Step 00 - Materials, Tools and Basic viewed approx 564 times

Welcome to the "How to make simple, modular trenches". The following easy step-by-step guide shows how I made my trenches for my WW1, WW2 and Science fiction games. I didn´t take pictures when I made mine, so you´ll have to work with 3D renderings and photos of the finished article.

From top to bottom, these are:

- Styrofoam. We could also use polystyrene, but styrofoam is much more durable. The thickness depends on the size of your figures and how deep you want your trench to be. For "true" 25s and 20s, I´d suggest nothing more than 20mm, adding a firing step for 20s then. I have Renegade large 28s and used 20mm, but you could also use 25 or 30mm thickness, but always remember that it may look awkward, as real trenches are dug down into the ground, so less overall height might be preferable, but remember that your trenches should be constructed to give your troops protection and be stable and sturdy (unless you´re building french WW1 trenches, that is ).

- Hardwood. We are looking for a wood that is durable, but has a surface that is not too hard. I suggest 4mm for 25/28mm scale figures.

- Balsa wood. This is needed for the walls and struts of the trench. 2-3mm work fine for 25/28mm figures.

Furthermore, you´ll need the following tools:

- A modelling knife. Those with snap-off blades are great.

- If you own one or have access to one, a hot wire cutter. Will make cutting the trench line easier, but is not strictly necessary.

- An old biro/ballpen. A very hard pencil would also do, as would a fine steel pin (0.5mm or so), but old biros work perfectly well.

- A ruler, preferably steel, so you can cut using it as a guide. The latter is not strictly necessary, but if you want real accuracy, you´ll need a guide for your knife.

- Woodworking glue. I prefer the fast-drying "express" variants, but use as suits your taste (that doesn´t include eating the glue, kids!).

For structuring, you´ll need:

- Paint matching your tabletop´s basic colour. I used a mix of black and brown artist acrylics that come in big, cost-effective bottles.

- Some structure material, like sand or fine gravel. I use a base of quartz sand, mixed with various grades of model railway gravel.

- Woodworking glue to add strength.

- One or two old brushes.

Finally, a note on size. Before starting out, and ideally before buying the materials, you should think about what size you want the individual modules to be. Let me explain my reasoning as I planned my trench modules.

My table is made up of three boards of 60cmx120cm size, which corresponds to 24"x48" per board (48x72" in total for the three boards).

First, I thought it would be useful to be able to span the table´s width of 120cm/48", since gaming WW1 in 28mm is effectively company-level (at most), on a narrow front.

Second, I also wanted to be able to have variety, such as switching trench sections with MG or arty emplacements, so smaller sections would be advisable. I settled for modules 20cm/8" long by 10cm/4" deep. So I needed 6 modules to fill the 120cm/48". Of course, you could also do 12" long or 6" short modules, but this is effectively up to you... I just didn´t want to do 8 modules when 6 would suffice. All clear so far? Jolly good, then let´s get started.