Well the 5th edition of the Warhammer 40K basic rule book has run its course to the point of 6th edition rumors. Yet it seems only recently that some basic 5th ed. trends are making their way to the table top.Today's trend is what I like to call "Flat Top" terrain.
We all know by now that 5th ed. was built with real and true line of site blocking terrain in mind. Sure GW cant come out and say it, but we all can see what is going on here. Why has it taken so long to start seeing a trend change I don't know but there are several quick answers a person can come up with that all work. Everything from money to time, or I just don't want to or even care to make more terrain. I understand all of these but that's not what were here today to talk about.
What I do want to point out is that I have been seeing some great, inexpensive flat top terrain showing up in tournaments, bat reps and in gallery posts all over and I think its about time.
Example 1: Here we have a pic from Blackmoors blog of one of his games at Nova this year.
Example 1: Here we have a pic from Blackmoors blog of one of his games at Nova this year.
If you watched the web cam or checked out his bat reps you will notice the large sized, multi level flat top terrain in the center of almost every table.
Next, I'm reading a great bat rep over at Next Level Painting and I see a table full of use full flat top terrain. Note how easy it is to get figs to stand up right, remain in coherency and hide from line of site if they want to.
This terrain makes it easy to determine the 50% cover for vehicles and can hide a infantry unit 100%.
I also found some nice before and after pics over at Dakka Dakka of a few examples that show just how easy it is to get some flat top terrain built.
Notice how the edge of this type of terrain in not a slopping like a hill making it easy to maintain unit coherency and position figs effectively.
Another example you might noticed on BOLS not long ago shows us some nice flat top sections that have been built as individuals then stacked to create levels.
Finally, we have a pic from the upcoming Feast Of Blades event. Here you can see the same logic is in place using several basic shapes and levels, some even have a incline for tank to roll up on! Nice work guys.
That's really all I have, for this one. I just wanted to make a point if your not playing with some type of flat top terrain then you might be falling behind the latest trends on table top.
I also found some nice before and after pics over at Dakka Dakka of a few examples that show just how easy it is to get some flat top terrain built.
Notice how the edge of this type of terrain in not a slopping like a hill making it easy to maintain unit coherency and position figs effectively.
Another example you might noticed on BOLS not long ago shows us some nice flat top sections that have been built as individuals then stacked to create levels.
Finally, we have a pic from the upcoming Feast Of Blades event. Here you can see the same logic is in place using several basic shapes and levels, some even have a incline for tank to roll up on! Nice work guys.
That's really all I have, for this one. I just wanted to make a point if your not playing with some type of flat top terrain then you might be falling behind the latest trends on table top.Its easy to build, easy to play on and even helps make some of the grey area rules seem a bit more clear.
SWAGS
SWAGS
I love flat top hills, it makes everything so much easier than the old sloped hills. No matter what 6th ed brings I still think that these hills will still be viable, simply because of the benefits it adds of unit coherency and what not.
ReplyDeleteThey are also really easy to build. I built 20 hills in one afternoon (Not including sanding and painting.
Duke
I think flat top is the way to go because of the models themselves regardless of the edition. The fact that they have bases and not moveable like real people make steeps slopes not viable.
ReplyDeletewhat is the name of the foam used, I think having a table filled with this type of terrain would be quite fun/fair
ReplyDeleteYou can buy this foam at any Lowes or Home depot. It is "Blue insulation foam,"
ReplyDeleteI prefer the ticker stuff (2" iirc). A long sheet of this stuff will run $15 on average, but you can make dozens of hills from one sheet in an afternoon.
Note when painting it. Don't use spray paint dirently on it. First apply a watered down wood glue (or white glue) to protect the foam first
duke
All true, go to Home Depot.
ReplyDeleteLink: http://www.homedepot.com/Building-Materials-Insulation-Sheathings/h_d1/N-5yc1vZbaxx/h_d2/Navigation?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053&Nu=P_PARENT_ID&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053&langId=-1
If it works?
I always paint mine with a brush using elmers glue and some black paint mixed in.
I've been using such terrain ever since second edition, when I ran two or three units of Howling Banshees. Nobody with such top-heavy units likes sloped hills.
ReplyDeleteI have about 30+ Banshees and I can 100% attest to this statement! Banshees don't like sloping hills!
ReplyDeleteDuke