Making a Trench Warfare Table for Warhammer and Historical games

[@feralchild339]

As a french guy, i really appreciate the respect you put on the subject. Sometimes these wars and battles are used only as "fun scenarios" for games while they are truly places of tragedy. Love your approach of bringing factual informations to the hobby !

[@ThatPianoNoob]

I mean from an entertainment perspective these wars were kinda worth it at this point. As a German, you're welcome.

[@Djidiouf]

As a French too and living in Australia, I find that in North America and Australia, there's still a glorification of the army and how soldiers are somehow heroes who protected denizens. Inhabitants of US, Canada and Anzac have in general a very different point of view of war as it didn't happen on their soil at all. And NA and Anzac soldiers who were going into war were not forcibly drafted (generally none in ww1 and only a very few number in ww2). That makes a huge difference compared to countries like France and Germany and the rest of Europe. Glorification in those countries is strong and remembrance for the fallen is somehow turned towards the glory of their sacrifice. It shows, imo, a lack of exposure on how war affected everything and everyone in the countries where it happened. And when you expose yourself to it, to the horror of it, the atrocities committed non stop by everyone, considering soldiers as heroes become just impossible. That's quite terrible and a hard to swallow pill for Aussies as they linked it to how they become a nation. But that's the hard truth. Anyway, that was my 2 cents. Love everyone ❤

[@footrot17]

As a french what?

[@Djidiouf]

@@footrot17 'as a French person', sorry for our bad English, it's a common mistake we do! Cheers!

[@feralchild339]

@@Djidiouf I agree with you mate, I understand the fascination for these conflitcs (I was myself fascinated for a time) but it's easy to lost track of the reality and put too much distance between yourself and what it really was. That's where the glorification path starts in questionable ways. The older a war has been, the easier it becomes for us to only think about it in terms of stats, human power, strategies, but at the end of the day it's really human lives that disapeared in often atrocious ways. Some people will feel I'm too melodramatic about it, but imo that's why i prefer fantasy/sci fi settings for gaming as anything close to reality feels really inapropriate for me. If i'm uncomfortable with WW settings because it happened close from home and my family, i understand it can be disturbing for other people on other conflicts close to them so i don't play games about them too.

[@echsecutioner]

"War is hell. Never forget. We owe the dead that much." Holy shit man, I didn't expect to find rhetorical gold on a terrain building video...

[@somethingsmart4196]

It is about trench warfare -I am sorry if it came across as consisting

[@jonh101]

One misconception is that trench warfare is outdated, trench warfare is still very much real and effective because the best defense even today is being surrounded by the earth

[@freezie4511]

I think when people say it's outdated, they're thinking more about the tactics used back then but are just rounding it all up as "trench warfare"

[@kelvinsantiago7061]

I mean we still have and use both revolvers and 1911 pistols which are considered outdated designs so trenches makes perfect sense!.

[@christiankoppang8296]

Trenches are the crab of war, eventually a war will move on or devolve to trench warfare, examples include the Iran Iraq war and current Russia- Ukraine war bot being full of awful trench warfare that would look just like WW I

[@CMTechnica]

@@kelvinsantiago7061the 1911 isn’t outdated, it’s the bullet. .45 ACP is notoriously poor at defeating armor and has a relatively low projectile velocity compared to similar rounds. The push for 9mm was because of several factors, not because the 1911 is outdated. Shit, the 2011 is a thing

[@kelvinsantiago7061]

@@CMTechnica I'm not a gun nut so thank you for clearing that misinformation up it's good to learn.

[@chadcaszatt3744]

This is probably your best video to date. I really appreciate the historical research you've done to create this amazing table.

[@EricsHobbyWorkshop]

Thanks chad! I wanted to make it as accurate as i could be while still making it fun to play o

[@savagex466-qt1io]

@@EricsHobbyWorkshop Good job bud good job

[@Red-Devil-Dog]

@@EricsHobbyWorkshop you did that well. I love This idea so much. It’s not entirely restricted to 40k use either!

