My blog about wargaming and 3D-printing... Everything and anything between 28mm, 15mm, 20mm and 6mm, Fantasy, SciFi and WW2, plastic, plaster, styrofoam, resin and metal, terrain and models...
Only a week and a half before CRISIS 2019 is upon us! The CRYPE is slowly taking over...
Apart from the pre-order of GHQ stuff from Magister Militum I mentioned last time, I intend to pick up several rulebooks for use with my 6mm project... I will most likely be picking up a Battlegroup rulebook (or two) at PSC, along with a bag of 1:300 plastic aircraft. I Ain't Been Shot Mum from Too Fat Lardies is also on my shopping list (as a bonus, these two traders are placed right next to each other). I also hope to pick up a copy of Crossfire...
I just found out that Baccus won't be present at CRISIS this year... Too bad, as I was looking forward to seeing their miniatures up close and getting some of their 6mm livestock. No problem though, I suppose I will be picking those up online.
On the 28mm part of the hobby I hope to find some more cool furniture and bits for my HirstArts Dungeon.
For 15mm I will be visiting PSC for some plastic kits, both PSC and Zvezda...
When building my first multi-Hex town module it quickly became apparent that, in order to be able to move miniatures around, some of the buildings would have to be detachable...
To achieve this I turned to magnets. I inserted magnets in the buildings I wanted to be able to remove and mirrored the magnets in the Hex base.
Mind, the module is still a long way from being finished...
The streets are narrow, the buildings tall...
I looks good (I think), but is it practical to game on?
The module with the detachable buildings...
They might be small, but four of those small 2mm magnets
can secure a block of houses without any problems...
Adding a mill to my scenery set has been something of a wish ever since I started my mordheim board, more than ten years ago. For my 15mm Flames of War, too, adding a windmill to my scenery was always high on my list of things to do... Even so, I never got round to it.
Until now, that is... Making scenery in this scale is a lot easier, though it offers it's own set of challenges.
Building a mill required some research as there are so many different types. Sure, I might be from the Netherlands, living just 15 km from the renowned windmills of Kinderdijk, but I needed some background...
De twee Gebroeders, wipmolen op stelling,Harlingen, Netherlands
De Rat, zaagmolen op stelling, IJlst, Netherlands
Dybbøl Mølle, Sonderborg, Denmark
I decided on building a zaagmolen, or sawmill on a stelling, a raised platform. This kind of mill can be found all around North-Western Europe, with differences in style.
First up, windmills are big... Not just big, but, like, very, VERY BIG... Even at this scale I wanted my mill to reflect this. A proper windmill should tower over it's surroundings.
The construction was a bit challenging. The shape of the building, though a regular octagon, was a pain to get right...
Octagons... I was smart enough to make a back-up...
The tapered octagon...
Early mock-up...
After I managed the basic shape, making the rest of the structure was actually quite easy... Below is a sort of step-by-step of how I built my mill.
Apart from the railing (a re-purposed 1:87 ladder) the whole mill is scratch built from just foam and plastic.
I had originally planned to make a larger, multi-Hex module with multiple buildings but ultimately decided to put the mill on a single Hex. This way, it's much easier to combine the mill with other Hexes...
I magnetised the vanes, using the magnets as axle.
Magnetised windmill...
Two shots, showing the mill alongside the other new modules. Even though most of the surrounding buildings are three or four stories tall, the windmill clearly sticks out...
My set of river Hexes only has one bridge. Too few in my opinion, but at the time of construction I didn't want to 'waste time' on building more bridges...
So, now I want/need more bridges. But I also want/need another multi-Hex town module...
The sollution to this issue presents itself, a multi-Hex town module which includes bridges... Should be easy, right?
The base of the module...
A simple mock-up to show where all the bridges and buildings go...
A small detail...
With all the bridges completed...
It's hard to see in these pictures, but all three bridges are slightly different in design.
A detail of one of the bridges...
As a point of interest I added a small factory complex...
The factory is also a nice change of pace from the regular buildings. The fence is made from two gate pieces from a wooden fence in a larger scale. I shortened it considerably and now it looks like a proper iron fence suitable for a factory like this. The chimney is made by cutting a piece of plastic tubing to length...
The factory has an enclosed yard with its own access to the river...
The finished module, ready for painting...
With a GHQ Panzer III for scale...
Before I finish my Hexes and buildings I tend to check the scale/size with a miniature, in this case a Panzer III from GHQ.
For good measure I also made two new bridges to add to my river Hexes.
Two new bridges...
Can't wait to get some paint on these... The river Hexes do require some time to build up the depth of the water.
The Hex Terrain Toolkit, henceforth to be referred to as the HTT, was originally launched as a Kickstarter, making it's funding goal without much difficulty. Mind, I wasn't involved, or even aware, of the Kickstarter, I stumbled upon the HTT by happy accident while searching for a new project...
Fortunately for me, when the Kickstarter ended, the designer of the HTT made the product available to the public at large...
