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Team Yankee Leopard Week – Creating Modern Battlefield Terrain
July 18, 2016 by dignity
We take a look at Modern Battlefield Terrain you could use when playing your games of Battlefront's Team Yankee using the West Germans from the new Leopard book.
Follow Team Yankee Leopard Week
Looking at images from this period of history we get some inspiration and talk about how you might achieve some of those ideas on the tabletop.
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- Soviet Starter Force
- German Starter Force
- Team Yankee Rulebook
- Leopard Rulebook
Get chatting and share your thoughts in the comments below!
Grab The West Germans & Leopard Here
How do you go about building a Modern Battlefield?
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Having a battlefield like Checkpoint Charlie in Berlin, would be one hell of a sight really.
Seeing more Hobby Labs geared at 15mm would be interesting.
I would like to do a Berlin table allied units cut off and having to holed till relieved.
Those pylons would be great for denying helicopters space here and there.
(rotors being in danger of hitting said pylon)
they were nasty in the boot camp, we took to blowing them up to create more obstacles 🙂 had a blast (literally) the BOW team did a great job had loads of them
I’d love to see what the Guys at Beasts of War can come up with for a table to go along with this new expansion.
That pre painted scenery is really nicely made by the looks of things. Team Yankee does look interesting for a non historical gamer like myself it has a touch of the modern about it which appeals.
i think its the Brandenburgh gate in Berlin seen this used in a ww2 game at a show
Yes it is the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin. One of Germany’s most iconic landmarks. I always thought it is famous like the Eiffel Tower, the Big Ben or the Colosseum. So I was a little suprised when nobody recognized it. Then of course I’m german and don’t really have an objective view on that, because I grew up with it.
The history about it (and about the horse drawn chariot on top, the “Quadriga”) is quite interesting. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brandenburg_Gate
It was Reagan who said at that location “Tear down this wall” …
I really need some nice terrain.
Great video, some really good scenery ideas in there
How about a mission objective to fight your way to the restaurant, order food, and return with the food to the starting point? Or a mission where both sides want to capture the manager and interrogate him for the secret sauce recipe?
been looking forward to this week, looking at terrain has really geared me up! such tremendous scope when it comes to depicting Europe, as was covered in the video, so long as you get your densities right, composition really doesn’t matter. If I was doing a German city for example, be very tempted to throw in stuff like a Mosque or a football stadium amongst the old WW2 stuff and the modern tower blocks (quite like the idea of my helicopters or my AA hiding in the Westfalenstadion in Dortmund or something haha)
Wow that was an interesting talk you guys had there, had a lot of fun watching and listening to your discussion of how to build all of that on the table. And it made me think a lot for myself, since i’m from a small village in germany … how would i bring all of my every day surroundings on the table.
i’m living in the valley of the river rhine and i think that would make an awesome table … one day i’ll have to try my luck on making one.
Hmmm…. following @lloyd ‘s suggestion, need to find a table I can use for Halo too! 🙂
pylons might be a good plan….
Would suggest a look at the film ‘The Man From U.N.C.L.E’
It’s set at this time and there’s the east/west border and lots of good city reference.
I would build an East German city with Trabants, Trabants everywhere!
The best pic in the backgruond. Its almost been 25 years, when i drove in one of this cars.
A great-uncle of mine managed to get his hands on a Trabant back in the day. He thought it was a luxury car compared to the Fiat 126p. Later mice got inside and ate most of the electrical wiring!
I guess the great thing about creating modern terrain is that there’s a ton of online resources to be inspired by.
Or looking out your window 🙂
I am trying to build an section of a typical german Landstrasse by adding some roadsigns, with real german townnames. At the moment i am looking for some typical german houses. The prepainted buildings from gf9 are excellent but they are not typical german.
I would love to see some more german buildings by gf9 in the near future.
GF9 had some really good looking buildings. But mostly for towns or cities. If you are interessted in more germna looking buildings for villages I would suggest the model rail road companies like NOCH. Only thing is the scale. Because TT is 1/120 and H0 is 1/87 there could be some issues with the size. But there are a lot german companies which build stuff for very good prices.