[@vanillaicecream2385]

Lest we forget

[@kirkgeier417]

Yeah I love his Egypt and Bretonnian ones as well that are packed with so much historial goodness

[@kenl.6340]

I'm so happy to see a hobby/craft video where the Steel Legion can be fielded and given some love. They are my favorite faction in the Imperial Guard and they look absolutely beautiful on this field Excellent work

[@CMTechnica]

Steel legion is what got me into 40k with the guard to begin with

[@Astronomical_Cinematics]

As a follower and Historical Content creator of WWI & II, I appreciate you for acknowledging the atrocious outcomes of The Great War, you've highlighted one of the bloodiest battles that had the deadliest outcomes & significance of the Somme and I also highly praise you for paying the respect of the fallen and veterans of that period. Thank you for showcasing for how terrible that war truly was!

[@ragozzinehq]

I really like the care you took in laying out both the woodworking tips (2x2 aren't 2" by 2") and the historic overview of (the horrific) trench warfare. Great balance here and nice job on the finished result!

[@SherlockSpiner]

Thank you for taking a moment to acknowledge the importance of remembering the tragedy’s of the Great War. It’s one thing I strive to talk about in order to keep the memories of those men alive so to see you do this is a very nice thing to see. Remember the fallen, Respect the living, and never forget. Wonderful build sir, an incredible piece of playable history.

[@KatelynCollins225]

I'm glad you included the war is hell part. Often people forget that real people, people with hopes, dreams, thoughts and minds, years of expierences, secrets and personalites, relationships, love stories and stories of trauma, friends and family, are the ones who died. thousands upon thousands of people, each with years worth of stories to tell; die. It is important to remember that war is not a joke. It can be fun to recreate, but we have to remember that it is real, and terrible.

[@mr.x6313]

A terrible good, unfortunately; a necessary evil. When the wolves are at the gate, there must be warriors to drive them back.

[@Wildonion1]

Interesting historical details, excellent building tips, and a kickass final product! Can't wait for the next one in the series--and getting to see the result of all three sections. As always, thanks for showing how building is an iterative process and how we are always making small mistakes and learning, even when we have as much experience as you do.

[@Miscast]

10/10 mud

[@megapizzadragon2397]

I used to cut those stirring sticks with clippers. Like you said it hurts your hands. I started using a pair of pliers to get straight breaks. Alot easier on the hands.

[@capnskustomworks]

That’s looking amazingly realistic so far, I can’t wait to see how the rest goes! As someone living in the US, and whose ancestors were largely military, I think you’ve got the right viewpoint. Knowledge and understanding of our history is so necessary to grow as humanity, not glorification. That miniature scene created by the soldiers in the photograph was very striking to me as well, it’s all too easy to grow numb to the fact that those are all real people.

[@thejaxter6993]

Outstanding work as always, I’m blown away by the amount of detail and effort you’ve put into this

[@hyperbene7711]

You knocked it out of the park (again) with this video. Creativity, entertainment and historical accuracy - it just doesn't get any better than that (oh yeah, and a playable table, too)

[@Storehouse-805]

Me and my best friend are getting into the Astra Militarum! I'm using Cadians, and he is using Krieg so this would be super fun to play on!

[@commonisekaihero4745]

I've been to several battle field locations across Europe and I'm happy to see you throwing some education into your build, especially about the Somme. It was a brutal battle for sure

[@nitroplayz8674]

sir your work is truly beautiful! Its historically accurate in every way. Absolutely incredible! Keep it up!

[@noaht2125]

As a future Death Korps of Krieg player, this is 1000% the type of table I want to make. Thank you for the knowledge and inspiration!

[@WellBattle6]

So glad you included the firing steps, that’s probably the one detail that’s most likely to get forgotten when recreating them. Never seen sheet metal covered grenade sumps before, so I learned something new!

[@jumlord5888]

Im so glad I finally got into painting warhammer now.. Seems like there a so many amazing hobby videos recently like this that keep my excitement at 40000%

[@garybaldwin1]

An incredible job, I hope you don't mind, I'm going to use your build as inspiration for my 40k battle board.

[@ferrik1675]

bruh the miniature house is going to bring a tear to my eye. really showing of how these dudes were just people at the end of the day, and they were trying to keep their humanity in the depths of that hell they were going through.

[@leanderschuster3196]

WOW look at mister big shot here painting terrain with GW rattle cans The money changed you man jk

[@EricsHobbyWorkshop]

Lmao. Yeah pretty extravagant move ill admit. I dont use the grey and silver spray for anything else so i dont feel too bad about it

[@bigbeef10]

A who now?

