How to build a stone circle for wargaming

In this post, you will learn how to build a stone circle for wargaming. The tutorial is easy to follow, so grab your tools and let’s start.

Building the basic structure

Take an old CD or DVD for the base of your terrain piece. Using old discs is a great way because they are flat, durable and cheap. Besides that, the round form of your base will blend in pretty nice on the table. With a square base, it is much harder to achieve the same effect. So better stay away from it.

Now it is time to glue the stones on the base. In my case, I used real stones. But of course, you can also use foam core and carve stones from that. Whatever material you use, make sure that your stones are of proper size. They should not be too big or too small. As a reference, take a miniature. Your stones should be around the same size.  Put as many stones on your base as you want. As with the size, use some common sense and you are good to go. As you can see, I left one spot open, which will be used as an entry point into the circle.

I used my glue gun to put the stones on the disc. You could also use PVA or super glue for this task. But if you take the hobby seriously, a glue gun is a great investment, which will not break the bank. If you are fancy like me, you can also build some kind of altar. Now the base structure of your stone circle for wargaming is finished.

In the next step, I put some filler on the disc. This is optional, but I recommend it nonetheless because it adds some structure to the terrain piece. Make sure, that you don’t go crazy with the filler. Applying a smooth layer is enough. Look at the image and you will get an idea how it should look like.

Basing the stone circle for your wargaming needs

After a few hours, your base structure should be dried up. Now it is time to base your terrain piece. Apply a mix of PVA and water (1:1 ratio) on the base and put sand on it.

One word of advice: I highly suggest to apply the sand in two steps. This adds more variety to the base. In nature, the ground is not covered with an even sand mass either.

First, apply rough sand (bigger grain of sand), then apply a finer mix of sand (smaller grain of sand). If necessary, apply more PVA / water mix. But don’t go crazy. More is less. Let the whole piece dry, then apply the PVA / water mix again to seal the grit. I use a plastic spray bottle for this job. The one, you will use to water plants.

Add some color & flock

Now it is time to add some color to the terrain piece. Start by applying the base color. I prefer using a dark brown acrylic color, which I slightly dilute with water and PVA. The PVA will seal the whole piece even more.

When your base color has dried up, it is time to highlight the base. The first highlight should be a lighter brown than your base color. For the second highlight, use some sand color. This should add some depth to the base.

Now your stone circle is almost finished. Add some flock and you are ready to go. As for the grit, you will get much better results if you add the flock in turns. So don’t throw all your stuff on the piece at once. Start with bigger chunks and apply the finer ones afterward. And as always, apply our trusty PVA / water mix to the piece before adding any flock.

Finally, apply the PVA / water mix again and seal the whole piece. I prefer sealing my terrain pieces twice. Especially, if I use them on a convention.

Winter is coming

If you prefer a winter theme like me, add the snow before you seal the terrain piece as mentioned above. But wait until the flock dried up completely. Otherwise, you risk to end up with greenish snow. Which look terrible, so be patient.

I used my stone circle as an altar for cruel sacrifices in our Blood Eagle participation game. To add more atmosphere to the piece, I applied some blood to it, using Vallejo Game Effects Fresh Blood. Of course, this step is optional. But it looks nice, doesn’t it?

 

Stone circle for wargaming – finished

I hope this tutorial on How to build a stone circle for wargaming is useful to you. Maybe you want to show us your own one? Send me a message. As always, if you have any questions put them down in the comments.

Happy Wargaming!