Black Powder Red Earth - Scatter Terrain

Crafting Homemade Terrain for Black Powder Red Earth

One of those defining things when it comes to wargaming is playing over a well-crafted table. Getting it just right is a tough balance, however, as the closer the table gets to real life, while it offers a great deal of immersion, it can come at the cost of playability. Recently, I've been tactically maneuvering through the dust-laden streets and tight corners of Black Powder Red Earth (BPRE), a game that has caught my attention with its intense and quick gameplay.

Like all hobbies, wargaming can also be a budget buster and as much as I'd like to get hold of the BPRE boxes, I've instead embarked on a mission to create my own pieces of BPRE terrain — making the 'Battlespace' my own without breaking the hobby bank.

BPRE's Standard Scatter Pieces

The base game of BPRE includes five 'standard' maps and 11 scenarios. These maps detail where all the buildings and pieces of scatter terrain are supposed to go, meaning you can get right to the action without the usual rigmarole of setup. So, when starting a game, you randomly select a map and scenario and you're ready to roll.

The map's 26x26" and the orange elements on the map are scatter terrain.
You can see there are several vehicles, planters in the middle, and an air
conditioner unit at the top of map.

The Black Powder Red Earth's skirmish battle settings some type of war-torn African locale with the action occurring in a dense urban environment. Included in the set are six small "air conditioners", six large "cars", two long-and-narrow, and four slightly smaller "planter boxes".

The game ships with these pieces as two-dimensional cardboard items, providing a functional, yet basic, representation of the environment. However, 3D objects not only add depth and immersion but also bring a tactile element to play. I feel it is among those things that transform a game from a simple board game to a truly immersive war game.

Onto the project...

Oh, the things I've built! Initially, I thought, "Hey, I'll just reuse the terrain I whipped up for Skullcore and Killwager." That terrain, based on round poker chips, was fine but not quite right. Not to worry, any excuse for a hobby project I say.

After downloading the BPRE terrain PDFs from their Patreon (because you've got to support your creators!), I cut out the various items' footprints. Then I took old credit cards and cut them to match the footprint sizes. Finally, each template was slapped onto some adhesive magnetic sheeting - it was "mildly magnetic" at best, but better than nothing, and makes both transport and storage that little bit easier.

The large "Cars"

I decided to try my hand at some tip bins - yes, those scrappy-looking bins you stumble upon at construction sites, often filled to the brim with who knows what. I sketched a few designs and printed off eight paper copies. Next, I set up an assembly line in my shed, gluing the pages onto stiff cardboard. The bins were filled with rubbish (literally) and the whole lot was painted with a 50/50 PVA and black acrylic paint. Here are some in-progress pictures and the final product.

 

 

 

  

After exploring bins, I thought, why not dive deeper into recycling? I took apart an old toy car from my kids as the tyres were a perfect size. Also, I used the oil drums I had accumulated from an online purchase some time back. You might think I'd throw away the offcuts from other projects, but I don't. Instead, I collect them and cut them into small pieces. These tiny cork bricks joined the rest of the build, and I created two further obstructions.

 

While rummaging through my sons' toy boxes, I stumbled upon another cheap plastic car. Its overly sporty design wasn't quite to my taste - anyone owning such a model in the clades would certainly keep it concealed! This sparked an idea: tarps! I've previously crafted tarp-covered terrain, which is very straightforward. You simply soak some paper or wipes in a mixture of PVA, water, and paint, then drape it over the item you wish to cover. Below is the outcome.

28mm Tactical Gardening

You might assume that my obsession with bins and recycling toy cars leaves no room for gardening. However, let me introduce you to "Tactical Gardening"! By utilizing cork, I've crafted twelve compact planter boxes replicating the dimensions of the ones used in BPRE. I even used artificial grass within them. Cork's texture is really good for miniature wargame scenery, and it only takes minimal effort to get some great painting results.

Granted they're all the same, but they were super easy to make. I'll keep my eyes open for some alternatives and these will more than suffice in the meantime.

Chillin' in the Clades

After dealing with bins and tactical gardening, I took a bunch of oil drums from my online shopping and some bollards my friend printed (I owe him big time), I decided to craft six small "air conditioner" tokens. This gave me another chance to use cork again as bricks.

So, what next?

Whether you're building your terrain for Black Powder Red Earth, or any other wargame, the satisfaction derived from a handcrafted game board can't be overstated. There are plenty of guys like me who spend as much time preparing their miniature battlefields as their armies. Truth be told, I like terrain building that little bit more. So you shouldn't be surprised to see some more in the future.