[@bigbeef10]

Mister who now?

[@josray2557]

This was actually so educational I wish I had seen it before I started my last project. I'm a comic artist and we have trenches show up in a book. Though it is very sci fi the same principles could have been applied and visually looked a lot more interesting. This is an awesome build Eric.

[@battlebrothers_40k]

absolutley killer. My brother and I have a bunch of drop-pods we set into craters which would look great sandwiched between two trench sections like this. Killer work love your channel!

[@uzzle5441]

Love the video and progress so far! Can't wait to see the next two sections completed! I also love the detail you have gone to with your research which goes above and beyond any other board build I have seen.

[@CaptainValian]

Dude, I am reading Gaunt's Ghosts Straight SIlver where they are stuck on a world, Aexe Cardinal - Sabbat worlds, and they still using trench warfare. This is really good. I would suggest bodies on the wire and corpses crushed into the mud. Possibly pools of condensed gases? Oh and more mud and grim. Just suggestions.

[@michaeljdauben]

That board is phenomenal!!! It's easily one of the best I've seen in 40 years of miniature wargaming. 👏

[@SarhcBannitoot]

This would be such a good jumping off point to also make a downtown DC board for Fallout Wasteland Warfare. Imagine taking these trenches and lining them with mocs of the Smithsonian, Washington Monument, and Capital building!

[@MistahFox]

The picture of the miniature setup in a world war one trench is incredible! It's beautiful and tragic that even in our darkest moments, people still create art.

[@MindsOfMany]

6:57 “War. War never changes”

[@amoryburgess]

Really well done, one of the best looking 40K trench boards I’ve ever seen…I think it’s the depth and size of the trenches…pretty accurate size to what was in the Cadia Stands Hammer and Bolter animation.

[@EricsHobbyWorkshop]

Thanks! I think people often forget the firestep and want the trench to be shallow enough for minis to peek over which makes it overall too shallow

[@ezechielveloth6724]

As always nice job ! Little advice tho : for the barbed wire, you can get "sealing wire" wich is exactly the same as the army painter's BUT you can get it by the 100s of meters in length for far less money, a must have if you wanna make WW1 type things

[@SparkSovereign]

Wonderful video. Respectful treatment of the subject, and lots of good hobby content too! All I've got to add is a paraphrase from Mash; "War is hell." "I disagree. War is war, and hell is hell, and of the two war is a lot worse." "How do you figure?" "Who is in hell, reverend?" "Sinners." "Well there you go. In hell, the people suffering ostensibly deserve it. In war, almost everyone involved, except some of the brass, is innocent."

[@Pablo-pe2rv]

What a great scenery tutorial and cautious reminder about the horrors of real war. Every single video of yours is a gem. ❤

[@artsoulnorth]

I really appreciate the way you pay your respects to real life events, and educate your audience about relevant history, while you create.

[@lordhamster9452]

Beautiful build, really! Reminds me of my early modelling days, when me and some pals tried to cut up a piece of polystyrene and drown it in dirt flock to make our own crappy trench diorama. And thank for covering the topic of the Great war. Most people dismiss WW1 as just boring war where both sides sat in a muddy hole for 4 years straight with little interesting going on. Which is the opposite of reality.

[@miles_1199]

I love the build, And the respect you put into the history of it and small design features of the project really add to the video!

[@Lastwhitelf]

Great work! Reminds me the nightmarish trenches of "1917" and "All Quiet on the Western Front"

[@EricsHobbyWorkshop]

Thats no coincidence! I used them as references

[@SpaceHippy]

Ohh, the words of wisdom about six minutes in hit HARD. You're the finest example of who should be playing tabletop war games.

[@HavasiP]

One your best videos. The historical background of your choices gives your build a whole new dimension. Impressive!

[@stephanecotnoir6334]

As a world war fan, you gave a new perspective to boardgaming, you video is totally awsome and makes me want to build one.... your historical references makes your video even better to watch and learn, keep on the great work..

[@PatrickSamphire]

Very nice. I'm going to be making some trenches soon, and it's good to see how you did it. Last time I made sandbags, I found it a bit quicker to roll out a snake of air dry clay, squash it slightly with cloth (to imprint texture) then chop it into sections. Saves forming each individually.

