Make HILLS that ROCK! Wargaming Terrain Tutorial

[@lwriker1304]

I work at a window factory. 2' foam boards are tossed as garbage. Yep. I grab some now and then, with permission, because, you know, free is better.

[@the_cheap_ones]

Where wpuld i find this? I live in Florida miami area😊

[@jsarkozy]

like the other fellow said, I have been looking over loads of YT videos but this one is hands-down the best! all the techniques clearly explained and shown. I can stop searching now and get to work. Thank you!!!

[@LoLCalmSnow]

My god its just so simple where has this video been all my life! 😭

[@lostinspace466]

I really, really appreciate this video. This has likely saved me hundreds of dollars, and now I can make my own rocks for my game table!

[@whiskeyrichards9973]

Man I gotta hand it to ya, I've been scouring the vast expenses of KZbin for the past year, possibly longer in preparation for the massive diorama project I'm currently planning. Out of the countless, hundreds of diorama building tutorial videos I've watched over the course of the past 12 plus months, I can honestly say this has easily been one of the most helpful, insightful and well executed videos I have seen. I feel pretty fortunate to have come across your channel and you have definitely earned a new subscriber here. Keep up the amazing work and thanks for the inspiration and creativity fuel! Bravo!

[@hauntswargaming]

Dude that means a lot. Thanks :p I am planning on doing at least one follow up to this video since it's done so well.

[@antoniorogers7466]

Just wanted to say thank you for making this video. It's my 4th time having it on in the background as I make terrain using this method. This time making it for a friends birthday surprise to bring his table top to life. Thanks for putting in the time to make this!

[@hauntswargaming]

@@antoniorogers7466 You're welcome! glad to hear you're finding it useful :)

[@ClayHales]

Those look great. A little tip I learned a long time ago for rock pieces is to do little spots of pink or green here and there to accent the gray. It adds a lot, but it might not work as well on large pieces like this.

[@Max80well80]

Wow, this is a real leg up in quality over any other foam board rocks ive seen.

[@jtrow5023]

You are the Bob Ross of foam rocks. Amazing job.

[@hauntswargaming]

Thanks :p

[@theman7187]

That’s high praise!! 💯

[@HouseSalix]

The best foam hills I've seen yet

[@ConnorEngstromMusic]

I might have commented on this in the past, but I’m coming back to this finally now that I’m making my own set. These are hands down the BEST rocks I’ve seen in terrain tutorials. Thanks for the awesome content!

[@hauntswargaming]

@@ConnorEngstromMusic glad to hear it man! Thanks for the comment :)

[@sw33n3yto00]

Dude!! These look amazing. I never thought of the slashes for layering the flats. Looks like the wife will have some more terrain to complain about.

[@hauntswargaming]

Thanks! It gives it that layered rock look while keeping a mostly flat surface.

[@Jester2117]

Amazing! Still the most realistic rocks I’ve seen for tabletop! I’ll be following these steps to a T. Thanks for the tutorial.

[@hauntswargaming]

No problem! Thanks for the support :)

[@photogfrank2146]

I have one word for your modular rocks dude. AWESOME! Another word is Beautiful! I love these and am going to make some my own self!

[@hauntswargaming]

Thanks! I appreciate the positive vibes! :p

[@jesuslg8542]

It's fantastic!!!! I will do it. I 've found this channel today and i'm nervous for watch all videos. Thanks and regards from south of Spain

[@Gravehaven007]

Haven’t been this excited to find a new creator since when I first discovered Black Magic Craft! This is awesome work!!! Like, comment and subbed! ❤

[@hauntswargaming]

That is some high praise :p Appreciate it! Thanks!

[@nerzenjaeger]

Have to add a comment. These look very naturalistic and I will definitely steal this approach.

[@toddanderson1506]

Wow! This is a great way to make a light weight indoor rock crawler course! The pieces could be glued together or modular. Ideal for 1/24 and 1/18 RC rock crawlers!

