Ogroth Ruins-King of the Hill pt1

Welcome to my latest terrain project, Ogroth ruins set. A little background is required to explain before I begin. I play a lot of Warmachine, a table top wargame from Privateer Press (most of you probably knows what this is). Most of the time I play at my local store, and a few friends wanted to start playing after hours at a nice location (my place) so I went and started to create terrain for our games. My table is still undecided, but I had an idea for a set of terrain-the Ogroth ruins!

In the Warmachine history there was an ancient race named the Ogroth. They were powerful and a huge battle took place to eradicate them from the lands, the Cryx army were the ones to lay the final blow in an enormous blast of magic that ended the war and the Ogroth.

So taking from this I decided to build a set of terrain and call it the Ogroth Ruins (I added that as a label to the side for easy access for you). First up I needed a hill. Not just any hill, I wanted a large hill. You see for gaming purposes there is a scenario that requires a 14" circle, so I decided to make the hill 14" round and add the ruins on top of that. And since I am a little crazy I wanted a little more variety...so this project can
get big.

Complete ideas for the Ogroth Ruins terrain set

Lets begin!

Some materials I used to complete this project:
Insulation foam (pink foam) 2- 2'x2' 1" thick
Insulation foam (pink foam) 1- 2'x2' 3/4' thick
PVA glue (elmers is fine, I used Aleenes tacky glue)
220 Grit Sandpaper
Measuring Ruler
Sharp knife
ink pen or pencil
Paintbrush (various sizes, make sure they are cheap)
Acrylic paints (Black, grey and white will do)
Woodland Scenics Flock
Woodland Scenics Ballast (sand will also work)
50 mm bases from Privateer Press


 STEP1: Making the Hill
Taking 1 of the 2'x2' 1" thick pink foam, measure out a 16" circle. from the same centerpoint measure a 14" circle. The 14" will be the top of the hill. Really if you wanted less of a slope leading up to the hill your outer circle can be larger.

 With a sharp knife blade, cut out the large circle (REMEMBER:CUT AWAY FROM YOURSELF). There are various ways to cut the slope, but I cut at an angle leading up to the hill. I also cut notches on the side for character of the hill. Use 220 grit sandpaper, sand the side smooth, you can also add extra character to the hill with sandpaper.

 The hill complete for now.

STEP 2: Making the Ruins
Take the other 2'x2' 1" thick sheet of Insulation foam and measure out 2 more circles. The first a 10" circle with a 5" middle circle, and the other a 5" circle.

 10" circle with a 5" middle drawn in.

 5" circle with 2 1/2" drawn in.

Carfully cut out both circles with a sharp blade (REMEMBER:CUT AWAY FROM YOURSELF). Again using the 220 Grit sandpaper, smooth the edges to form a smooth finish the the circle edges. These will appear to be made of stone as ruined alter, we will get to them later.

 Dry fit everything before continuing. Here you can see my madness come to fruition. The bottom piece is our hill we just cut. The middle is the 10" circle will stand as the alter ruins base. the 5" circle top piece is another layer of the stone alter ruins. The black circles are the 50mm bases that will serve as pillars to match the ruins. Crazy right?

 (I will get to the smallest hill last, so save it for later)

STEP 3:  Preping the Hill
Ignore the doodles. Here we take our PVA glue and a large cheep brush. Water the PVA glue down with a bit of water and cover the whole hill, nicks and all.

This will give a bit more sturdy surface to the hill and allow the paint to stick to the glue instead of seeping into the foam. Also if you plan on spray coating the piece, the glue will protect the foam from being eaten. Yes most spays (basecoat or cover) will eat thru the pink foam and deform your piece. Now we let that to dry as we move onto the 10" alter piece.


STEP 4: Alter Ruins
While that hill is drying we will work on the 10" alter piece. First Take a sharp knife, It has to be sharp to cut smoothly thru the foam, and cut the piece in half as best you can. REMEMBER:CUT AWAY FROM YOURSELF, I am not responsible for your injuries, also lay down a cutting mat so your significant other doesnt maim you for ruining the carpet/floor.

 2 halves of the same piece. The other can be saved for later.

Take 1 of the halves and sand smooth the part that was cut free (the bottom if you will). This will serve as the top as it will be rough in appearance.

 Now take 4 50mm bases and use them as a guide. Match up the 4 areas and draw the outlines on the foam, this is where 4 of the pillars will sit. Also draw out a 5" diameter outline in the middle, this is where the other piece of alter will fit.

 Next draw out your design. This was just straight edge drawn. Each block here was 1 1/2" wide.

 Now you can see your design sitting in the stone. Next I took an exacto knife and slightly cut into the top of the foam, tracing the design. I also added a few nics into the foam to add charcter to the stone piece.

 Follow thru the design by using a ball point pen to add depth to the design to appear as if the stone blocks are separate.

 STEP 5: Painting the Hill
When painting large pieces like this you may want to lay down protective covering. I have used this piece of board because I like living.

 Now that the glue is all dried (I waited till the next day for this, work got in the way). I grabbed up my large cheep brush and a bottle of Woodland Scenics Green Undercoat to paint the base of the hill. You can use any paint really, I like the Woodland Scenics Undercoats because of the shell it forms when it dries. Adds another layer of protection to your piece.

 This is 2 coats of the Green Undercoat, all dried.

Dry fit the stone alter and bases to the painted hill. Now you can see more of it come to life. Before I forget, Lightly trace the outline of the 4 50mm bases on the hill. This will give you a generaly placement for the pillars later on. Thier placement is important for this because you should (and do) be able to fit a 50mm base between the top and bottom pillars.

Dryfitting, its starting to come together

STEP 6: Adding the Stone Alter
Next we take our 10" cirlce (by now might be a 9 1/2" circle) and center it on the hill. Glue that circle onto the hill. We use toothpick to secure it in place as the glue dries underneath. Stab the toothpick down as far as they can go.

 Clip off the exposed toothpics.

Finally using a glue to water mix, cover the small stone hill and let to dry.

While that is drying I am going to work on the stone pillars. That will be the next post update. Until then, keep those ideas flowing.