It is possible to make lots of scenery for your tabletop without emptying your wallet. Don’t believe us? What if we said that you could make four really evocative pieces of scenery for about $75 and still have a bunch of supplies left over for the next time you wanted to scratch-build your own terrain? We did it and so can you.

Over the course of this article, we’ll show you how you can make two really simple pieces of scenery and two that are slightly more ambitious. We’ve covered our bases, too: we’ve explored scenery for Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000. Also, if you want to be really efficient, you can use some of these pieces for other Games Workshop games like Epic 40,000, Necromunda, and even The Lord of The Rings Strategy Battle Game.

The really cool thing is that materials for scenery building are everywhere, and you don’t have to pay an arm and a leg to get a hold of them. When you’ve emptied your box of Frosty O’s, don’t throw it in the garbage. Whether you can see it in its raw form or not, a cereal box can become shingles for your Empire homestead that’s about to be attacked by a band of savage Beastmen. Caps to toothpaste tubes become exhaust ports on Imperial manufacturing complexes. That's just from your trash – wait until you start looking outside. Some people actually buy twigs and stones from hobby stores, and that’s fine, but you can find both of these things and more right outside your own house or apartment for free!

What you can’t find in your driveway or in your cupboard you can get at numerous locations only a short drive away. Hardware stores, arts and crafts stores, and pet stores hold all sorts of scenery riches. When you do go to the hobby store down the street, the things you buy will last you for a long time if you use them wisely. Make sure you salvage your excess static grass and tape up that bag of foliage!

A small selection of scenery materials
Static Grass	Sand	Balsa Wood	Found Objects