[@wingnutbert9685]

This is the same reason I'm checking this vid out! 1/24th indoor course build. Could also do slabs like this with cardboard. Cut the top and bottom faces. The glue in an X in the middle for support with cardboard strips, cut the width of however thick you want the rock slab. Then go around the perimeter with strips of cardboard. Paint it up with a cement slurry like the Reactive Terrain boys. Foam sheet can be pricey if you can't get it free and cardboard is free and everywhere. Good luck with your course build!

[@danrichardson4983]

Some of the best tabletop gaming rocks on youtube. I've been trying to bite the bullet price wise on a sheet of 2". Now I'm convinced. Making these this weekend.

[@hauntswargaming]

Thanks for the support! If you can find a damaged one the discount really helps. Have fun :P

[@HNXMedia]

Vertical Strokes, circular stokes, hit all the cracks, wear mask and gloves, flip every 15 minutes and make sure to wash. Seems legit. Epic tutorial! Best I've seen for making rocks.

[@AFmedic]

Not being the "artistic" type, I was dreading thought of landscaping my railroad layout. Came across this video by accident and gave it a try. All I can say is - WOW!!! great tutorial! Thank you!

[@Metalbirne]

Underrated Channel. Awesome Modular Rocks. Nice to look at, beginner friendly, easy to build and very playable. Great narration too, very chill.

[@hauntswargaming]

Thank you :) I'm glad you found it useful!

[@ricoqwertz123]

Best looking rocky hills I've seen yet 😉

[@notreallydavid]

Woof! Best of their kind on here? Must be contenders at least. Very well done indeed.

[@HouseDM]

Solid work here Justin! Reminds me I need to make some of these myself. Cheers!

[@hauntswargaming]

Thanks man! :)

[@wingnutbert9685]

Really great rock slabs! Might borrow this technique for some 1/24th scale RC crawler terrain. Thanks!

[@Velasc]

I really like your paintjob on the skeletons! Great work on the rocks too. seem super versatile for gaming.

[@hauntswargaming]

Thank you! It is pretty versatile :)

[@f4llendeity940]

This was one of the best tutorials that I have seen. Great job.

[@hauntswargaming]

Thank you :) Glad to hear you enjoyed it!

[@edhorst7212]

Excellent tutorial for rock outcrops, smaller pieces add so much for terrain.. thanjs for sharing

[@hauntswargaming]

You're welcome! Thanks for the support! :)

[@haukemarbacher4532]

I want to thank you for your amazing video and the smart tricks you shared in it. It was really helpful and inspiring-great work!

[@erikjordheim2933]

Just wanted to say that I made a set of these for the board game club I run for my middle and high school and they turned out great! Thanks a ton for the video.

[@hauntswargaming]

Glad to hear it! :)

[@MRR_Shadowolf]

Very informative video on foam rocks. Excellent presentation and tips/techniques. Will follow this for my model railroad scenery. Thanks for posting, subbed.

[@shonflores]

We’ll done!! Top Notch. I definitely added your master piece to my Terrain builds folder. Thank you sir

[@carlonmarlon4850]

The best rocks I've seen. I've been doing terrains for 15 years ;)

[@hauntswargaming]

Thanks! :)

[@carlonmarlon4850]

@@hauntswargaming XPS has different densities, yours is very dense and can be cut with a knife. A less dense material will not work as well, it will have a problem with cutting and splitting, more small holes are visible and it is softer. Of course, a big difference in price. ;)

[@bnewman43]

@3:00 Just be glad you didn't have a cat helping you with the project while you were working on it. I do both mini-warfare and model railroad so your video will be really helpful for my future expansions. Thanks, keep up the good work !!

[@hauntswargaming]

That wouldn't end well! My cats are like little hoover vacs lol. Thanks for the comment!

[@powersave2]

Great tutorial! I bet all those layers of mod podge, grout, glue, and sealer have these being rock-hard!

[@hauntswargaming]

I see what you did there lol Time will tell but so far they seem pretty durable! Thanks for the support!

