Best Rivers for Gaming - Recommendations please

[pops]

Hi,

I am looking to put some rivers on my gaming table – I am looking for a nice realistic, artistic, close to the mat river system. Any recommendations?

Thanks

[has.been]

I like those done by Last Valley.

[tin shed gamer]

Pop's,
I'm about a day away from building a cheap near table edge river. With the intention of doing a tutorial.  The only basic spend/requirement is a perspex clip Art / poster frame.Then its just a case of using what ever you have in stock. Depending on the brand of frame and the level of texture applied your river profile with this method is around 4mm.

If you've got a printer then printing off a couple images of aerial views of rivers. That would increase your realism.  Other wise it's painting a river ( in the tutorial)

Even cheaper than the Last valley ones

[Dr DeAth]

I'm about a day away from building a cheap near table edge river. With the intention of doing a tutorial.

A tutorial would be excellent!

[pops]

Thanks for the input guys.

Tin Shed, please let me know when your tutorial is done
Sounds great!

[SotF]

I've got a small set of river pieces that I did a while back using the tutorial for water pieces that DM Scotty did on youtube.

The basic thing was to get the flexible, translucent folders or similar things from the office supply store (the ones where it's largely transparent, but has a slight cloudy look to it when further away from things. Cut it to pieces for your water and either do edges on it or scatter, then use blown glossy mod podge for ripples ontop.

I've got a box of them somewhere that I made.

If you aren't looking for forks and similar, the pegasus hobbies river pieces are nice, especially if you're willing to repaint them. They're quite sturdy, and you can still cut them up to work in some custom pieces if you need them. There is also a pretty decent 3D printed set you can find on Amazon...I think Ender Toys is the maker, but I'm in the US so there might be someone else doing the same prints elsewhere

[Cat]

I've got a small set of river pieces that I did a while back using the tutorial for water pieces that DM Scotty did on youtube

Ooh, that is a good tutorial:

 
I really love the way he does the rushing water at one end — that's a brilliant solution to be able to overlap the pieces and hide the infernal joints between pieces.  The little rock weight pieces are genius too.
 
I've been stalling for several years in making the final Pocantico River pieces for Sleepy Hollow, this is the way I'll be going!
 
I think I'll spray paint the back side of each one brown/grey for a consistent bed colour.

[Golgotha]

I made a cheap easy river recently - printed paper on cardboard with gloss varnish. Quick, simple, cheap, easy to store, and sits flush with the terrain.



See: https://frictionbmcminiatures.blogspot.com/2022/02/golgothas-terrain-river.html
https://frictionbmcminiatures.blogspot.com/2022/04/golgothas-games-french-indian-war.html
https://frictionbmcminiatures.blogspot.com/2022/02/golgothas-games-spqr-alexandrian.html

[pops]

Great info - thanks everyone!  Golgotha - those are great!  Hard to believe that is just paper covered with a varnish!

[Golgotha]

Another advantage is that you could then have a number of different rivers instead of just one.

Different colours and scales of river, for instance, to match different periods and collections. In this way, you could probably also use real photographs of a real river, which I do want to try.

I think most gamers likely only have one river and always using the same one again and again does get limiting tiresome and boring.

I do want to scratch build a resin pour river with little rocks and reeds etc. at some point but until then the paper and varnish route works surprisingly well.

I am going to be trying these next see: https://www.wargamevault.com/product/386188/The-River-Stream-60-30mm-6mm-10mm?src=hottest_terrain_products

I used this companies fields here for example, notice also the bodies of water: https://frictionbmcminiatures.blogspot.com/search/label/ECW

Placing bridges and river crossings becomes easier too with a flat paper river.

See also Pulp Alley what they use for sea and riverside:



My version of this here: https://frictionbmcminiatures.blogspot.com/2022/01/golgothas-wwii-pacific-island-us-vs.html

For a Vietnam river see Little Wars TV:



The question then is also how to make a quick easy and effective waterfall that does not take up too much room...

[Bloggard]

Great info - thanks everyone!  Golgotha - those are great!  Hard to believe that is just paper covered with a varnish!

goodness me, yes- that does look great.

[Golgotha]

For vinyl tile river possibilities see: http://shedwars.blogspot.com/2012/10/big-rivers_21.html

[fred]

Some really interesting ideas - I think it is the shine that is really important. I’ve got some cardboard river sections from the Battle of Five Armies box set and they get used quite a bit and these have a high gloss finish - I keep meaning to flock the banks as these look a bit odd in gloss!

[Elbows]

I wonder if a mad lad has ever used running water on a gaming table...

Figure it wouldn't be too hard with all the aquarium stuff out there - some latex river bits, etc.  The babbling brook might be calming while you're getting your models shot off the table...

[fred]

 

I feel this is the way to turn the whole table to a lake!