Friday 3 September 2021

Creepy Forest, Alien Forest, Bamboo Forest

 Introduction

Here's a project which grew and grew, well past my original intentions.  Oh, well - sit back and enjoy the story!

The Creepy Forest

A little while ago, I obtained a bargain copy of Mantic's "Gloomy Wood" (note that these models seem to have various other names - perhaps in subtly different packaging - such as "Scary Wood" and "Gothic Grounds").  This is an excellent product, with a number of twisted trees and tree stumps.  It even includes a few mushrooms!  The only criticism I might have is that the trees are somewhat small, but I don't mind this as it makes them easier to store.

I suppose that I could have flocked the branches and made the models into living trees, but I decided to paint these up as bare, dead trunks in keeping with the "gloomy" theme.  In hindsight, some trailing mosses or creeping ivy would have been a good addition as well - but I didn't do that.


To mount the trees, I then bought several packs of 4-Ground's "small tree base" and "large tree base" packs.  These have respectively 2 or 3 60mm circular plates and an area feature to hold them.  I did enlarge the "holes" a bit; the circular bases were too tight a fit in their sockets straight out of the kit.

In order to make the area bases a bit more interesting, I textured them with grit and then added flocked horsehair clumps.  These can represent brambles or any other thick undergrowth, as the viewer sees fit.


As an aside, the Mantic trees come with "faces" which can be stuck onto the trees.  I only used one of these - you can see it in the picture above.

The Bamboo Forest

Now I had some leftover 4-Ground bases, so what was I to do with them?  Well, I still had a few unpainted bamboo models bought some while ago from some Chinese supplier.  I finished them off quickly; they made a couple of decent clumps.  Mind you, there is something a bit too regular about these bases for my liking.

Ideally I should make a whole lot more of these and have a real bamboo forest, I think.

The Alien Forest

I had used all the 4-Ground bases, so everything was fine, right?  Well it occurred to me that I had an old Christmas present which I hadn't yet touched: some alien plants from TheBardsForge on Etsy.  I bought some more 60mm MDF rounds and based these up as well.


There are 3 different types of alien plant here.  They could be segregated into types on each area feature, or I could "mix and match" to produce a very varied alien plantation.




I finished off the bases with some tufts in various "alien" colours.  This was a first for me; I hadn't used tufts before.  Still, I can see why people like them: they're a very effective product and extremely easy to use, if slightly pricey.

Conclusion

I'm still not convinced that having a few "terrain features" with a larger number of tree bases that can be slotted into them is a worthwhile project.  The actual area features are relatively cheap and easy to build, so it may make more sense to have dedicated areas for each set of trees.  That way the "alien" and bamboo areas wouldn't need to have bramble thickets on them either.  Instead they could have their own, dedicated texturing.

Even if, with hindsight, I might have done this slightly differently I'm very happy with the results.  I'm also delighted with the momentum which carried me through to finishing all these various types of "tree" base.  Now I just need to obtain some more bamboo to make it a proper forest rather than just a couple of clumps...









14 comments:

  1. Nice work, I liked the Alien Forest in particular !

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    1. Thanks! I'd like to get a whole load more of these alien plants (and some of the other varieties available too!) - but they're a bit pricey to have in large numbers.

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  2. They look great Colgar. I've been pondering my own updating of vegetation. For now I just have some of the older foam hexes with trees glued onto them. Easy for the conifers as the wire trunk just sinks in so well. My buddy has some of these style for use in Congo. & I've oft mentioned that perhaps painting those tree base circles to appear like mud when no trees are on them, could proxy for quicksand areas.

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    1. Also, thanks! I do have a separate quicksand piece (with sinking man and muddy bubbles) that I made a while ago for my Pulp adventures.

      Ah - that reminds me: I must get some more carnivorous plants...

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  3. Quality and quantity, great stuff! I empathise with the post-project hindsight, I get that with most things, but tend to come to the conclusion that some is better than tinkering most of the time!

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    1. You're right; sometimes it's better just to finish things rather than agonise over the details. In any case, I could buy some more area plates and finish them to match the different types of tree; that wouldn't be hard...

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  4. I used some of that bamboo but trimmed it down so the height varies, avoids it looking too regular. Now I’ve seen yours though, I need to go back and paint the stems!

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    1. Adjusting the height of the bamboo seems completely obvious, now that you mention it, Paul! I also need to think how to do something about the rather-too-regular spacing of the stems on the base.

      Yes, painting the stems helps a lot, I think. In my first experiments I sprayed them brown and painted the leaves green - but that is a *lot* of work! Spraying green (over a decent primer) and then painting the stems by hand is the way to go.

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  5. I used some of that bamboo but trimmed it down so the height varies, avoids it looking too regular. Now I’ve seen yours though, I need to go back and paint the stems!

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  6. They all look really good Hugh. I love the face on the tree as well. Nice little addition for people to spot.

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    1. Thanks, Simon. Are you suggesting that I don't tell people about the face on the tree and leave it for someone to discover by accident :-) ?

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    2. I can't speak for the others, but I for one missed it! :) I only say the face after reading Simon's comments.

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  7. Beautifully finished.
    I can see these showing up in various pulp scenarios.
    As perils, plot points, or just as beautiful terrain.

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    1. As always, thanks Steve!

      I'm planning to use the alien forest for the first time in a game at my local club tomorrow. If I have enough energy and enthusiasm then I will post a battle report thereafter.

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