The photos look exactly like the squareed board system use in Tin Soldiers in Action. The authors have happily embraced the stepped pyramid high ground system as it fits neatly into the squares used for positioning troops and moving. They also look to give a very good solo game and they cover approx 1680 to 1914.

Well, the trend has continued - so mottled green it is - thanks all.

Leman, I found "Tin Soldiers in Action" on Boardgamegeek and enjoyed looking at the pics. See what you mean about the darker edges. Thanks!

Here is a link:
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/198207/tin-soldiers-action

Matt's idea for the win, but Peter's idea to add triangular trim seems a good one as well

Rather than start a new thread, I though it best to resurrect this one to maintain the context. I have done a final modification to my block and quarter round terrain system, going back to dense, non-pilling felt (I still use my several gridded battle mats for quick setups, however).

This is the beginning of a hypothetical campaign assuming Monmouth achieved complete surprise at Sedgemoor and routed the army of King James. The felt is now gridded and the elevation squares and quarter rounds covered in the same. The ideas is to give a rounder, less boxy appearance. Yes, it still has a somewhat board-game like quality BUT not as much as my previous approach:
(https://inredcoatragsattired.files.wordpress.com/2018/02/barley-valley-first-look.jpg?w=900)

The gridded board, of course, allows for the use of the forthcoming For King and Parliament rules.

"Lemmy" and "Techno" make their appearance again - first discussed here: http://www.pendrakenforum.co.uk/index.php/topic,15193.msg230792.html#msg230792

Logically the sheep dog is named, "Leon".

Hmm, sorry  Bill - the "bitty" nature of the little felt prices is jarring to my eye.

Draping the cloth directly over them so it's "one piece would look better to me. But that might make the squares wonky that you've carefully marked out :D

I think the latest version looks good. The "bitty" nature of the felt doesn't faze me at all. Each to their own ...

I think I would prefer the cloth draped over the hills rather than the bits, it shouldn't effect the squares too much :-\

Another thought is to over spray the felt with various greens that would break up the outlines

If you just chamfer the felt edges...not really. It looks great to me and if you are happy with the result then that makes it a win.

Thanks for the feedback, gentlemen.

Yeah, I think the sharp transitions are a little jarring also - but I also sort of like them - it makes it easier for me to see where the grid boxes are.

Draping the whole battle cloth over is very effective, particularly if you go to the additional trouble of cutting a few custom shapes for the hills.
Paul, et. al. get very believable contour lines (e.g. Guilford CH) doing this. Leman does something very similar (various 19th century battles) using a short haired fleece which is also randomly mottled. The games I've seen Simon Miller and Mollinary set up use a gridded battlecloth (for FK&P Demos ) and also use the hill forms under with a no-skid gripper sheet between the forms and the gridded sheet. 

I ended up giving up on this approach because I couldn't easily make tweaks (sometimes major tweaks) to the topology. I design backwards. I fiddle with the board until I like it THEN draw the map.  :D

I actually like KT's battle terrain which is built up with layer upon layer of ovals which gives a great effect. I'm sort of doing something like that but with much harder edges - some of my squares are draped but I don't like the effect as well as the "hard" edges.

Alternately most folks here and elsewhere use the hill forms (both terraced and sloped) placed directly on the battle cloth. Bunches of examples but currently bigjackmac's and Petercoomans come to mind.

Of course there is the whole hex system approach (Norm for one) which has a charm all of its own and still may be in my future.  :-\

I pretty much like seeing everthing as long as it is clear the person or group has a passion for what they are doing.
Incidently, the suggestions/critiques  I get on this forum are always valuable, never annoying, and pretty much the only chance I get to interact in the hobby. I am always happy when anyone takes time to say anything.

Like most of us I adopt some (or many) suggestions and ignore others. As has been expressed in comments in this thread, this forum and elsewhere - in the end if it pleases you - well - it pleases you :)