So TT would not fit? 🙁
Found a company that is doing typical german stuff in TT-scale: http://auhagen.de/en/Products/TT_2207.html
I’ve seen some buildings at my mate’s house. They fit quite well… if it’s only for scenery. If an infantry stand is next to the door you recognize it. But I think it’s OK for gaming purposes.
If you want to expand this with some civ. cars and trucks it could be more odd looking. But in general I would suggest TT.
I look at the fast food building, and all I can think of is doing a tabletop remake of the Call of Duty MW2 mission where you “defend the Burger Town”. 🙂
I want to win me some tanks!!
so looking forward to this
Those asphalt roads are really nice scenery to buy for this game. For the buildings I would much rather go for the Lloydoslavian cardboard boxes with a bit of added texture. Nice as they are the pre-made factories seem a bit superfluous.
Advertising bill boards along the roadside would add a modern flavour along with road signs.
I had a question about those power pylons. Are there any rules for helicopters (they’d be a little low for jets) to possibly run afoul of the power lines? Even if the power is off, getting tangled in the cables would be fatal.
Great vid. Keep them coming!
The thing I like about the restaurant is that it looks just old enough to give me pangs of childhood reminiscence. Then I start wondering if this is how older generations look at WW2 terrain.
Another great video. I really like the restaurant terrain piece. Can’t wait to see what you will have next for Leopard week.
Liking this stuff more and more
I’d like to see some demos on making a really muddy trench system board, so trying to get the feel of the horrific infantry hell the guys went through, I think it would lend such an emotion to the players
myself and some of the guys from Leicester Fat Cats did a team yankee board for salute, pics are on the battlefront website 😉
i want this game now
This was intensely helpful. cant wait to try some of this out for team yankee!
I have a boatload of forest stuff, and hills, so I feel like I will be playing soviets VS Germans in the black forest. get a few bunkers and power lines to give it a modern feel, and this should be a whole lot of fun!
At the moment I’m on with the planning of the Lloydoslavian buildings. I have to figure out how the framework underneath has to be done. when it’s done I add them to my existing FoW forrests and fields and voila… ready for gaming 🙂
Some villages with some forests to create choke points across the fields. That’s my plan anyways.
I never did get round to building my own little corner of Lloydoslavia…
Great video, definitely inspired to get some terrain projects underway. A good starting point and reference was the Team Yankee weekend that the Beasts put on last year. They put together some great looking tables for that series.
Brilliant ideas guys, I can’t wIt to win & get started
Great episode, now becoming interested in this more modern wargamer, Team Yankee does look good especially with that great terrain, the ideas for tables could be endless.
No I never clipped any barn I drove my 432 into for an overnight stop 😉
I really enjoyed making the pylons during the boot camp and they are the quickest thing to bring a table up to date.
Great vid guys
I’d like to do a German canal with a blown up bowstring bridge just so the objective would be to put an armoured launched bridge across it. What else would an ex RE want???? Minefields, shed loads of minefields!!!!!!
Very cool, anything to do with terrain is always welcome.
Anyone know where you can get civilian vehicles at 15mm?
1980s and WW2?
Putting together a nice-looking table is probably my favorite part of the wargaming hobby. I’m a huge fan of the modern pieces for Team Yankee. I just wish it was easier to get more / different houses to flesh out the landscape from the Battlefield in a Box range.
yes please
For terrain, it would be really wicked to have 15mm civilian vehicles to clog roads and give infantry a bit of cover. Nothing like taking your Leo 2 up and over someone’s Mercedes!
It is amazing to see the difference between a WWII and a WWIII gaming table.
A video of one of my table set-ups is here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rb9Uq8O4844
Love me some Cold War hotness!
I think one of the best aspects of war gaming is the ability to put together a nice looking table to play your games on. It’s the little touches like the power lines that while they may not affect the game itself overly much add that touch of polish to the table.
