I’ve always been fascinated by the old Games Workshop Necromunda terrain. While the aesthetic of the deep, industrial and decrepit slums of the underhive has always appealed to me, what I think I like best about Necromunda terrain is the sense of depth it intends to convey.
With our foray into the Domilcus Station campaign, I had a chance to try and emulate this idea. I didn’t want to emulate the Necromunda terrain exactly; instead I wanted to create terrain that meshed that decayed industrial feel with a sense of depth. My secondary goals were to create terrain that could be placed densely for kill team, work well with bridges and ladders, and would be compatible in scale and appearance with most of our other terrain.
It took me some time to come up with an approach I was happy with. I found inspiration on the internet amongst the surge of lasercut terrain that is now available. I quickly learned that there was a makerspace in town with a lasercutter, and bought a membership. I soon learned that while lasercutting had a great deal of potential for certain components of my designs, the full product I was after was too complicated and too time consuming for the poor little lasercutter to keep up with. At least, not efficiently. Furthermore, it was becoming much more expensive than anticipated.
So instead of using solely lasercut terrain, I decided to take a combined approach. Using the Hirst Arts moulds I had used to build the Zone Mortalis board, I also used cork and sand to build “blocks” that other terrain could be stacked upon. The idea was to create terrain that would add depth by allowing other terrain to be placed on top of it. This would allow the myriad of bridges and ladders that so entranced me in Necromunda, while also working well with the terrain we already and in stock. So I create a number of ‘blocks’ in different sizes, to represent the lower decks and habitation units of Domilcus Station, as well as ladders and bridges to go alongside it.
Using Hirst Arts blocks in conjunction with lasercut MDF, I was also able to build a few freestanding structures to go alongside the blocks. Overall, I think people are pretty happy with it, and I intend to build a complete 4×4 table.
