Into 6mm wargaming...

So, on to a new project!

WW2 Wargaming and modelling has been a hobby of mine for years, and recently I decided to get into 6mm Wargaming. Both as a challenge to paint (because 6mm is small, very small) and an excuse to start making a whole new set of scenery and terrain.

I ordered two of the sample packs GHQ offers, just to get an idea of the scale and level of detail of these models (and to get my gaming buddie all fired up with a few small Russian Tanks). These models are incredibly detailed, maybe even more so than some of my 15mm miniatures...

In the background is a 15mm PSC Tiger... The GHQ Tiger still needs some proper cleaning, but the cast is extremely sharp and the amount of flash is minimal... This Tiger is, for want of a better word, CUTE!

One of the main reasons to embark on this new project is definitely the chance to make some new terrain. For this, my attention was drawn to Hex terrain. GHQ has their own system (which is pretty solid), but as I live halfway across the globe, shipping is not an option... Besides, where's the fun in that? I like to make my own terrain! So I went in search of a way to make my own Hexes, and boy, did I find one...

I found a review of the Hex Terrain Toolkit and from there it all went Hex-shaped...

The Toolkit consists of a wide selection precise laser cut plywood pieces with which you can make a whole range of different pieces... For now, I will concentrate on plain Hexes, rivers and hills.

The Toolkit, fresh out of the box...

The Toolkit is meant to be used with a handheld hot wire cutter. I have a Proxxon hot wire cutter with a table, but with some very minor adjustments to the kit I made it work just fine... I use high density insulation foam, but any kind of styrene will do.

Once you get the hang of it, cutting basic Hexes is quite easy and within a couple of hours of cutting I had around 100+ to start with. As can be seen on the picture, the Hexes are absolutely precise!

Besides the Hexes, I intend to make all the other scenery from scratch... Houses, trees, you name it...

Some of the buildings I made, in varying degrees of being finished. All are made from high density foam... I had to wait a couple of days for my toolkit to arrive, to kill the time I experimented a bit with my wire cutter, making a lot more buildings than I originally intended.

The first batch of trees... Some individually based, some in small groups. The trees are made from thin wire and clump foliage. More trees will be added, both as separate pieces and fixed to the Hexes.

The start of a winding river, complete with a water wheel and a bridge. More bridges will certainly be added.

I chose to draw the roads straight onto the Hexes rather than adding them as separate pieces on top. Note that these Hexes don't have a foundation of snowflake-Hexes yet, so they don't line up as neat just yet... Difficult to see, but the last row of hexes are actually hills, the transition from flat Hexes to hills is very smooth.

The first few finished Hexes... On this picture you can still see the glue underneath the grass as it hadn't properly dried yet.