Painting Wargaming Hills Quickly and Easily for Terrain

Last week I showed how I made a set of hill terrain that fits into a single box for easy storage. But, building terrain is only half the job; it still needs to be painted! So, here’s my technique on painting wargaming hills.

I picked up some new paints to use on terrain, so I painted up a single hill as a test model before doing the whole set.

Table of Contents hide

1) Texturizing

2) Painting the Hill

3) Flocking

4) Wargaming Hills Done

4.1) Wargaming Terrain & Scenery Tutorials

Texturizing

The first step to painting wargaming hills is to add a textured base to the hill. I used a mixture of 4 parts drywall joint compound to one part random left over paint, and added a bit of beach sand for extra texture.

The paint I used looked like a dark brown, but after I mixed it with the joint compound it was a bit purple. No big deal as I am going to paint over it.

I mix paint with the joint compound, so it won’t be as chalky when it dries. It is a lot like painting with mud, so I use a cheap plastic bristled brush that can take a beating. I put on one coat and allowed it to dry overnight before adding a second coat.

Painting the Hill

After letting the second coat dry, I used an airbrush to do the rest of the painting.

For paints I am using Behr paint samples from Home Depot. These come in a huge variety of standard colors, and can even be custom mixed for much less per ounce than model paints. I happened to catch these on sale for $2 per jar, so I picked up a few different colors. If you thin them properly they work well through an airbrush too. The first layer is Burley Wood.

Next I used a 50/50 mix of Burley Wood and Cathedral Grey to add some highlights.

Then straight Cathedral Grey as a final highlight.

Then I added some more Burley Wood from the bottom to strengthen the shadows a bit. I also darkened the top where the grass will go.

Flocking

I want these to be grassy on the top so I finish them off with some flock.

I put on a layer of thinned Modge Podge glue, and add clumps of static grass here and there.

Immediately after putting on the static grass I fill in the rest with some green flock.

Wargaming Hills Done

And there you have it! It’s fairly simple, but I’m happy with the final result. Now I just need to repeat the process with the rest of the wargaming hills…

Also, I have a tutorial on cheap DIY wargaming table that these would look great on. I also have a tutorial on making DIY barbed wire for wargaming terrain, as well as cheap and easy tank traps and miniature trees.

That’s my approach to painting hills. It’s simple but I think it’s effective, what do you think? Do you have a method you prefer?