If Cost Is The SAME, Would Your Rather MAKE Or BUY Terrain?

[Cacique Caribe]

This is NOT a question of whether you have more time or more money.  Let’s assume you have a good amount of both.  This is more of a “are you a consumer or a producer” question.

In other words, as the title states, if your material cost ends up being the SAME as simply buying ready-to-use, do you still take up the challenge and try to make your own terrain features (rivers, trees, hills, etc.)?

Why or why not?

[Sinewgrab]

Honestly, depends on the piece.  Sometimes, I see a good piece that requires no effort on my part.  I will buy that.

In the case of something more specialized, like a wall of chainsaws, I am happy to make it.

[Inkpaduta]

buy, buy,buy!

[SJWi]

For me its quite simple. I don't sculpt and then cast my own figures as someone else is much better at it than I am. The same goes for terrain.  I also have a limited time budget and prefer to spend my precious hours researching armies and painting figures than doing something that (a) I'm not very good at and (b) I don't really enjoy.

I have two mates whose talents and outlooks are very different and they do produce quite a few terrain pieces.

[Codsticker]

Honestly, depends on the piece.  Sometimes, I see a good piece that requires no effort on my part.  I will buy that.

Exactly my feelings as well.

[Stroezie]

It depends, if I see a piece of terrain I like at an affordable price, or a miniature for that matter, I'll buy it.
If I have an idea for something and can't find it I'll just as happily build / sculpt it.

I have bought a table full of buildings and I've built a table full of buildings, just as I've bought entire armies and have sculpted entire armies.
Both were equally enjoyable to me.

Also, for terrain, I often see various objects and think to myself "that would make a great terrain piece"
My wife no longer questions why I suddenly crave that kind of cheese or swich to another brand of shampoo

Cheers,
Stroezie.

[snitcythedog]

Unless it is something that I am unable to build, I will always build the terrain myself.  For me that is the part of the hobby I enjoy.  I always found that I had to force my self to paint miniatures but I am quite happy to sit there for hours building detailing and painting terrain. 

[has.been]

More likely to build IF I want something different to the commercial version.

e.g. Lots of very nice Adobe buildings in MDF, BUT I don't like my Mexican town
to look like it was building inspected several times, passed local Building Regulations
& had the corners smoothed to exactly 90 degrees. I want 'crumbly' looks like a good
wind might collapse the lot.

[dampfpanzerwagon]

It should not come as a surprise if I say build.....

Tony
(The terrain builder)

[FierceKitty]

There are experts out there who usually build it better than I. Buy, most of the time at least.

[Ray Rivers]

Buy.

I hate working on terrain to be quite honest.

[Digits]

It’s funny...I never buy painted minis....even those that are infinitely better than my own.

With terrain though....I would buy ready made if I like the look of it.  I wouldn’t buy it painted though.

I found out you don’t need a lot of skills to make terrain....just a bit of imagination.  I agree with the above that if you want an interesting or special piece, you are best going at it yourself. 

For me though, the overall reason for scratching, is the simple fact your table will be unique! 

[Mad Lord Snapcase]

I would be happy to buy normally. But sometimes I make my own because no one else sells what I want!

[Westfalia Chris]

It's never really been an issue for me, since I've never faced the situation that a commercially available item would have been the same cost as the material needed for scratch-building it. It's pretty much always several times the cost in the first place.

It's more a question of justifying the extra cost to offset the time saved in construction, or something is much nicer mass-produced than I could create in any reasonable timeframe (e.g. Tabletop World buildings). Mainly it's the latter, and then I am not adverse to buying instead of building.

[Cubs]

Make, every time. In fact I'd probably rather make the terrain if it was more expensive. But that's because a) I'm sick, and b) the joy of making it is in crafting it exactly how you want.