[@SweenyMarc]

They look great and very practical. The smaller pieces really added to the playability. I wonder if a dark green wash applied only to select cracks and crevices would read as moss growth? That might add a bit of life to the finished look. A Martian/desert red/yellow set would be pretty cool too.

[@hauntswargaming]

Thanks! I think a spotty green wash would look great. I was thinking about making a few more "topper" pieces with dirt and greenery. I'll probably make an icy/snowy set sometime too.

[@daynoart]

These are genius - I’m definitely going to build some of these for my home terrain kit

[@vitale6633]

Excellent tutorial. The sanded grout is a great suggestion.

[@last2nkow]

i would be tempted to do one side grey rock and the other more verdant, a base of mud and generic flocking. that way one week you could be fighting on a bare rocky mountain stacked 4 rocks high and the next a verdant agricultural hillscape. im probably going to make slightly more regular shaped set than these because that suits my table, but these do look great mate. im looking at a couple of big ol chungus 12"x6", a couple each of 6"x6" and 8"x4" and some irregular smaller pieces for my first set, but if it goes well ill probably add about the same again but less regularly shaped. i guess similar to what you did now im thinking about it. Im thinking about using a similar block of terrain approach for stacking levels of industrial buildings too, as some simple blocks that are decorated to look like buildings would be pretty easy to do with foam

[@hauntswargaming]

Thanks for the comment! You could definitely do 2 different sides with a more boxy shape! Since they are random shapes it's nice to be able to flip them to puzzle them together in more ways though. I was thinking about making a set of "toppers" with different types of grass/etc. So that might be a future project :p Stackable industrial buildings sound like an interesting idea too.

[@chrisboyd4433]

If you keep your eye open at construction sites (especially homes) you can often get some scraps free. I made some 1" thick slabs for use with my Five Parsecs from home tabletop battles.

[@hauntswargaming]

That's a really good idea!

[@mikemoore4083]

Totally stealing! Love the more practical, modular terrain

[@hauntswargaming]

Thanks! :)

[@sod1237]

Perfect. And good for playing. Love this, did the same with sheets of wood when i was a teenager.

[@Atmoseeker]

Can never have too many slabs! I'm making some new terrain and some techniques here will definitely come in handy. Thanks for the video mate!

[@hauntswargaming]

That is true! They get used up quickly on a 4x6 board. Thanks for the support :)

[@geoffreywampach2588]

Just coming back after having done a set. Man! These things just look so good! Thanks for this terrain tutorial!

[@hauntswargaming]

Awesome! :)

[@jhall1980]

These look so much better than other ones I've seen.

[@BarbarianBristle]

Looks Great! Just got some foam, plan on making something similar. Thanks for the inspiration!!!

[@dennisdehaan214]

Looks great. I'd be using the ones with the wash for games inside dark dungeons and caves or night or heavy storms

[@HobbySauce]

Best rocks I've seen cut in a long while. Those look sick man

[@hauntswargaming]

Thank you :)

[@modelsfromscratch]

Fantastic tutorial 👍 love the cracks snd rubbing in of grout - will try that for sure. Decent XPS hard to get in Australia but have some sheets saved I might just do thus with! Looks epic

[@NetPhyll]

Fantastic! Thanks for the great tutorial.

[@bruceengland9140]

I've been learning this same technique for model railroading. Thanks for some additional tips.

[@andreaspihl354]

Awesome looking rocks, I will try to copy your steps for an upcoming reptile enclosure I'm planning to build. Great work💯👍🏻

[@te9591]

Looks amazing.

[@buryitdeep]

Fantastic work, they look really great.

[@harlemsar]

Yep, that material is not available in my country... that really make things easy, great paint job tho.

[@MiniCrafthobby]

Awesome tips and techniques here! I always struggle to create believable rocks, cliff sides, and organic textures so this is uber helpful! You earned a new subscriber here😂🔥

[@hauntswargaming]

Appreciate it 🙂

[@devlindecutler7525]

Thanks for a great video! I used your techniques and it worked out great! Awesome tutorial.

