I built a new terrain board over the weekend.
I built lots of boards (my first ever) last summer, which was a learning process. Currently they are mostly just plain or with roads, plus a few experiments with sunken features (ditches and some broken ground). This summer I'm going to make lots more, and am going for more adventurous pieces (rivers being the big one of course). Also I'm thinking long and hard about what sort of features I'll be doing and how they will connect.
Anyway, this is the first new one. I decided I wanted to try a board with integrated fences and bushes, which are normally separate pieces. The advantage being added realism, the disadvantage being less modularity. But I've carefully planned it and how it will link up with future boards (currently it will only be able to sit in the corner of the table, but future boards will give me more options).
But what about storage?
All my 60x60cm boards are stored in a little stack in the corner of the room, like so. (There are also 4 60x120cm ones that live under the bed). They are all flat, so stack nicely. Obviously this one won't stack unless it sits on the top....
Here's the solution - a 'hat' consisting of a spare MDF board with blocks of blue foam (the board was water-damaged and the foam were off-cuts).
This is put on top, and now it can be placed in the stack. It works well, and means I will be confident to make more boards with raised features and not have to worry about storage.
Was it worth it to have the bushes and fence built in, with the added storage hassle this entails? Individually, I'd say no.... but having both on one board justifies it I think. Especially with these shrubs (from the Model Tree Shop) - they wouldn't look so good on separate bases.
Though the clump foliage style bushes can obviously just be put down without a base.
In this pic you can see the built-in fence and some separate fence sections. They look fine together.
I don't think I'm gonna rush and make loads more with built in features like this. But I'm sure some of my future boards will have bushes and shrubs attached for added realism, and my storage solution will allow me to do this.
I'm pleased with how it came out. Next on the list is a boring flat board with a winding path to connect to this one, and then it's time to have a go at some rivers!!!