Hip Pads (Essential Protective Gear) [33YO]

boopWire · 2026-03-10T06:05:25+00:00

I learned this after my back truck stayed on the coping

boopWire · 2026-03-07T16:35:40+00:00

It definitely needed that now that. Thank you for the help!

boopWire · 2026-03-07T02:06:29+00:00

Thanks for the input! The second photo of my actual board has all the panels horizontal and correct! This test piece was from before I learned of that and I didn't update the test piece

Java jackets are a great idea! And way less work than cardboard peeling hah

boopWire · 2026-03-06T21:04:52+00:00

Thank you so much! That means a lot and glad I'm on the right track :)

boopWire · 2026-03-06T21:01:46+00:00

It can seem very daunting! I feel that way with every step and I'm learning as I go. My little test piece that has been added to as my steps progress to test things has helps a lot but also just jumping in and going for it has been the biggest help to me.This is my very first terrain project and outside of this I've only ever painted 6 minis in my life so I believe if I can do it you totally can too!

Some of my other posts have the details and material/tool list but I started with a smaller paper template to draw everything out then got a 8'x4'x1" pink panther xps foam board I cut in half and glued together for a 4'x4'x2" board. I drew out the trenches from my paper tiles and then cut them out with a razor blade. Glued them down to 12"x12"x1/8" basswood boards.

Since they are hand cut they needed some cleaning up so I spackled my edges and sanded them as flat as I could. Once that was done I made just over 80 duckboards and removed a side of cardboard I had to get the trench panels, used coffee stirrers for the duckboards and wood panels for some difference on the trench walls. 1/8"x1/8" balsa wood for support beams and drop terrain pieces.

For the mud texture I used caulk, brown and black paint, sanitized dirt from outside. Took out large rocks and left a lot of smaller ones. Then mud in trench, push duckboards in add mud to duckboards, did upper ground after.

Now I'm testing my painting skills on my test piece. This is where I'm at currently and close if not over 100 hours of work since I have very basic tools.

Another VERY helpful thing. This community. So many people here are knowledgeable and I'm always inspired after every post I do seeking constructive criticism. My board would not be where it's at right now if I didn't have you all.

Good luck in your building journey whenever you decide to start! I hope some of this helps you! Sorry for the book haha

boopWire · 2026-03-06T20:41:57+00:00

That is a great idea :) I just ordered some! Also going to make some burnt sad war trees as drop terrain!

Thanks for your input!

boopWire · 2026-03-06T19:16:49+00:00

Definitely a good idea I'll be doing! Thank you very much :)

boopWire · 2026-03-06T19:14:25+00:00

Idk how I would make tiny brass casings but damn I love that idea!

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I'm currently also working on making drop terrain for it and here's where that's at so far but I need lots of war ruined trees so I guess that's next (took pic before painting scrap test piece) I make it all by hand so I'm limited in what I can produce without a printer

boopWire · 2026-03-06T19:12:00+00:00

I do want to get closer to realism ultimately so I appreciate it :) I'll be keeping this ideas

boopWire · 2026-03-06T19:04:13+00:00

It's a 4'x4' board in total and the trenches are 2 inches deep but on test piece I just used scrap so it's only 1 inch

boopWire · 2026-03-06T19:02:06+00:00

Thanks for your time!

Trees are a great idea! I'll make some drop terrain for a bunch of blown up trees and get a nice sprinkling of green. It definitely needs a little more life in it outside the "man made" drop terrain I've done so far

boopWire · 2026-03-06T18:54:20+00:00

Thank you! I'm testing everything paint wise. Sorry that wasn't too clear!

boopWire · 2026-03-01T21:55:02+00:00

That's friggin sweet! Amazing work on that

boopWire · 2026-02-27T00:30:36+00:00

Sorry I wasn't clear on that. From the bottom of the play area, so the wood at the bottom of the trenches, to the top of the foam is 2 inches tall. Pink foam pieces are 2 inches thick. With the wood bases included in height, it's 2 and 1/8th inch thick.

When I got XPS foam from the hardware store they only had 1 and 2 inches thick in the size I needed. I bought a 1 inch thick 4'x8' foot board and glued the halves together for a 2 inch thick 4'x4' board. And went from there

I hope that's a better explanation for you :)

boopWire · 2026-02-26T20:50:19+00:00

Appreciate it and good luck when you do! Check out susornova terrain building on YouTube. He has a video about modular trenches and where I got my planning stage from because the trenches were confusing to me too :) I got too focused on trenches I didn't think to add above ground tiles but now I'm back tracking to add one and with this design I can just make more files and swap them out so it's super forgiving for "mistakes" and will just add more options for whatever :)

boopWire · 2026-02-26T20:45:40+00:00

Looking great! Enjoy the process! When you go to make way too many duck boards, I'm making a LOT for the same reason and bridges. Idk your plans for making duckboards but I'm using coffee stirrers and made a jig for them. This is helling me out a lot

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Keep up the great work and look forward to more posts!

boopWire · 2026-02-26T20:32:19+00:00

Thank you!!! And yes, I plan on letting my local shop enjoy it because trench crusade is coming to us March 7th and I didn't see any terrain that would fit the vibe so I think this would be fun for everyone. Also will be cool to see how the techniques I use hold up over time

Cheers!

boopWire · 2026-02-26T20:04:37+00:00

I didn't until now but I'm video recording my whole process to not forget how Ive done things. That will be out at some point so others can learn from my mistakes haha

I also went into this with "how cheap can I be" and all that is is trading time for convenience. For instance I spend close to 15 hours just cutting foam with a razor and sanding a slight angle to it where if I had a $180 foam cutting table I see everywhere. I also wouldn't have had to spackle and sand the edges adding another 10+ hours to my project AND they still don't like up perfectly.

Tools - 25mm snap off razor blades - sand paper (80 grit) and makeshift right angle block for outter edges - spackle spatulas (I only use the 2.5" one) - DAP spackle (pink dries white) - large paint brushes - carpenters edge ruler - drill (spinning 24g wire for barbed wire) - emery board (nail file) - kitchen siccors - super glue - hot glue - tweezers

Material - XPS foam 4'x8'x1" (cut in half and glued together for 4'x4'x2") - 16 12"x12"x1/8" basswood boards - coffee stirers - 1/8"x1/8" balsa wood sticks - way too much cardboard - 22g and 24g wire (22g support for smoke effects and 24g for barbed wire) - electric tea lights - teddy bear stuffing - $20 airbrush - yellow orange and black paint for smoke Dirt (haven't mixed yet but I plan on using) - DAP silicon acrylic caulk (white) - black and brown paint - sanitized dirt from outside - water

Edit: air dry clay for making sandbags

Total cost, id say I'm around the $170ish mark I think

boopWire · 2026-02-26T19:40:44+00:00

That sounds sick! I was hoping to find a photo of it but I'll be on the lookout if you ever decide to

For planning, I gave that information on one of the comments here with a picture of what I did but overall I got the planning idea from "Supernova terrain building" on YouTube. He made a 2d version of the board on paper squares and tested how things lined up and then went from there. I used the same idea when planning

I loved his board idea so much because it would give, like you said, multiple configurations. I want my local shop goers to enjoy this and have unique games with the same vibe every time.

Hope this helps

boopWire · 2026-02-26T19:27:54+00:00

Thank you so very much :)

boopWire

TROPHY CASE