DIY Age of Sigmar - Sylvaneth Wyldwood

close up finished photo 6 — This is the finished product, I plan to give it a coat or three of 1 PVA glue : 9 water to add some durability, but that is all that is left to do.

Idea

Last spring I got hooked on Age of Sigmar. I had previously been playing Orcs in Kings of War and wanted to pick a faction that had a bit more finesse and a tactical play style. Orcs are very much a run straight at the enemy and ‘smash better than they do’ army. I spent some time looking through the current factions in AoS and Sylvaneth looked like a good fit. I really liked the aesthetic of haunted forests and their gameplay utilized lots of magic and movement chicanery.

Sylvaneth Wyldwoods, a faction specific terrain piece, are a central part of both of those mechanics. At the beginning of the game 1, 2 or 3 of these are placed on the table. Enemies can be damaged and impeded by them. Friendlies can get buffs from and teleport between them. Heroes can also summon additional wyldwoods. So a number of these terrain pieces are necessary to play. The games workshop kit looks pretty neat, but also comes with a $33 price tag attached to it. I looked at it and thought,’I can probably save a dollar or two by spending a lot of extra time on making it myself!’ So I did.

Execution

I started by finding a base that exactly matches the GW kit from counter attack bases (https://counterattackbases.co.uk/item/gaming-wood-base).

They come in two parts. This is the important glue and clamp photo.

I used some cork board and some watered down DAP brand plastic wood putty for texture.

Painted and some flocking. I later went back and did some airbrush washes for shading. Some highlight flock was also added later. In the back you can see an aborted attempt at wire and milliput sculpted tree.

I have a friend at the hobby shop that conveniently owns a 3D printer. I found some sufficiently haunted looking tree plans and he printed them out for me (https://www.printablescenery.com/product/winterdale-gnarly-tree-pack-50/ ).

I’m pretty happy with how they look. You can see the resolution more on the lighter painted group and the skulls. I think some milliput smoothing work would have made these turn out better. It really only shows when you look close, on the table I don’t see it at all.

This is the finished product, I plan to give it a coat or three of 1 PVA glue : 9 water to add some durability, but that is all that is left to do.

Overall, probably saved a decent bit of money only because I have all of the scenery modeling supplies and paints, but I did spend quite a bit of time. It was a fun project and I prefer making terrain this way versus just buying the kit.

Materials and Painting

Trees

Prime: Army painter Matt White Undercoat

Each wyldwood base is grouped by color;
3 airbrushed washes of;
GW Druchii violet shade
GW Biel-Tan Green shade
GW Coelia Greenshade

All tree bark was drybrushed in decreasing intensity

Vallejo Model color Dark Grey
Vallejo Model color Neutral Grey
Vallejo Model color Medium Sea Grey
1:1 Vallejo Model color Medium Sea Grey : White
Vallejo Model color White

Skulls

layer of Vallejo Model color light brown
drybrush Vallejo Model color buff
drybrush Vallejo Model color 1:1 buff : white
wash Army Painter Warpaint – strong tone ink
drybrush Vallejo Model color buff
drybrush Vallejo Model color 1:1 buff : white

Rocks

Layer Vallejo Model color Dark Grey
drybrush 1:1 Vallejo Model color Medium Sea Grey : White
wash Army Painter Warpaint – strong tone ink
drybrush 1:1 Vallejo Model color Medium Sea Grey : White

Moss and Mud textures

Secret Weapon Miniatures Weathering Pigment – Dark Earth
Secret Weapon Miniatures Weathering Pigment – Terracotta Earth
Secret Weapon Miniatures Weathering Pigment – Violet
Secret Weapon Miniatures Weathering Pigment – Rust Brown
Secret Weapon Miniatures Weathering Pigment – Sewage Muck (moss)
fixed with Secret Weapon Miniatures Weathering Pigment – Fixer

Flowers are from www.pastimesonthesquare.com who had a great booth at Adepticon.

Foliage is from Woodland Scenics.