As I have been using the HTT for several weeks now I don't have any fancy unboxing video or a lot of pictures for this review. But, after cutting 'a few' Hexes, I can offer my experience with the HTT...
The contents...
In the picture below you can see the delivery form of the HTT, Six sheets of plywood filled to capacity with components. I barely remembered to take a picture, you can see I had already started taking out the components, before getting started for real...
The only picture I have of the unused HTT...
The costs...
The HTT can be bought in several different packages. I opted for the most complete set, including all the different options. I have used most of these, but not all, yet...
This complete set, called the Professional Toolkit costs £80,- With shipping that's around €100,- (should be about the same in $). For that you get six sheets of precisely laser-cut plywood containing all the pieces you need.
The technique...
The HTT is designed to be used with a handheld hot wire cutter. As I use a Proxxon model with a table I had to make some minor adjustments to the basic Hex-module and the depth cutter. Apart from that I can use the HTT as intended.
The design is extremely precise and accurate. All the different pieces correspond perfectly, no need for further adjustment.
The HTT works with just about any type of styrofoam that can be cut using a hot wire cutter. I use a rather dense type of styrodur, but any kind will do... I think that's one of the strengths of the HTT, you can use it with (potentially free) styrofoam packaging or left-over bits of insulation.
A pile of scrap pieces of styrofoam,
left over after cutting a dozen or so Hexes...
Cutting basic Hexes takes no time at all, and, as with most things, practice makes perfect. The other, more specialised Hexes like hills and rivers, take a bit more time.
A few basic Hexes...
The designer of the HTT has his own YouTube channel, filled with informative videos on how to utilise the kit to it's full potential. These videos played a large part in convincing me to purchase the HTT.
The design...
The HTT contains pieces to make a whole assortment of different Hexes. Most important are the standard, flat Hexes. Next are the hills, you can make these in several configurations. River and cliff Hexes can also be made in several different variations. The pictures below (taken from the Kickstarter page) show the Hexes that can be made with the HTT....
From left to right, hills with one, two, three and four high points...
An example of the set-up used to cut a hill Hex...
All the different river Hexes, including bends and wide and narrow rivers...
The set-up for cutting a river Hex, in this case a bend...
A few river Hexes combined with regular, flat Hexes...
The assorted cliff Hexes and even more hill Hexes...
The river and cliff Hexes can also be used as trenches and dungeon corridors. The only limitation is the users imagination (of lack thereof). I can safely say I haven't explored the full potential of the HTT, yet...
In addition to standard sized Hexes, the HTT also contains the components to make half or quarter Hexes, used to smooth out the edges of your terrain. I personally don't use these as I actually like the shape of the edges...
To further illustrate the versatility of the HTT I recommend watching this video, made by the designer of the kit...
Below the surface...
The Hexes showcased on this blog are just the surface of it all... What's below is just as interesting and equally important! The HTT offers some clever solutions to create flexible interlocking Hexes. This system makes a frame (to keep all the Hexes firmly in place) redundant.
Hex-shaped holes and pins, risers (to allow for creating height difference in your terrain) and snowflake Hexes make sure the Hexes don't move around when used. This system comes in two different designs. I opted to use the simplified version as I won't be making half Hexes for the edges.
The Hex-shaped hole and pin system, combined with a riser and a hill Hex...
The pieces used to create the snowflakes and the hole and pin system...
Snowflake Hex and Hex-shaped hole and pin system...
An example of a foundation layer of snowflake Hexes...
An example of how the snowflakes combine with the surface layer of Hexes...
Cutting these snowflakes takes a lot of time, but for me these are well worth the effort. They keep the Hexes in place and don't allow any gaps or movement... The scale...
While I use the HTT to make terrain for 6mm (1:285) wargaming, I have seen examples in use with 15mm, 20mm and 28mm. So whichever scale you prefer, this should work just fine...
The verdict...
Sure, it takes a lot of time and effort to create your own Hex terrain, but the Hex Terrain Toolkit makes that easy. Furthermore, it guarantees a level of accuracy you just can't get if you cut Hexes by hand. Add to that the sheer number of options provided by the kit and you have a great and very practical tool at your disposal with which you can make pretty much any kind of terrain you might need...
Despite working over 50 hours last week I managed to complete some more Hexes... The latest additions...
Two new modules, both with buildings...
A farm complex with two buildings...
A single building with a walled garden...
With these new Hexes I have increased the number of buildings to eleven, already several more than my 15mm Flames of War collection. The first real village/town module is almost finished. With it, I will be able to place a decent sized town.
A new set-up, including the two new modules and all the new trees...
With the new buildings this could almost be considered a village...
With all the new trees and buildings the battlefield looks a lot less open and exposed. I do like the way this is turning out. It's oddly satisfying to add new modules to the battlefield, mix it up a little and see it evolve from a featureless green field to an interesting battlefield including a small village, a river, fields, hills and woods...
I really need to start making more snowflakes and regular Hexes to bulk out the surface of the battlefield. I also need more road junctions to connect all my built up Hexes...