[@hauntswargaming]

Glad to hear it! Thanks for the kind words :)

[@jasonturpin92]

Your a genius , I'm going to try and incorporate your rocks into a scalextric set of mine. Thank you

[@richardmason3751]

You sir have just earned another subscriber.

[@hauntswargaming]

Appreciate it! Thanks!

[@slthlrdz]

might be the best looking table top rocky hills ive seen

[@RM-ex1gn]

Looks badass. Thanks for sharing !

[@hauntswargaming]

Thanks :)

[@aaroncrumbley]

Currently building out Felucia for Starwars Legion. Definitely going to be using this. Thank you!

[@johnphilippatos]

Great tutorial. The 1" small rocks blend exceptionally and sell the whole project even more. Maybe the underside can be a different kind of terrain for more versatility? E.g. sandy desert on the downside and rocky hills on the upper, but what about the sides?

[@81dublin]

These looks great! Definitely going to make a set for myself. I was thinking about the smaller pieces and how they might be a bit wobbly with larger models on it and perhaps cutting a slit into the foam piece and wedging a weight like a large heavy washer to help stabilize the piece.

[@hauntswargaming]

Yea that's a good idea. They are really light. I haven't played enough games to say if it's an issue or not yet though. Thanks for the comment!

[@kyleclavette9445]

If you are not making it double sided, you can drive screws into the bottom of it.

[@eastoforion]

insanely good terrain build! goes with anything

[@alrethianscraftsbattles]

Honestly mate, these are the best modular rocks I've seen. Perfect for building a huge amount of terrain in one go. Sure it will take some time, but the pay off is definitely worth it. Great job man...now time to start making my own 😅👍

[@hauntswargaming]

Thanks man! This set has gotten a lot of use so I'd say it's worth the effort :p

[@ruaridhmackenzie3215]

Really really nice rocks

[@leesautomotive1737]

Nice video. I dont game my self but I will see the technic in my Christmas and halloween village. Thanks for the education. Your very talented.

[@hauntswargaming]

Glad to hear you found this video useful! Happy crafting! Thanks for the comment :)

[@inquisitorvuln]

Amazing and extremely useful for my projects. Thank you for making this video!

[@wilfredodiaz8743]

These rocks would look great even as a base for action figures such as for Gi Joe or Mcfarlane toys

[@PanoramaticToys]

Looks amazing 🤩 🤩 🤩 thanks for sharing this 🙌

[@hauntswargaming]

Thank you :)

[@campbellfamily1928]

That is a nice boulder! Appreciate the inspiration and techniques. This is going to go well on my game table.

[@ivanalvarezrodriguez7447]

it seems that we have work in the club for this new year 🤣, thanks for the tutorial

[@hauntswargaming]

Your welcome, Thanks for the support!

[@RottenMechGaming]

Great video and nice step by step. I think I would have liked to have seen some dirt and plant life in places to break up the grey. Also a couple of inaccessible areas with more slopes would be more natural. I appreciate it’s a battle between making playable flat surface terrain and “natural” looking environments but just a few areas that have natural steep slopes would look ace.

[@Danny-no2zp]

Get this man a thesaurus! Fissures, chasms, ravines, crevasses… 😉 Clever concept and execution though. Very cool

[@thewhiteguar959]

Ah yes, a wonderful addition to my terrain-making reference video playlist

[@toowierdtoliveshark]

they look amazing

[@EstradusTheDragon]

These look great; I'm definetly going to have to make some myself.

[@bile897]

God damn that looks good! Gives me ideas for terrariums.

[@tinaprice4948]

very nice rocks :) they look very natural

[@hauntswargaming]

Thanks :)

[@Zarkil]

Nice vid, instant sub! I've been doing similar rocks using foam for a long time but your cuts and cracks add a way better texture to the tops than what I was doing. Since this is the first video of yours I've watched I don't know if you've ever tried heavily spraying a set with cheap primer. The way it melts the foam makes for amazing volcanic rock. Of course you should probably leave it outside for 24 hours afterwards 🙂

[@hauntswargaming]

I Appreciate it! I haven't tried intentionally spraying foam yet. Canned Spray foam would probably be pretty good for volcanic rock too since it already has that porous texture.

