Wednesday 14 March 2012

Papercraft Buildings & Terrain

I'm a bit of a cheapskate when it comes to certain wargaming items. I think part of it is due to the 10 year break I took from wargaming. Coming back in 2010 I was shocked by how much more expensive things were, particularly rulebooks. But the main item I have difficulty spending money on is terrain. Given how much terrain I need for the different games & scales I play I just can't make myself fork out the cash. Even with the great terrain that's out there & the vast range I now have available to buy I just can't do it.
So what's a cheapskate wargamer to do? I could go the old school green baize cloth route with books under it for hills, but those days have long gone. Instead I've gone the papercraft route.
In case anyone is not familiar with papercraft terrain I'll give you a brief rundown on what it is. Basically it is making scale models from sheets of cardstock on which the parts are printed, usually in full color. These pieces are cut out, folded, scored and glued together. You can buy or download papercraft terrain from one of the many free sites (just search on Google) or from companies like Dave Graffam Models or specialist retailers like Wargame Vault. Files usually only cost a pound or two. If you go ahead and buy some you will get a pdf file containing the chosen terrain usually with options for different 'looks' e.g. wooden walls or brick walls or stucco etc. It is also scaleable so one model can be printed out in different sizes to fit with 15mm or 28mm etc.
I find this a great way to get lots of cheap terrain. You get the models you want on PDF and then you print out & make as many of them as you want. They are light to carry & if they get damaged just print out a replacement.
Here are a few pieces I have made and use.

French Building

The files often come with add-ons like posters

28mm container

Packing crate, great for lots of games

2 comments:

  1. Looks fine - and better than most scenery pieces!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Cheaper too as long as you don't count the printer ink, cardstock, glue, knives, trips to the hospital to re-attach sliced off fingers :-)

    ReplyDelete

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