[@nordicson2835]

This is top notch. My sons and l watched quite a few war movies lately , a few WW1 movies , the boys pointed out the trench segment from SuckerPunch ... a real post apocalyptic feel to that.

[@ubermoose5694]

This is fantastic! Ive been wanting to build a table like this for a while. I love the way you went about it. Beautifully done! Can't wait for the next parts of this series!

[@profmegamoth]

Your videos have perfect timing! I’ve been listening to the Hardcore History series on WWI and have not been able to stop thinking about it the past few days. I’ve been planning a Steel Legion army to channel my interest and then you drop this video to add to the inspiration. Great work as always!

[@justanotherhuumon]

I've done a decent amount of studying on WW1; albeit, I'm no expert, but I'd like to join the chorus in praise of your ability. Your attention to detail is awesome. I'm glad to see you're as invested in your research as much as your creations. Keep it up Eric. 🤘

[@jonroads8281]

One amazing thing about Britain is that you can go to the smallest, most out of the way little village in the middle of nowhere, and there'll be a war memorial of all the young men from that village who died in the two world wars. Nowhere escaped it.

[@danesorensen1775]

You know what else has a really strong, vinegar-y smell? Diphosgene. And you did it outside in the rain for full immersion. 10/10 effort.

[@benjaminjack867]

This is such a badass build! Part 1 looks great as-is; excited to see the rest come together!

[@theemissary1313]

Love this, so inspiring. One suggestion i would make is for the craters - because of wobbly model syndrome, maybe cut vertical edges to the craters and use blocks to fill in the gradient in a sort of crazy paving style step pattern? So it's still a crater shape, but models can be on the side without falling over. Also, to paraphrase Hawkeye from M.A.S.H. - "War is not hell. Only bad people go to hell. War is worse than hell."

[@matthewwilkinson4781]

Thanks for the video Eric! I love it! I want to make my own trench at some point. Thanks for putting in a WW1 tribute in the middle of the vid very moving. I was touched by it. Major props for that.

[@shannonnome1236]

Wow!!! I’ve viewed your videos for a few months now. I’m going to Patreon right now to join up. This is FANTASTIC work!!

[@ItsAVolcano]

I remember one summer me and my brother took advantage of a recently pulled tree in our apartment buildings communal yard and made an elaborate trench system for all manners of tabletop games. We didn't want to mess around with metal and risk getting cut so we used popsicle stick duckboards and shored up the walls of the trenches with bamboo skewers and random yard debris.😊

[@EricsHobbyWorkshop]

What a nice memory, sounds like fun

[@volatilesky]

Looks great! I have similar plans for whenever I complete a death corp army I've got in storage. Couple tips! Instead of making single sand bags, roll out a snake of clay, press a canvas cloth onto it, and then nip it apart. Fast bags. For the sand bag wall, just make a flat sheet, press into place, and use a tool to make lines to dilineate the bags. You might've been able to get away with using a white glue/sand mix to cover the unpainted corrugation, but the sand bags make sense and look great. I probably would have base coated everything in place after assembling unpainted, but everyone's work flow varies, so that's whatever. But it only really makes sense that way if you're going to airbrush most of it. A heavy wash would also work to hide any laziness, as well as grinding up and brushing on chalk pigment sticks for your dust (at this scale it makes it easy cheaper than going through a couple hundred of "weathering pigment" bottles.) I've made a fair bit of terrain, and I've been thinking about how to go about this as well, since it's gonna be a long haul project. My only difference is I plan on doing it in 2x2' squares with matching entrances to make it more interchangeable.

[@immortalgamer3960]

This is great, I've been wanting to build something like this for ages, and this looks almost exactly how I imagined. One of my favourite builds of yours for sure! :D

[@felipealbu]

Amazing job! Excellent research and construction. The sad and cruelty of the war is well represented. I'm waiting for the parts 2 and 3.

