Give Me Life: Goblin Town, Part Three

So, while we're technically spending this month on the White Council, we're also going to continue work on the Dwarf Hold board. Here's a few things we've been doing:

1) Filling in the Gaps: Spackling on Terrain

Wall spackle is cheap and very useful for filling in small holes (like what I needed for my marketplaces, shown here). It can also be used for contouring, though it's nice that the polystyrene I'm working with is smooth to begin with (as opposed to the puffed stuff I've worked with before now). Wall spackle is also useful in texturing the terrain, giving it a raised and slightly uneven surface (very helpful here in filling in unwanted holes without being too smooth).

2) Adding Life: Bridges

So, the Dwarf hold that I'm building isn't a deserted den of Goblins (though they do appear from the depths) - it's a busy city, trying to establish trade with other cities and immortalizing their great founders in their stonework. As a result, shops, carts, bridges, and marketplaces are featured here.

Using a little paint and spackling, these bridges gain a little more life and realism. The bridges will be for the chasm on the map (seen below them), allowing 2-3 units to cross over them. I'm also working on a rope bridge from the left-over kebab shards from a party I recently went to that will allow 1-2 units to cross over as a third means of crossing.

3) Flooring: Tiles on Floors and Terraces

Here's a look at the terraces for the hold: each has 1" square tiles with 1/8" grout lines. The floor will have 2.5" squares with 1/8" grout lines between each tile, providing some texture to the floor. Takes a lot of time to get it ready, but really happy with how it's turned out so far.

I also took this knife blade to a few pieces of polystyrene to carve designs on four pillars which will be glued to the terraces. Each represents an element of Dwarf life: miner (still in the works), weapon-smith, armorer, and mason. These terraced portions will run up against the wall when it's being used, making them look more like they are part of the wall in the first place.

4) Looking Forward

So what's next? We're going to work on the pillars (and statute!) for the Dwarf hold, adding some specific life to it. I'm hoping that this goes over well, but thanks to the Swiss, I have a variety of small blades to get the job done. Oh, and you can see here my beginning work on Groblog, the Goblin King that was showcased in the recent Hunter's Red October tournament. Priming is underway, as you see, but the paint job is still to come - so watch this space!