So I was thinking of creating some Mirkwood scenery (in anticipation for the next film) for some elves. I'm not too sure on what kind of scenery (other than twisted trees) to find in Mirkwood. It's been some time since I read the book and so on.

I was wondering if anyone had done something before, if so, you could maybe share it here for inspiration.

Additionally, how would you go about basing Wood Elves? I was thinking of a dry leafy and grass overgrown base with a rock or two. Any ideas on getting the effect with leaves?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Sincerely Bofur

_________________
I started to walk around without shoes...

It sort of then became a Hobbit

for scenery, you have the spiders in Mirkwood so maybe an area with spider webs and bones/wrapped up victims.
for the base, search for "leaf litter" also I recently bought in a local hobby store this "plant paper" which is leaves laser cut and perfect size, its worked out well for me so far
http://www.jsworkmodel.com/popup/PPA1002.jpg

I'd go for leaves, twisted roots/trees, and webs/baby spiders. Maybe some mushrooms/fungi, as Mirkwood is mentioned to be dark and oppressive, and fungi grow better in the dark. Very wild and overgrown. For scenery, there's the enchanted "sleep river", trees (obviously), but also ruins (as seen in the trailers).

_________________
See my WIP thread here. viewtopic.php?f=50&t=25624

Im lazy so i bought 3 hollow tree trunks from pets at home, they are meant to be for fish tanks but they are perfect for wargaming.

Very good tip

I worked on Mirkwood last Summer. Some of the trailers rekindled my interest.









I made some experiments with colors and spider web. After seeing the new trailers I am looking for vines but I may have to twist wire. When I get the Halloween game back in storage I will have room to finish a custom stair mold for the ruins that will no doubt be in Mirkwood.
Post a WIP It is always more fun to work with others.

_________________
"the same as a duck you must be made of wood"

My attempts are not as dense looking as Old Man Willow's and perhaps more appropriate as the outskirts of a wood but with a little extra trees and stuff they could work.



Paint and terrain extras to finish...

This may give you some ideas for finishing touches like moss

http://massivevoodoo.blogspot.co.uk/201 ... -dosh.html

_________________
Commission Service Available

mallysminiatures.blogspot.co.uk

Very well done

I intended the dense foliage to be more of a back drop. In the book the characters were warned not to leave the road. So I had an impenetrable wood in mind. If you make the trees tall you can make them look thick but you can still play under them and have room to move figures.



I have somthing like this in mind.I am going to use Hirst Arts molds for the stair and ruin.



This tall tree allows you to move figures on the base and in the tree itself. I will make more of these. I have been working on some fall colors.

_________________
"the same as a duck you must be made of wood"

Wow a great link! I like that driftwood base. Good tip on making your own ground cover from foam. I use saw dust. I am going to use Spanish Moss for vines. The small roots look good too.

_________________
"the same as a duck you must be made of wood"

Mary and her husband made this tree about 1997 from a dead bush. Dennis and I possessed the lichen with the old dye formula.





This is an old vine I found and later made into a tree.

_________________
"the same as a duck you must be made of wood"

Another thing you can do (if you do not find good wood or have too much time) is to build them out of wire and milliput. (That is what I did this summer, twisting wire! ) I added some more branches made out of roots.
Then I apllied some milliput and gave it some structure with a (OLD!) toothbrush. It is still WiP and I have not done the branches because there will be snow!

I hope this is helpfull.

_________________
http://www.hdrskirmisher.wordpress.com

For home-made (non-natural) trees of epic size and shape, use an idea that I shamelessly stole from my model railway chums. Electric cable. Solid wires already wrapped in a firm grip that can be shaped and textured to suit. The wires can be splayed for branches or roots or both.

Over the years I've wound up with three of the Citadel Woods kits. I had endless trouble with the leaves (once, a mild breeze blew through the room, and each leaves bit decided the floor looked much more inviting than the trees.)

They make decent dead trees though, so I attacked them with Halloween cobwebs in a spur of the moment decision. The effect is pretty cool. I'm thinking of getting a few ruins and doing the same to them, for a centerpiece. If you're interested, I'm sure I can find a camera tomorrow for some pictures.

I've found the same, Creaky. The leaves from the Citadel Woods kit work better as basing pieces than as leaves, and the Citadel Woods look better as dead trees. I haven't attacked them with fake cobwebs though, it seemed like it would be limiting what I could use them for too much.

_________________
See my WIP thread here. viewtopic.php?f=50&t=25624

Good idea and yes, please upload the photos.

Some more good tips Yes photos please!

_________________
"the same as a duck you must be made of wood"

To Bofur:

Make sure you put in a black water stream in there for good measure. One that has a small boat tied to one side of the shore.

_________________
My Lotr backlog: 305/952[][][][][][][][][][]32% completed
Painting Lineup: Mumakil x2, Rohan Heroes x8, Haradrim, SKoDA

As requested, I borrowed a camera and took some photos. The webs have a tendency to get a bit messed up, and need some redressing before each use, and the flash made them look much shiner than they do in reality. Put a Bilbo in there for effect. (Also a transformer, the usual inhabitants of my computer desk, which I otherwise keep minis well away from. Alas, it's the only room that got some light in this weather. You can also see Tauriel, who is always so drunk she can't stand up properly. Tch, Elves!)







In game I like to give anyone who starts their move in the wood (who isn't a spider) a single S1 hit. Mostly as penance for making me have to redress the webs afterwards.

Now I'm waiting for (hopefully) plastic spiders from DOS.

Very cool Photo of the webs

_________________
"the same as a duck you must be made of wood"

ere's how I did my wood elves.

I started by glueing the elves to left over bits from the plastic ent kit, in order to boost their height (especially compared to Dwalin etc.)

Next I glued light sand. Once it dried I painted it with a dark brown, watered down and let soak into the stones. Only one layer. Then stuck some grass on.



I got hold of some woodland scenics stuff then a little later. One is like a kind of bark chippings which look good as a forest floor. I also got some autumn leaves, but they were not flock and a little difficult to use.



The trees are probably a bit too summery for Mirkwood. Perhaps you could take some hedge or bush clippings and peel the leaves off? I've been thinkin of making a similar one myself.

_________________
Instagram @abbmodels