I have been busy building terrain to play in Frostgrave, a skirmish game set in a ruined city that has been frozen over in the past. I’ve been experimenting using aquarium and terrarium terrain to build cheap nice looking terrain pieces. I’ve done up this quick tutorial on making a frozen pond.

 

Things you will need:

  • Terrarium pond (Can be found at pet stores in lizard section)
  • Cracked ice fluorescent light cover (Big plastic sheets at hardware store)
  • Paint (I used a couple shades of blue)
  • Paper for making template
  • Woodland Scenics Realistic Water
  • Snow Flock
IMG_20160202_164711

First thing is to make a paper template of the inside of the dish, you could make your own outer dish with foam as well if you didn’t want to buy a premade one.

IMG_20160202_165005

Trace the pattern out onto the cracked ice sheet.

IMG_20160202_165221

Start cutting it out and realize you flipped it over and need to start over (you can skip this step if you like). I use a hobby knife and some pliers to score and snap the plastic.

IMG_20160202_165752

Cut it a little bigger and then shave it down so it fits.

IMG_20160202_165859

It fits!

IMG_20160202_170354

Get a couple different shades of blue. You can use cheap craft paint as this will be covered up.

IMG_20160202_170812

Paint the basin with the darkest color in the middle where the water would be the deepest.

Pour about 1/8″ of realistic water into the basin and let set over night.

IMG_20160203_202158

If you want just water in the basin you can stop here.

IMG_20160203_202245

Glue the plastic down. I used spray adhesive but any clear glue will work.

IMG_20160203_221620

Pour another layer of realistic water over the top (optional but I like the extra shininess)

IMG_20160204_141321

Combine snow flock and realistic water into a paste and apply to the gaps where the snow would drift into.

IMG_20160204_142140

Finished product!