Wargaming a new period can require different terrain depending on what you have. This happened to me. I finally decided to use the 15mm French Foreign painted figures that I bought over seven years ago!

Of course, I didn’t have any desert terrain though I had “lush green” terrain pieces including hills and two Geo-Hex grass cloths. I decided to make my own desert terrain to save money. When I tried making green hills in the past, I found out that it’s very hard to get a paint color to match the fabric color of the ground cloth. If the colors don’t match as well, it won’t look that nice. I decided to try some ideas that I’ve been formulating.

To get the colors to match better, I did the following: First, I purchased a piece of burlap big enough to cover my wargame table. You can use felt if you want. I used burlap because it’s cheaper and it looks more “rustic”. Purchase some additional material. This additional material should be big enough to cover the top surfaces of all of the hills you intend to make.

Second step is to shape pieces of styro-foam for the hills. My step-mom had some leftover pieces that I used. Cut out the pieces to the size and shape you want. Then cut a piece of burlap slightly larger than the top surface of the hill. Glue the burlap to the top of the hill. I used tacky glue from a craft store. Tacky glue is thick white glue which I think works better. You can purchase tacky glue at craft stores. Normal white glue should work.

When the glue is dry, trim the overhanging material with scissors or a knife. I don’t think that the raw styrofoam is tough enough to withstand breakage. I used Durham’s Water putty and mixed it up to cover the sides of the hills. Try to get the putty on the edges of the material so it doesn’t stick out.

I would buy a big can of water putty. You will need to mix a lot to cover the hills. The amount of wet putty you get after mixing with water is quite small compared to the volume of the can. I guess you could use spackle if you want. After the application of water putty, your hills will be sturdier and weigh more. Water putty is available at home improvement and hardware stores. You might want to buy a few putty knives because they make this step a little easier.

When the putty is dry, paint the hill sides a suitable color. I used dark brown paint and a “dry brush” of sand color. Once you get everything completed, you will have suitable terrain for the Sudan, Maxmillian in Mexico or any other obscure conflict that you want to game.