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Building a Trench Display Board In Less Time That You Think

hellfire hobbies trench boardShovels at the ready! I break down every step to build a trench display board.  If you find your army in the trenches anyway, then this is the board for you!

Max Dubois from Hellfire Hobbies is back with a step by step explanation on building an incredible display board.

For some reason, namely simplicity, trenches are not in the popular bracket of terrain available out there.  When they are, they are usually poorly made.

trench display boardSo let’s get this out of the way: I hate it when trenches are above ground.  You can call it whatever you like, but trenches are dug in, or not trenches at all.

trench display boardSo, the easiest way to do this dug in look is to build our display in height and leave a hole between boards where the trench should be. This is much easier than actually digging through the foam and cutting away.

Start with a board and a foam board that will fill it, and cut out the space where the trench will be. Then we glue the foam to the board.

trench display boardOnce it is glued in place, draw and place other scenic elements you want on your board – barbed wire, a bunker an a crater in this case. The goal when adding elements is to create somewhat of a story, and finding pieces that showcase your models.

It’s also quite important to make sure you don’t cram the entire board with terrain, as you do want your models to fit in the board.

trench display boardMaking the Trenches

Next, we want to detail the trench to make it look like an actual trench and not just a gaping hole.  Two walls and some sort of flooring, all made with craft store balsa wood.

trench display boardYou can find this in most craft stores and dollar stores that have an art section. Try to find some that are already the proper shape and size, because cutting through these is time-consuming and quite boring.

This is already time-consuming enough, and you could easily make a mold of each section and cast in plaster. Especially if you are building a table-wide trench.

It’s also a good time to lay some on your bases. I chose to have trench work on only some bases, not every model in the army.  I also wanted a section of busted up walls, again, to get that ‘story’ look.

trench display boardThe floor section will be made later, because I want to bury it with the texture of the board.  Now is also a good time to fix your elements in the board, because you want to make them part of the board, not just sitting on top.

The actual basing is made with sand and gesso. I mix both in a solo cup until it turns into some sort of paste. I add 2 coats of this mixture to make sure that the foam is entirely covered. This will allow us to use spray cans and save a buttload of time.

trench display boardWhile the first coat of the mix is still wet, lay down all the flooring boards. They will stick in the gesso, and your second coat will seal them in place, burrowed in the dirt.  Now is also the time to line up all your bases and apply the gesso and sand mix on them, as we will paint everything together.

trench display boardPainting is quite straightforward. I started with the bunker, then masked it off and spray painted the whole board with Fur brown from The Army Painter.  Drybrushed with Steel Legion Drab and Ushabti Bone; the boards are the same color but washed black to make them stand out. And then I added black around the explosions.

trench display board

 

trench display boardAnd there you have it: a display board every entrenching army would be proud to call home.

hellfire hobbies painting

Hellfire Hobbies

About the Author: Hellfire Hobbies

Max Dubois is a hobby enthusiast from Quebec. Max produces a lot of hobby ressources that you can find on his own blog as well as well as on Spikey Bits.

He is always ready to talk shop with other enthusiasts, whether it’s about, painting, playing or drinking, no matter your skill level in either those activities.

You can also find some of his work on amazon kindle, where he sells hobby e-books for a dollar!