Mostly hills and forest on my table. Especially large hills dominating the battle field with valleys in between. We have been trying to build toward a more Fulda Gap layout. With the defenders trying to catch the Soviets before they hit any villages.
Mainly because all my buildings are 28-30mm
I would try to create a table to look like Red Square in Moscow complete with the Kremlin. This could be the last battle of World War 3 as the Allies do something neither Napoleon nor Hitler could.
I think 1/100 scale model cars may fit the bill, perhaps Gale Force 9 may consider producing some.
1:100 scale Wartburgs would be awesome for East-Germany board.
Does anyone know if there is 1:100 scale model cars available? None of the railway scales match 1:100 so they could be tough to find.
Seems a pity the ‘pylons’ are considered to have no function apart from being scenic. I would have hoped that a ‘spotter’ (suicidal spotter possibly I should say) could be up the pylon giving information on troop movement. Also wouldn’t the electric cables between the pylons as well as the pylons themselves create a restriction on movement of both fixed wing aircraft and helicopters?
These are great. This game looks like it could be my next
I’m using BF’s WW2 buildings for Team Yankee games and they look great!
I really like the idea of using a large terrain piece for that big bit of open space in a city that isn’t necessarily a park. But I am not sure what kind of buildings I would use for the perimeter of the space, tall modern buildings or smaller older type. There was some 20’s style buildings reviewed not too long ago (can’t remember the company), these could be the answer if they come in 15mm.
I’m building a table (actually it’s built, just needs painting, flock and weathering) for Dropzone Commander. DZC is 10mm but the roads are not too narrow for 15mm so I could also use it for modern/Team Yankee just by replacing the buildings. The dilemma is will I weather it to look the abandoned, partly ruined style I planned for Dropzone or keep it generic enough to look like a modern city where people are actually living in.
Very cool terrain. Really like the silos which can be used for sci-fi 15mm games too…
NIce stuff, nice chat about terrain. Having listened to what has been said I still think a nice city table would be fantastic, yes it would be hard to operate the tanks in a cramped confined city but think of how amazing it would look. Ambushes and flanking would become key.
Brandenburg Gate was it in the picture? I’ve been there and I reckon it would it be a fantastic battle for it. I could actually see them fighting for it not for any strategic value but for the symbolism of taking such a monument.
It would be interesting to see a table similar to the battle of Hoth (I think) made for Star Wars…this time for WW3.
Some good ideas , keep up the good work.
There is definitely some good advice in this one.
The Battlefield in a box terrain is by far the best purchase out there for any 15mm game. The quality for the price is second to none…. however, it does of the short comings of being hard to find as production runs never seem to cover all the demand and the variety of the buildings for some can be an issue (where all houses in Europe cream with green roofs? Where all factories blue?) Answer, HO scale model rail ways.
A quick search in Ebay reveals literally thousands of listings so make a brew and prepare for an evening in front of the computer but if you want my advice, its the little details that really bring a table to life.
Model cars:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/C100-50pcs-Model-Car-1-87-Building-Train-Scenery-HO-Scale-/151560660108?hash=item2349b8248c:g:K6gAAOSw2s1UtWvz
Plus a car park for your cars:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Busch-7076-NEW-OO-HO-CAR-PARK-200X160MM-/121930942234?hash=item1c63a6871a:g:IJ0AAOSwHgVW7xT5
Train station or park benches:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/10-Miniature-station-bench-HO-OO-scale-laser-cut-model-park-scenery-dollhouse-/152028419102?hash=item236599941e:g:R1MAAOSwInxXME2W
Boxes / pallets for outside your industrial units:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-Real-miniature-wood-crates-boxes-HO-OO-scale-scenery-model-railway-dollhouse-/162141301152?var=&hash=item25c05fe9a0:m:mRIDAUHp6AdWFJHSw_L2wFg
A security barrier…. check point charlie?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Preiser-HO-Scale-Model-Figure-Set-Car-Park-Barrier-Kit-/291816187697?hash=item43f199a731:g:01sAAOSwanRXg8N2
looking good
I really like the idea of a city fight in Berlin. But I would have the West attacking the East, to roll through the Brandenburg Gate towards the TV tower.
man want both of those starter sets, the Soviet resin tank are cool though
Definitly want some dense city terrain, if just to make infantry more effective…
Daaam its been a while since i dont spend time on hobby and the last think i love finally is yo build scenery for my games, with blueprints and so on desing for buildings, now im willing to make some 3D buildings for Sarajevo thened board like on under enemy lines, but kind cool will be to a board to fight usa and urrss, with checkpoint charlie and the wall.