[@Nique1214]

I absolutely loved it, the only tip I could give you is that if, as you mentioned, this battlefield is set deep into the war, then the trenches would be really messed up, and there would be less of the metal boards (they would have been destroyed, and the trenches were rarely maintained)

[@AzraelThanatos]

Just as a note about the wood size, most of the boards are slightly undersize for the listed numbers, it's normally because it's that plus the standard plasterboard equals the number for use with construction numbers. Also, for chopping that much in the way of stir sticks, you ought to look into getting a Chopper. It's more expensive than some options, but it works extremely well and speeds things up drastically along with making it simple and easy to cut angles without all of the risks in them snapping...

[@countsnowyofgwainn3996]

I love the history of the Great war "to end all wars" and I have made 1piece of trench but I plan on making more in the future for a huge wargaming table. Thank you for making this video man

[@legionnaire5947]

Really appreciated the respect and research you gave the Great War even while making a game board. You’re a real one, man!

[@acatstudios8853]

You should get some Krieger minis off forge world, you can get them in different pose like them sitting around and lounging or injured/dead. I think they’d be great to have just sitting around, lay the bodies out in the trenches and no lands land. You should also try resign for the water in the bottom of the bomb craters. Maybe even try putting a corpse with some dye around him for blood in there

[@Joemcdowell91]

"war is hell, never forget that, we owe the dead that much." this one line had all the hair on my body stand on end as if they where saluting the honoured dead! seriously well done Eric its so important that future generations don't fall into the same mistakes from our past.

[@Bobdd0]

Fantastic research, sand fantastic communication on how you did what you do. I always appreciate how clear you are with what you think went well and want wrong and how to change it up from there!

[@Perkustin]

Good video, with the sandbags i would recommend making a push mould of one of those nice big walls before you stick it down, you cut and trim it and shuffle the orientation you could use it many times.

[@SgtMaj22]

Lest we Forget... Awesome video, looks like a great board.

[@sunnysideup8138]

If you ever get the chance to go to Ypres and Flanders, I’d highly recommend it. There are some beautiful monuments to the Canadian forces. The Belgians also gifted the Canadians some land there too, where you’ll find monuments to the Canadian fallen as well as some incredibly well preserved trenches.

[@monsvillerailways5736]

Nice techniques that can be adopted for many variences of the modelling hobby. Nice to see some historical information too. As you mention, war is such a waste of life. It was good that you pointed this out and not to glorify the death and destruction. 👍 Happy modelling.

[@garyholland6290]

Love the respect you showed here fro the range in fighting strategy and this that died in the transition.

[@MemphisRaines436]

Any plans, specifically a timeline, for parts 2 and 3?

[@Will_iv]

This is literally one of the coolest projects I've ever seen. Oustanding work as always!

[@edinnuir7518]

I did a diorama for my nephews school project last year with him, for all the planking and posts i just made a 'dip tank' of a slightly thicker than normal wash... and chucked everything in there, it was a really dirty dark color but not black, and i let the mottled and non-uniform nature of the planks drying do a lot of the work for me.

[@LordoftheSwarm]

The most realistic moment of this video is when Eric tries to do the sandbags and realizes how labor intensive it is and doesn't want to do it anymore. As a former Soldier, I have been there, man, and I chuckled a little bit on the inside...

[@v0dka885]

a neat little detail you could do for modular trenches (if you make them) is have a body or arm sticking out like its someone who was buried there and they stumbled across their body. This was a horror tale my grandfather told me when his dad served in the Lancashire Fusiliers as a sgt. major in the First World War. Edit: My grandfathers uncle served on the Somme and was tragically killed in the battle

[@DestinyMagus07]

The detail here is fantastic. Can't wait to see the other two boards! Semi-related, but this did get me thinking about how the various factions of 40k would design their fortifications and entrenchments. I can't imagine an Eldar or Necron digging trenches, it doesn't play to their strengths, but it'd be interesting to see the difference between how, say, Imperium, Orks and Tau go about making a place inhospitable.

[@squeethemog213]

I really enjoy the educational aspect of these builds. It's fun to learn as you make this awesome work of wargaming goodness :D

[@FOB777]

This is so awesome. A miniature version of this would be great for a diorama too. I am really looking forward to finally getting out of college and start making some money. I can't wait to engage with the hobby without as many financial handicaps

[@gabrielwalton4097]

Re-watching this as I expect it will blow up again once Trench Crusade is out fully, excellent job!