[@Zarkil]

@@hauntswargaming That's a good idea, it would be easier to shape than xps also. Priming xps gives more of a fine sharp jagged glass like texture. It's more like lava is actively flowing over it than the porous texture of cooled volcanic rock. Sorry, I did a poor job of explaining it. Thanks for the spray foam idea, I think I may try it in a desert themed terrain set I've been thinking about.

[@alfredpotts6136]

I have seen some people say that the spray foam can continue to expand slowly for a very long time (eg weeks), so any textures applied to the surface could crack over time. Still, it’s pretty cheap, so probably still worth an experiment. Just make sure you wait at least a week before doing anything with it!

[@hauntswargaming]

@@alfredpotts6136 I'd say 2 days minimum, but waiting a week can't hurt just to be safe.

[@Zarkil]

@@alfredpotts6136 thanks for the information, I haven't seen that mentioned before.

[@hnubhliyang7477]

Super cool!! Thanks for the tutorial

[@hauntswargaming]

@@hnubhliyang7477 you're welcome :)

[@wokedragon3211]

could you mix the grout with the grey paint mixture?

[@hauntswargaming]

Yeah, you could do that

[@Gormbauer]

Awesome! I'm trying this

[@brandonkohn2077]

This is excellent!

[@michaelmajor1467]

Looks like a lot of work, but these are probably the best foam rocks I've ever seen!

[@TheMetalCrafter1983]

Those look awesome !

[@hauntswargaming]

Thank you :)

[@terminatoruk4921]

Wow - superb - thanks for an amazing video! Will have to give this a go some day!

[@hauntswargaming]

Thank you :)

[@Zentron]

Cracking tutorial, you rock!

[@hauntswargaming]

Thanks man :p

[@hauntedcaptainphoenix5363]

What's the best glue for gluing foam floor matts together I'm making a pumpkin man for Halloween.

[@rodrick6538]

Rockstar work!!

[@hauntswargaming]

Thanks :)

[@benhayden9198]

Great vid, keep up the good work 👍

[@hauntswargaming]

Thank you! I appreciate the support :)

[@LeonKolenda]

Could you use fine Sand instead of Grout? Why both sides? Won't be able to see the underside, and would save a lot of time. I'm looking at using your technique for my MRR Layout, Great tutorial!

[@metajock]

Looks great!!! Interested in seeing what you are going to do with the small bits you saved.

[@hauntswargaming]

Thanks! That's rubble right there lol

[@notreallydavid]

breakfast cereal

[@TriMarkC]

I really like your method! Have you tried painting one side white to act as tundra?

[@hauntswargaming]

No, but that could work, I do want to make tundra versions of these someday though.

[@monham5041]

Nice work. One question though. After the initial layer, why do you keep using modde podge in all the subsequent layers? Would paint work just as well when dry brushing to add highlights? Or is it a surface strength thing that you are aiming at? Interested to hear your reply. Happy Modelling. Mon from Monsville Railways.

[@hauntswargaming]

Yea, It strengthens the paint. I almost always add some mod to paint for terrain. Thanks for the comment!

[@PeteTheDane]

Looks great man! Good video overall. Do you mind explain why you choose to cut into both sides of the foam? Seems like more work for nothing, since one side could just always be the bottom :)

[@hauntswargaming]

Thank you :) It just gives me more shape options

[@Runehammer1]

really really good work here

[@jeffdarthmiller6756]

What an amazing system! Do you sell the completed 3D printed pieces or the STL files for them? Are there any plans in works to make jig sets to accomodate 13mm foam?

[@hauntswargaming]

Thanks! No STLs currently, but maybe in the future? I don't have any plans for 13mm jig sets either.