Greater Craters

Craters/shellholes are perfect terrain elements for any modern to sci-fi gaming setting.

Years ago I bought a Plastruct set of vacuum-formed sheets that were filled with craters.  I had used these in WWII games.

6mm mech and 28mm model for scale.

There's nothing wrong with them, they work just fine -- except that for gaming they don't provide a natural feel since they are two regular, rectangular sheets.

I decided I would try my hand at making my own.  I came up with the idea of using the Plastruct craters as molds for casting and I filled them up with pva glue (I was really broke back then).

I glued my new 'castings' onto scraps of wood I had around from other modeling efforts, covered them in fine gravel and painted them.

I made a dozen or so of these.

They worked out well.  Not the most beautiful of craters, but they are functional.


One day I was in my local shop and saw the Gale Force 9 crater sets.  I was looking to spend some money there and nothing else caught my eye, so I picked these up.

Prepainted, semi-flexible resin.

There are two sets.  One set of small craters and one set of larger ones.  The small set has several pieces similar to those pictured above.

Big booms went here.

The larger crater set has two craters and a ruined 15mm house.

They have a nice look to them, they came already painted and are easy to throw down on the table.
I would have preferred them to be a bit deeper. 

If you are feeling lazy, looking to burn money (as I was) or just like the look of these, I think they are a decent terrain investment.  The smaller set seems to give more "bang" for the buck, especially if you are not going to use the small 15mm ruined building.