Battling On: WWII Terrain!

With a large array of terrain for many periods and in more than one scale we thought it would be a good idea to show them all off by period. As this week’s newsletter has something of a WWII theme it goes without saying that we’ll start by showing off our WWII terrain offerings from Architects Of War followed by Steel Models.

Not as glamorous as a King Tiger or as fancy as a section of the Atlantic wall, this ubiquitous machine gun nest existed literally in the tens of thousands on all fronts in both World Wars. This one is designed to be low profile (sunk into your gaming table) and has a removable top to indicate when it has been knocked out.

It comes with two cast metal machine guns – a MG34 and a water jacketed Maxim and is usable in games set in WWI or WWII. This nest and a couple of squads trying to take it out are enough for a small game all on its own! Please note, this MG nest cannot accommodate full figures inside (but a half-decent modeller could easily create crew for it!).

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Well ok, all mine fields are sort of portable, but this one is designed as a set to indicate where a mine field lies on your table top. Be sure to place it after it blows the hell out of one your opponent’s squads. It helps the taunting phase when you point out that the boot and jacket cast in next to the crater are all that is left of his squad leader that you just gleefully blasted.

These small craters work well for figure bases or indicating mortar impact locations. In fact, they are so useful you should buy several dozen sets. (Well ok, that is a bit silly but at least two sounds reasonable, doesn’t it?)

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Far more deadly than a tank or a concealed anti tank gun, is off table artillery and the forward observer that calls it in, especially in skirmish games. This piece not only provides your FO with protection, it has a field telephone line straight back to the battery itself for uninterrupted fire mission calls. Taking this item out could be the objective for a whole game. Holds two 28mm figures. The field phone doesn’t really work but is included.

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These two man foxholes are excellent to represent either troops dug in or hastily contructed forward observation posts. Contains one two-man foxhole (random selection) from the Squad dug-in pack seen below…

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Throughout the 20th century, any squad in almost all armies was encouraged to dig in for protection if they were going to spend more than a few hours within reach of the enemy. This set contains enough “fox holes” to hold a squad of twelve 28mm figures. Includes a squad heavy weapon position, exclusive to this set.

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This simple set can fool you at first glance. It’s loaded with little bits that work for any historical period. Use these signs and way markers to dress up your command figure bases, enhance your existing terrain and buildings, mark special terrain features, or use them as objective markers. The little stone way side markers include a Roman mile marker, a border stone from France, and a Roman ‘way column’. Those Roman markers are still dotted over much of Europe, making them usable for many battlefields.

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This Hedge Row set is an excellent representation of a generic old growth hedge row that separates fields and pastures all over temperate-climated areas. Of course, the first thing that springs to mind when you see these is the dense bocage that was so notorious for Allied troops in Normandy, France.  This set is intended for general use for nearly every period from ancients to modern times. It contains three straight sections, a straight section with a handy angled end, and two 90 degree curves. They can be laid out in an almost infinite variety and also used to border fields and buildings. The Hedge Row set provides you with forty inches of overgrown embankments. The set includes tree armatures and shrubbery material – complete instructions (PDF) for building and painting these pieces can be downloaded here.

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This Bombed House is absolutely loaded with detail! Shingles, bricks, detritus, a couch, a bureau, and even a bathroom! Every time we have a look, there some new aspect to soak in. It makes for a great backdrop or even an objective for games set in just about any modern period.

The Bombed House resin kit has a removable roof, separate windows with glass, and even wallpaper decals to spruce up the piece. Act now and get this beauty on your table today.

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A small but lovely model of a stone Normandy style house.

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A similar Normandy style house to the one above, but with chimney stacks and plastered walls.

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Normandy Barn/Stable, a characterful piece with split doors hayloft and ladder to reachit. Great fun and a super place for a sniper…

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Open-topped bunker – ideal for German 88mm flak gun

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Russian Isba House – great represenation of rural log abodes in Russian and other Soviet countries.

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Open-topped bunker ideal for light flak guns

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Sheltered emplacement for anti-tank guns

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Of course, there is also a load of generic terrain that’#s good for many periods incluing WWII. Have a look at each section of the webstore to see what we mean: Architects of War – Steel Models

And as if that wasn’t enough Steel Models also have a growing range of 1/72 scale (20mm) terrain on offer too!