[@Gilmore-the-Glorious]

I love a good trench warfare board. You make it looks so easy even though i know it must take you hours to work on!

[@njkf]

Awesome stuff and I love the historical twist - MORE!

[@nahhfam7678]

I found with my razor wire I did across the tusks of a chaos terminator based on the Retutn if the King creatures, what really sold the effect was wash wash on the wire, touches if rust, a little bit of blood and dangling cloth as seen in all quiet on western front as it looked as though it had been bitterly fought over already.

[@tbomb69]

Can’t wait for the next two videos about the battlefields. I would love to have a battlefield 1 operations style game on them.

[@elRandomTk]

This is so good, glad you had the idea. Excellent design, I would add more weathering, like for the metal walls, I would put little mounts of dirt in the lower corners like it accumulated there. Also I would dirt the lower part of the walls and barbwire, and the walkway wood, with dried splashes of mud - I would get inspiration from technical materials more than washes. And since it's an old hellscape you could make the metal wall darker and maybe add little rust. Also in the trenches you could add dried pools of liquid with a story, like oil in a maintenance corner, or blood and maybe couple stretchers under a bridge from when they gathered the wounded under shelling. I would make the mud darker, but probably it's a good idea to keep using same recipe for all 3 pieces and wash all togheter. I followed you in the past, I'm glad you're back with such quality content. Very inspired, pro execution, and I liked a lot the research and the time spent onoring the tragic reality of war. Liked and subscribed, I will wait for part two

[@Terrafeyed]

This was a beautiful video. Also love the use of actual trench building methods which just gives the layout that believable and immersive look

[@SnakeWorksStudio]

I think its bloody lovely. Well done!

[@nofuxgivens2797]

One of the things they did that was brutal and Kunning😂 was make machine gun nests with tunnel access. So when you fell back, the enemy would now be in your trench but you got machine nests waiting. The razor wire also played a huge part in this. They'd lay it out so it's tough to remove and so it funnels advancing troops who are getting chewed up while being above ground. One of the most shocking aspects was that it got so bad with casualties that after a firefight died down they'd call for a temp truce so both sides could recover bodies.

[@tingle2958]

I imagine that the corrugated steel revetments had the grooves running horizontally because that would tend to trap more water as opposed to encouraging the water to freely run down into the trenches. Vertical is only preferable when you actually want more runoff

[@DiegoCavalcanti-x4i]

When painting wood, use burnt oil (residue from vehicle lubrication oil), it highlights the wood's knots, it doesn't turn black, it works similar to a varnish paint

[@kaneyoung7439]

Ever since seeing the trench tables in white dwarf back in the 90s i've always wanted to make one. I think doing an entire table as just the trench systems would be cool, makes for a lot of line of sight blocking and makes indirect fire weapons and close combat more important

[@Fredericco1]

Awesome build. Few days back i finished my own trenches. Much more smaller and not that good looking. This video gives me some new ideas, thanks.

[@tomtruesdale6901]

Very nicely done on that game board. Thank you for the history of war. It is a nasty business that old men send young to do. May we never forget those that gave all for us.

[@capt.mannerings8095]

As many have said really loved this video, not that others arent great but this was particularly good. Such a strong point about the grim reality of war so well handled too. Great video.

[@keithcarter5468]

Has a part 2 to this video been made? I'm really interested in this !

[@micklesrealm]

Love the video and and an amazing build! I am definitely going to be replaying this in the near future when I build my own! I think one easy addition would be blowing out one of the trench lines as if a bomb hit it on the edge to really sell that it's deep into a conflict!

[@tmk1785]

I did a very similar thing about 4 years ago and is great fun to build and play!! 20/20 hind sight I would have done some things differently but still turned out awesome!! look forward to the rest of the build

[@NickPorter-s1z]

incredible! In your next section you should have part of the trench blown up. It would be cool if one was interrupted by a shell crater and would allow some slopes into the trench as well!

[@kmykz]

Worthwile content! Building skills, well researched and explained details, food analogies as usual and besides all the fun: an important message. Hats off :)

[@thesneekione7983]

This is such a cool build, and your video does a great job informing people about the basics, plus a little bit more, of trench warfare. Great job.

[@wittlegoblin]

Already looking amazing, can't wait to see the final result!