I’d love to get a starter force! I plan on getting terrain that will look like a military base using 4grounds fencing.
I know that I know a lot of the iconic battlefields of the Cold War are European, but what about this spreading to the rest of the world? The war depicted in Team Yankee was kicked off by Iran. It seems like the entire world was maintained by a balance of power, and with that balance being disturbed, would it mean other non-NATO and non-Warsaw Pact nations taking the opportunity to make gains? There probably would be a lot of fighting in the Middle East over the oil fields? It could be interesting to see desert tables, Mongolian (Soviets vs China), and of course Europe.
Scratch build a war torn town is my new plan after rewatching
Great information, lot’s of good ideas to take to the table top
I would prefer to go “Wargame: Airlandbattle” summer cross country Germany but as we got so much ww2 Winter themed terrain (For several tables” I think me and the guys at home are goin to check out some winter camo schemes for our forcees ^^
Looks great! For my table I would really need some civilian vehicles.
Great information on the different between European vs United States terrian
Can’t help thinking a Black Forest terrain board would be cool. Have the soviets driving down roads through the forest and individual or small groups of leopards deployed in the treeline to slow then down or something like that
Great video.
Very nice terrain
Just realised we really need M60 tanks (any model) to round out the Yanks. They’d look superb
Think I’d do a mix, so “edge of town” look – Industrial complex on one edge with roads leading out to open fields / forested areas
Great show guy`s, some really good idea`s for battle field board`s. I like the idea of the clump`s of building`s, with narrow streets where tank`s and other vehicle`s can`t go. Will make for some interesting battle`s.
Nice terrain.
I’d love to see a table with a bit power plant that you could fight over. Smoke stacks, huge power structures, fences, walls and so on.
A little extra paint and that restaurant would become one of the early McDonalds in Europe. One Royale with cheese Please…
I’d build a table around a railway station, possibly an industrial one. Factories serve as good objectives, as every army needs supplies.
I love the look of Team Yankee as was fascinated with Twilight 2000 and Red Dawn ( not the remake) cool war turn hot stuff.
Great video! Owning a house from 1895, I’m pretty comfortable with the idea of just adding some modern power lines and a gas station etc to my already existing FoW terrain and have the table look great for TY 😀
Lovely terrain
There are some nice ideas here.
As for table ideas I was thinking in the middle half town and half forest with hills on either side. Objective points will be in the middle and on the other side of the board where you started. So getting your foot troops in to the middle could be vital for the game. But if you got some fast tanks that can just blaze though the town and starting hitting the enemy would work as well.
Then there is always fighting in the lands of giants and using the mounds of 40k terrain I got. Still trying to think up which army to use so I could play a game like that. 40k minis vs Team Yankee.
NooOoo just finished my world war II table now I need to build another one
Anybody try to make a stretch of Autobahn yet?
Awesome stuff
Those 4ground pylons are a great way to convert you ww2 battlefield into something suitable for the TY period
I’ve never been big on terrain until I got a pile of good 15mm stuff off of ebay. FoW games are now a lot better and I’ve been investing in terrain ever since!
so far bought a bit to much of this terrain….
Terrain appears to be fairly accurate.
Commenting to win, good luck all.
cheaper terrain would be nice, kinda sucks having to buy similar buildings that are smaller all over again
With all the German based HO railway scale terrain, you should be able to make a brilliant board.
I would go for the nice little German rural village, open fields and woods.
For starters a WW2 board with the electric pylons from 4ground bringing it current.