Defenders of the Tavern - Kings of War Dwarfs

With the decision made to go all-in, I started to mess with the layout. I went online shopping for some alternative Dwarf manufacturers, (more on that in the next post), and really started to plan out the army list and options I would want. This was essential because with the ‘jigsaw’ nature of my plan, each unit would have to blend well with the next to make the overall environment work.
Kings of War is great for ‘scalable’ bases sizing, ie a troop is smallest, two troops make a regiment, two regiments make a horde etc. This allowed me to make the largest base a regiment size base, and have several troop size options that could be added to if I wanted to change lists.
After my paper versions, I moved on to using 1mm plasticard. This was very simple to measure and cut, and sturdy enough to let me put lots of minis onto it for the purposes of positioning. I spent a lot of time moving units around, considering their play style, (sharpshooters behind cover, bulwarkers with phalanx and a shield wall etc.) All the while, I was imagining a wooden floored tavern and thinking of how I could pull that off.
I made a sample regiment base using blue modelling foam and scored floorboards and nail holes into it with a biro pen. Once painted up, it looked okay, but my concern was, that with the bar, shelves and furniture all wood, I would end up with a very monochrome looking basing scheme. I didn’t want this to look drab, so I searched for inspiration.

A cup of tea always help my inspiration flow, and lo and behold, as I was standing in my kitchen waiting for the kettle to boil I looked down. My kitchen floor is ‘almost’ flagstone style tiles! Flagstone tavern floors were now on the agenda.
I decided that if it was to be a stone floor, I wanted it to have a bit of weight to it, so it was out with the blue modelling foam, and in with 5mm Plaswood. It’s called that in Thailand, but in the UK, I know it as Foamex. It’s a sign making material and great for modelling. I bought an 8’x4’ sheet from a local sign maker for about the equivalent of £20, and started to cut.

By this time, I’d solved my ‘jigsaw’ issue and settled on a perfectly rectangular overall display shape which calmed my OCD tendencies somewhat.

The Plaswood was cut and scored, (again with a biro), and I began some paint tests. I based with TOA primer surfacer grey spray and then stippled darker greys over it with a scrunched up polythene bag. It gave it an almost weathered look which I quite liked. You can see the sample tile I did on these pics, and that tile ended up being the base for the Dwarf Lord on mount.